copyright © 2002 by pearson education, inc., publishing as longman publishers. all rights reserved....

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Chapter 9

Illustrations

Technical Communication:Strategies for College and the Workplace

by Dan Jones & Karen Lane


Illustrations . . .

• get the reader’s attention and create interest

• explain information

• help the reader retaintext material


Use Illustrations to . . .

• improve job performance

• help to make documents accessibleto an international audience

• assist non-readers— continued —


Use Illustrations to . . .

• add credibility to your work

• promote creative thinking and effective reading


Use Illustrations when . . .

• concepts in the text use numbers, symbols, or measures

• ideas are structural or pictorial

• readers are more visually than verbally oriented


Use Illustrations if . . .

• the subject is too complex to explain with words alone

• your illustrative skills are stronger than your writing skills

Illustrating Print Documents



• Use illustrations appropriately

• Refer to illustrations in the text before they are displayed

• Number all figures consecutively

• Number all tables separately from figures

— continued —



• Label illustrations properly

• Allow for sufficient white space on all sides

• Place illustrations so that they will fall within the top third, middle third, or bottom third of the page

— continued —



• Balance the amount of text and illustration

• Be sure all captions, callouts, and legends are legible

• Place landscape illustrations toward the top of the document, closer to the binding

— continued —



• Remember that foldout illustrations require special handling

• Ensure that all illustrations look professional

— continued —



• Cite the source of any borrowed or adapted illustration properly

• Include a list of tables and figures

• If illustrations are not essential to the text, place them in an appendix

— continued —

Illustrating

Online Documents


Illustrating Online Documents

• Consider the medium

• Choose your illustrations wisely

• Select the format in which you will present your illustration

— continued —



• Choose illustrations with few colors and save them in a low-resolution format

• Size your illustration with respect to its context

• Keep illustrations near related text— continued —



• Keep shape and orientation of graphics and illustrations simple

• Apply text last

• Don’t resize the image once the text is in place

— continued —



• Adjust the contrast according to the background to make the illustration easier to interpret

• Use color carefully

— continued —



• Allow viewers to zoom in onthe illustration, if possible

• Restrict the movement of illustrations

— continued —

Illustration Types and Purposes



Tables — display figures in rows and columns for the sake of comparison

Graphs — show trends, movements, distributions, and cycles

Charts — show relationships— continued —



Drawings — portray a subject or object sketched manually by a professional

Diagrams — portray objects or events using conventionally defined symbols to convey information

Maps — display a physical layout— continued —



Photographs — give precise,two-dimensional replicas

Clip Art — presents commercially produced icons and drawings



Computer Illustrations — provide visual images using vectoror raster (pixel) programs

Guidelines for

Creating Illustrations


Guidelines for Creating Illustrations

Do you want your information to . . .

• ask a question

• provide an answer

• create an emotional response

— continued —



Determine a specific objective:

• Who is your audience

• What decisions will they have to make

• How well will they be able to

understand the illustration

— continued —



• Select the type of presentation best suited to the data you are displaying

• Convey the information simply and directly

— continued —



• Avoid ambiguity through labels and annotations

• Make the horizontal

and vertical scales

comparable— continued —



• Display pictorial and graphic information ethically and responsibly

• Test and evaluateyour illustrations

• Budget time for revision

copyright © 2002 by pearson education, inc., publishing as longman publishers. all rights reserved....

Documents

pearson education

longman publishers

illustrating print documents

foldout illustrations

oriented slide

professional continued

page continued slide

text material slide