Annsbrae and Dementia Services Promotion Event

Town Hall, 24th April 2013

Style Guidelines

Clear Print Guidelines

 Fonts are restricted to Arial for body text and headings, and Comic Sans for
quotations.
 Text should not be in block capitals, underlined or in italics, as it makes it
more difficult read
 Blocks of text are to be aligned to the left margin only. This allows the reader
to find the start and finish of a sentence easily, and keeps the spaces
between words the same size.
 Use bold sparingly, only highlight a few words rather than a paragraph
 Keep the text layout clear, simple and consistent
 All text should be the same orientation on the page
 The contrast between the text and background to be as high as possible

For more information go to www.rnib.org.uk

Additionally,

 One space after a comma, two spaces after a full-stop

 No comma in dates e.g. 1920s, not 1920’s.
 Specific dates to be set out in European format i.e. May 1945; 7 July 1954
 Numbers should be entered as numerals. Only numbers under ten should be
written as words.
 Title Case to be used only for proper nouns and names

Type of text Guidance

Titles Font: Calibri
Font size: 48 for panels, 20-22 for
menus and placemats
Font colour: TBC

1
Annsbrae and Dementia Services Promotion Event
Town Hall, 24th April 2013
Style Guidelines

Max word count per panel: 5

Body text Font: Calibri
Font size: 28-32 for panels, 14-16 for
placemats and menus
Font colour: Black
Max word count per panel: 100

Quotations Font: Comic Sans

Font size: 28-32 for panels, 14-16 for
menus and table mats

2
Annsbrae and Dementia Services Promotion Event
Town Hall, 24th April 2013
Style Guidelines

Text Writing tips

• Write more as a letter to a friend, rather than a report for a committee or an

academic essay. Use expressions and language you’d use if you were talking
to someone.

• Aim for a reading age of 9-12 years old (as tabloids do)

• Think about how to connect to their experiences, interests and culture.

Similes and everday comparisons can help with this.

• Appeal to people’s senses. Create interest by referring to things visitors

can see, touch, smell, hear or do, or think about.

• Write with enthusiasm, and with rhythm and life in the language. Keep it
light, people are here to enjoy themselves!

• Use questions effectively to provoke thought

• Use the observations of others - personal anecdotes and quotations interest

and add emotion. People are always interested in the observations of others.

• Use pictures, diagrams, maps or graphs where possible instead of text.

• If it doesn’t need said, don’t say it!

• Vary the length of sentences (10-20 words per sentence)

• Only use 1 idea per sentence. If you have two ideas, use 2 sentences.

• Use short paragraphs (less than 50 words)

• Simple, short words make text more accessible

• Avoid technical terms and jargon. Explain those you must use.

• Use active verbs rather than passive

For further guidance go to http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/files/howto.pdf