Is a Picture Really Worth 1,000 Words?

By Jeff Freeman

Patrick Hofmann came all the way from Australia to extol the virtues and explain the drawbacks of visual language to our joint STC/CHI meeting. In his presentation, Patrick explained how the same installation guide could be used all around the world by simply using pictures instead of words to present information. This saves the high cost of printing manuals in 16 to 25 different languages.

Patrick discussed the following major topics:

Creating and evaluating picture manuals
Problems of pictures without words
Age as a factor in determining the usability of symbols

Creating and Evaluating Picture Manuals

The wordless manual begins with the creation of a storyboard. The storyboard contains both pictures and word captions. Usability tests determine whether the pictures alone work to convey the information.

Usability tests are conducted under the premise that "any feedback is better than no feedback at all." Thus, samples from as few as seven or eight people can help determine where additional feedback needs to occur.

Problems of Using Pictures Without Words

Patrick spoke at our Chapter meeting a year ago. One of the biggest differences between that presentation and this one is that this time Patrick stressed the potential problems with picture manuals. The following is a list of reasons that pictures can cause problems with readers:

Pictures often provide too much unnecessary detail.
A picture doesn't have to show everything. Too much detail often detracts from the information that is being presented.
Pictures need more standards.
Following standards and being consistent help greatly with usability.
Pictures are recycled inappropriately.
For example, low quality online help pictures should not be used in a high quality printed manual.
Pictures often don't express their intended meaning.
It is not redundant to use a picture and accompany it with a textual description.

Finding the Proper Symbols to Use Is a Major Concern

One of the biggest challenges of writers of visual manuals is the ability to find symbols that most people will understand. It is interesting that the usual symbols for items often fail in the usability tests. For example, in other countries, a check mark does not mean "correct" and an "X" does not mean "wrong."

Age is often a factor in determining whether a symbol works to convey a meaning. The following objects are most age-dependent when determining the appropriate signals to use:

Television
Phone
Movies

The above items are difficult to convey to all ages because they have changed appearance so much in the last 40 years.

The Future of Visual Manuals

After hearing this year's presentation by Patrick Hofmann, I wonder if visual manuals have longevity or if we really need to have "a way with words" to prosper as technical writers in the future. Here is something to consider: How would you present the information in this article using pictures only?

February's Meeting

Join us for Bret Freeman's presentation, "Digesting the 'Alphabet Soup' of Technical Writing and Publishing." Bret, a senior sales engineer for Vasont Systems, will speak at our Chapter meeting on February 8th. Go to http://www.stc-sd.org/events-meetings/meeting_information.htm to sign up today.