Good visual design in documentation isn't about making things pretty—it's about making complex information easier to understand and act upon.
Strategic Use of Visual Components
Every visual element should serve a purpose: reducing cognitive load, highlighting important information, or guiding user attention.
Callouts That Guide Decision Making
Use callouts to break users out of autopilot reading and draw attention to critical information.
You can also use the advanced configuration options.
There are several ways to do this.
Data Loss Risk: This action permanently deletes all user data and cannot be undone. Only proceed if you have confirmed backups.
Performance Optimization: Set batchSize: 100 for datasets larger than
10,000 records to avoid memory issues and improve processing speed.
Verification Complete: Your SSL certificate is properly configured. Users will see the secure lock icon when accessing your application.
Visual Hierarchy with Typography
Create clear information hierarchy using heading levels, text styling, and spacing.
Use consistent heading hierarchy to create scannable content structure.
# Main Feature (H1) ## Setup Process (H2) ### Individual Steps (H3) #### Implementation Details (H4)
Heading Strategy: Users scan headings first. Make them descriptive and outcome-focused rather than feature-focused.
Bold text for critical terms and concepts users need to remember.
Italic text for emphasis within sentences and technical terms.
Code formatting for exact values, filenames, and commands.
Avoid overusing emphasis—when everything is highlighted, nothing stands out.
Color and Visual Signals
Use Fumabase's color system to create consistent visual meaning throughout your documentation.
Semantic Color Usage
Content Organization Patterns
Structure information visually to match how users consume technical content.
Scannable Code Examples
Make code examples easy to scan and understand at a glance:
const result = await fetch('/api/users/123', {headers: {'Authorization': 'Bearer ' + token, 'Content-Type': 'application/json'}}).then(r => r.json()).catch(e => console.error(e));
const result = await fetch('/api/users/123', { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`, 'Content-Type': 'application/json', }, }) if (!result.ok) { throw new Error(`HTTP error! status: ${result.status}`) } const userData = await result.json()
Progressive Information Disclosure
Use expandable sections to hide complexity until users need it:
Visual Flow and Navigation
Design visual pathways that guide users through complex processes.
Step-by-Step Visual Flow
Decide which features you need and review the API endpoints you'll use.
Generate API keys and configure your application for secure access.
Security Best Practice: Store API keys as environment variables, never in your source code.
Make a test API call to verify everything is working correctly.
Example Request:
curl -X GET 'https://api.example.com/v1/auth/test' \ -H 'Authorization: Bearer your-api-key-here'
Expected Response:
{ "authenticated": true, "user": "your-app-name", "permissions": ["read", "write"] }
Choice Architecture
Present options in a way that guides users toward the best path for their situation:
Quick Setup (5 minutes)
Get a feel for the API with our interactive sandbox:
npx @company/quickstart
Perfect for: Learning the basics, proof of concepts
Development Setup (15 minutes)
Set up a development environment with test data:
git clone https://github.com/company/starter-template cd starter-template && npm install npm run dev
Perfect for: MVP development, internal demos
Production Setup (30 minutes)
Complete setup with security, monitoring, and scaling considerations:
Security configuration and key management
Error handling and retry logic
Monitoring and alerting setup
Performance optimization
Perfect for: Customer-facing applications, production workloads
Images and Diagrams
Use visual media strategically to clarify complex concepts and processes.
Effective Screenshot Usage
Dashboard overview showing key metrics and navigation
Screenshot Best Practices: - Use consistent browser/app styling across all screenshots - Highlight interactive elements with subtle borders or arrows - Include realistic but safe data (no real user information) - Keep images up-to-date with current UI
Conceptual Diagrams
For complex workflows, create simple diagrams that show relationships and data flow:
Accessibility Note: Always include descriptive alt text for images and provide text alternatives for diagram information.
Great visual design makes documentation feel effortless to navigate, even when covering complex technical topics.