There are a number of ways to delineate heading levels. The general rule is 
that they should be:

a. Clear

b. Beautiful ;-)

It's real easy to create an ugly design. It's real hard to create a beautiful 
one - which is why there are folks called graphic designers. For those of us 
who aren't (such as me), I've often found it useful to look for suitable 
commercial designs and then emulate them. I don't mean copy, but extract the 
underlying principles. Your eye will tell you what looks right and what look 
weird.

You can use:

. Font size (as has already been said)

. Space above/below - generally more space above the higher the heading level, 
less below the lower.

. Font style - I don't like this, but I have seen it done, for example with 
italics or condensed

. Side-head for major hearings, run-in for minor

. Side-head for major hearings, in-column for minor

. Numbered vs unnumbered headings, if the design calls for it

. Suitable widgets/graphics

Apologies if I am repeating what others have said: no coffee yet this lovely 
morning in SW UK. 

I do have a concern over more than three heading levels, although I know 
sometimes a fourth level is necessary. More than three levels makes the 
structure hard for the reader to follow. H5? Maybe better to use bullet lists 
or tables?

As Tammy says, though, we are often constrained by existing/client-specific 
document designs and/or entrenched thinking - no matter how ghastly ;-)

-- 
Steve
_______________________________________________

This message is from the Framers mailing list

Send messages to [email protected]
Visit the list's homepage at  http://www.frameusers.com
Archives located at http://www.mail-archive.com/framers%40lists.frameusers.com/
Subscribe and unsubscribe at 
http://lists.frameusers.com/listinfo.cgi/framers-frameusers.com
Send administrative questions to [email protected]

Reply via email to