# Professional Document Styling Guide

Standards for creating polished, business-ready documents.

## Typography

### Font Recommendations

| Purpose | Windows | Cross-Platform | Notes |
|---------|---------|----------------|-------|
| Body text | Calibri | Arial | 11pt standard |
| Headings | Cambria | Arial Bold | 14-24pt |
| Monospace | Consolas | Courier New | For code, data |
| Formal | Times New Roman | Georgia | Traditional |

### Font Sizes

| Element | Size | Notes |
|---------|------|-------|
| Title | 24-28pt | Bold, may be larger |
| Heading 1 | 18-20pt | Bold |
| Heading 2 | 14-16pt | Bold |
| Heading 3 | 12-14pt | Bold or italic |
| Body | 11pt | Standard |
| Captions | 9-10pt | May be italic |
| Footnotes | 8-9pt | |

### Line Spacing

| Context | Spacing |
|---------|---------|
| Standard documents | 1.15 or single |
| Academic/formal | Double |
| Dense reports | Single |
| After paragraphs | 8pt space |
| Before headings | 12-18pt space |

## Page Layout

### Margins

| Style | All Sides | When to Use |
|-------|-----------|-------------|
| Normal | 1 inch (2.54 cm) | Standard documents |
| Narrow | 0.5 inch (1.27 cm) | Dense content, tables |
| Wide | 1.5 inch (3.81 cm) | Formal reports, editing space |
| Moderate | 1 inch top/bottom, 0.75 inch sides | Balanced |

### Page Orientation

- **Portrait**: Standard text documents, reports
- **Landscape**: Wide tables, charts, timelines

### Headers and Footers

**Header suggestions**:
- Document title (left or center)
- Section/chapter name (right)
- Company logo (left, small)

**Footer suggestions**:
- Page X of Y (center or right)
- Document date (left)
- Confidentiality notice (if needed)
- Document version (right)

## Color Palette

### Corporate Colors

| Color | Hex | RGB | Usage |
|-------|-----|-----|-------|
| Dark Blue | `#2F5496` | 47, 84, 150 | Primary headers |
| Medium Blue | `#4472C4` | 68, 114, 196 | Accents, table headers |
| Light Blue | `#BDD7EE` | 189, 215, 238 | Backgrounds |
| Dark Gray | `#404040` | 64, 64, 64 | Body text |
| Light Gray | `#D0CECE` | 208, 206, 206 | Borders, dividers |

### Status Colors

| Color | Hex | Usage |
|-------|-----|-------|
| Green | `#00B050` | Success, positive, complete |
| Yellow | `#FFC000` | Warning, in progress, attention |
| Red | `#C00000` | Error, negative, critical |
| Orange | `#ED7D31` | Pending, needs review |

### Accessibility

- Minimum contrast ratio: 4.5:1 for normal text
- Avoid color alone to convey meaning
- Use patterns or icons as secondary indicators

## Tables

### Table Styling

```
+------------------+------------------+
| Header (Bold)    | Header (Bold)    |  ← Blue background (#4472C4)
|------------------|------------------|     White text
| Data             | Data             |  ← White background
|------------------|------------------|     Black text
| Data             | Data             |  ← Light gray (#F2F2F2) alternate
+------------------+------------------+
| Total (Bold)     | Total (Bold)     |  ← Light blue background
+------------------+------------------+
```

### Table Best Practices

1. **Alignment**:
   - Text: Left-aligned
   - Numbers: Right-aligned
   - Headers: Center or match data alignment

2. **Borders**:
   - Use subtle borders (light gray)
   - Header bottom border may be thicker
   - Avoid heavy gridlines

3. **Spacing**:
   - Cell padding: 0.1-0.15 inch
   - Adequate column width for content

4. **Formatting**:
   - Consistent decimal places in columns
   - Use thousands separators for large numbers
   - Right-align currency symbols

## Lists

### Bullet Lists

Use for:
- Items without inherent order
- Short items (1-2 lines each)
- 3-7 items typically

Formatting:
- Standard bullet (•) for first level
- Dash (–) or hollow bullet (◦) for second level
- Consistent indentation (0.5 inch per level)

### Numbered Lists

Use for:
- Sequential steps
- Ranked items
- Items that will be referenced

Formatting:
- Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) for main items
- Lowercase letters (a, b, c) for sub-items
- Period after number (1.)

## Headings

### Hierarchy

```
TITLE (24pt, Bold, Centered)

1. HEADING 1 (18pt, Bold)

1.1 Heading 2 (14pt, Bold)

1.1.1 Heading 3 (12pt, Bold or Italic)

Body text (11pt, Regular)
```

### Heading Style

| Level | Size | Weight | Case | Spacing Before |
|-------|------|--------|------|----------------|
| Title | 24pt | Bold | Title Case | — |
| H1 | 18pt | Bold | Title Case | 24pt |
| H2 | 14pt | Bold | Title Case | 18pt |
| H3 | 12pt | Bold | Title Case | 12pt |
| H4 | 11pt | Bold Italic | Sentence case | 12pt |

## Images and Figures

### Sizing

- Maximum width: 6 inches (within margins)
- Maintain aspect ratio
- Consider print size vs. screen display

### Captions

Format: **Figure X:** Description in sentence case

```
[Image]

Figure 1: Quarterly revenue trends 2020-2024
```

### Positioning

- Center images horizontally
- Include whitespace above and below
- Group related images together

## Document Structure

### Front Matter

1. Title page (if needed)
2. Table of contents (for 10+ pages)
3. Executive summary
4. List of figures/tables (if many)

### Body

- Introduction
- Main content (logical sections)
- Conclusions/recommendations

### Back Matter

- Appendices
- References/sources
- Glossary (if needed)
- Index (for long documents)

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. **Inconsistent formatting** - Use styles, not manual formatting
2. **Too many fonts** - Limit to 2-3 fonts
3. **Excessive color** - Color should aid comprehension, not decorate
4. **Poor contrast** - Ensure readability, especially for printing
5. **Orphan/widow lines** - Keep at least 2 lines together
6. **Misaligned elements** - Use tab stops, not spaces
7. **Missing page numbers** - Always include for multi-page docs
8. **Unmarked revisions** - Use track changes for drafts

## Quick Checklist

Before finalizing any document:

- [ ] Consistent fonts and sizes throughout
- [ ] Headers and footers present
- [ ] Page numbers correct
- [ ] Margins appropriate for binding/printing
- [ ] Spell check completed
- [ ] Table of contents updated (if applicable)
- [ ] All figures/tables captioned
- [ ] Color scheme consistent
- [ ] Print preview checked
