Session: "Enhancing Usability of Print- and Web-Based Documents through Information Design"
Presenters: Barbra Enlow, Susan Kleimann, and Qiwu Liu of Kleimann Communication Group

Top Three Factors in Document Usability

• Comprehension: How well can users read and understand the information as presented in a document?
• Navigation: How quickly and easily can users orient themselves and find appropriate information they need from a print-or web-based document?
• Task Completion: How easily does the document as presented help the users make decisions and complete tasks?

Top Ten of Common Problems in Information Design

• Unclear user tasks
• Unclear key message
• Too much or too little information
• Information based only on writer’s assumptions rather than users’ needs
• Unclear logical structure or organization
• Lack of visual “signposts” to guide users
• Dense paragraphs vs. tables or bulleted lists
• Irrelevant use of visuals
• Words and concepts that users don’t understand
• Long, awkward, or passive sentences

Language Standards

• Use plain language
• Group similar information together
• Use deductive logic
• Create an overview and summary
• Employ headings
• Select appropriate details
• Insert tables
• Draw on examples

Layout Standards

• Highlight main message
• Use standard font type and size
• Create sufficient white space

Shaded headings are better for users

• Research in information design shows that shading better guides users and helps them navigate complex documents
• Testing demonstrates that users can more easily locate and understand headings that are shaded

What they did to fix sample

• Set up a predictable structure
• Categorized information according to user questions
• Simplified words
• Broke up long sentences
• Defined unknown words
• Broke out the three key pieces of information with numbers