How to Design a Form

Forms are used to consistently organize important information. They are part of the information gathering process that is particularly useful when information is gathered from many sources. We all encounter forms on a daily basis from the paper work we fill out in the doctor's office to the bill of sales we receive from a store or repairman. Forms help us collect data, but they also help inform customers of important contact information and fine print and serve as a record for a transaction.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Software: Excel, Publisher, Illustrator, InDesign or CorelDraw Computer Printer Copier Paper Paper and pencil Adobe Acrobat

Creating Your Form

1. Decide on the function of the form. What do you want the form to accomplish? What information do you need to gather? Make a list of each piece of info you need to gather. Contact information typically is placed in the header, information gathering in the body, and signatures and disclaimers in the footer.

2. Decide on the output of the form. Choose the correct software for the design process and final product. Excel and Publisher are fine for desktop printers. If you choose to use a commercial printer, Adobe Illustrator or InDesign are industry standard. Commercial printers will accept Acrobat files, which can be made from Excel and Publisher if you have Acrobat installed on your computer.

3. Decide on the size of your document. Do you want a full letter size sheet, a half or quarter sheet? Do you need the forms to be padded? A commercial printer can do that for you. They can also print your form on NCR paper so that there are duplicate copies in different colors: white, yellow and pink.

4. Choose an easy-to-read sans serif font like Arial or Veranda for your text. Make your line widths 1 point, and 2 or 3 points when you want bold lines. Think in terms of header, body and footer as you begin to lay out the design.

5. 
   Simple header made in Excel

   Place the text in Excel and format the cells according to the desired effect. You can add a logo by clicking on the "Insert" tab, browse until you find the folder you save your logo file in, highlight the file and click "Insert." Microsoft templates are available online and are accessed by opening Excel or Publisher and selecting "New Document." The templates will appear in a list. Browse through the selections and choose the most appropriate form. Edit the fields and save.

6. 
   Table created in InDesign

   Use Adobe InDesign or Illustrator to make a custom form that you are having professionally printed. Work with a grid and think in terms of header, body and footer. Once you have a section complete, group the section so you can move it around and not lose any of the elements. To make tables use a grid and have the setting set to "Snap to Grid."

7. Alternatively, draw a line and copy as many times as you need it to make the rows. Use the "Align" tool to help make your lines line up. Use the "Distribute" tool to make the spaces between the rows even. Add the columns, add a border and text, then group.

8. Make an Acrobat PDF file of your finished document to take to a printer or use them to email to customers.

Tips & Warnings

• When working in InDesign and Illustrator, print proofs as you work to make sure everything fits. This will help you avoid the need to reduce tables and font size, a major redesign.

References

• Microsoft Excel Templates
• Microsoft Publisher Templates