Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Chapter 9 Illustrations Professional Communication: Strategies for College and the Workplace by Dan Jones & Karen Lane

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Illustrations... get the reader’s attention and create interest explain information help the reader retain text material

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Use Illustrations to... improve job performance help to make documents accessible to an international audience assist non-readers — continued —

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Use Illustrations to... add credibility to your work promote creative thinking and effective reading

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Use Illustrations when... concepts in the text use numbers, symbols, or measures ideas are structural or pictorial readers are more visually than verbally oriented

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

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

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

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

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Illustrating Print Documents Remember that foldout illustrations require special handling Ensure that all illustrations look professional — continued —

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

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Illustrating Online Documents Consider the medium Choose your illustrations wisely Select the format in which you will present your illustration — continued —

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

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Illustrating Online Documents Keep shape and orientation of graphics and illustrations simple Apply text last Don’t resize the image once the text is in place — continued —

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Illustrating Online Documents Adjust the contrast according to the background to make the illustration easier to interpret Use color carefully — continued —

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Illustrating Online Documents Allow viewers to zoom in on the illustration, if possible Restrict the movement of illustrations — continued —

Illustration Types and Purposes

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

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Illustration Types and Purposes 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 —

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Illustration Types and Purposes Photographs — give precise, two-dimensional replicas Clip Art — presents commercially produced icons and drawings

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Illustration Types and Purposes Computer Illustrations — provide visual images using vector or raster (pixel) programs

Guidelines for Creating Illustrations

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Creating Illustrations Do you want your information to... ask a question provide an answer create an emotional response — continued —

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Creating Illustrations 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 —

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Creating Illustrations Select the type of presentation best suited to the data you are displaying Convey the information simply and directly — continued —

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Creating Illustrations Avoid ambiguity through labels and annotations Make the horizontal and vertical scales comparable — continued —

Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Creating Illustrations Display pictorial and graphic information ethically and responsibly Test and evaluate your illustrations Budget time for revision