Common sense, skill and research in forms design

A real attempt is being made by government to reduce the burden of forms on the public. This paper reports one particular exercise, undertaken by the Central Office of Information as part of the Rayner Review of Administrative Forms. The skills of a writer and a designer, backed up by research facilities, were used to reduce a complicated form from six pages to four without any reduction in content although the size of type was increased. It is believed that a considerable improvement in comprehension was achieved.