2. Text formatting

When you format any document or presentation, the key question that you need to ask is, 'who is your audience?' The answer to this will govern many of the decisions about how your work is formatted.

Font style

If your work is for children, then a large, open, eye-catching font style would catch their attention. If it is for a business audience then a standard font such as Times New Roman or Arial would probably be the most suitable.

Some font styles are much harder for people with poor eyesight to read, especially those that try to emulate hand writing.

Font size

If your work is to be displayed on a large TV monitor in an airport lounge then you will need to choose a large font size so that the text can be seen from a distance. If it is for a menu in a restaurant then it needs to be large enough to read, but small enough so that all of the menu items can fit onto the page.

You need also to consider the font size that you will use for different elements in your document. How will heading styles differ from sub-headings and the main body text?

Generally, the further away a document is viewed, the fewer words you should place on it. Most billboards have just one huge strap line supported by a bold picture. On the other hand, books contain a large amount of text and thus the font size needs to be much smaller in order to fit the words onto the pages.

Care does need to be taken to ensure where there is a lot of text to read, the the font size is not so small as to cause eye-strain.

If the output is to be electronic, it might be possible to provide an option for those users with poor eyesight to make the text larger.

Font colours

Colours in any document or presentation can have a huge impact on your audience. Some colours are more appropriate for use with body text than others. The standard colours are black text on a white background, these provide the maximum contrast between the background and the text. Most business documents would be formatted in this way. However, if you are creating a presentation, then it might be more appropriate to use a coloured background and a contrasting font colour because white backgrounds on a large screen can be tiring on the eyes.

Font emphasis

Emphasis can be placed on particular pieces of text within a document. If a quote is used, it is often placed in italics. Important points might be underlined or made bold. Many people now avoid underlining text in an electronic document or presentation because this might make users think that it is a hyperlink.