McGraw-Hill/Irwin PPT Module 25 Using Visuals ©2007, The McGraw-Hill Companies, All Rights Reserved.

25-1 Using Visuals  To learn how to  Use visuals to tell stories.  Match the visual to the story.  Design visuals.  Make visuals ethical.  Use visuals in your document or presentation.

25-2 Using Visuals Start by answering these questions:  What are stories, and how do I find them?  Does it matter what kind of visual I use?  What design conventions should I follow?  Can I use color and clip art?  What else do I need to check for?  Can I use the same visuals in my document and my presentation?

25-3 Use Visuals  In the rough draft to  See that ideas are presented completely.  Find relationships.  In the final draft to  Make points vivid.  Emphasize material.  Present material more compactly and with less repetition.

25-4 Good Stories  May  Support a hunch you have.  Surprise you or challenge so-called “common knowledge.”  Show trends or changes.  Have commercial or social significance.  Provide information needed for action.  Be personally relevant to you and the audience.

25-5 Types of Visuals  Tables  Pie Chart  Bar Chart  Line Graph

25-6 Components of Visuals  A title that tells the visual’s story.  A clear indication of what the data are.  Clearly labeled units.  Labels or legends.  The data’s source, if it’s reproduced.  The visual’s source, if it’s reproduced.

25-7 Visual Caveats  Color  Be aware of cultural meanings.  Use no more than five when colors have meanings.  Clip Art  Avoid bias; check clip art for balance (e.g., age, race, ethnicity, or gender).  Chartjunk  Avoid art that distorts data or sends incorrect messages.

25-8 ChartjunkChartjunk  Example  Avoid perspective graphs—such as this one— which distort data and are hard to read.