Overview

Visuals are as important as the actual text in technical communication. Visuals focus information for your audience and make it easier to interpret and synthesize data. There are four types of visuals: tables, graphs, charts, and graphic illustrations. Each type possesses its own strengths depending on the type of information that you wish to present to your audience.

Again, this is a difficult concept for many students to grasp. Technical communication to them means words, not pictures. They work hard crafting their words, not understanding that the words could well be unreadable without an open, clearly labeled, and illustrated visual style. Technical communication is as much visual as it is verbal.

Why? Many people are more spatial and concrete when it comes to thinking about abstract topics. Without an appropriate diagram, people will reverse right and left, install parts upside down, or spend hours looking for a button that is right in front of them. This is not because they are stupid people. Quite often alphabetic letters in continuous lines are not the best way to convey that sort of detailed information. A well-designed graphic can also save time—making the difference between spending an hour with a new purchase before turning it on versus taking it out of the box, plugging it in, and starting to use it right away.

This is why many computer components come with large, color-printed foldout sheets, usually labeled 'Quick Start Guides.' These companies recognize that no one really WANTS to open that damn manual. They just want the thing to be intuitive and start working on its own.

Computer graphics programs allow even untrained individuals easy access to design capabilities. When you begin to use visuals, remember that they should complement the written text and not replace it. Don't use needless visuals or use visuals simply to decorate your document. The same ethical considerations that guide the creation of text also guide the creation of visuals.