+

Ch 7. Graphics

Document Design by Kimball and Hawkins

+
Introduction to GRAPHICS

 Graphics are a powerful way to convey information and

ideas, and thus an essential part of any document
designer’s toolkit.

 Two MAIN functions

 1) Conveying information
 2) Influencing users through visual rhetoric

 Graphics: design objects intended to show ideas or

information rather than to tell
+
Three Perspectives on Graphics

 Perception
 Our response to graphics are based on the assumption
that images are made up of universally recognizable
visual elements that require active perception but no
particular training to understand.  
 Geon theory: We interact with visual images
cognitively be assembling their basic features into
complex shapes, recognizing graphics first by their
component parts.
 Once we recognize the basic building blocks and their
relationship to each other in a complex object, we can
recognize the object from many viewpoints – below,
above, beside, near, or distant.
+
Three Perspectives on Graphics

 Culture
 This perspective focuses on the belief that
graphics are tied strongly to social and
cultural factors – particularly in terms of how
we connect meaning to image. We learn
how to read images through experience and
association, not just through raw perception.
 Undeniably, cultural values and
expectations play a role in our
interpretations of what we see. Without
visual culture, users would have a difficult
time creating meaning from images.
+
Three Perspectives on Graphics

 Rhetoric
 The relationship between perception
and culture suggests that we should
think about both factors in our designs,
taking into account our inherent ability
to see images and the cultural values
users might apply to those images.
 Using a consistent visual rhetoric
encourages users to read through the
several graphic forms.
+
Graphics and Principles of
Design
 Present a clear and accurate idea of the information or ideas
 Note the user and his or her situation, needs, and limitations

 Principles of Design
 Similarity
 Contrast
 Alignment
 Proximity
 Order
 Enclosure

 Principles of design can help you tell a story, reveal a truth, or

show a good way to do something.
+
Graphics and Ethics

 Distortion
 Statistics are easy to manipulate to fit many
arguments and ideas.
 (i.e. line graphs and elevated zero point)
 Fancy Data
 (i.e. 3-D Pie Charts)
 Representational images
 Through the wonders of Photoshop and
similar image editors, it’s very easy now to
alter photographs to make something appear
to have happened that never did.
+
Graphics and Ethics

 Viewpoint
 Graphics show the world from a particular
viewpoint or perspective, but this also means
that they can conceal as much as they reveal.
 Cropping: photographic technique that can
exclude important information and mislead
users can be unethical
 Viewpoint can also be a great guide to users,
showing them how to look at information from
a useful perspective.
+
Graphics and Ethics
 Copyright
 Is a legal status in which the creator or owner of the graphic has the right to say
whether and how the graphic can be reproduced by others
 It is granted by U.S. law as soon as a graphic is created.

 Permission: contacting the copyright holder and ask if you can use the graphic
and describe how you’re going to use it

 Terms of Use/Conditions of Use: legal document that states the requirements

and any restrictions

 Source line: a caption directly below the image

 Credits page: lists the copyright owners of all the images you used and the page
that they are on

 Citation and bibliographic entry: credit that is given for academic documents
+
Why Use Graphics?

 Graphics can provide information and encourage people to act or think in

particular ways.

 Information graphics: graphics primary function is to consolidate and

display information graphically in an organized way so that the viewer
can easy understand the information and make observations from it.
 They were developed primarily to help users see meaning in a mass of data,
recognize quantitative and non quantitative information at a single glance.

 Promotion graphics: graphics primary function is artistic or for

purposes of entertainment, promotion, identification, etc.
+
Information Graphics

 Illustrations are used as representation

of the real object for graphics.
 Photographs
 One of the most common ways to illustrate how something looks and
photographs were very convenient for quick illustrations.
 However, photographs can only represent what the camera is capturing. It
is difficult to use a photograph to show how something looks from different
perspectives.

 Screenshots
 Screenshots are a snapshot of the image a computer screen is showing
when the screen shot was made.
 Screenshots are very easy to produce.
+
Information Graphics

 Line Art
 Line art is the combination of diagrams and drawings.
 It presents an abstracted version of what someone might
see, stripping away all the extra details and concentrating
the user’s attention on the important details.
 Cross-sectional drawings: take an imaginary slice off of
an object to show the interior
 Cutaway drawings: peel a section of the “skin” from an
object to show the inside
 Exploded drawings: show how the individual parts of an
object fit together by separating them a short distance
from each other.
+
Information Graphics

 Maps
 Commonly used for three roles: to convey geographic
information, to show us how to get from one place to another,
and to show the geographic distribution of statistical
information.
 Geographic maps, way finding maps, thematic maps

 Process Diagrams
 Shows how actions or steps are related in time
 Flowcharts, Gantt charts, PERT charts
+
Information Graphics

 Concept Diagrams: most abstract of diagrams because they focus

on showing otherwise intangible ideas in graphic form
 (i.e. Venn diagrams)

 Statistical Charts: product of a field of statistics once known as

graphic statistics, which uses geometric forms to show the
relationships between different kinds of statistical information
 (i.e. Bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts )

 Pictograms: simplified, abstract marks used to express common

ideas such as restroom, fire hose, stairway, home page, and so
on.
 (i.e. Icons on the computer)
+
Promotion Graphics

 Logos: Marking Identity

 Logos are similar to pictograms, but they can
include text or initials
 The challenge of designing logos lies in
creating a relatively simple graphic that will fit
the organization, its identity, and its products,
while making a distinctive statement that
users can recognize instantly.
 To build brand identity, designers use logos
wherever they can, including on products,
product labeling, documentation, and
advertisements.
+
Decorative Graphics
 Decorative Graphics come in many forms
(photographs, drawings, etc.)

 Functions:
 Establish visual style or tone
 Make a thematic connection
 Capture a user’s attention
 Elicit a desired response
+
Decorative Graphics

 Use decorative graphics sparingly!

 Be careful not to overwhelm the

document or contradict the message

 Don’t use clip art!

 You should always try to create an

original graphic or modify an existing
one to fit your purposes more exactly
and keep your efforts from looking
cheap!
+
Two Types of Graphics

 Bitmap graphics
 Describe graphics pixel by pixel (minute control to determine
exact brightness/color)
 Read on most software and computers (like Photoshop)
 Types:
 BMP (easily read, large files)
 TIFF/TIF (allows transparent pixels!, common in publishing)
 JPEG/JPG (compressed, some information lost
 GIF (transparent pixels, compressed, butonly allows 256 colors -- no
gradients)
 Limitations:
 Size
 Shape
 Resolution issues
+
Two Types of Graphics

 Bitmap graphics cont…

 Resolution: the measurement of

the density pixels in the image
(usually measured in ppi, pixels
per inch).
 Resizing:
 Scaling to a larger size can
cause pixelation
 Scaling to a smaller size causes
it to downsample
 Issues also arise from skewing or
rotating the image
+
Two Types of Graphics
 Vector graphics

 Describe graphics mathematically

 Works best for drawing images with sharp
edges and consistent areas of color (i.e. line
art, diagrams, statistical graphics)
 Can treat design elements as an object (resize
it, change color, group, align, and distribute
evenly across a given area)
 Resolution-independent
 Cannot manage smooth gradations of color
 Uses Adobe Illustrator
 Note: it must still be output as a bitmap
+
Working with Bitmaps

 Best ways to acquire raw graphics:

 Digital photography
 Scanning
 Sometimes hard to get high-quality graphics
 Though many scanner programs allow you to control capture,
ppi, size, orientation, color depth, etc., this often takes a lot of
time
 Scanning images from newspapers/magazines can cause moiré
(distracting patterns) from halftones in offset printing, as well as
barring, speckling, and artifacting
 Screenshots
 Issues arise due to low resolution, especially when the size needs
to be changed
+
Working with Bitmap Graphics

1. Save the ORIGINAL file so that you can always go back to it if you
do not like your changes

2. Set the output mode: CMYK for print or RGB for screen output

3. Adjust image quality (i.e. brightness/contrast)

4. Use common filters such as descreen, despeckle, or sharpen

 use tools such as levels (to adjust highlights, midtones, and shadows)
or curves (to adjust the red, green, and blue channels separately).

1. CROP (guide the viewer’s eye to what is most important in the

image, while retaining the truth of the image)
+
Working with Vector Graphics
 To draw common shapes, just click on a tool and start
drawing

 You can group items by holding shift and clicking on the

objects, then selecting the group command

 Arrange items through

 ordering (how items are stacked)

 distributing (spreading objects equally)

 and aligning (lining up a series of objects)

 Create type in text boxes in which you can change the size
of the box as well as manipulate the text itself
 You can also draw a path and apply text to it!
+
Creating Statistical Graphics

 Using office software:

 Pros:
 Easy
 Convenient
 Most people can access it
 Cons:
 Constrains you to common genres like
pie, bar, and line charts or scatter plots
 Encourages unnecessary 3d effects
 Generally usable only within the software
(cannot use in InDesign for example,
without taking a low-res screen shot)
+
Creating Statistical Graphics

 Using Vector Graphics software

 Pros:
 Allows you to draw whatever
you need
 More output options to import
files into other programs like
InDesign
 Cons:
 Takes a lot of time
 Can cause statistical inaccuracy
(as you have to approximate
data points manually)
+
Creating Statistical Graphics

 Using Diagramming Programs

 Use if you need a lot of conceptual diagrams such as
flowcharts
 Programs like Microsoft Vision have thorough libraries of
ideograms and shapes to make quick diagrams
 They are usually easily exportable to many formats 

 Using Specialized Data Visualization Software

 Use for more complex projects

 Flexible and powerful graphing, but you need expertise.

 It is very accurate but not necessarily designed well 
+
Incorporating Graphics
 Design your page so the graphics are
1
as close as possible to the text that
discusses them

2
 Use alignment and enclosure

3  Explicit references like titles and

numbers on the images and in the
text (see picture 3)
 But remember to make graphics self-
supporting,,, consider using callouts and
captions inside to explain important points.