Graphic Communication

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Graphic Communication
Professional Development 451-204

• Cliff Ogleby

Department of Geomatics, The University of
Melbourne
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Overview

• Introduction
• Visual perception
• The Eye Seeing
• Types of Graphical Communication
• Graphics in Reports
• Design Hints
• Poster Presentation

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Introduction

• Graphical communication is that form of
  communication which uses maps, diagrams, sketches
  symbols to record situations or convey
  information

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Visual Perception

• Decoding of signals from the eye into a pattern
  that can be compared with those stored in the
  mind from past experiences.
• Combined process of mind and eye.
• Messages must be presented in a manner to
  facilitate the comparison process (recognition)
  to avoid mis-interpretation.

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The Eye Seeing
How we see

• The eye can be likened to a camera in that there
  is a lens (cornea, pupil lens) that passes
  light through onto film (retina)

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The Eye Seeing
The Retina

• Is composed of two types of light sensitive
  cells rods cones.
• Rods are most common do most of the seeing,
• Cones are the least common are responsible for
  the detection of colour.
• Centre of retina (fovea) has the most accurate
  vision, 1 field of view. As a result
  of this, viewing is often a scanning
  process.

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The Eye Seeing
Cortex

• The electronic messages travel along the optic
  nerve to the brain, where they are decoded by the
  visual cortex.
• The visual cortex contains cells with specific
  functions relating to the analysis of

• size
• shape
• movement
• texture

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The Eye Seeing
Cognition

• The responses these cells generate are then
  processed by our cognitive system.
• This enables us to interpret visual messages,
  to recognise.
• This process can be broken down into size, shape,
  tone, texture, pattern place,
• But also includes experience, culture, prejudices.

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The Eye Seeing
Design the Eye

• Well designed graphical communication exploits
  the use of
• Layout (to move the eye)
• Colour (to attract the eye)
• Intensity (to facilitate cognition).
• What is appealing to both the physiology
  psychology will be seen,
• It can also appeal to experience, culture,
  prejudices,
• It may also be understood.

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Types of Graphical Communication
The Analogue world

• The world in which we live is effectively
  analogue
• It is composed of objects, symbols pictures
  rather than numbers.
• As a result we have evolved as very efficient
  processors of analogue data.
• The types of data (processed to become
  information) can be broken down into 5 categories.

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Types of Graphical Communication
1. Alphanumeric

• The design of text for annotation
• The layout of reports other text documentation
• The design of screen fonts
• The design of data entry forms menus
• Road signs, warnings information signs, labels.

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Types of Graphical Communication
2. Pictogrammic

• Very useful means of communicating messages
  within confined areas
• Do not rely on language
• Symbols, signs, icons, graphical user interfaces,
  map legends
• E.G. The buttons on the SET4C total stations
• Controls in a car, road signs, disabled parking
  spaces
• Corporate logos

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Types of Graphical Communication
3. Diagrammatic

• They make sense of complex numerical material by
  showing patterns
• Graphs, bar charts, pie charts, 3D plots,
  contours, long-sections

4. Information Explanatory

• For example diagrams showing how to set up a
  theodolite with written instructions
• How to play squash
• The workings of an internal combustion engine

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Types of Graphical Communication
5. Spatial Cartographic

• Illustrates spatial relationship between places
• Or data that occur at these places
• Accurate in scale, shape area (or selections of
  these)
• Refer to cartography lectures for more details
• Not restricted to geometrically constrained
  diagrams
• Networks like the London Underground Map by Harry
  Beck (now standard)
• Three dimensional perspective views

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Graphics in Reports
How to create effective graphical Communication

• Have a good sense (or at least an understanding)
  of the principles of design
• Have a good knowledge of the tools available
• Critically observe analyse other examples
• Experiment

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Graphics in Reports
The Need

• Often words are not sufficient to explain or
  illustrate and argument/set of data
• A picture is worth a thousand words OR a
  megabyte of pixels is worth a gigabyte of text

The Method

• Either draw into the final document by hand
• Incorporate graphics text using word processing
  page layout packages
• The OLE functionality of Word, Excel etc. permit
  the direct incorporation of each others
  documents.

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Poster Presentations
Introduction

• Becoming a common method of presenting
  information
• At conferences
• To other audiences

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Poster Presentations
What are they?

• May constitute wall space where you stick a
  poster about a topic
• May constitute a fabric-lined booth with a
  prepared title where you velcro or pin a
  poster
• May require a very short oral presentation with 1
  or 2 overhead transparencies followed by a formal
  presentation at the booth

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Poster Presentations
Preparing a Poster

• A poster is More than just a collection of A4
  printouts of what you have written

A Poster Should Be

• Clear
• Concise
• Complete
• Correct
• Heard this before???!!!

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Poster Presentations
Poster preparations should

• Exploit the visual medium with picture graphics
• Be legible from 2-3 metres away
• Do justice to your research/organisation/ego

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Poster Presentations
Guidelines

• Minimum 24 point font size
• Use font space to break the poster up into
  sections
• Balance the poster appearance borrow
  inspiration from how advertising is designed

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Poster Presentations
Guidelines

• Use white or light-coloured background, either
  pastel or lightly textured
• Japanese paper
• Screened image
• Nice white space
• For effect you can use black, but this is harder
  to print at large scale

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Poster Presentations
Guidelines

• Remember you are presenting information
• Give sections a brief title
• Use images with a minimum size of 20x25cm,
  preferable colour

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