NDDW: Readability

Design Workshop

Sample 1
Division of Mental Health 20 North San Pedro Road, Suite 2028 San Rafael, CA 94903 Phone: (415) 499-6769 · Fax: (415) 499-3791 Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm		Division of Mental Health 20 North San Pedro Road, Suite 2028 San Rafael, CA 94903 Phone: (415) 499-6769 · Fax: (415) 499-3791 Office Hours: Monday–Friday 8:00 am–5:00 pm

No contrast, no paragraph space, hard to read		Contrast and paragraph space break the text into smaller parts, more easily read. Cascading Style Sheets allow for less paragraph space, therefore keeping the text more connected than it is here. En dashes (to indicate durations) add typographic finesse.

Sample 2

County of Marin Board of Supervisors Meetings are held in the Board of Supervisors Chambers Room 330 Civic Center, San Rafael, CA - Your comments or suggestions are welcome. - Receive the Agenda in your email box - (subscribe now) - Board Meetings netcast on the Internet AGENDA FOR: MARIN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MARIN COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AGENDA Tuesday, April 30, 2002		County of Marin Board of Supervisors Meetings are held in the Board of Supervisors Chambers Room 330, Civic Center, San Rafael, CA • Your comments or suggestions are welcome: agendacomments@marin.org • Receive the Agenda in your email box - (subscribe now) • Board Meetings netcast on the Internet: marin.org/netcast AGENDA FOR: Marin County Board of Supervisors Marin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors Tuesday, April 30, 2002 Board of Supervisors Chambers Room 330, Civic Center

Centered alignment and all caps are difficult to read. Email links are not descriptive enough. Too much bold type, point size too large.		Improvements: Flush left type is easier to read Upper and lowercase instead of all caps Contrast in size and style Use of paragraph space to create organization Bulleted text for easy reading Descriptive email links

Sample 3

District	Supervisor	4-year term expires	Area represented
1	John Kress Room 329 Civic Center 3501 Civic Center Drive San Rafael, CA 94903 (415) 499-7331 email: jkress@co.marin.ca.us	January 1, 2003	Terra Linda, Lucas Valley, Marinwood, Santa Venetia, San Rafael, Peacock Gap. (for details, see map)
2	Harold C. Brown, Jr. Room 329 Civic Cente, 3501 Civic Center Drive San Rafael, CA 94903 (415) 499-7331 email: hbrown@co.marin.ca.us	January 1, 2005	Downtown San Rafael, Gerstle Park, West End, Lomita Park, Bret Harte, Sleepy Hollow, San Anselmo, Fairfax, Ross, Kentfield, Greenbrae, a portion of Larkspur.
3	Annette Rose Room 329 Civic Center 3501 Civic Center Drive San Rafael, CA 94903 (415) 499-7331 email: arose@co.marin.ca.us	January 1, 2005	Mill Valley, Strawberry, Tiburon, Belvedere, Marin City, Tamalpais Valley, Sausalito. (for details, see map)

Contrast in color and type style make the text in this table easier to peruse. Compare with the original table.

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