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Formatting and Structure

Headings and Lists

  • Use a clear heading hierarchy:hierarchy

    • Level 1: Numbered section titles (“01 Culture,” “03 Access Stress,” “2.1 Rise to the Occasion”).

    • Level 2: Descriptive subheads (“In Short,” “DORIS Insight,” “Challenges Addressed”).

  • Keep headings short, specific, and concrete; favor phrases that signal the main idea (“Safety First,” “Comfort and Joy,” “A Place at the Table”).

  • Use bulleted lists for non-sequential items and numbered lists for steps or ordered criteria.

  • Keep bullets concise; each bullet should convey one main idea.

  • In lists, all items must end with punctuation, or no items may end with punctuation.

Content Types

Research Reports

  • Include: Executive Summary, ProjectFindings Overview, Key Findings, [Challenges, Solutions, or both], Next Steps, Appendix.

  • Use “In Short” to summarize each challenge or solution section in 2–4 sentences in plain language.

  • Use “Consider” for reflective questions that invite leaders to act or decide.make a decision.

  • Use “DORIS Insight” sparingly to insert interpretive commentary or pattern-spotting that goes beyond descriptive findings.

Blog Posts / Thought Pieces

  • Mirror the report tone: research-backed, example-rich, with short sections and descriptive subheads.

  • Lead with a real situation or question clients ask (“What actually drives culture?”), then connect to data and stories.​

Technical Documentation / Method Notes

  • Use more explicit structure (Objectives, Methods, Sample, Limitations) with short paragraphs and minimal storytelling.

  • Keep terminology consistent with the main report but tighten voice (fewer rhetorical questions, less metaphor).

Email Newsletters

  • Use a conversational tone, contractions, and short paragraphs.

  • Lead with what changed or what leaders need to do, then link to full reports.

Visual Elements

  • Images:

    • Use visuals that clarify space, process, or examples (e.g., diagrams of “The System,” queue journeys, prototype photos).

    • Sparingly use images or illustrations to create visual rest between concepts.

 

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