Tag Archives: graphics

Easel.ly

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Easel.ly is a simple web tool for creating and sharing infographics, posters, and other visuals with no design experience needed. They provide the canvas, you provide the creativity.

How it is useful to technical communicators:

While perhaps not ideal for high-end designs, Easel.ly is an excellent tool for quickly creating vibrant, punchy infographics that convey information through organized visual templates. Use Easel.ly for presentations, as visual aids accompanying other information, or for general diagramming and flowcharts.

Learn more:

You can access Easel.ly on any web browser http://www.easel.ly/. Both free and pro ($3/month) account options are available.

Other software like it:

Infogr.am, Visual.ly

Canva

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Canva is a basic drag-and-drop graphic design software that lets you produce graphics for web or print.

How it is useful to technical communicators:

Technical communicators can use Canva to create web or print graphics, like profile and cover photos, flyers, ads, web banners, and social media posts.

Learn more:

You can access Canva on any web browser at www.canva.com. Users can create a basic account for free, or you can subscribe to a Canva for Work account for a fee.

Other software like it:

Google Drawing

Pinterest

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Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board on which users can collect, organize, and store images that link to online content.

How it is useful to technical communicators:

Pinterest is often associated with recipes, craft ideas, and hobbies, but it can also be useful for organizing online material for classes and internships. Pinterest boards can help visual learners more easily keep track of online resources because images are paired with the content.

Where you can learn more about it:

Pinterest

Pinterest Help Center

Other software like it:

Pinterest is similar to a web browser’s “Bookmarks” folder, but it is organized visually.

Pocket allows users to store internet content to access later. It has a visual interface similar to Pinterest’s.

Visio

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Visio is a Microsoft Office software that allows users to create graphs, diagrams, and flow charts to incorporate into their work.  This program provides an easy way to simplify and combine complex information into easy to read graphics.  It is a paid software, and users can access it through a free trial or by paying in small installments each month.

How it is useful:

Technical communicators will often find themselves using charts to display data.  Whether it be in project management or to display in some form of documentation, being able to create a graph proficiently is useful.

Although there are a number of programs that can create graphs, this program focuses solely on this function.  Instead of struggling to create a diagram through Microsoft Word, Microsoft Office created a separate software to make the process easy for anyone to tackle.

Where you can learn more about it:

To learn more about Visio, you can visit the software’s homepage at the following link:
https://goo.gl/74GVHa
Take a guided tour of the software or download a free trial in order to explore Visio yourself.  To access the guided tour of Visio, visit the following link:
http://testdrive.visio.com/en-us

Similar Software:

Omnigraffle is a diagramming application that allows users to organize thoughts in a visually appealing format.  This application is only available for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.  To access this application, visit its website at the following link:

https://www.omnigroup.com/omnigraffle

 

 

Adobe Fireworks

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“Fireworks” by Adobe is a bitmap and vector graphics editor. It is primarily used by website designers to create graphics for their websites and enables them to add various features such as slices and hotspots. It is remarkably easy to use and often used in conjunction with Dreamweaver. Ultimately, a full-fledged website with beautiful graphics and high-definition pixel count is the end result, if this tool is properly mastered by its user.

Fireworks is a part of the Adobe Creative Suite bundle and is available for students at the CHASS Lab at Tompkins 113.

What you need to know in FireWorks:

Edit a graphic: You should know how to edit a vector graphic. For this purpose, you need to know how images are used in a website. Apart from this, you should also know how to modify the resolution of the image according to the webpage specifications.

 How it is used in the industry:

FireWorks is not widely used by technical communicators in the industry. Managers do not specifically mention the need for new graduates to know how to use this tool.

How it is used in the MSTC Program:

Adobe FireWorks is taught to undergraduate as well as graduate students in the MSTC Program. It is taught when students are taught how to use DreamWeaver. Fireworks is mostly use to create banners for webpages.

Courses in which Adobe Fireworks is taught in the MSTC Program:

ENG 317 – Designing Web Communication

Students are taught the basics of editing and manipulating an image using Adobe Fireworks. They are given more information on how FireWorks works with HTML based software and how it is used for web development.

ENG 517 – Advanced Technical Writing, Editing, and Document Design

In this course, students are taught FireWorks as an extension to DreamWeaver. Adobe Fireworks is used to create banner that will be used by students in their DreamWeaver project. Students are given assignments on creating banners and customizing them according to the requirements of a webpage that they will design in DreamWeaver.

Where can you get more information about FireWorks:

If you are interested in learning more about Adobe FireWorks, refer http://tv.adobe.com/product/fireworks/.