Want Better Headers

[mavigozler]

I don't like the look of my headers, which often reach to 5 levels. My "std.css" example is here:

http://proteomics.awardspace.info/Maintenance.html

The plain nearly-white light-green background is okay for me, but the coloring of fonts and mixed use of serif and sans-serif fonts, as perhaps the variable indentation, is not doing it for me.

Is there any decent example of documents using five levels of headers and not annoying the reader?

Has anyone done a systematic study of the psychology of document formatting by the way, and what works and what doesn't?

[multimediocrity]

I'm sure there have been many studies conducted in regards to this matter. I've read about these topics. If you have access to either ACM Digital Library or CHI, I recommend looking at those databases first for research publications.

If you don't, a local library or university will probably be able to give you access to them.

If you are looking for more of a plain English approach, I recommend Designing Web Usability by Jakob Nielsen (http://www.useit.com/jakob/webusability/). I drool over this stuff, and have been conducting my own research on readability and semantics which I hope will soon be published. :)