D ESIGNING AND U SING V ISUAL I NFORMATION

WHY AND WHEN SHOULD YOU USE VISUALS? “By offering powerful new ways of looking at data, visuals also reveal meanings that might otherwise remain buried in lists of facts and figures.” (Lannon 248, my emphasis) “In general, you should use visuals whenever they can make your point more clearly than text or when they can enhance your text.” (Lannon 250, my emphasis)

VISUALS AND AUDIENCE Which information is most important? Where, exactly, should the reader focus? What do these numbers mean? What should the reader remember about this? What does it look like? How is it organized? How is it done? How does it work? Which information is most important? Where, exactly, should the reader focus? What do these numbers mean? What should the reader remember about this? What does it look like? How is it organized? How is it done? How does it work?

KINDS OF VISUALS Tables: numerical, prose Charts: pie, flow, tree, organizational, Gantt/PERT, pictograms Graphs: bar, line Graphic illustrations: illustrations, diagrams, maps, videos, photos, symbols, icons

TABLES

BAR GRAPHS

LINE GRAPHS

CHARTS

KINDS OF VISUALS Illustrations Diagrams Maps Photographs Symbols/icons Videos

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS Present the real picture. Present the complete picture. Don’t mistake distortion for emphasis. INSERTING VISUALS INTO YOUR DOCUMENT Learn and understand the formatting choices for inserting visuals according to the software you are using. Include a functional and descriptive title and any other necessary labeling information. If you have several tables or figures in your document, label them chronologically (Table 1, 2, 3, etc.). Credit your source. Include where it came from and copyright information, if applicable.