Document Design and Formatting

What I found to be most important in Beyond Black on White: Document Design and Formatting in the Writing Classroom by Michael J. Klein and Kristi L. Shackelford was incorporating interesting elements into the design of the document you are producing while still staying within the constructs of the style laid before you. Including images and differing fonts and contrast can make the document more appealing and eye-catching, but it is important to consider the rules of the past. MLA and APA among others, have very specific style guidelines that you must abide by when submitting documents. That seems as though it might present a problem when trying to implement design into a piece where there is no precedent in the aforementioned style guides.
Klein and Shackelford emphasize the idea of including images and appropriate fonts as an important aspect of good writing whereas Williams takes a much more extreme approach. I believe that what Williams is trying to do is change the way we look at and think about design. She is attempting to teach us to be daring, bold and creative while still adhering to the principles of good design and layout. I think that they both are making the point that design is essential in writing but I somewhat disagree that it needs to be an important factor in ALL writing. Academic writing is an area where I feel it is unnecessary to create appealing visuals. It distracts from the main focus which should be the writing. I do feel that infographics and pertinent images can be included but minimally.
Being a student I feel that educators expect a very basic style of writing design and evaluate your work differently if you attempt to step out of the box. The rhetorical effect of MLA style formatting is that it shows and/or proves that you have found reputable information to back up the point you are trying to make. Each word you choose and the placement impacts the audience’s feelings about the piece.