Visuals can be something as simple as a photograph to something as complex as a chart, and are expressions of ideas that are not capable of being conveyed in words alone. Visuals offer the audience something appealing to look at, while at the same time providing information.
One part of a visual is the icon, which is a representation of an idea portrayed in an image. An example of this picture of a floppy disk, which signifies “save as.” In Microsoft Word. It conveys a message to the user.
Another part of a visual is the color. The color of a visual makes it “pop” and gives it character, so that it is attractive and serves as appealing to the audience. After all, who wants to look at just a black and white picture? How boring!
One crucial thing to remember when creating visuals is integrating text. It is important to have text in your visual just in case the pictorial representation does not make sense to the audience, and also because it serves more of a purpose when it is justified with relevant text. The most important thing to remember is to make sure the graphics relate to the text. You don’t want to confuse your audience!
After you have your graphics and text finalized and you are ready to “accept” the finished product, it is important to look at your visual and make sure your visual includes the following:
Accurate and relevant information
Focused
Terms and symbols are consistent
Consists of specific measurements/distances
The text is readable
Caption is clear
Visuals are appropriately placed
The visuals stand out from the text\
When construction graphs, it is important to make sure you place the information in a way in which it is not confusing. One example of this is by using the correct range of numbers i.e. 200,400,600 etc. When using numbers that have not correlation to the next, the audience is confused by the data. The same thing goes for a pie chart. The 50% section of the pie should obviously be larger than the 30% piece. Otherwise, the audience will be confused.
Finally, taking a look at visuals in which help to construct a piece of equipment, it is very important that the visual makes sense. To assure the image is understood by the audience, every part must be labeled. If the directions are given with many parts to the image yet they are not labeled, the reader is going to have a difficult time putting the piece of equipment together. This is why it is important to label!
So you see, there are many important things to remember when constructing a visual. It is not simply a picture with no significance, but image(s) justified with relevant text to help the audience better understand what is being portrayed.
Source:
Writing That Works, (Oliu, Brusaw, Alred) P. 205-240
One part of a visual is the icon, which is a representation of an idea portrayed in an image. An example of this picture of a floppy disk, which signifies “save as.” In Microsoft Word. It conveys a message to the user.
Another part of a visual is the color. The color of a visual makes it “pop” and gives it character, so that it is attractive and serves as appealing to the audience. After all, who wants to look at just a black and white picture? How boring!
One crucial thing to remember when creating visuals is integrating text. It is important to have text in your visual just in case the pictorial representation does not make sense to the audience, and also because it serves more of a purpose when it is justified with relevant text. The most important thing to remember is to make sure the graphics relate to the text. You don’t want to confuse your audience!
After you have your graphics and text finalized and you are ready to “accept” the finished product, it is important to look at your visual and make sure your visual includes the following:
Accurate and relevant information
Focused
Terms and symbols are consistent
Consists of specific measurements/distances
The text is readable
Caption is clear
Visuals are appropriately placed
The visuals stand out from the text\
When construction graphs, it is important to make sure you place the information in a way in which it is not confusing. One example of this is by using the correct range of numbers i.e. 200,400,600 etc. When using numbers that have not correlation to the next, the audience is confused by the data. The same thing goes for a pie chart. The 50% section of the pie should obviously be larger than the 30% piece. Otherwise, the audience will be confused.
Finally, taking a look at visuals in which help to construct a piece of equipment, it is very important that the visual makes sense. To assure the image is understood by the audience, every part must be labeled. If the directions are given with many parts to the image yet they are not labeled, the reader is going to have a difficult time putting the piece of equipment together. This is why it is important to label!
So you see, there are many important things to remember when constructing a visual. It is not simply a picture with no significance, but image(s) justified with relevant text to help the audience better understand what is being portrayed.
Source:
Writing That Works, (Oliu, Brusaw, Alred) P. 205-240
Great information Megan. Keep up the good posts. I think that you graphic is great as well.
ReplyDeleteI love the graph, and the suggestions that you made for using visual aids are awsome.
ReplyDeleteNice colors on your visual, Megan. Remember to keep to the 250-word maximum rule and be concise with your blog post. I sort of heard your voice in this post at the end. It still is a little dry and encyclopedia sounding. Needs some spice.
ReplyDelete