Making your thesis readable - Typesetting Tips for Non-designers

WELCOME TO

How to Make your Thesis More Readable

HELLOmy name is

HELLOmy name is

I AM A

TODAY I AM TALKING ABOUT

Typography(AND OTHER STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW TO MAKE YOUR THESIS)

Typesetting is an old practice

ARTIST: ROBERT THOM

With strong craft traditions

ARTIST: ROBERT THOM

PORTRAIT OF STEVE JOBS, BY SUSAN KARE (DESIGNER OF THE ORIGINAL MAC ICONS) 1983

Many of which havepersisted through the shiftfrom metal to digital type

Which is why using MS Wordis like using this…

…to fix a watch

So we have to plan for this

Because typesetting your

thesis will take longer

than you think

Methodology / The Crystal Goblet

…the first he asked of this particular object was not ‘How should it look?’ but ‘What must it do?’ and to that

extent all good typography is modernist.—Beatrice Warde

Here are your specs:

International Standard Paper Size A4 (297 x 210mm)

1.5 spacing and presented in a clear and legible font and would normally be expected to be double-sided

Left and right margins of no less than 30mm and page numbers that appear inside the margins

Pages that are numbered consecutively and clearly

Folding diagrams or charts arranged so as to open to the top and right.

So, you have some choices to make

Serif OR Sans Serif

(leave out typefaces who can’t decide)

Typefaces communicate

The typefaces we read best are the ones

we read the most

(That doesn’t mean we will believe them more)

High contrast between thick and thin strokes is hard to read

Minimal contrast is easier to read

You can pair Serif and Sans Serif

You can pair the same kinds of typefaces

Just make sure they are not too similar(OR IT WILL LOOK LIKE A MISTAKE)

It’s air, you know. It’s just there. There’s no choice. You have to breathe, so

you have to use Helvetica.—Eric Spiekermann

TYPEFACES THAT HAVE NO PLACE IN A THESIS:

Papyrus

Comic SansChancery Script

Eurostile

Copperplate

anything art nouveau / art deco style

AVOID IF YOU CAN:

Gill Sans

Optima

FuturaArial

Times New Roman

TRY THESE CLASSICS INSTEAD:

Garamond

Baskerville

CambriaUnivers

Franklin Gothic

Hevetica

STAY AWAY FROM SCREEN FONTS INCLUDING:

Calibri

Trebuchet

GenevaGeorgiaTahoma

(generally any typefaces named after cities)

The Rules(FOR NON-DESIGNERS)

Do not compress or extend type

Don’t distort images

Don’t use justified type.

it looks terrible

Guidelines(FOR NON-DESIGNERS)

Don’t use more than three changes in your type

Avoid widows

Try to leave at least two full lines at the top of a page

Line Stuff Up

Indent or space between, not both

It’s all about hierarchy

Possible formula for thesis text with 7 heading levels:

Body Copy = 12pt all type sizes are based off this measure (in increments of 2 points)

Line Spacing 24pt = 1.5 spaced (32pt would be double-spaced) all spaces are based on this measure

Body copy set with no indents, instead uses 1/2 line space as space between (para space) in this case = 12pt*

Headings all use the same typeface (which may differ from body text typeface):

Section Head = 18pt (8 pts larger than body copy) usually set all caps, on a page by itself

Chapter Head = 16pt (4 pts larger than body copy) Bold, looks best with 3 to 5 para spaces below (so 36pt/60pt)

A Head (14pt) = set bold, 2 para spaces above, one para space below (24pt above/12 below)**

B Head (14pt) = set bold italic, 2 para spaces above, one para space below (24pt above/12 below)

C Head (12pt) = Set bold, 1.5 line space above, one para space below (18pt above/12pt below)

D Head (12pt) = Set regular, 1 para space above, 1 para below (12pt above and below)

E Head (12pt) = Set italic, 1 para space above, 1 para below (12pt above and below)

Footnotes and Page Numbers set in body text @ 8–10pt

* Paragraphs above headings should be set with no space below. **When one heading is above another, delete the space below the top heading.

me, the exemplar work displayed in that long ago hallway had a presence that was

almost palpable, and was often capable of triggering ‘the fear’: a heady mixture of

inspiration, envy, and anxiety.

This conversation made me wonder, how could I help my online design students

‘feel the fear’ without such a hallway? How can I (or indeed should I?) set the

conditions for ‘the fear’ to flourish in the digital hallways of the online school? It

was on this last thought that I found myself deeply conflicted. While acknowledg-

ing that my colleague was perhaps correct, fear is part of design teacher practice, I

found myself wondering if this was a good thing. I wondered too what it may mean

if online teaching is a less fear filled practice, and at the same time is (at least in my

experience) as effective as onsite teaching. Thus, I loosely framed my initial re-

search question as: ‘Is ‘the fear’ in fact necessary to good design teaching practice?’

Although I eventually set out to explore how the online design studio reshapes

graphic design teaching more broadly, this question still gives me pause. It is how-

ever, best left to research of a more cause-effect kind to take forward.

This is a A Head

This thesis examines the design studio, common to all art and design disciplines,

and the focus of learning and teaching in design education (Schön, 1990). The

design studio is both a learning space and a unique pedagogical method (Broadfoot

& Bennett, 2003, p. 3) of learning-by-doing, which most scholars trace back to the

antecedents of the modern design school: the Beaux Arts and the Bauhaus (Bender

& Vredevoogd, 2006; Broadfoot & Bennett, 2003; Hetland, Winner, Veenema, &

Sheridan, 2007; Kelly, 2001).

Teaching in the design studio is intensely collaborative, and many scholars have

remarked that the engagement between teachers and learners is somewhat akin

2 SPACES ABOVE = 24pt

1 SPACE BELOW = 12pt
















This is a B Head










2 SPACES ABOVE = 24pt

















This is a C Head










1.5 SPACE ABOVE = 18pt

















This is a D Head










1 SPACE ABOVE = 12pt

















This is an E Head










1 SPACE ABOVE = 12pt


Consistent indent

No tab space

Footnotes, page numbers, and bibliography can be in a smallerpoint size

THERE ARE ONLY 5 WAYS TO ORGANIZE INFORMATION

LATCH

LOCATIONALPHABETICALT IMECATEGORYHIERARCHY

Your data is bivariate > use a table

Your data is bivariate > use a table

Your data is multivariate > use a chart

Pick the Right Tool

Bar Charts / compare items

Pick the Right Tool


Line Graphs / show trends over time

Pick the Right Tool



Pie Charts / emphasize proportions

Pick the Right Tool



Pie Charts / emphasize proportions

Flowcharts / show process and connectedness

Scale 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Skill Development 86% 77% 90% 96% 92% 89% 92%

Goals and Expectations 75% 80% 83% 88% 92% 87% 88%

Examination 74% 62% 72% 77% 79% 80% 78%

Supervision 64% 65% 70% 80% 74% 72% 75%

Infrastructure 52% 44% 60% 68% 67% 65% 74%

Intellectual Climate 45% 34% 49% 54% 56% 55% 59%

Overall Satisfaction 68% 69% 73% 87% 85% 78% 75%

Highlight what’s important

100

95

90

85

80

75

70

65

60

55

50

45

40

35

30

%

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

SKILL DEVELOPMENT

GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS

EXAMINATION

SUPERVISIONINFRASTRUCTURE

INTELLECTUAL CLIMATE

OVERALL SATISFACTION

Don’t use an ellipse—it distorts the data

Don’t use busy patterns or 3D effect

Make sure colors are tonally contrasting

Use one dataset per table


Goal is to notice information, NOT the table structure


Goal is to notice information, NOT the table structure

Use thin lines and light background colors

Use dashes or ellipses for missing data


Tints help the eye read across or down


Tints help the eye read across or down

Use fonts with open counters and/or no serifs

Thanks for listening, Godspeed!

Any Questions?

Making your thesis readable - Typesetting Tips for Non-designers

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