Bid Design and Page Layout

Most publications on book design contain information and advice that will help you define an efficient and attractive design style for bids. In achieving this style, you have to balance a number of priorities:

• the client's requirement for direct access to information - which means that the design of the bid must assist the clear and logical articulation of its content;

• the need to focus emphasis on points that play a key part in the message of the bid, using design to draw attention to items you do not want the client to miss;

• the importance of balance, discipline and a due measure of variety in the way text and graphics are deployed on the page.

The design quality of the bid makes a statement to the client about your professional ability. Do not neglect this aspect of the document. If your business has developed a corporate style for all its technical documents, with rules about typography, text areas, line spacing, margins, location of page numbers and so forth, you may need to adapt this style to take into account the specific considerations that influence good bid design. Bids are business offers not technical reports, and they should not look like technical reports. The difference in function between bids and reports needs to be reflected in their design treatment: both must centre on readability, but bids demand a more vigorous approach to grasp and maintain the reader's attention. There are particular design considerations that apply to bids submitted electronically: these are outlined in Chapter 21.

Design principles

Layout

• Use the page set-up and print layout options in your design software or word processor to define a consistent page grid and text area for the bid as a whole.

• Realize the design value of white space, but use it in a consistent and disciplined way throughout the text.

• Unless you are quite certain which material will fall on left-hand and right-hand pages, use equal left and right margins on all pages: 25- to 30-mm margins should allow an adequate tolerance for binding. If in doubt, choose wide margins rather than narrow ones.

Typography

• Select a basic typeface for the bid and exploit the various fonts within its range, eg light, regular, bold. Consider using a contrasting typeface or a second colour for main headings. When you want to emphasize a word or phrase within a paragraph, avoid simple underlining (because it can look amateurish) and italics (because they tend to resist rather than attract attention): use a bold face instead.

• When you are choosing a type size, err on the side of generosity, which means using a larger point size and leaded rather than solid text.

Identity

• You may think it appropriate to impress your identity on every page by using pre-printed paper carrying your logo or a phrase or 'strap line' that expresses a key message. But using a client's logo in the same way can appear patronizing and presumptuous.

• Do not be tempted to mimic the appearance of the client's internal documents, to make it look as if you are already part of their team: this is a disingenuous device, and besides it is your distinctive qualities that interest the client.

• No amount of graphics can disguise a bid that is poor in technical content. A noisy design will simply draw attention to the bid's deficiencies.