Designing Visual Communication

1. Understanding Visual Communication
- The power of images
---visuals often carry a powerful meaning
---visual symbolization: colors, shapes, and design elements have them; symbolic, connotative meaning can evolve and mean different things in different cultures
- Visual Evolution in Business Communication
--- becoming more visual due to advances in technology and changing audience expectation
--- visual literacy: ability to create and interpret individuals
- Visual Design Principles
--- all aspects of a visual design must set audience expectations
--- 6 Fundamental Principles: consistency, contrast, balance, emphasis, convention, and simplicity
- Ethics of Visual Communication
--- power of visuals= responsibility to communicate ethically
--- ethical guidelines
-----1. Consider all interpretations and misinterpretations
-----2. Provide context
-----3. Don’t hide negative information that runs counter to your argument
-----4. Don’t exaggerate what supports argument
-----5. Don’t oversimplify complex situations
-----6. Don’t imply cause/ effect relationships without proof
-----7. Avoid emotional manipulation
-----8. Careful the way you aggregate data

Here are the business ethics that today's business world concentrates on:

http://managementhelp.org/ethics/ethics.htm

2. Identifying Points to illustrate
--- effective visual messages are: clear, complete, concise, connected, and compelling
--- step back and visualize the flow of your message from the audience’s perspective

3. Selecting the right type of visual
--- many types of visuals and each is best suited to a particular communication problem
- Presenting Data
--- Tables
----- can display extensive amounts of data, but can be simple for online display and electronic presentations
--- Line and surface charts
----- line: use to show trends over time or relationship between two or more variables
----- surface chart: (area) form of a line chart with a cumulative effect. All lines add to the top line which is the total
--- Bar charts, pictograms, and Gantt Charts
-----bar chart: portrays numbers by the height or length of its rectangular bars, making numbers easy to read
-----pictogram: chart that portrays numbers as symbols instead of words or numbers
-----time line chart: shows how much time is needed to complete each task in a given project
-----Gantt chart: used to track progress toward completing a project
--- Scatter and Bubble Diagrams
----- scatter diagram: (XY) used to complete several entities on two or more variables
-----bubble diagram: expands to 3 variables with the size of the bubbles representing the third
--- Pie Charts
----- shows how the parts or a whole area are distributes, pie charts are easier for audiences to understand parts within a whole

This site is called "Microsoft Excel Library" and shows and informs how to process data on microsoft excel:

http://www.businessbookmall.com/Microsoft_Excel_Directions_For_Beginners.htm

---Data visualization
----- help readers make sense of massive data sets
- Presenting information, concepts, and ideas
--- Flow charts and organization charts
----- flow chart: illustrates a sequence of events from start to finish
----- organization chart: shows positions, units, or functions of an organization and how they relate
---maps
----- used to represent statistics by geographical area or showing spatial relationships
--- Drawings, diagrams, and photographs
----- Drawings/ diagrams to show how something works or is used or made
----- Drawings are sometimes better then photos as they can show detail
----- Use photos to show exact appearances and for visual appeal
----- Guidelines for using photographs: (1) consider if a diagram is more effective than a photograph (2) learn to use basic image processing tools (3) match the file to the application (4) make sure photos have communication value (5) be aware of copy writes and model permission
--- Animation and Video
----- if done right, often an unparalleled visual impact
----- can be used to recruit customers or get employees involved in the promotional process

Here is a link to a video that informs us of visualization of business

http://channel9.msdn.com/pdc2008/BB26/

4. Producing and Integrating Visuals
- Creating Visuals
--- computers can offer many tools but does not give the design sensibility that is needed for visual effects
--- Computer tools can save time and produce better results
- Integrating visuals with text
--- The level of sophistication should match the communication situation
--- maintaining a balance between illustration and words
----- place visuals to accent key points in text
----- balance visuals and texts
----- must match needs, expectations, and interpretation skills from the audience
--- Referencing Visuals
----- introduce and place them near the points they illustrate
----- helps readers understand why text is important
--- Placing Visuals
----- Place the closest to its in text reference as possible- helps understand relevance and minimum effort or reading
--- Writing Titles, Captions, and Legends
----- title: identifies the content purpose of the visual
----- descriptive title: identifies the topic of illustration
----- informative title: draws attention to the conclusion that needs to be drawn from the data
-----caption: offers additional discussion of the visuals
-----legend: helps readers “decode” the visual explanation
-Verify the quality of your visuals
--- Is the visual accurate?
--- Is the visual properly documented?
--- Is the visual honest?