Chapter 6: How to make pictures that inform
I) How do graphics communicate?
a) They help add to, replace, reinforce, explain, and illustrate words.
b) They help eliminate any other possible meanings in words by providing a concrete example of what something is.
II) How must photos in information design be like?
a) be in focus
b) have a focus
c) mean something
d) show what you’re telling
e) tell what you’re showing
f) appear close to where you talk about them
g) point readers into the text
III) Photos must be in focus
a) In order for a picture to be effective, it must complement what is being focused on by being shot correctly.
IV) Photos must have a focus
a) Photos or illustrations should only have enough in it, so it gives exactly what a person needs.
b) Too much information can distract an audience.
c) Edit a picture so just the right amount of information is in it for a viewer.
V) Photos must mean something
a) Audiences would prefer insightful pictures with great text since that would appeal to an audience, not a fluffed-up page.
VI) Photos must show what you’re telling
a) Pictures can help facilitate communication when words fail to do so.
VII) Photos must tell what you’re showing
a) Include information under pictures to explain why they are important.
b) All captions should be legible and consistent.
VIII) Connecting the dots is tougher than it should be
a) Do not include a picture that fails to explain the text nor should text be used if it does not explain a graphic.
IX) Pictures must show up close to where you talk about them
a) Pictures should be near text in order to complement it because pictures that are not next text do not do much to help explain it.
X) Pictures must point readers into text (if they point at all)
a) Place directional photos so that they point towards the text.
b) Two Gestalt grouping principles apply:
i) Common fate. People see elements going in the same direction as being related.
ii) Good continuation. People see elements that are arranged as a line as a group, even if the line contains gaps.
XI) To flop or not to flop
a) If a photo can’t be moved in order to use its natural arrow, point it in the opposite direction if it will not suffer from directional change.
