Document

A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content.

The concept of "document" has been defined by Suzanne Briet as "any concrete or symbolic indication, preserved or recorded, for reconstructing or for proving a phenomenon, whether physical or mental.

If the appearance of the document is of concern, the page layout is generally the responsibility of a graphic designer.

Typography concerns the design of letter and symbol forms and their physical arrangement in the document (see typesetting).

Simple textual documents may not require visual design and may be drafted only by an author, clerk, or transcriber.

Traditionally, the medium of a document was paper and the information was applied to it in ink, either by handwriting (to make a manuscript) or by a mechanical process (e.g., a printing press or laser printer).

Historically, documents were inscribed with ink on papyrus (starting in ancient Egypt) or parchment; scratched as runes or carved on stone using a sharp tool, e.g., the Tablets of Stone described in the Bible; stamped or incised in clay and then baked to make clay tablets, e.g., in the Sumerian and other Mesopotamian civilizations.

Documents in all forms frequently serve as material evidence in criminal and civil proceedings.