Visual fluency

  Do you communicate across boundaries of language and culture? Do you need to communicate graphically but can't think of what to draw? If you answered "yes" to either of these questions, this course is for you.

Today's communication media demand more than just words. Producing effective training materials, web pages, documents, and user-interfaces, requires the ability to understand, think, and communicate graphically — to be visually fluent.

Visual Fluency is not about making pretty pictures, learning to draw, or using a particular computer drawing program. It is about how to express ideas visually. This workshop will supply you with practical knowledge and research-based guidelines you can apply immediately.

In this workshop you will learn to:

• Seduce reluctant readers
• Design functional graphics that explain ideas
• Avoid graphical blunders
• Represent ideas too complex for words
• Reach those who cannot or will not read text
• Give impatient readers what they need in a glance

Length: 1, 2, or 3 days. The 1-day version includes the core topics. The 2-day version includes core topics and your choice of optional topics. The 3-day version includes all topics .

Developed by William Horton. Taught by William Horton.

On-site base price: For 25 students, inside North America : $5000 USD for 1 day, $9000 for 2 days, and $13,000 for 3 days. Plus instructor's travel costs. Outside North America , add $2000 plus travel costs for a second instructor. Also add $100 for each student above 25.

Virtual workshop base price: $3000/day. Learners may download their handouts.

To schedule this course: Call Katherine Horton at +1.303.545.6964 or e-mail kit@horton.com.

• Who should attend?
• Core topics
• Optional topics
• How will I learn?
• Variants and customization
• What else will I receive?
• Audiovisual requirements
• Related resources

Who should attend?

This workshop is for:

• Instructors and instructional designers who must create effective learning materials.
• Business and technical writers who must express complex ideas visually.
• Engineers, scientists, programmers, attorneys, and other professionals who must communicate to those outside their discipline.
• Anyone who must communicate with an international audience, with people of limited literacy, or those too impatient to read.
• Visual designers, graphic artists, and others who need to know the human factors and research basis of good design.

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Core topics

These core topics are covered in the 1-day version of this course. They are also included in the 2- and 3-day versions of this course.

• Thinking visually. Translating words into pictures. Visual brainstorming to increase graphical fluency.
• Understanding graphics. Designing graphics which take advantage of the way people see, understand, and remember.
• Editing graphics. How to avoid the most common visual blunders.
• Expressing concepts. Picturing the unpicturable. Designing graphics for abstract concepts.
• Designing text. Legibility and readability of text.

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Optional topics

For a 2-day version of this course, you may select 4 to 5 of these topics to be presented on the second day. The 3-day version of this course includes all of these topics.

• Using color. Deciding when, how, and how much to use color. Using color to communicate, not just to decorate. Avoiding the "Christmas tree" effect.
• Internationalizing graphics. Bridging barriers of language and culture. Communicating more effectively to those who read English as a second language.
• Enriching graphics. Putting words and pictures together into a productive partnership. Making graphics complete and self-sufficient.
• Designing online graphics. Limitations of display on computer screens. Legibility concerns. Designing icons, cursors, backgrounds, buttons, and controls.
• Animating graphics. Interactivity, animation, and video.
• Lists. Bullet lists, checklists, numbered lists. Standard and innovative variations .
• Tables. Organizing numbers, facts, and other details logically. Design for scanning.
• Drawings. Simplified representations. When to use drawings instead of photographs. What makes a good drawing?
• Photographs. Composition and exposure. Taking good photographs. Rescuing bad photographs. Cropping, adjusting, and perfecting photographs. Close-ups, high-speed photographs, and other special types.
• Numerical charts. Showing numerical quantities and relationships. Picking the right type. Revealing crucial relationships.
• Diagrams. Showing logical relationships, such as sequences, hierarchies, grids, and networks.
• Building pages. Designing pages as graphics, the way readers perceive them. Coordinating graphics and text.

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How will I learn?

This is a fast-paced, yet structured, workshop, heavy on examples and light on academic theory. It is brains-on rather than merely hands-on. Rather than operating a particular brand of software, you will engage concepts and procedures directly. You will examine and critique dozens of live real-world examples, view animated presentations of crucial concepts, discuss design approaches with fellow students, and practice applying your skills in realistic design activities.

Variants and customizations

We can adapt the basic workshop to better fit your specific needs:

• Base major activities on your materials (+ $1000 USD).
• Use your materials as examples throughout (Call for price).
• Critique your current work (adds 1 day, $2000 USD).
• Base workshop on a critique of your work (+ $4000 USD).
• Redesign your current work (adds 1 day, $2000 USD).
• Video-recording for replay by other members of your department (+ $4000 USD).
• Follow-up Webinars (+ $1000 USD per 90-minute Webinar).
• Hands-on computer exercises using laptop computers or a computer lab. (Call for pricing and requirements).

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What else will I receive?

Besides the knowledge and skills you acquire, you will receive:

• Over 200 pages of handouts, notes, design forms, and job-aids.
• Access to hundreds of live, online examples of design techniques.
• Access to William Horton by e-mail or discussion group for follow up questions after the workshop.
• Ergoglyphics™ design forms in PDF and Visio formats ($150 USD value).

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Audiovisual requirements

To successfully present this workshop at your location, we will need the following:

• Computer projector with 1024 x 768 NATIVE resolution . (Some projectors can display 1024 x 768, but only by stretching the output. These projectors will not work.)
• Speaker and amplifier for computer sounds. Must be able to take output from the computer's stereo-mini socket.

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Related resources

Here are some related resources you might find useful:

• e-Book: Illustrating Computer Documentation by William Horton
• Presentation: Visual fluency

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