Design
=
Gospel Insight
Try reading this:
No, really. Take a minute. Try following a single idea through the page.
This is what the Prophet Joseph Smith handed to the printer when he first went to have the Book of Mormon printed. It was written out by Oliver Cowdery as the prophet dictated it. The document had no punctuation or formatting of any sort. No capitals, no periods, no paragraphs.
It was one long sentence.
The printer’s assistant was tasked with formatting the Book of Mormon. He made a few mistakes, but he produced and printed this, which is much more readable:
Real sentences appear. Capitals, commas, periods, and paragraphs.
And the formatting kept evolving! Here’s the same page online today:
Formatting text is not sacred, but it is powerful!
Formatting the scriptures yourself can be a great study practice. Here is how Hadley Gordon, a former MCom student, reformatted King Benjamin’s speech during a class activity:
What a huge difference from the original manuscript!
The use of meaningful headings, color, white space, and typography all combine to make Hadley’s version much more appealing to us today.
Your ideas will be more powerful if you design them to be compelling, clear, and easy to read.
Project Roadmap
This week you’ll work to design an effective layout for your Business Research Article. Your design work will be evaluated when you turn in your Rough Draft next week. Good design can look effortless, but it takes a surprisingly long time to get right. Budget accordingly.
Why This Matters
Bad design destroys credibility. When you land on a messy website with random colors and uneven margins, you move along and are unlikely to come back. The same happens even with internal business documents.
Taking a little extra time to create a compelling title, clear headings in your company’s color scheme, and graphic elements that show your data immediately marks you as a high flyer. Make the effort, even if it’s just a quarterly report of your KPIs. You’ll stand out.
Read the Textbook Chapter
Lesson Objectives
Recognize how visual design impacts message clarity, credibility, and engagement in professional communication.
Apply principles of hierarchy, spacing, alignment, and visual emphasis to enhance readability and aesthetic appeal.
Create scannable titles and headings that reflect message structure and improve reader navigation.
Use appropriate fonts, colors, and layout strategies to align with brand standards and audience expectations.
Employ visual formatting techniques to increase information retention and reduce cognitive load.
Integrate effective formatting into written deliverables, including research articles, reports, and slide decks.
AWOC Alignment
1. Disciplinary Writing
Reinforces formatting and style conventions specific to business and professional writing.
Encourages use of headings, typography, and layout that support clarity and professionalism in workplace communication.
2. Academic Research
Emphasizes how formatting contributes to the ethical and persuasive presentation of evidence.
Teaches students to cite and present data in accessible, visually effective formats (e.g., charts, tables, infographics).
3. Writing Processes
Supports revision and editing with attention to visual clarity, coherence, and hierarchy.
Includes iterative design practices to align formatting choices with purpose and audience expectations.
4. Oral Communication
Prepares students to design effective slide decks, reports, and visual aids that enhance spoken presentations.
Encourages the strategic use of design elements (fonts, spacing, visuals) to support key points during oral delivery.
5. Knowledge of Conventions
Builds awareness of professional formatting norms for business genres such as reports, memos, and executive summaries.
Provides tools for using typographic and visual elements correctly and ethically across document types.
VMV Alignment
Mission Alignment ✅ Strong alignment
Prepares students to become impactful communicators by teaching how to present ideas in visually clear, compelling ways that improve understanding and action.
Supports lifelong learning by helping students recognize design as a tool for effective leadership and service.
Vision Alignment ✅ Strong alignment
“Transform the world through Christlike leadership.”
Emphasizes how Christlike leaders remove barriers to understanding, including visual ones, to reach hearts and minds more clearly.
Models how thoughtful formatting can enhance empathy, accessibility, and the sharing of truth.
Values Alignment
Faith in Christ ✅ Shows how clarity and beauty in design can reflect a respect for truth and the dignity of all readers.
Integrity in Action ✅ Reinforces ethical, audience-centered use of visual strategies—avoiding manipulation or distraction.
Respect for All ✅ Teaches accessible formatting for inclusive communication, such as proper contrast, font choice, and logical structure.
Excellence ✅ Encourages students to elevate even everyday documents to high standards of professionalism and polish.
Student-Centered Statement
This lesson empowers students to elevate their ideas by designing documents that are as clear and professional as their content. By learning how visual choices—such as headings, fonts, spacing, and color—shape how messages are received, students gain tools to increase their credibility and influence. Good design not only helps their work get noticed but also shows respect for their readers. Whether creating a report, slide deck, or article, students learn to communicate with intention, clarity, and excellence—skills that will serve them in every future leadership role.
Disciplinary Writing
Students focus on a well-defined purpose—to know their audience and write to that specific audience.
Students will adopt a voice and tone specifically adapted to employment communication.
Oral Communication
Students will develop skills necessary to succeed in oral environments: networking events, informational interviews, job interviews, and delivering elevator pitches.
Knowledge of Conventions
Students will understand business-specific requirements for documents like resumes and cover letters and they will understand why certain styles work and others don't.
View BYU's Advanced Written and Oral Communication Learning OutcomesFaith in Christ
This unit invites students to see their personal brand not as self-promotion, but as a stewardship of their God-given strengths. By reflecting on their unique talents through tools like CliftonStrengths and presenting them authentically, students honor their divine potential and the call to serve others through meaningful work.
“Let your light so shine…” (Matthew 5:16). This unit helps students prepare to shine in a professional setting in a way that reflects their commitment to discipleship and purposeful contribution.
Respect for All
Students are encouraged to build a personal brand that is not only self-aware but also other-aware—framing their strengths in terms of how they contribute to teams, organizations, and communities. Respect is also emphasized through peer feedback and professional communication practices that value diverse audiences and perspectives.
Branding done well reflects humility and service, not ego. This unit reinforces that professional growth should uplift others, not compete destructively with them.
Integrity in Action
Authenticity is central to both personal branding and employment communication. Students are taught to align their public presence (LinkedIn, resumes, interviews) with who they truly are, avoiding exaggeration or misrepresentation. This fosters credibility and trustworthiness in professional relationships.
Students learn that the strongest brands are built on truth and consistency—key components of personal and professional integrity.
Excellence
The unit challenges students to communicate their value with clarity, confidence, and professionalism. Whether it’s refining a LinkedIn profile or delivering an elevator pitch, the expectation is that their work meets high standards—preparing them to represent both themselves and the Marriott School with excellence in any setting.
This commitment to continuous improvement and polish prepares students to stand out in competitive internship and job markets.
View the BYU Marriott School Mission and Values