Published is not the same as usable

A page is met in the middle, not at the top. Most people arrive from a search or a forwarded link, land halfway down, and read two lines before deciding whether they are in the right place. Its job is to let someone confirm they are in the right place and reach the next step. Design for that: a first line saying what this is and who it is for, real headings a reader can skim and a screen reader can jump between, link text that names its destination, and the action near the top rather than after the background.

A letter arrives without context, often to someone who did not expect it, sometimes months after the conversation it refers to. Its job is to tell one person what has happened, what it means for them, and what they need to do next. Design for that: the decision and the action in the first paragraph, the reason after it, dates written out in full, one named way to ask a question, and nothing essential buried in a paragraph so long the reader gives up before reaching it.

A notice carries an obligation and usually a deadline. Some notices have required wording that is not yours to change. Its job is to make sure a person knows something is required of them and by when. Design for that: separate the required text from the part you control, put a plain summary of what to do above the required text rather than below it, make the date unmissable, and check how long the notice actually takes to arrive before setting the window.

A form is where a resource stops being reading and starts being work. Its job is to collect exactly what is needed to make a decision, and nothing else. Design for that: ask only what will be used, say why anything sensitive is needed, use plain labels rather than program vocabulary, let a person save and return, and make sure every question can be answered by someone who does not have the document you assumed they have.

A slide deck at a public meeting does two jobs at once: it supports a live explanation and it survives afterwards as a handout. Design for both: real text rather than pictures of text, a size people can read from the back, enough contrast for a bright room, every point also carried in the spoken words for anyone who cannot see the screen, captions for anything recorded, and a version sent out in advance for people who need to read ahead or pass it to an interpreter.

Training published for people outside the division is a communication with a longer running time. Its job is to leave someone able to do something differently. Design for that: more than one way in, no timed interactions, captions and transcripts, nothing that depends on color or motion alone to carry meaning, plain vocabulary with program terms defined at first use, and examples that reflect the range of communities in Minnesota rather than one default household.