Creating Visuals
By: Shenti Estrada Carina Samano Alejandra Porras
Designing and Integrating Visuals with Text
Tables,
graphs, or illustrations
consider your purpose and your reader Be aware that it is still your writing that must carry the burden of providing the context and pointing out the significance of the visuals
Effective use of visuals
Consider
your graphics requirements before you begin to write Plan your visuals when youre planning the scope and organization of your final work Make graphics an integral part of your outline
Creating visuals
Why include your visual?
Is the information in your visual accurate?
Explain why youve included the illustration Direct your readers attention to it
Reliable sources
Is your visual focused and free of clutter?
Are terms and symbols in your visual defined and consistent?
Include information necessary to the discussion
Define all symbols Keep terminology consistent
Cont.
Does your visual specify measurements and distances?
Specify units of measurement used Avoid mixing English and International System units or dollars
If both are necessary: Ex: 3miles (5 kilometers)
Is the lettering readable? Is the caption clear?
Give each illustration a concise caption that clearly describes its contents.
Cont.
Is
there a figure or table number?
Ex: Figure 1. Projected research budget for 2012-2017 (pg.234) Note: graphics (photographs, drawings, maps) are labeled figures; tables are labeled tables
Are
figure or table numbers referred to in your text?
visuals appropriately placed?
Refer to each visual by its figure or table number Place illustration closely following the text where it is discussed
Are
Do
visuals stand out from surrounding text?
Allow white space on the page around and within each illustration
Cont.
Is
a list of figures or tables needed?
More than 5 illustrations: list the illustrations in a separate section of the front matter by title together with figure/table and page numbers
Table Number
Column Headings
Table Title
Table 1 U.S. Population, Employment, and Gross Product Projections, 1980-2010 1980 Population (thousands) Total Under 18 18-64 Rule 226,549 63,755 137,240 Stub 249,402 64,156 154,011 276,241 71,789 169,131 300,431 73,617 186,709 1990 2000 2010
Tables
B O X H E A D
B O D Y
Cont.
Source line: where you obtained the data Footnotes: explain an item in the table. Use symbols Informal tables
Within the text Include headings Align columns and rows May need to acknowledge the source of the information
Graphs
Line
graphs
Shows the relationship between two or more sets of figures
Bar
graphs
Shows different or the same types of information during different periods of time
Shenti
tu parte va aqui
Organizational Charts
Organizational
charts are used to show the relationships among various parts of an organization.
Maps
Maps
are used to show geographic features or geographic distribution. Maps must be purchased or licensed in most cases to be used in a document.
Creating Maps
Identify
all boundaries. Eliminate all unnecessary information. Include a scale to indicate maps proportions. Identify which direction is north. Emphasize key features with symbols or colors and include a key.
Photographs
Highlighting Photographic Objects Ensure that the photographs focus on the details important to your content. Identify the preferred resolution for the photos. Color In many cases the only way to communicate crucial information. Discuss with printing professionals the type, quality, and number of color photographs required.
Communicating Internationally
Visuals
can communicate a message more effectively. Replace technical terms difficult to translate. How visuals are perceived by international audiences depends on many factors.
Colors
Colors can distort or change the meaning of a graphic depending on the culture.
White In western cultures symbolizes purity In Asian cultures is associated with death and mourning Red Associated with danger in North America, Europe and Japan. In China, symbolizes joy.
No universal symbolic standard for color interpretation exists.
People, Parts of the Body and Gestures
Depiction
of people and parts of the body can be problematic.
Cultural Symbols
The
meaning of symbols vary depending on the culture. A cross in North America can symbolize first aid or a hospital. In Muslim countries a cross symbolizes Christianity.
Reading Practices
The direction in which text is read influences how graphics are sequenced. Text is read from right to left in Middle East and many parts Asia.
Directional Signs Signs used to represent direction or time can be misinterpreted. Western cultures indicate the future or something positive by pointing right. In Chinese culture right represents selfdestruction.
