Writing for a Visual Audience

By: Elizabeth Borruel

According to multiple studies, there are several ways in which people perceive information.  To this day it remains a fact that 65% of the population are visual learners.  In the business world, the visual appearance of a written document sends a nonverbal message to our audience.  The design of our written message affects its readability and effectiveness.  When writing a message that will be delivered in a printed or electronic form we must consider the following:

• White Space: It is also called blank space and it is any space that doesn't contain any characters which include margins, paragraphs indents, space between columns (vertical space), space between paragraphs or lines of text (horizontal space), the space surrounding heading and images, etc.  White space provides visual contrast and resting points for our audience and it also increases the chances that your message will get read.

• Margins and justification: The space between and around text is defined by margins.  The way you arrange lines of text adds to the visual appearance of your message as well as the margin width.  Lines of text can be arranged in four different ways: (1) justified, or aligned vertically on the left and right side of the document.  (2) Aligned on the left margin only (3) Aligned on the right margin only, or (4) centered.

• Typefaces: This is just a fancy name for the letter font and size.  The choice of your font has a great impact on setting the tone for  your message.  Although many companies have strict guidelines about the company correspondence the general guidelines for typefaces are as follow.  Stick to one (maximum two) font type and size per document.  Times Roman and Arial are usually acceptable and easy to read.  Stick to 10 or 12 font size.  Generally headings can be written in a larger size.  Remember, simple is better.  Overusing typefaces may clutter a document and diminish its quality.

• Type Styles: These are modifiers to the existing typeface.  Type styles include, but are not limited to boldface, underlining, italic, color, etc.  Type Styles are meant to draw special attention to a specific word or section of your written message.  As mentioned before avoid using too many type styles as this may slow down the progress of your audience's reading through the message.

The visual appearance of your message is the first impression your audience will get.  Visual appearance combined with great content will improve the effectiveness of your message.  Hope you find this information helpful.  Have a great day at work and remember B.N.G. Consultants are always here to help.


Sources:
The Herald Journal:
http://www.herald-journal.com/archives/2008/columns/js091508.html
Pearson Prentice Hall:
http://www.phschool.com/eteach/social_studies/2003_05/essay.html
Excellence in Business Communication 9th Ed (Textbook by John V. Thill and Courtland L. Bovee)