(DP) Illustrations and Graphics Lesson

Illustrations and Graphics

Ten Tips on Working with Graphics

10 Tips for Working with Graphics THINK COPYRIGHT START WITH THE RIGHT SIZE PICTURE USE A SINGLE VISUAL CREATE CONSISTENCY VISUAL RHETORIC APPLIES TO GRAPHICS CREATE HIERARCHY USE A GRID PRINT IT AND PROOF IT CHOOSE A GRAPHIC FILE FORMAT CREATE BALANCE

1. Think Copyright - With all of the great visuals available on the web, we sometimes forget that someone created them and in doing so owns the right to how they may be used. Familiarize yourself with Fair Use laws and learn to search for graphics that can be used without the creator's permission.

2. Start With the Right Size Picture - The resolution of a picture is determined by the pixels per inch (ppi). This is sometimes referred to as the dots per inch (dpi). While you can change the resolution to fit your needs, changing the resolution can result in a fuzzy image (commonly called pixelated.) On the other hand, if the resolution is too high, the file size can block being able to print it.

3. Remember: Visual Rhetoric Applies to Graphics - Whether you are using clip art, graphs and charts, or pictures, they need to be carefully chosen and enhanced to assist in the visual rhetoric of your document. Hint: While clipart works well in some presentations, it may often be too cartoon-like for a professional document.

4. Create Hierarchy - How important is your graphic to the message you are trying to convey? Which is more important? The text? The graphic? Answering these questions will help you determine the size and placement of the graphic on the page. The more important the information the more prominent it should be on the page.

5. Create Balance - A page must appear visually balanced. Balance is directly related to the amount and placement of content as well as the amount and placement of white space. In general, a page will appear more balanced if the prominent elements such as a mass of text or a graphic appears on the lower half of the page either centered or toward the left lower quadrant. White (empty) space must also be balanced. Too little white space and the page will seem to busy and confusing, too much and it will seem empty.

6. Create Consistency - Visual consistency can be obtained by creating a structure for a document and keeping it throughout the document. Headers, footers, page numbers, etc. that are similar in format add to a page's consistency. Likewise using a similar placement of graphics on all pages will help the document's consistency.

7. Use a Single Visual - The strongest impact can often be accomplished by using a single strong visual rather than several. However, if several visuals are necessary, be sure to connect them through placement.

8. Use a Grid - Fortunately, we tend to work in grids instinctively. Grids help with setting up the placement of graphics in association with the text. There are many grid templates available on the Internet and their use is recommended for those who are new to designing documents.

9. Choose a Graphic File Format - The format of your graphic will determine if it is lossless or lossy. Some common file format extensions for graphics include:

JPEG or JPG - Compresses files well and allows a choice of quality. Each time a JPEG file is altered and saved there is some loss of quality.

TIFF - Can be saved with or without compression. This is the file format for most digital cameras. Use a TIFF file format for a work in progress.

GIF - Uses a color look up table to distill 16,777,216 colors to an image that contains 256 colors. Sometimes this is done by choosing the closest color on the table, other times by adjusting adjacent pixels to get the appropriate mix. GIF is better for web and animation than for printed pictures.

PNG - Designed to improve upon the GIF format, this format produces excellent lossless pictures by finding recurring patterns in a picture that it can compress. Like GIF pictures it is designed for the web and does not work well in a print format.

10. Print It and Proof It - This final step cannot be stressed enough. Simply viewing your document on your computer is not enough. View it as a printed document to ensure that your printed version looks the way it should.

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