With business document design software, you may create documents that look more professional while streamlining your company's operations. The time needed to prepare documents can be greatly decreased by separating the static content from the dynamic content in this procedure. This strategy is especially useful for companies that frequently utilize papers that are interchangeable, such as contracts, requests for proposals, and invoices.
To properly utilize the possibilities of document software, you must carefully construct these papers. Modern document design software includes the following components, which are essential for creating templates:
- Document-level elements
- Page-level elements
- Style Elements
- Headers and footers
Overview
If you generate a traditional electronic document manually, the contents will vary every time, but otherwise, they are static. Making a new document can take a lot of time because of this necessity. For the purposes of this illustration, suppose you want to create a contract for a new client based on an existing contract. The customer-specific information must first be manually changed in a copy of the previous contract, taking care not to alter the text that is applicable to all contracts.
In a format termed a template, document design software maintains the static material that, in the instance of a contract, mainly consists of boilerplate text. When a new document is prepared, the document design software then includes dynamic information, including customer-specific data and graphics. Using this method of document creation, a new contract may be created by simply entering the dynamic information gleaned from the client interview. Dynamic document production speeds up the process of creating a transaction-ready instrument while also lowering the possibility of human error during manual document modification.
Document-level Elements
While designing your template, start by deciding what kinds of information the document will contain. To make this information as useful as possible, you'll also need to select how to present it. Another crucial factor that will apply to the entire document is the headers and footers. If you're creating the template from scratch, sketch out the layout; otherwise, your document design program will let you adapt an existing template to your needs.
The next stage is to establish the parameters of the document, such as the page size and exterior margins. While selecting these settings, be sure to take into account any restrictions on printing for printed papers. Books and other bound publications must also have interior margins. It may be necessary for columns in documents with a column layout to have a predetermined width.
Page-level Elements
The size and quantity of headers are page-level, or structural, aspects of a document. You must also decide whether regions, such as the headers and footers, will include text. If it is only regular text, the templates you create with the document design program will let you include some placeholders or the "lorem ipsum" meaningless stuff. Repeating elements like backgrounds, borders, and rules, as well as branding components for your company, are other page-level components you'll need to develop during this stage.
Style Elements
After creating the structure that supports your document's functionality, you can start including elements that have an impact on how it looks and feels. On top of the structural components you've already described, build these elements. In business documents, style elements should typically be kept to a minimum to avoid detracting from the content.
Color
Choose colors for your paper that are appropriate for the purpose. In order to prevent stark contrasts in business papers, you should normally limit the color of the text to black and grey. This is especially true for documents that will be printed on standard laser printers. A contrast hue and black can also be used to draw attention to important details and keep readers' eyes engaged. Even if you want to use a color printer, be sure the contrast between these two hues reproduces well in black and white.
To keep the text simple to read, shading and 3D effects should also be used sparingly. The best method to apply these style components is to enhance the text without drawing attention to them. The use of other components, such as Word's Smart Art objects, should likewise be moderate. You can simply accomplish these aims with the help of your document design software.
Font
The readability of your work can also be greatly influenced by the fonts you use. For instance, sans serif fonts are typically better for publications that will be seen on a monitor while serif fonts are typically preferred for printed materials. For commercial papers, only use ornamental or specialty fonts under particular conditions. In order to ensure that the text is relatively constant, a given document should typically use no more than three typefaces. Moreover, you can always use font attributes like size, bold, and italics to add the required variety. The program you use to create documents will let you import typefaces as well.
Headers and Footers
With the exception of the page number, headers, and footers are frequently relatively straightforward. But, by displaying several pieces of information in each portion of a document, such as alterations in page sequences, they can become more complicated. Some of the static components of a document can also be anchored by headers and footers.
Tabs can be used to manage the alignment and position of headers and footers in documents. Section breaks give you the opportunity to make changes to headers and footers, but they also make it more difficult to alter them accurately. Headers and footers can be positioned and aligned using tabs.
The name of your organization and other static information can be anchored in headers and footers. Moreover, they may include components that repeat, such as banners, borders, logos, and regulations. You can avoid accidentally modifying these components while editing the document's body by placing them in headers and footers.
Summary
Effective business document design typically involves making the most of the template. When creating a new business document, this tactic reduces the more labor-intensive job of adding dynamic material.
