White Paper Design
CRAP and Beyond
Contrast . . .
Repetition . . .
Alignment . . .
Proximity . . .
Examples . . .
Examples . . .
Examples . . .
Examples . . .
Examples . . .
Examples . . .
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Check out the proximity…
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Use of spacing to group
related information
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Use of headings to clearly
demarcate sections/spacing
White Paper: (Sub)Headings . . .
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Multiple and well-labeled access points are
crucial for a White Paper. (scannability)
The Colon: Something Catchy, then
Something Informative (talking heads).
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Keep On Truckin’?: The Future of Fossil Fuels
Grand Theft Soul: The Effects of Violent Video
Games
No, I’m Frank: The Consequences of Identity
Theft
Talking Heads . . . Principles
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Talking heads provide the reader with detailed
information (vs. "generic headings" that tell the
reader very little).
The idea of talking heads is to give the reader as
much help as possible.
The trick to creating talking heads is to make them
informative without making them too long! (For
example, a two-line heading is probably too long.)
The more information you add to the heading, the
longer it will be—so talking heads are bound to be
longer. But a heading that is too long will not have
as much impact as a concise one.
Talking Heads . . . Examples
Generic Heading
Topical Heading
"Talking Head"
Advantages
or Disadvantages
Provides little or no
information (poor)
Provides more
information but does not
convey message (better
but not ideal)
Identifies role in report
AND provides detailed
information AND
indicates point of view or
conclusion (best option)
Example 1
Problem
Current Scheduling
Practices
Problem: Current
Scheduling Procedures
Are Time Consuming and
Costly
Example 2
Work Accomplished
Work Accomplished: Test
#1
Work Accomplished: Test
#1, Boric Acid Wash
(Unsuccessful)
Perform the Stand Alone Test: To see if your report’s headings are effective, scan them. Can
you understand the main argument of the report and figure out the main conclusions and
findings? If so, then your headings are working well as visual summarizing devices to help the
reader.
Summary Text Boxes. . .
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Redundancy
 Highlight the key points of the adjacent body text to
allow for multiple access points.
Accuracy
 Be thorough in how you select information.
 Avoid simply cutting and pasting.
 By writing a separate summary, you can frame more
information in a more tailored fashion.
Responsibility
 Imagine a reader reading only the summary text
boxes. What would they take away?
 Be responsible to this type of reader; give them
important information as well.
Summary Text Boxes: Format
Caption Writing . . .
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As with the title, captions are
important, though small, chunks of
text with tremendous framing power.
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They direct the reader to important
features.
They give the reader an interpretative
mechanism (i.e., what should I do with
this picture? What do I take away from
this chart?) with which to view the
image, the chart, or the graph.
Caption Writing: Finding or Looting
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Look how the caption directs
the eye and gives you a way
of interpreting the image, its
meaning and implications.
Top caption reads: "A young
man walks through chest
deep floodwater after looting
a grocery store in New
Orleans...“
The bottom caption reads:
"Two residents wade through
chest-deep water after
finding bread and soda from
a local grocery store after
Hurricane Katrina came
through the area in New
Orleans..."
Charts . . .
Cover Page . . .
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Title
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Graphic
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Instructional, original, catchy (think of
using the colon)
Catchy, instructional, relevant
Establish Design
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Repetitive Elements, colors, logo, etc.
Figures and Pictures . . .
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Clearly labeled
Captioned (instructional)
In physical proximity to explanation (in text)
Clearly referred to in text
Consistency of labeling and reference
Function as an AID to the text (help your
audience understand the text)
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Not just random, somewhat related pictures
Figures/Pictures . . . Examples