People, People, People

The Color Theory

Chapter 7 Part 2

I found this chapter's take on using visuals to enhance your technical communication interesting. Going into depth about the different types of visuals used helped me further think the way I use visuals in my own projects. In my Information Technology major I use visuals in almost everything I do. In a sense, visuals ARE what I do. Web pages and web applications are aimed to please their audiences' visual attention. I feel like I've always known the importance of visuals when giving presentations, showing statistics, explaining step-by-step instructions, etc. But this chapter certainly made me rethink my strategies in doing so. Strategies for including tables, graphs, charts, illustrations, photographs, videos, icons, and symbols in your technical communication are all emphasized in more detail than I would ever have imagined necessary. The strategy for including tables, for example, suggests not including too much information in one single table and keeping quantitative and qualitative data brief. These are just two of the seven specific instructions given to include only tables. Chapter 7 opened my mind to the intense detail and attention that needs to be paid toward adding visuals to my technical communication pieces.