The Effective and Judicious Use of Graphic Elements in P&P Documents

By Audrey Cielinski-Kessler. Reprinted from Steps & Specs, Vol. 7/ No.1/ March 2001.

My take on the use of graphic elements in policy and procedure documents is based on the premise that people are more likely to look at the pictures than read the text portion of a document—regardless of whether that document is a user guide, a policy manual, a newspaper or a magazine.

Because of this propensity to favor pictures over text— especially lengthy text—it’s important that graphic elements, from charts and graphs to tables and diagrams, be used both effectively and judiciously. So what is meant by “effectively” and “judiciously”?

“Judiciously” means using the type of graphic element that is best suited to the nature and purpose of the document and the composition of the audience. It does not mean adding graphic elements just to have them or to fill up space so the document is longer and perhaps (at least to some) more impressive because of its heft. It means using graphic elements to enhance the document user’s ability to perceive and comprehend the intended message. Even the most technically correct document is of little use if its message is not conveyed to the persons to whom the message is addressed.

“Effectively” means using graphics that are self-contained and can stand alone on their own merits without the reader having to plow through rows of text to find even basic information about the graphic, such as units of measure, the meaning of symbols or abbreviations, or a title other than just “Figure 3” or “Table 1” (see Figure 1).

It means using a descriptive, substantive and inclusive title with the graphic and presenting the information clearly and obviously (see Figure 2). The goal is to make it unnecessary for the reader to have to skim or read word for word the accompanying text. Chances are, the user won’t bother—which means your message, despite its importance or value to the user—may not be communicated. With an outcome like that, both you and the reader lose. You have wasted your time because your message failed to be conveyed; the user wasted his time because the information he was seeking remains elusive.

The judicious and effective use of graphics also has to do with the placement of the graphics within the text and references to the graphics in the narrative portion of the document. The existence of the graphic needs to be referenced in the text with the related graphic placed as close to that reference as possible. The reader should not have to flip several pages before finding the referenced graphic. That’s wasted time for the reader and disruptive of the thought process.

That’s not to say that a graphic must be on the same page as its text reference. It only means that the reference and the graphic need to be in close proximity to each other. But don’t assume that because the reference and the graphic are close together that you as the author can skimp on detail in the graphic itself, thus making it dependent of the information in the text. At the same time, you should not assume that just because the graphic is self-contained and includes a good amount of detail that nothing more needs to be said in the text portion of the document other than something like “Table 4 is on page 8.” The text area is where you can and should expand on.