Graphics are an important part of technical documentation.
1. Identify Needs for Graphics by Your Users
Graphics in technical documentation assist the user in using the program and working with it.
Use graphics to support the questions you believe your users may have:
Where is it?
Graphics can support users in locating menus and buttons they will be using. Screen shots are great images to assist in locating these menus and buttons, so the user can see exactly what it is being discussed in the writing. It is very important that graphics are clear and understandable to the user.
What is it?
Use graphics to help users understand concepts. This includes examples and metaphors. Examples include printouts, reports, and documents and should be clearly explained. Metaphors explain something to the user in a way that they already understand. Most metaphors are language-based, but images increase the understanding of the metaphor. For example, users understand that the word and image of a mailbox stands for email.
How do I do it?
Users appreciate step-by-step instructions when learning something for the first time, and graphics really help in their understanding. Flowcharts are effective graphics to achieve this.
Where am I?
Access indicators and progress indicators are appropriate graphics to show users where they are at in a manual or help system.
What's the big picture?
Some graphics you can use to show overviews of programs include overall program diagrams, menu maps, conceptual overviews, and a page showing how to use the manual.
2. Set Graphics Styles
Your graphic styles should be consistent throughout the entire document. In some cases, it may be best to reduce the complexity in some graphics to allow the user to focus on what is most important in the image. Having a thorough knowledge of your graphics preparation tools will help you when it comes time to select which styles you will use.
3. Revise and Edit
When revising graphics, consider these guidelines:
- Give your graphics a clear purpose;
- Titles: complex images often require titles for clarity;
- Callouts: use callouts judiciously; they are most effective when not overused;
- Placement: place graphics consistently and as near to the text that refers to them as possible;
- Rules: rules and lines should be used sparingly to help give the page structure;
- Size: not too big, not too little; crop to show pertinent details; surround with white space;
- Colors: colors should reflect the patterns of information in the text.
4. Revise for Typography
Arrange images according to the logical structure of the information they contain. Make important things larger, darker, more central, and sharper. Align related things--first things to the left, later things to the right.
Discussion
Describe operations in a way that helps the user do meaningful work. You can do this by:
- Showing how tools apply to the workplace;
- Showing the results of software operations: most commonly these show the screen that appears after the keyboard/mouse has been used;
- Presenting overviews to integrate software with workplace activities: this helps user understand how the manual has been designed to work;
- Suggesting functions and uses: this can give the users ideas about how the software can benefit them;
- Using metaphors to make the abstract concrete; people love metaphors because they help them relate something new to something they already understand.
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11 comments:
We've talked about this before, but, tying in our conversations about cultural awareness, I wonder how much graphics are culture-bound? What about those metaphors Barker recommends. Can metaphors be easily understood by people of different backgrounds? I think of the example of a "tube" or subway from another class and how people who don't live in big cities might have a hard time understanding that metaphor. Or what about graphics like the envelop for mail? How culture-bound is that? I did a report on early graphics in Yahoo mail and how they had to use different mailbox graphics in different countries because mailboxes are different shapes across the world. Yes, graphics generally help communication but they even need to be used thoughtfully and deliberately.
I think Jane really hits on something when asking if graphics can be culture bound. I recall talking about that very issue in a visual design course I took. Certain colors are not favorable to use in a cross cultural document. Certain symbols wouldn't be acceptable either. A technical communicator, or a cartographer should be careful not use symbols, graphics, and colors that will offend. Doing this, of course, makes your work less useful and perhaps even ignored.
But the chapter was useful. I thought that the suggestions about consistency and hierarchy were good to cover. Keeping the user of a document focused on the task is important and Barker's suggestions were directed toward that end. Certain points I liked - aligning related things- this does give the reader a reference point; and also his suggestion to eliminate images that are too real as they ultimately might distract from the task at hand. For example, a cartoon hand pointing at a button might actually be easier to understand than a real photo of the same action.
I thought that this chapter had a lot of practical advice on the use of graphics. I especially liked how the chapter was built around the idea of using graphics to support questions users may have, as it seems like much of the time images are just added to make documents look nice, and don't really illustrate anything useful. I also thought the section on revising and editing, for example, the information on call-outs and titles. I thought Jane's comment regarding culture and graphics was interesting; it's too bad we hadn't read this chapter before our discussion last week!
These chapters are very good references for us to use in our working careers and I just found this another interesting chapter. It is very important to have graphics in certain cases, especially when using a help document. I like how Barker lists his guidelines and the reasoning behind his methods.
In addition to using symbols, images and the right choice in typography, we should consider the flow of the whole page. An image is only effective when it is placed strategically and within the proper context. In addition, white space could be also seen as functional "image" (although invisible) to keep a document balanced.
Lots of good, general advice in this chapter with useful checklists at the end. I agree with Dianna's comment about the use of pictures to make a document look nice; graphics should serve a rhetorical purpose, just like the other elements that go into a document or a website. I work for someone who thinks that almost any document is improved by sticking in a piece of clip art. There is a time and place for using graphics. It's important to understand what you want the graphic to do and to evaluate if it is actually doing it.
Good practical advice on information design--something I am passionate about. The design and presentation is just as important as the words in the message. A picture is indeed worth a thousand words.
Graphics are an important tool for illustrating concepts -- just look at the instructions IKEA provides -- and often they are the first things viewed by readers. (I know I always look at pictures and illustrations first when I read an article in National Geographic!)
Tutorials, especially, are very dependent on graphics to teach users. Visuals, such as screenshots, create the context that is necessary to understand software directions.
Thanks to Jane and Lance I learned that use of graphics is culture bound. Overall, this was practical information that at times is overlooked. I also agree with Dianna, many pictures and graphics do not relate to the content of the text and it is frustrating for me as a user of a document.
Graphical use was well-discussed in this chapter, and I agree with a lot of what was addressed (the sizing of graphics, for example). My main experience with using graphics is with software. I've had some excellent turnout with instructions when I have the ability to take screenshots of what's in front of me.
I think that the use of graphics is much more complex when creating instructions for using machinery. What may or may not be seen by the user can make all the difference in the success of the communication of instruction and information.
I think that the chapter touched on a lot of great graphical uses, and it serves as good reference.
Yes, great practical advice. I have seen where graphics were used properly and comprehension and retention is improved-but also where graphics are not used properly and they really take away from the document rather than build upon it.
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