[HN Gopher] The Design of Forms in Government Departments (1962)
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       The Design of Forms in Government Departments (1962)
        
       Author : BerislavLopac
       Score  : 23 points
       Date   : 2021-03-20 14:29 UTC (8 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (design-of-forms.online)
 (TXT) w3m dump (design-of-forms.online)
        
       | mhdhn wrote:
       | I don't think I've ever seen 'alphabet' used as it is here:
       | 
       | https://design-of-forms.online/the-form-in-print/alphabets/
       | 
       | What does it mean? A cross between today's "letter case" and
       | "font style".
       | 
       | Wonder if that's old timey English and/or old timey graphic
       | design.
       | 
       | Also love the old-timey copy-editor directions on the same page.
        
       | jeffgreco wrote:
       | Love these illustrations of a form being revised: https://design-
       | of-forms.online/the-form-in-print/alphabets/
       | 
       | And a nice selection of typefaces! Times Roman, Gill Sans, even
       | Rockwell for some headings.
       | 
       | edit: these are great too https://design-of-forms.online/the-
       | form-in-print/rules/
        
         | systemvoltage wrote:
         | The art of making illustrations is almost lost now it
         | seems(scroll towards the bottom): https://design-of-
         | forms.online/evolving-a-design/make-up-of-...
         | 
         | Contemporary illustrators are Adobe professionals who Dribbble
         | their way through the design world, churning out Corporate
         | Memphis: https://www.are.na/claire-l-evans/corporate-memphis
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | open-source-ux wrote:
       | Fascinating. It has a formal tone of writing as you'd expect, but
       | it's not too wordy. Wordiness is what you expect of printed
       | goverment publications (even today). The principles are still
       | sound. Naturally, it covers printed forms only.
       | 
       | For comparison, here are the current GOV.UK recommendations for
       | designing forms:
       | 
       | https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/design/form-structure
        
         | petepete wrote:
         | Also worth linking to the design system here. The amount of
         | care and attention that goes into the usability of every form
         | element is mindblowing.
         | 
         | https://design-system.service.gov.uk/
        
         | abraae wrote:
         | Not too wordy is a matter of opinion. While surprisingly well
         | written and readable for a govt pub, I still find it's a little
         | "wall of text" like.
         | 
         | At a meta level, here's what the document itself advises about
         | wordiness:
         | 
         | > Avoid unnecessary words, e.g. the phrase 'In every case in
         | which particulars are furnished' (eight words), can be reduced
         | to 'When particulars are given' (four words): a phrase such as
         | 'It should be noted that the obligation to furnish particulars'
         | (ten words), is no less clear when reduced to 'The obligation
         | to give particulars' (five words).
         | 
         | In a modern, plain english style, these might be further
         | chopped down to 'When provided' (two words) and 'Mandatory
         | when' (two words).
        
           | [deleted]
        
       | NomDePlum wrote:
       | Have to say I really like the layout and styling of the site.
       | Super easy to read and navigate.
       | 
       | Interesting content too.
        
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       (page generated 2021-03-20 23:01 UTC)