Boring doesn't work - so why do it?

Design for human interaction is one of the most fascinating connections between art and science. Document design is a mature discipline. After centuries of development, we know how to create design elements that lead or aid readability - best seen in layout-driven print media (e.g. magazines, newspapers)  where there is a brilliant arsenal of graphic tricks to attract and retain attention.

Business documents are traditionally content-driven and as such have been dominated by rules of consistency and hierarchy. But how often is the layout of business documents dictated by the word processing software?  Or by unchallenged but boring convention? How many business authors are skilled in the ergonomics of design layout? With the exception of high profile external publications, such as Annual Reports , how many business documents have any real science applied to look and feel?  Use the corporate font, put the logo in the corner and she'll be right. 

Maybe the push for usability in Web design will have some positive spinoff for readers of business documents - raising the bar for their layout. And maybe our software applications will be better used in the future to support document authors - without them having to be design experts.