Chapter 14 & 15

Chapter 14- Designing Visual Information 

Visuals make data easier to understand and remember.  They shows a different view of the information than just plain text.

When creating a visual, ask yourself the following questions:

• Which information is most important?
• Where should the focus be?
• What do the number mean?
• What does it look like?
• How should it be organized?
• How does it work?

Visuals show the big picture.  Graphs can show a visual that a list of numbers wouldn't do.

Use visuals when the information would be more clear through a picture/graph.

Types of visuals:

• Tables (numerical and prose)
• Graphs (bar and line)
• Charts (pie, organization, flowcharts, gantt charts, tree charts, pictograms)
• Graphic illustrations (representational diagrams, symbols and icons, cutaway diagrams, schematic diagrams, maps, photographs, exploded diagrams, visualization)

When selecting visuals, answer these questions for the most effective use:

• What is my purpose? 
• facts and figures-table, graph, chart
• show parts of an object- exploded or cutaway diagram
• directions- diagram
• relationships- flow chart or graph
• Who is my audience?
• expert audience- numerical tables, flowcharts, schematics, complex graphs
• general audience- basic tables, graphs, diagrams, other visuals
• cultural differences may come into play
• What form of information will be most effective?
• what is the message best conveyed by
• what will the audience have the easiest time understanding and following

Tables: 

• quantitative information- numerical tables
• qualitative information- prose tables
• don't make overly complex can cause information overload

Graphs:

• Translate numbers into visuals
• horizontal axis shows categories (independent variable)
• vertical axis shows the range of values (dependent variable)

•  Bar graphs
• simple bar graph
• multiple bar graph
• horizontal bar graph
• stacked bar graph
• 100 percent bar graph
• deviation bar graph
• 3-d bar graph

• Line graphs
• simple line graph
• multiline graph
• deviation line graph
• band or area graph
• multiple band graph

Charts

• pie chart
• organization charts
• gantt and pert charts
• pictograms

Graphic Illustrations

• diagrams
• maps

Photographs

Software and downloadable images

• using the software
• using symbols and icons
• using web sites for graphic support

Using Color

• Makes the information more engaging and interesting. Color can help emphasize a certain point and help guide the readers through the information.

Ethical Considerations- even though the data could be accurate, the visuals could be misleading, therefore make sure that you present the real, complete picture.  You shouldn't distort the information for emphasis.
 

Cultural Considerations- not all cultures read from left to right, therefore know your audience

Chapter 15- Designing Pages and Documents

Page design determines the look of the document which is very important.

Page design in workplace documents:

• People have to read work-related document, so why not make the document engaging so that people will have an easier time remembering the information.

How Page Design Transforms a Document:

• design cues are important so that the reader has a way of chunking information.

Design Skills Needed in Today's Workplace

• Desktop publishing
• Electronic publishing
• Using style sheets and company style guides

Creating a Usable Design

• Shaping the page- the look and feel of the document, and remember that white space is not a bad thing.  Margins can also be used to help create design.

Using typography Effectively

•  typography- the art of type styling (font)
• Select a font that is easy to read and follow
• use bold, underlining, and italics in the right place
• use caps sparingly and only when needed

Using Heading for Access and Orientation

• use headings to break up the information

Audience Considerations in Page Design

• Know the audience and their purpose for reading the document
• If  your document is for reference make sure that the information is easily located
• If your document is direction or a list make sure the sequence is in the correct order
• If their are warnings, make sure that they are emphasized

Designing On-Screen Documents

• Web pages- each page stands alone therefore make sure each page has its own meaning.
• Make sure the main point is displayed
• Online help- needs to be easy to use
• Adobe Acrobat and PDF files- they look the same on the screen as they do if they are in text.
• Cds and other media- be aware of all the ways that your document could be viewed