Effective Document Design

Document design is a crucial aspect of the business documentation process. It is a special way of presenting business documents, including the use of different colors, texts, and fonts to make them more desirable and influence the interpretation of the document by an end user. Based on intensive research reports, one can conclude that the perception of the document depends on the physical outlook it portrays. Therefore, well-designed documents will serve their intended purpose effectively compared to a normally designed document. The business has a bigger chance of benefiting from well-designed documents because of the reputation they have. For this reason, there are many advantages that various organization should take into consideration before choosing which design to apply.

Positive Feedback from Business Stakeholders

A well-designed document, be it a business journal or a magazine, creates a welcoming attitude from business stakeholders like consumers and suppliers. The positive feedback increases the chances of acceptance to buy or continue using business products. In addition, it shows the high level of expertise and professionalism in the business. Furthermore, positive feedback contributes to an upward improvement of the public image of the business, hence making the organization end up enjoying the good publicity. The immediate feedback can be obtained relating to the quality of the business product. Finally, it can call for further action, making it easy to enhance confidence about the business product (Craine, 2000).

Clear Policy Formulation

The intended message entailed in the document is easier to understand and interpret. According to Edward Tufte (2001), a prominently known academician on information design, good graphics should reveal data. The symbols and visual aid used display the intended message apart from being attractive in the eyes of the reader. A well-written and printed document should have proper typefaces such as standard font, spacing, and alignment. The technical terms can be bold or italicized to emphasize an important message, word, or phrase. The choice of an appropriate typeface increases the readability of the document. Complicated information that requires technical assistance is demystified.

The merit of having clear policy formulation helps in assigning business tasks, setting clear rules, regulating, and delegating duties. The employees will conform to the organizational set rules and regulations, hence improving the general performance of the business and directing efforts at achieving the organizational goals and objectives. Therefore, document design serves a central role in ensuring easy formulation and implementation of policies.

Improvement of Customers and other Stakeholders Relationship

Consistency in the documentation system of the business helps to create a good rapport amongst the stakeholders, such as consumers and suppliers. The principle of repetition that involves the use of similar color, font, and text ensures information is complete. There is no information that is left out which might raise questions about the credibility of the data provided. Therefore, the disclosure of all relevant information leads to customers’ satisfaction, thus creating a strong bond between the organization and the public. Consequently, due to good customer relationship, the number of sales increases because of enhanced loyalty. Furthermore, design principles can be replicated in designing the business product; therefore, high design values are attained throughout the whole business, hence complementing the organizational product regarding quality.

Easy Document Management

Document design is crucial since it aims at alleviating information overload. The use of a specific design in presenting the business documents saves space by a standardized margin, time spacing, and page size. Moreover, proper organization of documents helps employees to avoid paperwork and eases the process of auditing and retrieval of information any time it is required by the management. Logical sequence of ideas due to headings, subheadings, and numbering ensures smooth flow of information. Moreover, document design reduces the training costs in the documentation and makes it easy to track the flow of revenues and expenses to avoid cases of theft and corruption (Guffey & Loewy, 2013).

Efficiency

Reading business documents is usually time and money consuming. Document design saves time when reading the business document. The application of the principle of alignment, where major sections and subsections are created, and the principle of proximity, which involves grouping of similar items, makes it easy to skim through the documents and find the required information without straining. In addition, document design can be used repeatedly through the utilization of templates, thus avoiding the cost of reinventing new designs. Following the reduction in the cost of documentation, the productivity of the business is bound to increase more significantly, yielding high profits. The example of the company that successfully engages much in designing projects is Procter & Gamble. The quality of information provided reduces the time spent to advertise the business product since the completeness of the information is necessary to answer the questions that customers can raise (Newman & Ober, 2013). Therefore, document design eliminates inefficiencies, as well as money and time wastage.

Uniformity of Business Departments

The use of a common product design element harmonizes departmental documents to be a single business document, for example having a common logo on every document. The purpose of uniformity is to allow easy flow of documents from one department to another (Carliner, Verkens, & Waele, 2006). It also makes it easy to identify forged documents that do not belong to the business organization. For instance, a customer used to receiving specific business emails is in a better position to detect an email from a scammer and report it to the right authorities for immediate action. Thus, document design helps to reduce cases of fraud in the business operations.

Furthermore, document design assists in ensuring accountability. The document can be used as evidence before the court. It can also be used for referencing where more details can be obtained. Therefore, it acts as a rich source of data that helps to know the background information about the company and the product dealt with since it is easy to skim through the company’s history within the shortest time possible. It also assists in obtaining other relevant information that any party interested in the business can require.

Flexibility and Adaptability to Changes in the Environment

A company that has an efficient document design has a high chance of adapting to constantly changing business environment due to technological advancements. The business uses an up-to-date document design that caters for the needs of the whole business. Hence, the business can overcome the risks of the uncertainties that may occur due to business growth. The organization that is not ready to change due to advancements in technology cannot survive when it comes to business communication. A broken chain of communication, especially written one, can lead to conflicts within the business.

Priority to Important Information

Document design is vital when determining which information should be the first one to be captured. The major issues are the first ones to be outlined while the minor ones follow. The reason behind prioritization of the information helps to achieve goals and objectives that carry immense weight on the operations of the business. It also helps to exclude unnecessary information that does not have value.

Competitive Advantage

The principle of contrast in document design, such as the difference in the use of font, color, and headers, helps to differentiate the particular business from close competitors. The uniqueness of the document is crucial to the business since customers can easily identify the company of their choice depending on the contrast that is normally used. Therefore, the adoption of document design principles helps to distinguish the business from that of the competitors since it gives the company the visual identity. High competitive advantage puts the business in a stronger position to sell its products, resulting in the dominance of the business in the market and increasing the market share (Carliner et al., 2006).

Conclusion

The document design principles such as contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity play a critical role in the operations of any business. Any organization has to develop creative strategies, choosing the appropriate document design for transmitting clear, precise, and accurate information. Efficient document design is achieved by ensuring the consistency of information, completeness, proper form, and uniformity. The information has to be designed in a way that suits the target group for effective documentation to avoid being meaningless and less useful. Therefore, the major benefits of document design to a business is the achievement of high sales volume, reduction of documentation costs, improvement of the public image, and effective time management since it is easy to skim and find the required information. Moreover, document design increases the competitive advantage, as well as enhances uniformity and efficiency.