Forms Design

During form designing, the designers should know −

• who will use them
• where would they be delivered
• the purpose of the form or report

During form design, automated design tools enhance the developer’s ability to prototype forms and reports and present them to end users for evaluation.

Objectives of Good Form Design

A good form design is necessary to ensure the following −

• To keep the screen simple by giving proper sequence, information, and clear captions.
• To meet the intended purpose by using appropriate forms.
• To ensure the completion of form with accuracy.
• To keep the forms attractive by using icons, inverse video, or blinking cursors etc.
• To facilitate navigation.

Types of Forms

Flat Forms

• It is a single copy form prepared manually or by a machine and printed on a paper. For additional copies of the original, carbon papers are inserted between copies.

• It is a simplest and inexpensive form to design, print, and reproduce, which uses less volume.

Unit Set/Snap out Forms

• These are papers with one-time carbons interleaved into unit sets for either handwritten or machine use.
• Carbons may be either blue or black, standard grade medium intensity. Generally, blue carbons are best for handwritten forms while black carbons are best for machine use.

Continuous strip/Fanfold Forms

• These are multiple unit forms joined in a continuous strip with perforations between each pair of forms.
• It is a less expensive method for large volume use.

No Carbon Required (NCR) Paper

• They use carbonless papers which have two chemical coatings (capsules), one on the face and the other on the back of a sheet of paper.
• When pressure is applied, the two capsules interact and create an image.