Chapter Four: Enhancing Visual Appeal (HATS)

Chapter Four: Enhancing Visual Appeal (HATS)

After completing a document, it is critical to review for visual appeal. Use the acronym "HATS" to do this review. HATS stands for:

H: Headings. These allow for readers to access information quickly when reviewing your document.  Consider adequacy and hierarchy when adding headings. Adequacy refers to including the right amount of headings and hierarchy refers to assigning the correct level headings to correlating information.

A: Art. This refers to visuals including tables, bar charts, maps, flow charts, etc. When inserting visuals remember to introduce them with a brief description, insert the visual immediately following, and interpret the visual, pointing out the key points to the reader. Number the visuals consecutively. Keep graphics simple and easy to understand. Use appropriate legends. Cite sources in a footnote. Tables are information graphs which include numeric or alphabetic information. These are very simple displays. Keep tables rectangular. Leave no empty cells. Sequence data in a logical way. Use typeface for emphasis. Keep entire table on one page. Bar and Line graphs are useful for business and government reports. Pie charts are not as accurate or useful as bar and line graphs.

T: Typography. Consider the font and typeface used in the document. Serif fonts are easier to read and widely used. Use careful thought when considering what fonts to use throughout the document. Too many variations are confusing and distracting to the reader. Lack of variation does not lead the reader to the most important parts of the report.

S: Spacing. Use appropriate white space. Check both internal and external spacing in your document. External refers to margins, which should be about one inch. Internal refers to spacing between lines. To ensure correct line spacing, keep paragraphs short.