🔤 Plain Language: Creating an Enticing Design
Good design makes your words easier to read — and understand
This post is part of my Plain Language Writing Guide.
If you missed the earlier posts, it includes an introduction to this series and advice on focusing on your readers and purpose, organizing your documents, writing effective paragraphs and simple sentences, and choosing clear words.
Introduction | Your Reader and Purpose | Organizing Your Ideas | Effective Paragraphs | Simple Sentences | Clear Words | Enticing Design | Check Clarity | Resources
A well-written document can still be hard to read if it looks cluttered, cramped, or confusing. Good design improves readability, accessibility, and comprehension. Readers shouldn’t struggle with layout or appearance before they even reach your words. A clear, inviting design helps people focus on your message instead of fighting the page or screen.
Note: Most of these tips can be applied directly in word processors. More advanced adjustments (like columns or typography) may be done in design software, but plain language writers still benefit from knowing the basics.
Paragraph spacing
Leave a line of space between paragraphs or set your word processor to add space automatically.
Don’t also indent paragraphs. Indenting was common in school essays and books, but it’s no longer standard in plain language or modern documents.
Line spacing
To make documents easier to read, use more than single spacing for body text: 1.15 to 1.5 spacing.
Double spacing is usually only needed for editing drafts.
Line spacing and paragraph spacing work together to keep text comfortable to read.
Line length and chunking
Keep each line short enough to read easily within columns and margins (about 10–15 words or 50–70 characters per line in print). On screens, design text to resize across devices while staying scannable.
Avoid long, unbroken paragraphs. If a paragraph runs more than 6–8 lines, consider breaking it up.
A helpful test: If you can place a dollar bill across a page without touching any headings, lists, or graphics, the page may look too gray.
Also see the sections in this guide on paragraphs and sentences for related advice on length.
Headings
Headings break up long blocks of text and guide the reader through your document. If a page looks gray and lifeless, add more useful headings.
Make sure headings say something. Instead of “Background,” try “Why this issue matters.”
Use clear, consistent capitalization and type styles for headings and subheadings so readers recognize the hierarchy.
Questions can make effective headings: What is the next step? What are the facts?
Headings aren’t just for reports and websites — they also make emails, letters, and even long social posts easier to read.
Highlighting
Bold and size are the primary tools for headings and subheadings.
Within body text, use bold sparingly for key words or phrases so it keeps its punch.
Italics can be an alternative to bold for emphasis, though bold is usually clearer and easier to read.
Avoid underlining words. In print, underlines cut through letters; online, underlines are usually mistaken for links.
Typefaces and size
Choose a simple, readable typeface and use it consistently. If you use two typefaces, make one for body text and one for headings. Captions or callouts can be distinguished with italics or a lighter weight of the body font instead of adding a third face.
Both serif typefaces and sans serif typefaces have readable versions for body text and headings, if used consistently:
Serif typefaces — Georgia, Palatino, Century Schoolbook
Sans serif typefaces — Verdana, Calibri, Helvetica, Aptos
Avoid: Times New Roman and Arial (adequate but less readable for long passages); condensed, decorative, or “lightweight” typefaces; ALL CAPS.
Use at least 11–12 point type for most documents.
For readers with vision challenges, use 14 point or larger. Accessibility standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and the Americans with Disabilities Act recommend this.
Create contrast between body text and headings by size, weight, or style — not by using too many fonts.
Color
Use dark ink (black or dark blue) on light paper or background.
Do not use gray text on white or light backgrounds — in print, on the web, or on screens. It is hard to read. The same is true for other low-contrast color combinations.
Avoid long passages of reversed text (white letters on a dark background).
Graphics and illustrations
Graphics should support and clarify the text, not compete with it. Plan for them while writing, not as an afterthought.
Place graphics close to the text they refer to.
Make sure captions (cutlines) add information, not just repeat what’s visible.
In digital documents, add short alternative text behind images so screen readers can describe them for users who are blind or low-vision.
Avoid overloading pages with graphics that distract from your message.
Digital design
Writers can’t control every aspect of how text appears on different screens. But you can make documents easier to read across devices by:
Using headings and subheadings frequently
Keeping paragraphs short
Using bulleted lists for complex points
Ensuring text resizes cleanly without breaking words or lines
Introduction | Your Reader and Purpose | Organizing Your Ideas | Effective Paragraphs | Simple Sentences | Clear Words | Enticing Design | Check Clarity | Resources
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