What are some effective ways to use visuals in your document?

1 Know your purpose

Before you add any visual to your document, you should ask yourself: what is the main message or goal of your document, and how can a visual support it? A visual should not be an afterthought or a decoration, but a strategic tool to communicate your ideas, data, or arguments. Depending on your purpose, you might use a visual to illustrate a concept, compare options, show trends, highlight key points, or evoke emotions.

2 Choose the right type

There are many types of visuals you can use in your document, such as graphs, charts, tables, diagrams, maps, photos, icons, or infographics. Each type has its own strengths and limitations, and you should choose the one that best suits your data, audience, and style. For example, a graph can show changes over time, a table can display numerical values, a diagram can explain a process, a map can show spatial relationships, a photo can capture a scene, an icon can represent a category, or an infographic can combine multiple elements.

3 Create clear and attractive visuals

Once you have decided on the type of visual, you need to create it with care and attention to detail. A good visual should be clear, accurate, relevant, and consistent with your document. You should avoid clutter, distortion, ambiguity, or unnecessary elements that might confuse or mislead your readers. You should also use colors, fonts, shapes, and labels that are easy to read, understand, and remember. You can use tools like Excel, PowerPoint, Canva, or Piktochart to create your visuals.

4 Integrate visuals with text

A visual is not a standalone element, but a part of your document that works together with your text. Therefore, you need to integrate your visuals with your text in a logical and coherent way. You should place your visuals near the text that refers to them, and use captions, titles, or legends to explain what they show. You should also refer to your visuals in your text, and use them to support or illustrate your main points. You should not repeat the same information in your text and your visual, but use them to complement each other.

5 Use visuals ethically

Finally, you should use visuals ethically and responsibly in your document. This means that you should respect the copyright and intellectual property rights of the sources of your visuals, and cite them properly. You should also avoid using visuals that are inaccurate, misleading, biased, or offensive to your readers. You should not manipulate or distort your data or images to make them fit your agenda or argument. You should use visuals to inform, persuade, or inspire your readers, not to deceive or manipulate them.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?