Sometimes a company would provide design specs telling a technical writer how exactly to design a cover.
But what if you were freelancer or an office worker who was asked to write a corporate design guideline?
Here are seven time-tested design recommendations culled from my 20 years of experience as a professional writer, page layout and information designer:
1) Keep it simple. Limit your design elements to the following components:
a) Title b) Product/Service photo or image c) Company logo d) Footer
2) The cover should include (if applicable) version or release number, as well as the document number.
3) Footer should include date of release, copyright and confidentiality (if any) information.
4) Leave as much white space as possible for the eyes to rest. Remember the principle of "less is more" and limit the number of figures and photos you feel like inserting into your cover design. Try to limit your color choices to your approved corporate or client colors.
5) Leave out your name unless specifically requested by the management or the client. Anonymity is a normal default condition in technical writing and communication. As a technical writer you never become a household name but enjoy helping others who need detailed instructions, plus the security of a high standard of living that technical communication provides.
6) If you have a lot of text and graphic elements on the cover page do not center them like most amateur designers do.
The natural sweep direction for the eye is from upper-left down towards bottom-right. Use that diagonal to position your drawings, photos and text for a most user-friendly reading experience.
HOWEVER, if you have just a little text and a single image, then it’s okay to center your page elements since there isn’t much to read and stress the eyes. But that's a special case and not the rule.
7) Select as few colors as possible, without being boring. The art of cover design requires that you use as few visual elements as possible to communicate what the document is all about.
A technical document cover should never have ten or twelve colors unless it's a document about colors.
And try to stay away from bright synthetic colors even when you reduce the number of options to only two or three. Gold letters on a silver background might be recommended for a site selling gold coins but would be hard to read on the cover of a technical document.
US $8.00
How I Used The Fresh Papaya (PawPaw):
The fruit was to be consumed ‘As is’ because we always have a small plate of fruit everyday around 5 pm.
I planned on adding a teaspoon of seeds into my Yogurt at lunchtime.
The ‘Coleslaw’ I would add to any Salad (even in a sandwich) as it’s summertime in Oz and we are eating a lot of Salads. Don’t know what I am going to do in the Winter though? If you have any ideas please add them as a comment so everyone can benefit.
I had also planned on five serves per day because I thought it would be better to ‘Drip Feed’ it into me, as my wife thinks I am a ‘Drip’ sometimes anyway – so that should fit.
Now… Continue reading Prostate Cancer Diary - My Papaya Recipe
Monday 6th Feb 2012: My Prostate Cancer Diary.
So here is the problem. I have dismissed Surgery completly and that leads me to Radio Therapy as the only available conventional medical alternative.
My Oncologist want me to have Hormone Treatment to:
- a: Slow the Growth of the Cancer cells by (basically) chemically castrating me. Ouch!
- b: Shrink the Prostate down to a smaller target for his magic Death Ray.
I didn’t want to do that with Hormone treatment, but can appreciate why he wants to do that.
So I’m looking into all types of Natural and Alternative medications.
The best I have come up with is PawPaw (Papaya) as there have been quite a few studies with very promising reasults, PLUS it has been… Continue reading Prostate Cancer Diary - My Natural Alternative
Prostate Treatments and Me.
Long time coming since my last post – but I have been kinda busy…. Tests – tests and more tests 
So this is the latest:
My Urologist sent me to the Radio Oncologist because I decided I do NOT want surgery. Apparently I can’t have Brachyatherapy (my original choice) because my Gleason Score is 8 – too high, so External Beam Therapy is the only option, even though they only found cancer cells in ONE of the TEN Biopsies they took.
HOWEVER: (I am discovering LOTS of ‘Howevers’), the Oncologist wants me to have Hormone Treatment first to bring my enlarged prostate down in size.
An ‘Average’ prostate is about 40mm – about the size of a small Plum -… Continue reading My Personal Prostate Cancer Treatment Options