10 easy ways to turn a dull Word table into a design element

Sometimes all you want from a table is a bare-bones grid. But when a document calls for a little more polish and design appeal, put these tricks to work and turn those grids into sharp-looking tables.

Word provides a tremendous assortment of options that let you take a plain table and turn it into a work of art. Unfortunately, all those choices overwhelm some users, so they opt for the default cramped and insipid tables. Perhaps even worse, other users feel compelled to incorporate every available feature, decking out their tables with enough gaudy formatting frills to evoke the scorn of co-workers and frighten small children.

Finding the middle ground requires an understanding of just a few simple design principles and then knowing how to use Word's table features to implement them. This illustrated list focuses on some of the best ways to improve the appearance of tables without going overboard. For example, it demonstrates how you can:

• Wrap text around a table.
• Add space around--and within--a table.
• Turn text sideways.
• Effectively apply borders and shading.
• Apply Table AutoFormat styles, either as is or with your own custom refinements.

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