Transcript C H A P T E R 1

Creating Visual
Information
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Presentation Overview
• Why Use Graphics?
• How Do You Plan for Using Graphics in a
Document?
• How Do You Select the Most Appropriate
Graphic?
• How Do You Give Your Graphics a Professional
Appearance?
Why Use Graphics?
• Graphics can support and supplement the
text.
• Graphics can summarize information in the
text and present this information in a
different way to help readers understand it.
• Graphics can help readers understand how
something works or how to do something.
• Graphics can present some types of
information more quickly and efficiently than
words.
How Do You Plan for Using Graphics
in a Document?
Ask:
• Will graphics help you to achieve your
purpose?
• Who are my readers and will they need or
expect information to be presented visually?
• What types of graphics are appropriate for
the information and the readers?
How Do You Select the Most
Appropriate Graphic?
Consider your purpose:
• To illustrate quantitative information
• To show relationships
• To illustrate instructions and processes
• To show what something looks like
To Illustrate Quantitative Information
Use:
• Bar graphs
• Line graphs
• Pictographs
• Pie charts
• Tables
• Combined graphics
Bar Graph
Graph containing horizontal or vertical bars that
represent different values according to their
length
Law Enforcement Officers Feloniously Killed and Assaulted,
Percent Distribution1 by Time of Incident, 1998–2007
Source: Downloaded from the World Wide Web, May 14, 2009:
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/2007/data/figure_01.html.
Line Graph
Graph containing points representing successive
changes in value plotted on a grid and
connected by lines. More precise than a bar
graph
Percentage of Examined Miners with Coal Workers’
Pneumoconiosis (Category 1/0+) by Tenure in Mining, 1970–2006
Source: Downloaded from the World Wide Web, May 14, 2009:
http://www2a.cdc.gov/drds/WorldReportData/FigureTableDetails.asp?FigureTableID=524&GroupRefNumber=F02-05.
Pictograph
Pictures or drawings that present statistical
information like a bar graph but in a more
visually interesting way
Percentage of Population Living within One Kilometer from a
Source Likely to Provide 20 liters of Safe Drinking Water Per
Person Per Day, 2004
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitory Programme for Water Supply & Sanitation.
Pie Chart
A circle divided into wedges, with each wedge
representing a percentage of the whole
Percentage of Total U.S. Residential Electricity, 2001
Source: Downloaded from the World Wide Web, May 14, 2009:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/brochure/electricity/images/new_pie_chart.gif .
Table
Qualitative (numerical) information arranged in
columns and rows
Five States with the Highest and Lowest Percentages of
Edentulous Persons Aged 65 and Older
Source: Downloaded from the World Wide Web, May 14, 2009:
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/DataStatistics/SurgeonGeneral/sgr/tables/table41.htm. Tomar, 1997.
Combined Graphic
Combination of two types of graphics that have
some commonality but serve different purposes
U.S. Total Electricity Consumption, 1998-2010
Source: Downloaded from the World Wide Web, May 14, 2009: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/gifs/Fig20.gif .
To Show Relationships
Use:
• Organizational charts
• Diagrams
• Tables (without numbers)
Organizational Chart
A chart that shows how something is organized
or how a system is divided
Experts Coordinating the Activities of the DOE Hydrogen
Sorption Center of Excellence
Source: Downloaded from the World Wide Web, May 14, 2009:
http://www.nrel.gov/basic_sciences/images/chart_universities.gif.
Diagram
A drawing showing relationships or a sequence
of actions or events
The Water Cycle
Source: Downloaded from the World Wide Web, May 14, 2008: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclehi.html.
Evans.
Table without Numbers
Information in words arranged in columns and
rows
Drugs Used for HCV Treatment and Management of Side Effects
Source: Downloaded from the World Wide Web, May 14, 2009:
http://hab.hrsa.gov/tools/coinfection/images/table4.gif.
To Illustrate Instructions and
Processes
Use:
• Flow charts
• Line drawings
• Tables (already covered)
• Diagrams (already covered)
Flow Chart
A visual representation of a complex process or
event. Different symbols are sometimes used to
present different steps in a process
Start or
End
Decision
Operation
Diabetes Foot Exams
Source: Downloaded from the World Wide Web, May 14, 2009:
http://www.ndep.nih.gov/resources/feet/images/foot-exams-flow-chart.gif .
Line Drawing
Drawing that enables readers to see details or
parts not apparent in a photograph. Sometimes
small parts are enlarged to make them easier to
see
Space Shuttle Orbiter
Source: Downloaded from the World Wide Web, May 14, 2009: http://history.nasa.gov/rogersrep/v1p46.jpg .
To Show What Something Looks Like
Use:
• Photographs
• Maps
• Screenshots
• Line drawings (already covered)
Photograph
A picture that shows what something is like,
shows where something is located, or shows
how something is done
A View of the Moon Taken by the Galileo Spacecraft in 1992
Source: Downloaded from the World Wide Web, May 14, 2009:
http://discovery.nasa.gov/images/Moon.png.
Map
A representation of all or part of an area
Afghanistan-Pakistan Administrative Divisions
Source: Downloaded from the World Wide Web, May 14, 2009: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/ciamaps-publications/maps/777768.JPG.
Screen Shot
A picture—“snapshot”—of what appears on a
computer monitor (screen)
Screenshot of the Virtual Frog Dissection Kit
Source: Downloaded from the World Wide Web, May 14, 2009:
http://froggy.lbl.gov/images/virtual/example1.gif.
How Do You Give Your Graphics a
Professional Appearance?
• Use simple, uncluttered graphics.
• Integrate the graphics into the text.
• Use software and downloadable graphics
when possible and appropriate.
• Apply color selectively to enhance and clarify
your graphics.
Questions?