agnieszka tkaczyk - using infographics in technical communication; soapconf 2014
TRANSCRIPT
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INFOGRAPHICS IN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION
Agnieszka Tkaczyk Information Developer, IBM
@aga_tkaczyk
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”It doesn't look serious, like a comic book for children.”
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
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FORGETTING CURVE
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
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COMMUNICATING WITH PICTURES
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
Cave drawings Road signs
Modern ideogram
Egyptian hieroglyphs
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20% vision only functioning
HUMAN VISION
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
60%
40% a combination of visions
and touch, meaning, movement, spatial
navigation, etc.
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Text only
PICTURE SUPERIORITY EFFECT
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
10% 65%
Text with image
People remember pictures better than words, especially over longer periods of time.
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PICTURE SUPERIORITY EFFECT
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
The picture must reinforce the message from the data and must draw the attention.
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ELEMENTS OF AN INFOGRAPHIC
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
+
Image
+
Text Data visualization
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INFOGRAPHIC = STORY
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
CONCLUSION • Closing thoughts • Call for action
BODY • Core of the infographic • Combination of text, images, and data
visualizations
INTRO • Gets the readers’ attention • Introduces the topic • Combination of a title and a paragraph
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TIP 1: FOCUS ON ONE BIG STORY
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
• Do not combine a few small stories into one infographic • Make the key message immediately clear • Eliminate data that is irrelevant
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TIP 2: ADD VISUALIZATIONS, REMOVE TEXT
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
• Reduce the amount of text • Use visualizations:
• Reduce the time needed to understand the data • Draw the attention • Help remembering the information
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TIP 3: BE ACCURATE
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
• Data visualizations must match the numbers • Inaccurate visualization undermines credibility • Provide the source of information or company logo • If the presented data might change, tell about that
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ADVANTAGES
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
• Reduce the amount of text • Engage vision and the picture superiority effect • Boost memorization • Entertain and inform • Are fun to create
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CONSIDERATIONS
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
• Not everything can be changed into an infographic • Cannot substitute documentation • May not be treated seriously • Time-consuming • Additional software might be required • Start a life of their own after publication • You need a good place to publish them
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EXAMPLES
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EXAMPLE 1: INSTALLATION OVERVIEW
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
Detailed checklist • 329 words
Content: Tomasz Bartyzel Design: Paulina Malczak
Documentation Infographic
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EXAMPLE 2: INFRASTRUCTURE
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
Topic 1: • 457 words • 1 diagram
Documentation Infographic
Content: Dominik Wietrzak
Design: Paulina Malczak
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EXAMPLE 3: PVU LICENSES
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
Topic 1: • 605 words • 3 graphics • 4 tables
Topic 2: • 134 words
Documentation Infographic
Content: Derek Sherman
Design: Paulina Malczak
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EXAMPLE 4: FIXLETS AND TASKS
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
• Spread among multiple
topics • Referred to in relevant
procedures
Documentation Infographic
Content and design: Agnieszka Tkaczyk
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THANKS FOR YOUR TIME Questions?