agnieszka tkaczyk - using infographics in technical communication; soapconf 2014
TRANSCRIPT
INFOGRAPHICS IN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION
Agnieszka Tkaczyk Information Developer, IBM
@aga_tkaczyk
”It doesn't look serious, like a comic book for children.”
Agnieszka Tkaczyk
FORGETTING CURVE
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COMMUNICATING WITH PICTURES
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Cave drawings Road signs
Modern ideogram
Egyptian hieroglyphs
20% vision only functioning
HUMAN VISION
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60%
40% a combination of visions
and touch, meaning, movement, spatial
navigation, etc.
Text only
PICTURE SUPERIORITY EFFECT
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10% 65%
Text with image
People remember pictures better than words, especially over longer periods of time.
PICTURE SUPERIORITY EFFECT
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The picture must reinforce the message from the data and must draw the attention.
ELEMENTS OF AN INFOGRAPHIC
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+
Image
+
Text Data visualization
INFOGRAPHIC = STORY
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CONCLUSION • Closing thoughts • Call for action
BODY • Core of the infographic • Combination of text, images, and data
visualizations
INTRO • Gets the readers’ attention • Introduces the topic • Combination of a title and a paragraph
TIP 1: FOCUS ON ONE BIG STORY
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• Do not combine a few small stories into one infographic • Make the key message immediately clear • Eliminate data that is irrelevant
TIP 2: ADD VISUALIZATIONS, REMOVE TEXT
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• Reduce the amount of text • Use visualizations:
• Reduce the time needed to understand the data • Draw the attention • Help remembering the information
TIP 3: BE ACCURATE
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• Data visualizations must match the numbers • Inaccurate visualization undermines credibility • Provide the source of information or company logo • If the presented data might change, tell about that
ADVANTAGES
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• Reduce the amount of text • Engage vision and the picture superiority effect • Boost memorization • Entertain and inform • Are fun to create
CONSIDERATIONS
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• Not everything can be changed into an infographic • Cannot substitute documentation • May not be treated seriously • Time-consuming • Additional software might be required • Start a life of their own after publication • You need a good place to publish them
EXAMPLES
EXAMPLE 1: INSTALLATION OVERVIEW
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Detailed checklist • 329 words
Content: Tomasz Bartyzel Design: Paulina Malczak
Documentation Infographic
EXAMPLE 2: INFRASTRUCTURE
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Topic 1: • 457 words • 1 diagram
Documentation Infographic
Content: Dominik Wietrzak
Design: Paulina Malczak
EXAMPLE 3: PVU LICENSES
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Topic 1: • 605 words • 3 graphics • 4 tables
Topic 2: • 134 words
Documentation Infographic
Content: Derek Sherman
Design: Paulina Malczak
EXAMPLE 4: FIXLETS AND TASKS
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• Spread among multiple
topics • Referred to in relevant
procedures
Documentation Infographic
Content and design: Agnieszka Tkaczyk
THANKS FOR YOUR TIME Questions?