Contrast Rule: Use Highlighting Techniques

In some ways, the term “highlighting” can be used synonymously with “contrasting,” since the goal of highlighting is to contrast one piece of information from another. When you highlight information, you are drawing attention the unqiueness of the highlighted nuance. Use highlights to emphasize, direct the eye, create visual interest, organize information, or help people navigate a document.

It’s important to never highlight more than 10% of information in a document (and even that is a high number). When too much is highlighted, the emphasis is diluted, diminishing the effectiveness of the highlight’s intent. In most cases, it’s best to choose fewer than three things to highlight.

There are several ways to highlight information, many of which can be seen in the examples below. Use this guide as a toolkit any time you want to highlight something, recognizing which technique will work best in varying circumstances.

Fonts Can Affect How Highlights Work

It’s important to recognize that not all fonts are created equal. Every font you have available on your computer has been designed by a different person or company and they have designed specific features into each font. So, boldface in one font may be much heavier than boldface in another font. The same goes for italics. Some fonts make very distinguishable italics characteristics while other fonts don’t look all that much different when italics. Take note of the font you’re using and see if the highlighting effect you’re looking for works in that font.

Visual Noise Should Be Avoided

When you highlight, your goal is to specifically emphasize a word, phrase, or object. While you have many options at your disposal, be careful not to use any technique that unnecessarily creates visual noise (unnecessary stuff to look at). Underlining is the most notorious for creating visual noise. Often, a heading will look better by either using boldface or changing color (or both) rather than underlining text. The underline can often look like extra stuff on page and it clutters the document.

Multiple Techniques Are Good, But to an Extent

Looking at all the options you have to the right, you can see how it may be useful to combine techniques. You might bold and italicize a word or phrase, for example, giving that extra emphasis you’re looking for. Or you might change the color and the font, again just to provide the right amount of highlight for your purpose. It’s not generally a good idea, though, to combine more than three. You may consider changing color, bolding, and italicizing something, but that’s probably enough. Avoid making something bigger, bolding and italicizing it, changing its color, underlining it, and putting it in reverse type. That just creates visual noise (see previous heading) and ends up looking ugly and distracting rather providing good, effective emphasis.