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So I have been looking around but cannot find any good advice on how to go about designing a page for legal matters. These pages would clearly state Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, etc. I think there is a huge challenge to designing these pages because you cannot always make them flashy because, from a legal standpoint, you want the reader to be reading the documentation.

I went and looked around and I found this question on UX Stackexchange but it does not truly answer my question. Design Requirements for ToS and Privacy Policy pages

What are some things to keep in mind when designing legal pages?

Specifically I am hoping to find insight on what others have done to make the experience better.

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  • Actually, from a legal standpoint, you often do NOT want people reading them. So the first question is are you wanting to appease the end user, or the business? Sometimes they have conflicting desires when it comes to legalese.
    – DA01
    Commented Oct 1, 2014 at 2:12
  • @DA01 I see well definitely the company comes first - we want to secure ourselves but we'd like the experience as best as it could possibly be. Great point though.
    – aug
    Commented Oct 1, 2014 at 4:07
  • I think most people don't read any of these legal documents. maybe words could be replaced by illustrations somehow. I know I'm talking nonsense because its a formal document,but
    – Angelyn Pascual
    Commented Nov 25, 2014 at 10:05
  • Imho, whether the page is terms or copyright etc., it's either information or warnings/restrictions on rights. So it must bear the qualities these objects promote. The grid is not the same. Comments show that a business process is required to bridge the two worlds. The legal content must have attributes such as authenticity, integrity and legibility (visually). It operates by translating into legal terms an intent; it relies on trees of meanings which bind to textures of prescribed words' constructs. It is not an UX experience. Documentation is something else altogether.
    – user29318
    Commented Nov 25, 2014 at 19:50

1 Answer 1

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If the goal is to improve the end-user experience, then the key is that you improve the content more than anything. Ideally you'd:

  • use plain language--not legalese
  • reduce the amount of language
  • offer a summary
  • use good overall typography (an appropriate place to start: http://typographyforlawyers.com/ )
  • make it possible to easily make an offline copy (make sure it prints well, offer a PDF download, etc)
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  • I think the only concern with this I may have is that summarizing might leave sone things open to interpretation. Do you think this is a concern?
    – aug
    Commented Oct 1, 2014 at 4:09
  • It's hard to say without knowing the specifics of the content. It's a fair concern, though, and one that the copywriters and legal team should be aware of.
    – DA01
    Commented Oct 1, 2014 at 4:13
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    I would really really really strongly recommend taking out "offer a summary" unless it comes from Legal. In fact, all the copy should come from Legal. As a designer, you should be treating this copy, you'll pardon the phrase, like Greek. Don't alter a word, a comma, or a capital letter. If you have a query, ask Legal. You do NOT want to be the person who moved a comma and exposed the company to financial liability.
    – Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum
    Commented Oct 1, 2014 at 11:03
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    We're in agreement about the problem. I've just never found anyone on the legal end willing to take the end user into consideration that way. :)
    – Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum
    Commented Oct 1, 2014 at 15:10
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    @LaurenIpsum I think that's the situation I am in as well. I am trying to find a medium between what is best for the end-user without leaving ourselves exposed. I have talked to some legal teams and they are all very cautious. Needless to say, I think using good typography and making an offline copy available are both good points.
    – aug
    Commented Oct 1, 2014 at 21:24

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