http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Technical-Illustration A listing of the most recently indexed works about Technical Illustration in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Technical-Illustration http://tc.eserver.org/35645.html http://tc.eserver.org/35645.html Many of us are more comfortable communicating in words than in pictures. For example, user assistance writers are by nature and training writers, so they understand words and are adept at using word processing and publishing tools. Writers use lexicentric tools not only for creating and delivering content, but also as cognitive tools—that is, tools that help them think more clearly and efficiently. Thus, a user assistance writer might create a user-task matrix or take advantage of a word processor’s outline view when creating or evaluating a document’s structure. http://tc.eserver.org/35560.html http://tc.eserver.org/35560.html New research shows that highly embellished graphs and charts may actually help people understand data more effectively than traditional graphs. http://tc.eserver.org/35561.html http://tc.eserver.org/35561.html It looks like the opening (quoted above) overreaches what the study actually does. The research only looks at backgrounds, but “chart junk” comes in many other forms: pointless 3-D effects, crazy colour schemes, excessive gridlines, cutesy cartoons, and more. The summary of this research in no way provides a scientific basis to argue, “I like the 3-D effect, and science supports it’s easier to read!” http://tc.eserver.org/35572.html http://tc.eserver.org/35572.html As part of a project I'm working on, we are going to develop a comic-style collection of user scenarios to help communicate best practices around a security service we are offering. http://tc.eserver.org/35523.html http://tc.eserver.org/35523.html In this first column on media matters, Lee discusses screen captures, including quality, manipulation, file type, file size, and more. http://tc.eserver.org/35502.html http://tc.eserver.org/35502.html Ainsworth’s (2006) DeFT framework posits that different representations may lead learners to use different strategies. We wanted to investigate whether students use different strategies, and more broadly, different cognitive activities in diagrams versus in running text. In order to do so, we collected think-aloud protocol and other measures from 91 beginning biology majors reading an 8-page passage from their own textbook which included 7 complex diagrams. We coded the protocols for a wide range of cognitive activities, including strategy use, inference, background knowledge, vocabulary, and word reading. Comparisons of verbalizations while reading running text vs. reading diagrams showed that high-level cognitive activities—inferences and high-level strategy use—were used a higher proportion of the time when comprehending diagrams compared to when reading text. However, in running text vs. diagrams participants used a wider range of different individual cognitive activities (e.g., more different types of inferences). Our results suggest that instructors might consider teaching students how to draw inferences in both text and diagrams. They also show an interesting paradox that warrants further research—students often skipped over or superficially skimmed diagrams, but when they did read the diagrams they engaged in more high-level cognitive activity. http://tc.eserver.org/35496.html http://tc.eserver.org/35496.html A clear, well-illustrated guide to when one should (or should not) use an apostrophe. http://tc.eserver.org/35303.html http://tc.eserver.org/35303.html Just as I would with words, I'll cut out the obvious and whatever does not add value. I prefer an additive approach (put it in only when the words seem inadequate) over a subtractive approach (take it out if it seems superfluous). In other words, I'll be more open to screen shots in the future, but they have to work themselves into the document, not just be their by entitlement until expelled. http://tc.eserver.org/35112.html http://tc.eserver.org/35112.html By seeing all of the available data in one chart, associations, patterns and conclusions can be drawn simply by comparing the relationships as they are presented. This is something that I learned from Edward Tufte. http://tc.eserver.org/34951.html http://tc.eserver.org/34951.html Drawing a map is cognitively challenging. It requires you to do some abstract visualization. http://tc.eserver.org/34788.html http://tc.eserver.org/34788.html Writing more simply helps keep content more manageable and can increase its usability. So why do we continue to litter content with screen captures, which can be difficult to manage and often duplicate what users already see in application interfaces? http://tc.eserver.org/34566.html http://tc.eserver.org/34566.html Annotations come in all shapes and sizes depending on the artifact and the intent of the document. People are probably most familiar with wireframe annotations, where the author calls out areas of the screen to describe functionality not immediately discernible from the picture alone. http://tc.eserver.org/34567.html http://tc.eserver.org/34567.html Concept models aren't for everyone. When I show fellow designers these artifacts, I sometimes get "You show that to clients?" Like any deliverable, there's a time and a place for concept models. If you're anything like me, however, you think visually. Even if your models don't see the light of day, a good model can help you get a better grip on the problem, or lay some groundwork for your designs. http://tc.eserver.org/34270.html http://tc.eserver.org/34270.html By having consumers perform furniture assembly themselves, Ikea is able to both lower costs and slowly drive their customers insane. To be fair, Ikea assembly instructions are not that bad. They brilliantly only use pictures, which are clearer than text and require no translation. Still, recognizing that some people may still have difficulty understanding them, I offer this handy explanation of some typical Ikea instructions that came with a bookshelf I recently bought. http://tc.eserver.org/34106.html http://tc.eserver.org/34106.html An interactive presentation of a variety of visualization techniques used by graphic designers, technical illustrators and document designers to convey information. http://tc.eserver.org/34019.html http://tc.eserver.org/34019.html Most technical writers would include at least a few images to illustrate a point, or screen shots that accompany the description of a certain step-by-step procedure, etc. Organizing such images can really become a problem, especially when you have dozens and hundreds of them. Finding, editing, and importing them can quickly become a logistical nightmare, especially when a technical writer is working under a deadline pressure. Here are four ideas to organize and name your images for higher productivity. http://tc.eserver.org/33756.html http://tc.eserver.org/33756.html Structured data techniques are typically applied to text-based data. Technologies like SGML and XML have allowed text-based publishing to constrain and control the creation of text-based information, increasing the usefulness, accuracy, and reuse of information. http://tc.eserver.org/33758.html http://tc.eserver.org/33758.html Learn how to visually design and implement process definitions using BPSS V2 including the use of context mechanisms and workflows, signals and joins. A selection of sample industry and government applications will be provided from automotive, financial, homeland security and healthcare applications. http://tc.eserver.org/33545.html http://tc.eserver.org/33545.html Perspective—it’s one of the first things you learn about in any art class. The basic idea is that it’s the way your eye actually sees something, represented on a flat surface such as paper or a monitor. A simple example is drawing a group of objects: You represent an object in the distance by making it smaller, while making objects close to the viewer larger—make sense? In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to create perspective shadows in Adobe Photoshop CS3. The result is dynamic, but the technique is a breeze! http://tc.eserver.org/33178.html http://tc.eserver.org/33178.html There is a commonly held belief that Helvetica is the signage typeface of the New York City subway system, a belief reinforced by Helvetica, Gary Hustwit’s popular 2007 documentary about the typeface. But it is not true—or rather, it is only somewhat true. Helvetica is the official typeface of the MTA today, but it was not the typeface specified by Unimark International when it created a new signage system at the end of the 1960s. Why was Helvetica not chosen originally? What was chosen in its place? Why is Helvetica used now, and when did the changeover occur? http://tc.eserver.org/33155.html http://tc.eserver.org/33155.html How do you run the A/C on a spy plane? Where's the Start button on a nuclear power plant? Don't try to wing it—read the directions! A portfolio of classic instruction manuals. http://tc.eserver.org/33156.html http://tc.eserver.org/33156.html Apple's first user manual was largely the creation of Ronald Wayne, Apple's third founder, recruited from Atari by Steve Jobs for a 10 percent stake in the new company. Wayne not only wrote the entire 10-page booklet, he also drew the intricate cover logo depicting Isaac Newton beneath an apple tree. http://tc.eserver.org/32172.html http://tc.eserver.org/32172.html I'm amazed with the Google project, because the lack of narrative seems like a basic omission from such a high profile project. http://tc.eserver.org/32115.html http://tc.eserver.org/32115.html In the following tutorials you will be learning how to use a series of points in space to create an illustration. The work will be based on creating a WWII aircraft, the C-47 Skytrain. http://tc.eserver.org/32116.html http://tc.eserver.org/32116.html This bicycle drawing will be constructed over an orthographic primitive. The scale will be 1 to 1 and you will be able to work in all three axes using the primitive for placement. http://tc.eserver.org/31768.html http://tc.eserver.org/31768.html Have you ever pressed the PrtScn (print screen) key on your Windows keyboard and wondered why it was there since it never seemed to do anything? Well, it does do something! It copies an image of your screen onto the "clipboard," ready to paste into any graphics program. These steps show you how to use it along with Windows' standard image editor, Microsoft Paint, to save an image of your screen. http://tc.eserver.org/31642.html http://tc.eserver.org/31642.html The rising popularity of the comic as an internal communication device for designers has increased our ability to engage our stakeholders as we build interfaces. Yet, social service agencies looking to provide services to hard-to-reach groups like immigrants, cultural minorities, and the poor have taken pride in innovative outreach methods. In situations where traditional printed matter is a barrier, graphical methods can be used very effectively to communicate with audiences. From guerilla theatre to testimonials, posters to graphic instructions, users have benefited from alternative communication methods, particularly in situations where education or cultural barriers make it difficult for people to access services important to their well-being and safety. In some cases, the comic book format has been used as a way to help people get access to critical legal help. This case study from my time as a Publication Manager at the Legal Services Society (LSS) of British Columbia (BC) could inspire the use of comics outside the development process. http://tc.eserver.org/30868.html http://tc.eserver.org/30868.html Visuals that provide insights come from 1) a deep understanding of the goal / objectives 2) from thinking beyond what standard trend lines or stacked bar graphs can provide. Something non-normal to grab attention and yet communicate insights (sort of already contain recommendations and action items and not just data). http://tc.eserver.org/30776.html http://tc.eserver.org/30776.html You don't need to be a skilled illustrator to create effective 3-D graphics. Three-dimensional illustration allows the technical communicator to respond quickly to project changes and create imagery appropriate for most publications or multimedia. Burns' article shows the benefits of 3-D artwork and its potential for technical communicators. http://tc.eserver.org/30687.html http://tc.eserver.org/30687.html Arguments manifest in scientific visuals through graphic representation, content placement, and overall document structure. These arguments, designed to influence public perception, change over time in relation to sociopolitical climate. Analysis of a series of documents constructed deliberately to influence perception can help to determine patterns of argumentation and perceived exigencies. In this article, four self-guided tour brochures produced for distribution to visitors to the Glen Canyon Dam in 1977, 1984, 1990, and 1993 are analyzed in order to identify rhetorical strategies designed to influence public perceptions of the dam site, and examine how public perception of the dam, and related argumentation, is structured by sociopolitical climate. http://tc.eserver.org/30640.html http://tc.eserver.org/30640.html This article is based on the research and feedback I received from a number of user experience designers, usability specialists, product developers and writers, which led me to engage in a dialogue with the users. http://tc.eserver.org/30588.html http://tc.eserver.org/30588.html A video camera is an excellent tool for preparing technical illustrations and procedures. A video tape of a procedure provides chronological information. It provides visual images that can be used as the basis for technical illustrations. Visual images and details are recorded permenantly so that they are not forgotten. The research information can be passed on to another author. A case study illustrates how a video tape can be used to document a procedure and produce electronic illustrations. http://tc.eserver.org/30547.html http://tc.eserver.org/30547.html 'Flowcharts-- UGH!' That's a too-typical reader reaction when faced with the average flowchart. It underscores the author's challenge when trying to develop this potentially powerful tool. For conveying process, there is no better means. In proposals, however, where the flowchart must also serve as a sales tool, its optimum form is not always clear. This paper provides some guidelines, such as: Ensuring your flow is a process of merit. Letting goals dictate form. Organizing for readability. Focusing on action. Using simple, standard visuals. Illuminating features. And obviating responsiveness... To reap the winning rewards. http://tc.eserver.org/30488.html http://tc.eserver.org/30488.html This presentation examines ineffective technical graphics with problems in simplicity, orientation, and scale. It identifies principles of effective graphic communication that could prevent such problems, and clarifies objectives and techniques in designing editing and preparing technical graphics for printed documents and briefing materials. Graphics principles illustrated by transparencies include avoiding clutter, orienting properly, controlling scales, checking the content, and avoiding extraneous graphics. message, and that the table title or figure caption focuses clearly on the subject of the graphic. http://tc.eserver.org/30451.html http://tc.eserver.org/30451.html Organizing the available information and coming up with a plan for presenting it is the first and probably the most difficult stage in designing any infographic. http://tc.eserver.org/30303.html http://tc.eserver.org/30303.html Principles of usability can apply to everything, not just physical objects. When using or creating graphics, documents, symbols or logos, stop and try to think about whether or not the item is usable. http://tc.eserver.org/30094.html http://tc.eserver.org/30094.html Data visualization is the graphical representation of information. Information technology combines the principles of visualization with powerful applications and large data sets to create sophisticated images and animations. Representing large amounts of disparate information in a visual form often allows you to see patterns that would otherwise be buried in vast, unconnected data sets. Data visualizations offer one way to harness infrastructure to find hidden trends and correlations that can lead to important discoveries. Visual literacy is an increasingly important skill, and data visualizations are another channel for students to develop their ability to process information visually. http://tc.eserver.org/29885.html http://tc.eserver.org/29885.html An introduction to generating screen captures from Microsoft Windows computers. Consider your deliverables; where is the screen capture going to be used and seen by the customer? This helps you determine how you need to create your screen capture. http://tc.eserver.org/29763.html http://tc.eserver.org/29763.html Documentation and package design play a major role in customer satisfaction. The author tested three sets of wordless documentation by building pieces of furniture from three different manufacturers. While the construction methods, packaging, and wordless documentation methods were on the surface very similar, small differences had a significant impact on the usability of the instructions and the overall customer satisfaction with the documentation and the product. Decisions that were handled differently included visual verification of parts, whether or not extra hardware was provided and how it was provided, the appropriateness of the hardware, the quality of the hardware, the need for additional tools, and the care evidenced in packaging and labeling of parts. From these experiences, she makes recommendations for enhancing customer satisfaction that apply not just to wordless documentation, but to other consumer products. http://tc.eserver.org/29777.html http://tc.eserver.org/29777.html In this paper, I will demonstrate that when choosing graphics for patient education material, document designers should consider empirical research on memory of pictures and mental processing of graphs. It has been shown that comprehension of patient education materials is often impeded by text written at reading levels too high for the patient population. Graphics have been used to aid in overcoming the deficits of complex text. However, graphics too can be too advanced for the client to understand if designers do not consider audience and cognitive processing of images. http://tc.eserver.org/29706.html http://tc.eserver.org/29706.html Procedural graphics can use several techniques to show changes over time. Arrows, before-and-after views, ghosting of objects and other static techniques can operate as visual verbs that imply dynamic processes. We suggest several means for reducing users' ambiguity in interpreting visual verbs. http://tc.eserver.org/29532.html http://tc.eserver.org/29532.html The use of visual representation to learn science can be traced to Louis Agassiz, Harvard Professor of Zoology, in the mid-19th century. In Agassiz's approach, students were to study nature through carefully observing, drawing and then thinking about what the observations might add up to. However, implementation of Agassiz's student-centered approach has struggled with the conflict between science as a form of developing "mental discipline" in which mastery of scientific facts is the goal and science learning as a socially situated activity with an emphasis on the process of learning, not merely its products. Present-day attempts to have students draw to learn science often succumb to these same conflicts, limiting their full realization. http://tc.eserver.org/29528.html http://tc.eserver.org/29528.html An examination of a random sample of four medical journals--The Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, and The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine--reveals that one-fifth of the space of articles in medical science is devoted to an average of three tables and three flow charts, graphs, or photographs. Given these figures, the absence of discussion of visuals in the literature on medical communication may seem puzzling. But the puzzle is easily solved: our basic education gives us a coherent vocabulary for talking about prose, but no coherent vocabulary for talking about tables and visuals. Once we have this vocabulary in hand, we make another step in the direction of an explanation of the nature of communication in the medical sciences. We may note that understanding the meaning of a medical article is not just a consequence of understanding its texts; it is a consequence of understanding all its meaningful components working together--verbal, tabular, visual. http://tc.eserver.org/29530.html http://tc.eserver.org/29530.html The Multimodal approach offers technical communicators and science writers an analytical tool to synthesize the meaning made in the connections across communicative modes. This multimodal synthesis can help technical communicators better exploit the meaning-making potential of multimodal combinations and understand the needs of future generations shaped by their increasingly developed multimodal literacy. http://tc.eserver.org/29258.html http://tc.eserver.org/29258.html Airbrush is a much less forgiving endeavor than digital illustration. The first use of the airbrush started in the 1890s and was accomplished by blowing air through a tube with your mouth. With airbrush there is no command>undo. Mistakes are costly as they usually result in the need to do a separate piece of work as a patch or fix and have a printer strip it into the main image. http://tc.eserver.org/29257.html http://tc.eserver.org/29257.html In this demonstration we will be approaching the entire illustration process in much the same way as was done before Photoshop or any other computer graphics programs where created. In the non-digital world, you would start with an inked line drawing on illustration board. http://tc.eserver.org/29259.html http://tc.eserver.org/29259.html A "Ghosted", "Phantom View", "Transparent", or "See Through" technical illustration is one that renders the exterior skin of an object transparent in order to see the interior workings. This Photoshop tutorial will cover the basic techniques used to render a ghosted technical illustration using the airbrush technique. http://tc.eserver.org/29225.html http://tc.eserver.org/29225.html Florence Nightingale is usually pictured as an angelic nurse tending to British soldiers in military hospitals during the Crimean War. Although Nightingale was indeed a tender of soldiers, she was also an administrator, advocate for the common soldier, and proponent of the use of statistics and information design. This article examines Nightingale's rose diagrams, which she designed following her service as the director of nurses at a field hospital in the Crimean War. When the war ended, Nightingale was asked by the queen to write a report on the poor sanitary conditions and make recommendations for reform. When, after six months, the government did not act on the reforms, Nightingale decided to write an annex to the report, in which she would include her invention, the rose diagrams. Nightingale's ultimate success in persuading the government to institute reforms is an illustration of the power of visual rhetoric, as well as an example of Nightingale's own passionate resolve to right what she saw as a grievous wrong. http://tc.eserver.org/29052.html http://tc.eserver.org/29052.html This paper is a critique of current approaches to the development of computer graphing and graph visualization programs. Developers of these programs model the user as an individual problem solver who is reliant on perceptual skills to create and interpret graphed information. Such a model of graphing is ill-suited to meet the complex needs of real users, a supposition that is supported by work in two major areas of graphing theory and research: the sociology of science and the educational research of mathematics and scientific students. These areas have not been traditionally cited when planning computer graphing or visualization programs or when assessing their usability. A review of the literature in these fields reveals that an over-reliance on a user's perceptual skills is unlikely to result in successful graph practices. http://tc.eserver.org/29127.html http://tc.eserver.org/29127.html Many technical documents present information both graphically and verbally. While much is known about the verbal tools of technical professionals, technical graphics have been less fully examined. Here the drawings of a United States patent are examined revealing a system for organizing and presenting visual information that is analogous to commonly-used models for organizing and presenting verbal information. http://tc.eserver.org/29162.html http://tc.eserver.org/29162.html Andrew Feenberg's critical theory of technology is an underutilized, relatively unknown resource in technical communication which could be exploited not only for its potential clarification of large social issues that involve our discipline, but also specifically toward the development of a critical theory of illustrations. Applications of critical theory help strengthen our discipline by forcing us to delineate extant approaches and consider whether democratic goals are being achieved through those approaches. If a critical theory of illustrations can be built from Feenberg's critical theory of technology, it should be useful for classroom instructors and researchers as well as theorists. http://tc.eserver.org/28921.html http://tc.eserver.org/28921.html Every project has its own unique set of 'opportunities'--also known as challenges. Many of these challenges relate not to the quality of our work, but rather to the communication of our ideas. Often in the course of design, you must communicate complicated concepts to a non-technical (and often uninterested) project sponsor, client, or stakeholder. So how do you capture their interest, get their understanding and buy-in, and finally move on? http://tc.eserver.org/28891.html http://tc.eserver.org/28891.html The field of technical communication focuses on the ability of the author to gather information, interpret it, and then present the necessary items to the reader in a clear and concise manner. This article serves to briefly outline several of the key factors involved when deciding how to include imagery in technical materials. http://tc.eserver.org/28556.html http://tc.eserver.org/28556.html This study reports on the use of graphics by engineers as a method of stimulating the writing process (rhetorical invention). Information presented here comes from working engineers, based on a questionnaire developed after informal conversations and then administered to 15 participants in private industry, with questions about specific writing genres and types of graphics. Results show that graphics have a powerful function in stimulating writing ideas. Although individual writers' preferences in graphics are strong, patterns could be seen in (1) overall number of graphics types used by each writer, (2) specific types of graphics used by each writer based on the writing genre, and (3) the most common types of graphics used overall. http://tc.eserver.org/28528.html http://tc.eserver.org/28528.html Technical illustration ranges from hand-drawn artwork to complex computer imagery. It extends from instructional materials intended for the general public to complex technical engineering drawings intended for other engineers. This article, with a timeline, chronicles the evolution of technical illustration. Descriptions of illustration basics are included along with an introduction to ISO/S1000D/W3C standards and practices. http://tc.eserver.org/28383.html http://tc.eserver.org/28383.html The professional objectives of the AMI are to promote the study and advancement of medical illustration and allied fields of visual communication, and to promote understanding and cooperation with the medical profession and related health science professions. Its members are primarily artists who create material designed to facilitate the recording and dissemination of medical and bioscientific knowledge through visual communication media. Members are involved not only in the creation of such material, but also serve in consultant, advisory, educational and administrative capacities in all aspects of bioscientific communications and related areas of visual education. http://tc.eserver.org/28384.html http://tc.eserver.org/28384.html The GNSI is a non-profit organization that sets high professional standards, provides opportunities for professional and scholarly development, encourages and assists member networking, and promotes itself to potential clients and the general public. http://tc.eserver.org/28227.html http://tc.eserver.org/28227.html Custom made fills can be of significant value to technical illustrators. This article shows many custom fills and how they can be applied. There is also a free download of over 50 custom fills. http://tc.eserver.org/28049.html http://tc.eserver.org/28049.html Using a linear diagram to plot data from website traffic logs can lead you to overlook important conclusions. Sometimes advanced visualizations are worth the effort. http://tc.eserver.org/28045.html http://tc.eserver.org/28045.html Drawing gears is now very simple using CorelDraw. http://tc.eserver.org/28047.html http://tc.eserver.org/28047.html How to open SolidWorks technical illustration DXF files in CorelDraw. http://tc.eserver.org/28046.html http://tc.eserver.org/28046.html Sometimes there are problems importing AutoCAD files. The following gives a few tips on correcting such problems. http://tc.eserver.org/27770.html http://tc.eserver.org/27770.html WhitePaperSource is a rich information source for white paper enthusiasts. It contains news about the industry and a forum for discussing everything and anything about writing and marketing white papers. http://tc.eserver.org/27489.html http://tc.eserver.org/27489.html Lists wacky, bizarre, surreal and otherwise strange examples of technical documentation, particularly illustration. http://tc.eserver.org/27397.html http://tc.eserver.org/27397.html How often can you say you truly learned something completely new in a design workshop? For me, it had been a long time. But there I was, working hands-on with paper and pencil, dreaming up great ideas, and experimenting with visual communication in a medium I hadn't before seriously considered for the purpose. If you have a chance to attend this workshop, do it! If nothing else, it'll help you remember why you wanted to be a designer in the first place. http://tc.eserver.org/26342.html http://tc.eserver.org/26342.html Site covering both traditional and digital illustration. http://tc.eserver.org/26066.html http://tc.eserver.org/26066.html Illustrations and technical graphics are essential to any technical documentation. They assist users' understanding by simplifying complex content through clear, understandable and effective information. A primary objective of technical documentation is to ensure that users use products effectively and safely. Graphics and illustrations assist in accomplishing this objective. Striking the right balance between text and graphics enables documentation to be effective support to product use. This article recommends a few guidelines and best practices to adopt when working with illustrations and graphics in technical documents. http://tc.eserver.org/25653.html http://tc.eserver.org/25653.html An important part of modern communication is the use of images, both with oral presentations and in publications, to convey the essence of the author's message. As the methods of preparing, transmitting, and presenting images proliferate, we are all challenged to make the best use possible of each imaging technology. http://tc.eserver.org/25652.html http://tc.eserver.org/25652.html This paper provides a brief review of the various paths undertaken in the development of ink-jet printing. Highlights of recent progress and trends in this technology are discussed. The technologies embedded in the latest ink-jet products from current industry leaders in both thermal and piezoelectric drop-on-demand ink-jet methods are also described. Finally, this article presents a list of the potential ink-jet technology applications that have emerged in the past few years. http://tc.eserver.org/25612.html http://tc.eserver.org/25612.html Visualising things makes them tangible and brings them into shareable form. Visualisation brings ideas to life and helps understanding. Visualisation techniques help elicit, communicate and analyse ideas and concepts. http://tc.eserver.org/25618.html http://tc.eserver.org/25618.html Visio practically groaned as I opened the wireframes for my current project, which were in something like the twentieth revision. It was the usual story--poorly defined requirements and business rules--and my project folder was fast becoming the poster child for Feature Creep Flu. http://tc.eserver.org/25428.html http://tc.eserver.org/25428.html It's the subtle transitions in color that give the illusion of three dimensions in two-dimensional artwork. Gradients are used to simulate light hitting a curved or angular surface. The gradual blending from one color to another is the key. Linear and radial gradients can be used effectively to show flat and rounded shapes, but Illustrator's gradient meshes are best for creating complex shapes. http://tc.eserver.org/25411.html http://tc.eserver.org/25411.html Die Symbolsammlung bietet kostenlos Symbole zur Verwendung in Sicherheitshinweisen bzw. Gefahrenhinweisen an. Sie enthält Dateien im GIF- und EPS-Format. Die Dateien können einzeln oder gesammelt in ZIP-Archiven heruntergeladen werden. Derzeit sind die folgenden Kategorien vorhanden: (1) Gefahrenzeichen oder Warnsymbole, (2) Verbotszeichen, (3) Gebotszeichen, (4) Symbole gemäß Gefahrstoffverordnung (GefStoffV) (5) Rettungszeichen (6) Brandschutzzeichen http://tc.eserver.org/24316.html http://tc.eserver.org/24316.html Although authoring agencies typically devote considerable effort to creating text for specific audiences and purposes, non-textual elements are often created trivially. Yet, many design theories could be successfully applied to the creation of transactional non-textual information. This paper offers an overview for and references to major theorists; it also serves as the theoretical basis for a presentation that emphasizes pragmatic applications of these principles in the design of non-textual information for specific audiences and purposes. http://tc.eserver.org/24317.html http://tc.eserver.org/24317.html Illustrations for scientific material must convey information quickly, clearly, and succinctly. They must be technically accurate as well as aesthetically pleasing. We discuss the differences between illustrations for scientific and nonscientific material and show examples of good and poor scientific illustrations. http://tc.eserver.org/24270.html http://tc.eserver.org/24270.html The advent of multimedia technology has made 'visualization' a hot topic in technical communication. This paper classifies visualization into three categories, referring to differences in visualization between Western culture and Japanese culture. http://tc.eserver.org/24252.html http://tc.eserver.org/24252.html Exploring creative solutions is the key for producing eye-catching informational graphics that grab attention and work in print and on-line. The Department of Technical Graphics at Purdue University offers a basic design course that focuses on informational graphics along with visual hierarchy and the integration of type and images. Students are acquainted to informational graphics as a method to illustrate data aesthetically so it explains, convinces, supports, and makes comparisons. This paper outlines how basic informational graphics is introduced to students who have little or no prior knowledge to creating eye-catching charts. http://tc.eserver.org/24262.html http://tc.eserver.org/24262.html Explains some of the terminology used to describe graphics and explains the roles graphic designers play in the production of technical art. http://tc.eserver.org/24253.html http://tc.eserver.org/24253.html The Wigner distribution provides a visual display of quantitative information about how a signal’s energy is distributed in both time and frequency. Through its low-order moments the Wigner distribution embodies the fundamentally important concepts of both Fourier analysis and time-domain analysis. Signal energy is distributed in such a way that specific frequencies are localized in time by the group delay time (from classical filter theory) and at specific instants in time the frequency is given by the instantaneous frequency (from classical modulation theory). The energy spectrum (energy per frequency) and instantaneous power (energy per time) are specified by the zero-order moments of the distribution. The net positive volume of the Wigner distribution is numerically equal to the signal’s total energy. While the theoretical underpinnings of the Wigner distribution are mathematically elegant and do merit in-depth study, a substantial amount of practical insight, understanding and interpretive skill can be gained by carefully examining a wide variety of computed Wigner distributions such as those of the audio signals presented in this brief report. http://tc.eserver.org/24260.html http://tc.eserver.org/24260.html How do you convey an entire set of complex instructions without words, and why would you even bother? Since he first quipped this question, Patrick Hofmann has deleted countless words from the pages of hardware user manuals. Patrick is a technical illustrator and writer who, with the help of his team at Quintext information engineering in Waterloo, Canada, creates wordless documentation and visual solutions for his clients. In this session, you will learn what he learned: how to use wordlessness to downsize multi-lingual sets of assembly manuals, and how to illustrate complex instructions with the same concern for usability as we have with writing. http://tc.eserver.org/24239.html http://tc.eserver.org/24239.html Many of the graphical constructions we see in the media and learned in school have severe perceptual problems. Newer and better methods are available based on research and experimentation in human perception. However, these newer methods are often hidden in the scientific literature. Software packages for graphical displays can add to the problem since their defaults often emphasize their technological know-how rather than the accurate display of data. In addition, graphic designers and artists are not necessarily trained in statistics. Recognizing that these problems exist is the key to solving them. The references provide guidance for effective data displays. http://tc.eserver.org/24218.html http://tc.eserver.org/24218.html Illustrations for procedural documents should show actions from the mental perspective of people carrying them out. Illustrations also should take into account the twodimensional displays of printed documents and computer screens by orienting critical body positions and movements across displays. http://tc.eserver.org/23928.html http://tc.eserver.org/23928.html In basic terms, technical illustration employs a balance of informative graphics, text, and embedded data or intelligence to compose pictorial views that visually communicate and clarify critical product information. http://tc.eserver.org/23781.html http://tc.eserver.org/23781.html Test subjects were asked to match body images shown from varying points of view. Their preference was for images that placed critical distances across the display plane; their error patterns suggest that several variables interact to affect the accuracy of perceiving body positions in illustrations. http://tc.eserver.org/23694.html http://tc.eserver.org/23694.html Most technical writers use much more care in choosing words than in presenting numbers. The writer who presents numbers poorly loses credibility. Poorly presented numbers also cause reader misunderstanding that leads to poor decisions. http://tc.eserver.org/23679.html http://tc.eserver.org/23679.html Using evenly spaced tick marks to represent different time intervals is a common error which has been repeated several times in recent STC publications and presentations. http://tc.eserver.org/23537.html http://tc.eserver.org/23537.html General guidelines for illustrative figures in technical reports. http://tc.eserver.org/23175.html http://tc.eserver.org/23175.html The library offers warning symbols, prohibiting symbols, mandatory action symbols and other signs to be used in technical documentation. http://tc.eserver.org/23150.html http://tc.eserver.org/23150.html Reviewing and suggesting changes to tables and charts are important responsibilities of editors. Improvements a knowledgeable editor might suggest include the following: revising table titles, selecting the best table design, converting landscape to portrait orientation, adopting a more effective style, choosing the right chart form, and guarding against misleading charts. Editors who have had little training or experience in this area will benefit from attending specific courses and studying the texts listed in the bibliography. http://tc.eserver.org/23021.html http://tc.eserver.org/23021.html Using Photoshop, Illustrator, and Freehand to create better charts, graphs, technical diagrams. http://tc.eserver.org/23023.html http://tc.eserver.org/23023.html Use preferably a drawing, not a photo! Photos most often include too many irrelevant details. The arrow lines are often more difficult to see on a photo. http://tc.eserver.org/22548.html http://tc.eserver.org/22548.html Does the illustration I'm creating, or using, depict that person's race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, abilities, etc. accurately? http://tc.eserver.org/22493.html http://tc.eserver.org/22493.html Illustration lies in a no man's land, somewhere between fine art and clip art. Though illustration remains a powerful and versatile communication tool, it often plays a lonely role in the graphic arts. Illustrators operate from isolated studios, ignorant of the concerns of designers, who in turn are oblivious to the needs of illustrators. These articles explore the evolving role illustration plays in today's publishing environment. http://tc.eserver.org/22007.html http://tc.eserver.org/22007.html El proyecto genoma humano (PGH) genera un volumen de información inabordable sin el uso de medios sofisticados para su tratamiento. La visualización de información tiene aquí un gran campo de aplicación. http://tc.eserver.org/22003.html http://tc.eserver.org/22003.html Los mapas conceptuales son instrumentos de representación del conocimiento sencillos y prácticos, que permiten transmitir con claridad mensajes conceptuales complejos y facilitar tanto el aprendizaje como la enseñanza. Para mayor abundamiento, adoptan la forma de grafos. http://tc.eserver.org/21951.html http://tc.eserver.org/21951.html This is an outline of Edward Tufte's pioneering work on the use of graphics to display quantitative information.  It mainly consists of text and ideas  taken from his three books on the subject along with some additional material of my own.  This page is in  text only format: in order to understand the concepts you need to read the books because the concepts cannot really be grasped without the illustrations, and current video monitor technology is too low in resolution to do them justice. His work has been described as 'a visual Strunk and White.' http://tc.eserver.org/21963.html http://tc.eserver.org/21963.html An under-the-hood look at Illustrator's versatile unite filter. http://tc.eserver.org/21921.html http://tc.eserver.org/21921.html Any good technical illustration starts with well-executed line art. If you are working from any type of reference other than a CAD output in the desired angle, you will need to have a strong fundamental understanding of the principles of perspective drawing. http://tc.eserver.org/21923.html http://tc.eserver.org/21923.html A history of technical illustration, from the classics to the present. http://tc.eserver.org/21925.html http://tc.eserver.org/21925.html This project presented many unique challenges. The actual ship was still in Germany being completed when I started the project. There was no photography or CAD reference to work from, only the paper blueprint you see below. In order to have the brochures completed by the time the ship went into service, the final illustration had to be finished in under two months. http://tc.eserver.org/21928.html http://tc.eserver.org/21928.html If you create technical art in Illustrator, check out these tips - in fact, check them out even if you don't. http://tc.eserver.org/21922.html http://tc.eserver.org/21922.html A concise reference guide to technical illustration terms. http://tc.eserver.org/21927.html http://tc.eserver.org/21927.html The Graphic Artists Guild is a national union of illustrators, designers, web creators, production artists, surface designers and other creatives who have come together to pursue common goals, share their experience, raise industry standards, and improve the ability of visual creators to achieve satisfying and rewarding careers. http://tc.eserver.org/21924.html http://tc.eserver.org/21924.html This chart shows a range of illustration style options and an approximation of the cost for each of those options. http://tc.eserver.org/21926.html http://tc.eserver.org/21926.html To promote and stimulate interest in the art of illustration, past, present and future, and to give impetus generally toward high ideals in the art by means of exhibitions, lectures, educational programs, social intercourse, and in such other ways as may seem advisable. http://tc.eserver.org/21920.html http://tc.eserver.org/21920.html In this lesson we are going to create a 2 Point Perspective view drawing of our subject working from plan and elevation view reference. http://tc.eserver.org/21854.html http://tc.eserver.org/21854.html The elusive screen, captured at last. http://tc.eserver.org/21849.html http://tc.eserver.org/21849.html Photoshop gets involved with rhinos, criminals, ancient math, and the microscope. http://tc.eserver.org/21814.html http://tc.eserver.org/21814.html The Recommendations for Chart and Graphic comprise guidelines for the use of charts, graphics, images, colors and text. http://tc.eserver.org/21794.html http://tc.eserver.org/21794.html There is space for non-specialist technical communicators to provide attractive and relevant artwork. http://tc.eserver.org/21738.html http://tc.eserver.org/21738.html Diagrams are an essential tool for communicating information architecture and interaction design in Web development teams. This document discusses the considerations in development of such diagrams, outlines a basic symbology for diagramming information architecture and interaction design concepts, and provides guidelines for the use of these elements. http://tc.eserver.org/21659.html http://tc.eserver.org/21659.html Los buenos gráficos son los que no se notan, los que soportan y enseñan los datos sin interferir con ellos. Repasamos algunas de las reglas para hacer mal un gráfico. http://tc.eserver.org/21660.html http://tc.eserver.org/21660.html No siempre un gráfico es el elemento más ilustrativo. Las frases escritas, las tablas y los gráficos tienen su propio lugar en el discurso de la construcción de la claridad y el entendimiento.  http://tc.eserver.org/21636.html http://tc.eserver.org/21636.html El lamentable accidente del trasbordador Columbia ha propiciado la creación de innumerables gráficos para explicar lo que pasó. Revisamos la importancia de la visualización en este accidente y, especialmente, en el del Challenger en 1986. http://tc.eserver.org/21640.html http://tc.eserver.org/21640.html Después de repasar la semana pasada los inicios de la visualización en este artículo veremos el arranque de los gráficos modernos, la edad de oro de la creatividad gráfica y los avances previos al actual momento de explosión creativa. http://tc.eserver.org/21634.html http://tc.eserver.org/21634.html Jacques Bertin es una de las figuras fundamentales de la visualización de Información dado que fue el primero en articular una teoría coherente y razonada para el análisis de la representación cuantitativa en forma gráfica. En este artículo contesta a nuestras preguntas. http://tc.eserver.org/21635.html http://tc.eserver.org/21635.html La guerra, como las demás actividades humanas, es susceptible también de ser motivo de la visualización así como de usarla para sus propios fines. En este artículo vemos algunos ejemplos. http://tc.eserver.org/21630.html http://tc.eserver.org/21630.html El lenguaje escrito no es más que un caso particular del lenguaje visual. En realidad hay muchos lenguajes visuales que parecen tener reglas en común. Pensar en el lenguaje visual nos puede ayudar a transmitir nuestros mensajes de forma más efectiva. http://tc.eserver.org/21631.html http://tc.eserver.org/21631.html Las presentaciones tienden a ser más visuales y menos textuales. Convertir cada concepto en una imagen es el reto y, a la vez, la solución. http://tc.eserver.org/21595.html http://tc.eserver.org/21595.html Los grafos son la representación natural de las redes, en las que estamos cada vez más incluidos. Exploramos qué son los grafos, para qué sirven y algunas reglas para dibujarlos bien. http://tc.eserver.org/21587.html http://tc.eserver.org/21587.html InfoVis.net es un proyecto dedicado a la Visualización de la Información, entendida como el proceso de interiorización del conocimiento mediante la percepción de información, preferentemente (pero no sólo) de forma visual. A veces se confunde la Visualización de la Información con el Diseño de Información. Este último es parte de aquella. http://tc.eserver.org/21596.html http://tc.eserver.org/21596.html Las redes sociales son las responsables de muchas de las estructuras de poder e influencia en nuestro mundo. No siempre es fácil reconocer su estructura y comportamiento. La visualización y el análisis de redes sociales pueden contribuir notablemente a conocerlas. http://tc.eserver.org/21497.html http://tc.eserver.org/21497.html As certain traditional technical and engineering applications become established on the Web, they bring with them information resources that mix text and data with significant technical graphics components. Technical graphics for such applications as aircraft maintenance manuals are characterized by high volume and complexity, stringent fidelity and interoperability constraints, and long life cycle. W3C has two standards for Web based graphics, WebCGM and SVG. WebCGM was specifically standardized for technical applications. SVG has much broader applicability. In a nutshell, the usual formula is 'WebCGM for Web-based technical graphics, SVG for graphic arts and creative graphics.' Still, the questions continue to arise. why there are two formats, and isn't it possible to use the one for the other application? When one takes a careful and detailed look at the two formats, in the context of the particular requirements of technical illustration, then specific differences emerge. This session will present such a comparison, from both the theoretical, functional perspective, as well a practical real-world (implemenations and interoperability) perspective. The comparison is based on an ongoing study that has been conducted within the CGM Open consortium and the Graphics Working Group of the Air Transport Association. http://tc.eserver.org/21498.html http://tc.eserver.org/21498.html Current interactive modeling systems allow users to view models in wireframe or Phong-shaded images. However, the wireframe is based on the model's parameterization, and a model's features may get lost in a nest of lines. Alone, a fully rendered image may not provide enough useful information about the structure or model features. Human technical illustrators follow certain visual conventions that are unlike Phong-shaded or wireframe renderings, and the drawings they produce are subjectively superior to conventional computer renderings. This thesis explores lighting, shading, and line illustration conventions used by technical illustrators. These conventions are implemented in a modeling system to create a new method of displaying and viewing complex NURBS models. In particular, silhouettes and edge lines are drawn in a manner similar to pen-and-ink drawings, and a shading algorithm is used that is similar to ink-wash or air-brush renderings for areas inside the silhouettes. This shading has a low intensity variation so that the black silhouettes remain visually distinct, and it has a cool-to-warm hue transition to help accent surface orientation. Applying these illustration methods produces images that are closer to human-drawn illustrations than is provided by traditional computer graphics approaches. http://tc.eserver.org/21495.html http://tc.eserver.org/21495.html Phong-shaded 3D imagery does not provide geometric information of the same richness as human-drawn technical illustrations. A non-photorealistic lighting model is presented that attempts to narrow this gap. The model is based on practice in traditional technical illustration, where the lighting model uses both luminance and changes in hue to indicate surface orientation, reserving extreme lights and darks for edge lines and highlights. The lighting model allows shading to occur only in mid-tones so that edge lines and highlights remain visually prominent. In addition, we show how this lighting model is modified when portraying models of metal objects. These illustration methods give a clearer picture of shape, structure, and material composition than traditional computer graphics methods. http://tc.eserver.org/21492.html http://tc.eserver.org/21492.html In isometric, it is possible to work directly with measurements only on the main axes. Here you can learn what you have to do if you need a measure beyond the main axes. http://tc.eserver.org/21493.html http://tc.eserver.org/21493.html The illustration of a cube with filleted corners follows specific rules. Therefore, you must account for certain considerations when you depict such a cube. Get to know more about these filleted corners and learn how to build such a cube correctly. http://tc.eserver.org/21491.html http://tc.eserver.org/21491.html Using existing data is a good way of reaching your target fast and efficiently. The following notes should help with implementing your current data.