Make Headlines Easy to Locate and Read

Designing Information Material 4(1+3)

Lesson 14 : News Letter

Make Headlines Easy to Locate and Read

Headlines are crucial to the success of your newsletter. Edit headlines to the bone, then edit again. Make headlines as short and "telegraphic" as possible. A two-line headline looks better and reads easier than a three-line headline.

Use white space to make your headlines more effective and easier to read. White space acts like a magnet, drawing your reader's eyes to your headlines. White space above your headlines separates them from preceding text.

Be consistent. Choose a single typeface for all of your headlines and limit headlines to two sizes. Use one size for headlines of primary importance; another, smaller, size for headlines of lesser importance. This adds visual variety to your page and helps readers quickly identify the most important topics, yet avoids a disorganized image. Make your headlines stand out by choosing a typeface that forms a strong visual contrast with adjacent body copy. For example, use sans serif headlines (i.e. Helvetica) to introduce body copy set in a serif typeface (like Times Roman).

Better yet, invest in Condensed, Heavy typefaces which conserve space. These additional typefaces offer more impact and design flexibility than the bold-faced type that ships with your computer hardware and software.

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Last modified: Tuesday, 1 May 2012, 4:52 AM