Brochure: Design Elements of a Technical Document

Markel, M. (2015). Technical communication (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's

Chapter 12: Creating Graphics

GRAPHICS ARE THE “PICTURES” in technical communication: drawings, maps, photographs, diagrams, charts, graphs, and tables. Graphics range from realistic, such as photographs, to highly abstract, such as organization charts. they range from decorative, such as clip art and stock photos that show people seated at

a conference table, to highly informative, such as a schematic diagram of an electronic device.

Graphics are important in technical communication because they do the following:

• catch readers’ attention and interest

• help writers communicate information that is difficult to communicate with words

• help writers clarify and emphasize information

• help nonnative speakers of English understand information

• help writers communicate information to multiple audiences with different interests, aptitudes, and reading habits

the functions of graphics

We have known for decades that graphics motivate people to study docu- ments more closely. Some 83 percent of what we learn derives from what we see, whereas only 11 percent derives from what we hear (Gatlin, 1988). Because we are good at acquiring information through sight, a document that includes a visual element in addition to the words is more effective than one that doesn’t. People studying a document with graphics learn about one-third more than people studying a document without graphics (Levie & Lentz, 1982). And people remember 43 percent more when a document includes graphics (Morrison & Jimmerson, 1989). In addition, readers like graphics. According to one survey, readers of computer documentation consistently want more graphics and fewer words (Brockmann, 1990, p. 203).

Graphics offer five benefits that words alone cannot:

• graphics are indispensable in demonstrating logical and numerical relationships. For example, an organization chart effectively represents the lines of authority in an organization. And if you want to communicate the number of power plants built in each of the last 10 years, a bar graph works better than a paragraph.

• graphics can communicate spatial information more effectively than words alone. If you want to show the details of a bicycle derailleur, a diagram of the bicycle with a close-up of the derailleur is more effective than a verbal description.

• graphics can communicate steps in a process more effectively than words alone. A troubleshooter’s guide, a common kind of table, explains what might be causing a problem in a process and how you might fix it. And a diagram can show clearly how acid rain forms.

• graphics can save space. Consider the following paragraph:

in the Wilmington area, some 80 percent of the population aged 18 to 24 have watched streamed movies on their computers. they watch an average of 1.86 movies a week. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, the percentage is 72, and the average number of movies is 1.62. Among 35- to 49-year-olds, the percentage is 62, and the average number of movies is 1.19. Among the 50 to 64 age group, the percentage is 47, and the number of movies watched averages 0.50. Finally, among those people 65 years old or older, the percentage is 28, and the average number of movies watched weekly is 0.31.

Presenting this information in a paragraph is uneconomical and makes the information hard to remember. Presented as a table, however, the information is more concise and more memorable.

18–24 80 1.86

25-34 72 1.62

35–49 62 1.19

50–64 47 0.50

65+ 28 0.31

• graphics can reduce the cost of documents intended for international readers. Translation costs more than 10 cents per word (ProZ.com, 2013). Used effectively, graphics can reduce the number of words you have to translate.

As you plan and draft your document, look for opportunities to use graph- ics to clarify, emphasize, summarize, and organize information.

the characteristics of an effective graphic

To be effective, graphics must be clear, understandable, and meaningfully related to the larger discussion. Follow these five principles:

• a graphic should serve a purpose. Don’t include a graphic unless it will help readers understand or remember information. Avoid content-free photographs and clip art, such as drawings of businesspeople shaking hands.

• a graphic should be simple and uncluttered. Three-dimensional bar graphs are easy to make, but they are harder to understand than two-dimensional ones, as shown in Figure 12.1.

• a graphic should present a manageable amount of information. Presenting too much information can confuse readers. Consider audience and purpose: what kinds of graphics are your readers familiar with, how much do they already know about the subject, and what do you want the document to do? Because readers learn best if you present information in small chunks, create several simple graphics rather than a single complicated one.

• a graphic should meet readers’ format expectations. Through experience, readers learn how to read different kinds of graphics. Follow the conventions—for instance, use diamonds to represent decision points in a flowchart—unless you have a good reason not to.

• a graphic should be clearly labeled. Give every graphic (except a brief, informal one) a unique, clear, informative title. Fully label the columns of a table and the axes and lines of a graph. Don’t make readers guess whether you are using meters or yards, or whether you are also including statistics from the previous year.

ETHICS NOTE

CREATiNG hoNEsT GRAPhiCs

Follow these six suggestions to ensure that you represent data honestly in your graphics.

• If you did not create the graphic or generate the data, cite your source. If you want to publish a graphic that you did not create, obtain permission. For more on citing graphics, see page 302.

• Include all relevant data. For example, if you have a data point that you cannot explain, do not change the scale to eliminate it.

• Begin the axes in your graphs at zero—or mark them clearly—so that you represent quanti- ties honestly.

• Do not use a table to hide a data point that would be obvious in a graph.

• Show items as they really are. Do not manipulate a photograph of a computer monitor to make the screen look bigger than it is, for example.

• Do not use color or shading to misrepresent an item’s importance. A light-shaded bar in a bar graph, for example, appears larger and nearer than a dark-shaded bar of the same size.

common problem areas are pointed out in the discussions of various kinds of graphics throughout this chapter.

Integrating Graphics and Text

it is not enough to add graphics to your text; you have to integrate the two.

Place the graphic in an appropriate location. if readers need the graphic in order to understand the discussion, put it directly after the relevant point in the discus- sion or as soon after it as possible. if the graphic merely supports or elaborates a point, include it as an appendix.

introduce the graphic in the text. Whenever possible, refer to a graphic before it appears (ideally, on the same page). refer to the graphic by number (such as “see Figure 7”). do not refer to “the figure above” or “the figure below,” because the graphic might move during the production process. if the graphic is in an ap- pendix, cross-reference it: “For complete details of the operating characteristics, see Appendix B, page 19.”

explain the graphic in the text. state what you want readers to learn from it. sometimes a simple paraphrase of the title is enough: “Figure 2 compares the costs of the three major types of coal gasification plants.” At other times, however, you might need to explain why the graphic is important or how to interpret it. if the graphic is intended to make a point, be explicit:

As Figure 2 shows, a high-sulfur bituminous coal gasification plant is more expensive than either a low-sulfur bituminous or an anthracite plant, but more than half of its cost is for cleanup equipment. If these expenses could be eliminated, high-sulfur bituminous would be the least expensive of the three types of plants.

in addition to text explanations, graphics are often accompanied by captions, ranging from a sentence to several paragraphs.

make the graphic clearly visible. distinguish the graphic from the surrounding text by adding white space around it, placing rules (lines) above and below it, putting a screen behind it, or enclosing it in a box.

make the graphic accessible. if the document is more than a few pages long and contains more than four or five graphics, consider including a list of illustrations so that readers can find them easily.

For more about white space, screens, boxes, and rules, see Ch. 11, pp. 263 and 273. For more about lists of illustrations, see Ch. 18, p. 481.

understanding the Process of creating graphics

Creating graphics involves planning, producing, revising, and citing.

PlANNiNG GRAPhiCs

Whether you focus first on the text or the graphics, consider the following four issues as you plan your graphics.

• audience. Will readers understand the kinds of graphics you want to use? Will they know the standard icons in your field? Are they motivated to read your document, or do you need to enliven the text—for example, by adding color for emphasis—to hold their attention? General audiences know how to read common types of graphics, such as those that appear frequently in newspapers or on popular websites. A general audience, for example, could use this bar graph to compare two bottles of wine:

• Purpose. What point are you trying to make with the graphic? Imagine what you want your readers to know and do with the information. For example, if you want readers to know the exact dollar amounts spent on athletics by a college, use a table:

• the kind of information you want to communicate. Your subject will help you decide what type of graphic to include. For example, in writing about languages spoken by your state’s citizens, you might use a table for the statistical data, a map for the patterns of language use, and a graph for statistical trends over time.

• Physical conditions. The physical conditions in which readers will use the document—amount of lighting, amount of surface space available, the size of the screen on which the information will be displayed, and so forth—will influence the type of graphic as well as its size and shape, the thickness of lines, the size of type, and the color.

As you plan how you are going to create the graphics, consider four impor- tant factors:

• time. Because making a complicated graphic can take a lot of time, you For more about planning and need to establish a schedule.

• money. Creating a high-quality graphic can be expensive. How big is the project budget? How can you use that money effectively?

• equipment. Determine what tools and software you will require, such as spreadsheets for tables and graphs or graphics software for diagrams.

• expertise. How much do you know about creating graphics? Do you have access to the expertise of others?

PRodUCiNG GRAPhiCs

Usually, you won’t have all the resources you would like. You will have to choose one of the following four approaches:

• use existing graphics. For a student paper that will not be published, some instructors allow the use of photocopies or scans of existing graphics; other instructors do not. For a document that will be published, whether written by a student or a professional, using an existing graphic is permissible if the graphic is in the public domain (that is, not under copyright), if it is the property of the writer’s organization, or if the organization has obtained permission to use it. Be particularly careful about graphics you find on the web. Many people mistakenly think that anything on the web can be used without permission. The same copyright laws that apply to printed material apply to web-based material, whether words or graphics. For more on citing graphics, see page 302.

Aside from the issue of copyright, think carefully before you use existing graphics. The style of the graphic might not match that of the others you want to use; the graphic might lack some features you want or include some you don’t. If you use an existing graphic, assign it your own number and title.

• modify existing graphics. You can redraw an existing graphic or use a scanner to digitize the graphic and then modify it electronically with graphics software.

• create graphics on a computer. You can create many kinds of graphics using your spreadsheet software and the drawing tools on your word processor. Consult the Selected Bibliography, page 693, for a list of books about computers and technical communication.

• have someone else create the graphics. Professional-level graphics software can cost hundreds of dollars and require hundreds of hours of practice. Some companies have technical-publications departments with graphics experts, but others subcontract this work. Many print shops and service bureaus have graphics experts on staff or can direct you to them.

REvisiNG GRAPhiCs

As with any other aspect of technical communication, build in enough time and budget enough money to revise the graphics you want to use. Create a checklist and evaluate each graphic for effectiveness. The Writer’s Checklist at the end of this chapter is a good starting point. Show your graphics to people whose backgrounds are similar to those of your intended readers and ask them for suggestions. Revise the graphics and solicit more reactions.

CiTiNG soURCEs oF GRAPhiCs

If you wish to publish a graphic that is protected by copyright (even if you have revised it), you need to obtain written permission from the copyright holder. Related to the issue of permission is the issue of citation. Of course, you do not have to cite the source of a graphic if you created it yourself, if it is not protected by copyright, or if your organization owns the copyright.

In all other cases, however, you should include a source citation, even if your document is a course assignment and will not be published. Citing the sources of graphics, even those you have revised substantially, shows your instructor that you understand professional conventions and your ethical responsibilities.

If you are following a style manual, check to see whether it presents a for- mat for citing sources of graphics. In addition to citing a graphic’s source in the reference list, most style manuals call for a source statement in the caption:

print source

online source

If your graphic is based on an existing graphic, the source statement should state that your graphic is “based on” or “adapted from” your source:

using color effectively

Color draws attention to information you want to emphasize, establishes visual patterns to promote understanding, and adds interest. But it is also easy to misuse. The following discussion is based on Jan V. White’s excellent text Color for the Electronic Age (1990).

In using color in graphics and page design, keep these six principles in mind:

• don’t overdo it. Readers can interpret only two or three colors at a time. Use colors for small items, such as portions of graphics and important words. And don’t use colors where black and white will work better.

• use color to emphasize particular items. People interpret color before they interpret shape, size, or placement on the page. Color effectively draws readers’ attention to a particular item or group of items on a page. In Figure 12.2 (on page 304), for example, color adds emphasis to different kinds of information.

• use color to create patterns. The principle of repetition—readers learn to recognize patterns—applies in graphics as well as in document design. In creating patterns, also consider shape. For instance, use red for safety comments but place them in octagons resembling a stop sign. This way, you give your readers two visual cues to help them recognize the pattern. Figure 12.3 (on page 304) shows the use of color to establish patterns. Color is also an effective way to emphasize design features such as text boxes, rules, screens, and headers and footers.

• use contrast effectively. The visibility of a color is a function of the background against which it appears (see Figure 12.4). The strongest contrasts are between black and white and between black and yellow. The need for effective contrast also applies to graphics used in presentations, as shown in Figure 12.5.

• take advantage of any symbolic meanings colors may already have. In American culture, for example, red signals danger, heat, or electricity; yellow signals caution; and orange signals warning. Using these warm colors in ways that depart from these familiar meanings could be confusing. The cooler colors—blues and greens—are more conservative and subtle. (Figure 12.6 illustrates these principles.) Keep in mind, however, that people in different cultures interpret colors differently.

choosing the appropriate Kind of graphic

As Figure 12.7 shows, even a few simple facts can yield a number of differ- ent points. Your responsibility when creating a graphic is to determine what point you want to make and how best to make it. Don’t rely on your software to do your thinking; it can’t.

Graphics used in technical documents are classified as tables or figures. Tables are lists of data, usually numbers, arranged in columns. Figures are everything else: graphs, charts, diagrams, photographs, and the like. Typically, tables and figures are numbered separately: the first table in a document is Table 1; the first figure is Figure 1. In documents of more than one chapter (like this book), the graphics are usually numbered within each chapter. That is, Figure 3.2 is the second figure in Chapter 3.

The discussion that follows is based on the classification system in William Horton’s “Pictures Please—Presenting Information Visually,” in Techniques for Technical Communicators (Horton, 1992). Table 12.1 on page 308 presents an overview of the following discussion.

illUsTRATiNG NUMERiCAl iNFoRMATioN

The kinds of graphics used most often to display numerical values are tables, bar graphs, infographics, line graphs, and pie charts.

Tables Tables convey large amounts of numerical data easily, and they are often the only way to present several variables for a number of items. For example, if you wanted to show how many people are employed in six indus- tries in 10 states, a table would probably be most effective. Although tables lack the visual appeal of other kinds of graphics, they can handle much more information.

In addition to having a number (“Table 1”), tables are identified by an infor- mative title that includes the items being compared and the basis (or bases) of comparison:

table 3. Mallard population in rangeley, 2009–2011 table 4.7. the Growth of the robotics industry in Japan and the united states, 2010

Figure 12.8 (on page 310) illustrates the standard parts of a table.

Follow these nine suggestions to make sure your tables are clear and professional.

indicate the units of measure. if all the data are expressed in the same unit, indicate that unit in the title:

Farm size in the Midwestern states (in hectares)

if the data in different columns are expressed in different units, indicate the units in the column heads:

population per capita income (in Millions) (in thousands of u.s. dollars)

if all the data cells in a column use the same unit, indicate that unit in the column head, not in each data cell:

speed (in Knots)

15 18 14

you can express data in both real numbers and percentages. A column head and the first data cell under it might read as follows:

Number of students (percentage) 53 (83)

in the stub—the left-hand column—list the items being compared. Arrange the items in a logical order: big to small, more important to less important, alphabeti- cal, chronological, geographical, and so forth. if the items fall into several catego- ries, include the names of the categories in the stub:

Snowbelt States . . . . . . . . . . . connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . New york . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sunbelt States . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . california . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . .

if you cannot group the items in the stub in logical categories, skip a line after ev- ery five rows to help the reader follow the rows across the table. or use a screen (a colored background) for every other set of five rows. Also useful is linking the stub and the next column with a row of dots called dot leaders.

in the columns, arrange the data clearly and logically. use the decimal-tab fea- ture to line up the decimal points:

3,147.4 365.7 46,803.5

In general, don’t vary the units used in a column unless the quantities are so dissimilar that your readers would have a difficult time understanding them if expressed in the same units.

3.4 hr 12.7 min 4.3 sec

this list would probably be easier for most readers to understand than one in which all quantities were expressed in the same unit.

do the math. if your readers will need to know the totals for the columns or the rows, provide them. if your readers will need to know percentage changes from one column to the next, present them:

Number of students (percentage change from previous year) 2013 2014 2015

619 644 (+4.0) 614 (–4.7)

use dot leaders if a column contains a “blank” spot—a place where there are no appropriate data:

3,147 ...

46,803 But don’t substitute dot leaders for a quantity of zero.

don’t make the table wider than it needs to be. the reader should be able to scan across a row easily. As White (1984) points out, there is no reason to make a table as wide as the text column in the document. If a column head is long— more than five or six words—stack the words:

computers sold Without a Memory-card reader

minimize the use of rules. Grimstead (1987) recommends using rules only when necessary: to separate the title and the heads, the heads and the body, and the body and the notes. When you use rules, make them thin rather than thick.

Provide footnotes where necessary. All the information your readers need in order to understand the table should accompany it.

if you did not generate the information yourself, indicate your source. see the discussion of citing sources of graphics on pages 302–03.

bar Graphs Like tables, bar graphs can communicate numerical values, but they are better at showing the relative values of two or more items. Figure 12.9 shows typical horizontal and vertical bar graphs that you can make easily using your spreadsheet software. Figure 12.10 shows an effective bar graph that uses grid lines.

Follow these seven suggestions for making effective infographics.

Make a claim. A good infographic states—or at least implies—a claim and then presents evidence to support it. For instance, the claim might be that the number of people accessing the internet in a language other than English is increasing at an accelerating rate, that the pace at which new drugs are coming onto the market is slowing, or that the cost of waging a campaign for a u.s. senate seat has increased tenfold in the last twenty years. the claim you present will suggest the theme of your graphics: you might consider maps, flowcharts, or statistics.

Use accurate data. once you have settled on your claim, find facts to support it. use reputable sources, and then check and re-check them. Be sure to cite your sources on the infographic itself.

Follow the guidelines for the type of graphic you are creating. Although you want to express your creativity when you create graphics, abide by the guidelines

REATiNG GRAPhiCs

for that type of graphic. For instance, if you use a bar graph to present data on the number of zebras born in captivity, your first obligation is to make the length of each bar reflect the quantity it represents; don’t manipulate the lengths of the bars to make the graph look like a zebra.

Write concisely. if you need more than a paragraph to introduce a graphic, try revising the text to get the word count down or see if you can break the idea into several smaller ones.

don’t present too much information. it’s natural to want to include all the data you have found, but if the infographic is too tightly packed with text and graph- ics, readers will be intimidated. use white space to let the graphics breathe.

don’t go on forever. Your readers will want to spend a minute—maybe two—on the infographic. they won’t want to spend 15 minutes.

Test the infographic. As with any kind of technical document, the more you revise, evaluate, and test the infographic, the better it will be.

Infographics are very popular, but many of them are of low quality. Before you create an infographic to communicate technical information, be sure you are not skewing your data or oversimplifying to promote an agenda. Doing so is unethical. In Figure 12.13 (on page 320), digital strategist Hervé Peitrequin offers a clever commentary on infographics.

line Graphs Line graphs are used almost exclusively to show changes in quantity over time, for example, the month-by-month production figures for a product. A line graph focuses readers’ attention on the change in quan- tity, whereas a bar graph emphasizes the quantities themselves.

You can plot three or four lines on a line graph. If the lines intersect, use different colors or patterns to distinguish them. If the lines intersect too often, however, the graph will be unclear; in this case, draw separate graphs. Figure 12.14 (on page 321) shows a line graph.

Follow these three suggestions to create line graphs that are clear and easy to read.

if possible, begin the quantity scale at zero. doing so is the best way to portray the information honestly. if you cannot begin at zero, clearly indicate a break in the axis, if appropriate.

use reasonable proportions for the vertical and horizontal axes. As with bar graphs, make the vertical axis about 25 percent shorter than the horizontal axis.

use grid lines—horizontal, vertical, or both—rather than tick marks when your readers need to read the quantities precisely.

Follow these eight suggestions to ensure that your pie charts are easy to understand and professional looking.

Restrict the number of slices to no more than seven. As the slices get smaller, judging their relative sizes becomes more difficult.

begin with the largest slice at the top and work clockwise in order of decreas- ing size, unless you have a good reason to arrange the slices otherwise.

if you have several very small quantities, put them together in one slice, to maintain clarity. Explain its contents in a footnote. this slice, sometimes called “other,” follows the other slices.

Place a label (horizontally, not radially) inside the slice, if space permits.

include the percentage that each slice represents and, if appropriate, the raw number.

To emphasize one slice, use a bright, contrasting color or separate the slice from the pie. do this, for example, when you introduce a discussion of the item represented by that slice

Check to see that your software follows the appropriate guidelines for pie charts. some spreadsheet programs add fancy visual effects that can impair comprehension. For instance, many programs portray the pie in three dimen- sions, as shown here.

In this three-dimensional pie chart about the percentages of a college’s student body, by year, the sophomore slice looks bigger than the freshman slice, even though it isn’t, because it appears closer to the reader. To communicate clearly, make pie charts two-dimensional.

don’t overdo fill patterns. Fill patterns are patterns, shades, or colors that dis- tinguish one slice from another. in general, use simple, understated patterns or none at all.

Check that your percentages add up to 100. if you are doing the calculations yourself, check your math.

18%

33%

20%

29%

Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior

illUsTRATiNG loGiCAl RElATioNshiPs

Graphics can help you present logical relationships among items. For instance, in describing a piece of hardware, you might want to show its major components. The two kinds of graphics that best show logical relation- ships are diagrams and organization charts.

diagrams A diagram is a visual metaphor that uses symbols to represent relationships among items or their properties. In technical communication, common kinds of diagrams are blueprints, wiring diagrams, and schematics. Figure 12.16 (on page 324) is a diagram.

Often you need to indicate that readers are to carry out certain tasks at certain intervals. A table is a useful graphic for this kind of information, as shown in Figure 12.19.

Flowcharts A flowchart, as the name suggests, shows the various stages of a process or a procedure. Flowcharts are useful, too, for summarizing instruc- tions. On a basic flowchart, stages are represented by labeled geometric shapes. Flowcharts can portray open systems (those that have a start and a finish) or closed systems (those that end where they began). Figure 12.20 (on page 328) shows an open-system flowchart and a closed-system flowchart. Figure 12.21 (on page 328) shows a deployment flowchart, which you can make using the drawing tools in your word processor.

logic Trees Logic trees use a branching metaphor. The logic tree shown in Figure 12.22 (on page 329) helps students think through the process of regis- tering for a course.

Techniques for showing Action or Motion In some types of process descriptions and instructions, you will want to show action or motion. For instance, in an instruction manual for helicopter technicians, you might want to illustrate the process of removing an oil dipstick or tightening a bolt, or you might want to show a warning light flashing. Although animation and video are frequently used to illustrate action or motion in online documents, such processes still need to be communicated in static graphics for print documents.

If the reader is to perform the action, show the action from the reader’s point of view, as in Figure 12.23.

Figure 12.24 illustrates four additional techniques for showing action. These techniques are conventional but not universal. If you are addressing readers from another culture, consult a qualified person from that culture to make sure your symbols are clear and inoffensive.

illUsTRATiNG visUAl ANd sPATiAl ChARACTERisTiCs

To illustrate visual and spatial characteristics, use photographs, screen shots, line drawings, and maps.

Photographs Photographs are unmatched for reproducing visual detail. Sometimes, however, a photograph can provide too much information. In a sales brochure for an automobile, a glossy photograph of the dashboard might be very effective. But in an owner’s manual, if you want to show how to use the trip odometer, use a diagram that focuses on that one item.

Sometimes a photograph can provide too little information. The item you want to highlight might be located inside the mechanism or obscured by another component.

screen shots Screen shots—images of what appears on a computer moni- tor or some other screen—are often used in manuals to show users what the screen will look like as they perform tasks with the device. Readers who see that the screen shot accurately portrays what appears on their own devices are reassured and therefore better able to concentrate on the task they are trying to perform. Figure 12.26 is an example of how screen shots are used.

creating effective graphics for

multicultural readers

Whether you are writing for people within your organization or outside it, con- sider the needs of readers whose first language is different from your own. Like words, graphics have cultural meanings. If you are unaware of these meanings, you could communicate something very different from what you intend. The following guidelines are based on William Horton’s article “The Almost Univer- sal Language: Graphics for International Documents” (1993).

• Be aware that reading patterns differ. In some countries, people read from right to left or from top to bottom. In some cultures, direction signifies value: the right-hand side is superior to the left, or the reverse. You need to think about how to sequence graphics that show action or where to put “before” and “after” graphics. If you want to show a direction, as in an informal flowchart, consider using arrows to indicate how to read the chart.

• Be aware of varying cultural attitudes toward giving instruction. Instructions for products made in Japan are highly polite and deferential: “Please attach the cable at this time.” Some cultures favor spelling out generalprinciples but leaving the reader to supply the details. To people in these cultures, instructions containing a detailed close-up of how to carry out a task might appear insulting.

• deemphasize trivial details. Because common objects, such as plugs on the ends of power cords, come in different shapes around the world, draw them to look generic rather than specific to one country.

• avoid culture-specific language, symbols, and references. Don’t use a picture of a mouse (the furry rodent) to symbolize a computer mouse because the device is not known by that name everywhere. Avoid the casual use of national symbols (such as the maple leaf or national flags); any error in a detail might offend your readers. Use colors carefully: red means danger to most people from Western cultures, but it is a celebratory color to the Chinese.

• Portray people very carefully. Every aspect of a person’s appearance, from clothing to hairstyle to physical features, is culture- or race-specific. A photograph of a woman in casual Western attire seated at a workstation would be ineffective in an Islamic culture where only a woman’s hands and eyes may be shown. Horton (1993) recommends using stick figures or silhouettes that do not suggest any one culture, race, or sex.

• Be particularly careful in portraying hand gestures. Many Western hand gestures, such as the “okay” sign, are considered obscene in other cultures, and some people consider long red fingernails inappropriate. Use hands in graphics only when necessary—for example, to illustrate carrying out a task—and obscure the person’s sex and race.

Cultural differences are many and subtle. Learn as much as possible about your readers and about their culture and outlook, and have your graphics reviewed by a native of the culture.

WRITER’S CHECKlIST

Does the graphic have a purpose? (p. 297) Is the graphic simple and uncluttered? (p. 297)

Does the graphic present a manageable amount of information? (p. 297)

Does the graphic meet readers’ format expectations?

(p. 297) Is the graphic clearly labeled? (p. 297) Is the graphic honest? (p. 298)

Does the graphic appear in a logical location in the document? (p. 298)

Is the graphic introduced clearly in the text? (p. 298) Is the graphic explained in the text? (p. 298) Is the graphic clearly visible in the text? (p. 299) Is the graphic easily accessible to readers? (p. 299)

If you want to use an existing graphic, do you have the legal right to do so? (p. 301) If so, have you cited its source appropriately? (p. 302)

Is the graphic inoffensive to your readers? (p. 334)