Yes, I’m referencing Transformers to talk about the importance of designing a paper. Sue me. A few blog posts ago, I mentioned about how everything you write has an audience. Audience is still important but what if I told you that the physical text, formatting style, and even choice of illustrations all impact the message you want to get across.
Wait, Really?
Yes, really. Choosing the right font and illustration sends a message to your audience on what you are trying to tell them. For example, this blog post is using an image with the Autobot symbol (Transformers. It’s a show) as a way to both intrigue you to click on this link while, also relating towards this topic. You absolutely see this everyday in advertisements of all kinds. Especially in magazines (if anyone actually reads those anymore) and websites.
So what about the actual text we write? As Michael J. Klein & Kristi L. Shackelford stated in Beyond Black on White: Document Design and Formatting in the Writing Classroom, papers typically use Times New Roman at 12 point size. It’s common to see this when writing on the internet or in the classroom. However, this isn’t always the standard for every medium.
For example, screenplays are always written in the courier font at size 12. From my understanding, the font is used to help for readability. Although, I know some people who despise the existence of this font. (You know who you are) Regardless, as a screenwriter, these are requirements that must be taken into account if you even want to have anything read.
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