· Understand the role of visuals in technical communication
o Visuals help people to process information
§ What does it look like?
§ How is it organized?
o Graphs instead of listed numbers- Numbers are easier to comprehend and compare
· Determine when to use visuals
o Use visuals when they can help clarify your point or enhance the text.
o Visuals are used to decorate but, more importantly, to support your discussion
o Four Categories of Visuals: tables, graphs, charts, graphic illustrations
o Tables: display organized data across columns and rows for easy comparison
o Graphs: translate numbers into shapes, shades, and patters
o Charts: depict relationships via geometric, arrows, lines, and other design elements
o Graphic Illustrations: rely on pictures rather than on data or words
· Select the right visuals for your readers
o What is the purpose of the visual?
o Who is my audience?
o How is my message best conveyed?
o All visuals require:
§ Title and number
§ Clean design
§ Labels and legends
§ Nearness to the associate text
§ Cited sources
· Create tables, graphs, charts, illustrations, photographs, and videos
o Tables shouldn’t be overly complex or contain too much information-complex tables can be used to bury information
§ Numerical Tables: Compare exact values
§ Prose Tables: Organize verbal information
o Graphs show comparisons and trends-can be used to show one or more relationships
§ Bar graphs: multiple, horizontal-bar, stacked-bar, 100-percent, 3-D
· Show comparison
§ Line graphs- helps readers synthesize large bodies of information: simple, multiline, deviation, band/area, multiple-band
· Show trends over time
§ Charts: pie [relate parts to a whole], exploded pie, flowcharts [steps], tree charts [relationships between ideas], Gantt and PERT (project planning), pictogram
§ Graphic Illustrations: diagrams (exploded, cutaway, block), maps, photographs, videos
o Different software has different uses
§ Graphics software, presentation software, spreadsheet software, word-processing programs
o Symbols and icons are often more easily understood than words- international audiences, children, people who have difficulty reading
o You can use the internet for graphics, but pay attention to copyright and licensing information
· Increase visual appeal by using color appropriately
o Color is used to make things appear more interesting and focus attention
o Color can help clarify complex relationships
o It can break up material and reveal structure
§ Headings
§ Checklists
§ Instructions
§ Examples
§ Key ideas
· Identify ethical issues when using visuals
o It is your responsibility to represent the real picture.
o Visuals make it easy to persuade people one way or the other by skewing numbers.
o Present the complete picture
o Distortion is not the same thing as emphasis- distortion is unethical
· Understand how cultural considerations affect your choice of visuals
o A visual is only universal if the graphic is not misinterpreted.
o Some cultures read right to left rather than left to right as in the US.
o Ireland: green and orange have political connotation
o Muslim cultures: green is a holy color
o US: green means go, safety
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