Layout: an often-overlooked part of clarity
Earnsy Liu | September 14, 2026
Pill organisers help people keep track of when to take different medicines. / Image by Copilot
Talk about clear communication and most people think that’s about words.
Yes, words matter. But they’re not enough on their own. Other things matter too, like:
- structure — organise information in a way that’s logical and easy to understand
- layout — lay your information out to help readers find and understand your messages quickly.
Poor layout? Your message might not get through
Poor layout might be confusing and annoying, or it could have more serious consequences.
A friend of mine — let’s call them Pat — needs to take several medications, but when to take them is unclear. Below is what the schedule looks like, with the names of the medications anonymised.
Have a quick look, then tell me: what should Pat take on the day of treatment?
A friend was given these instructions for taking their medications. The days of the week were handwritten by the nurse. Image by Write Group / CC BY-NC-ND
If you say Alpha and Beta, that’s exactly my point. Pat actually needs to take Delta too.
Two main things make the schedule hard to follow.
- Medications are organised by when to start taking them, rather than by what to take each day.
- Labels like ‘Day before treatment’ and ‘Day of treatment’ require someone to work out the actual days of the week. Someone can easily get the day of treatment wrong, especially when they’re tired or busy. In this case, the experienced nurse got the day before treatment wrong.
Here’s a possible solution
Pat’s treatment is every third Monday. The medication they need to take depends on which part of the treatment cycle they’re in.
The snippet below lists medications by day and by time of day, so Pat can see at a glance that they need to take Delta, Alpha, and Bravo at breakfast on Monday.
The same schedule in a layout that makes the information easier to follow. Image by Write Group / CC BY-NC-ND
The redesign does a few things.
- It lays out the weekdays horizontally across the top — this makes the schedule easier to follow since that’s how most calendars and pill organisers are laid out.
- It lists the medication for each day, so the reader doesn’t need to figure out what to take on the different days.
- It leaves out the strength and dosage of the medication, as they can be listed on a previous page rather than taking up room in a busy table.
As this is purely an exercise, I have redesigned the schedule as I understand it. I have not asked a clinical professional for their opinion, which I would do if I were redesigning the schedule for real. But I’ve shown it to Pat, who thinks it’s easier to follow.
Find out more about layout and clarity
Good layout doesn’t always have to involve making big changes. Sometimes small adjustments can make all the difference. Read our earlier blog post to find out what those small adjustments might be.
Use layout to help readers grasp your messages quickly
Get in touch if you’d like help with your layout.