Effective and Improving a Visualisation Diagram

A visualisation diagram is effective when it does the job it was made for: it meets the client brief, matches the purpose of the product and is drawn at the right format and dimensions for where the product will be used. A diagram for a 300 by 400 mm poster is a completely different shape from one for a narrow phone banner.

It must also show what the final product will really look like — where every item sits and which colours are used — and the drawings should get the key ideas for the artwork across at a glance. Annotation then fills in what a sketch cannot show, such as the typography, which images to use and the colours, so a designer can make the final product without guessing.

Ways to improve a diagram

• Add annotation about the colour scheme, the fonts and the background, for example “pale blue background with white clouds, thick rounded font, all capitals”.
• Replace a box with the word “image” written in it with a sketch of the actual content, such as a bowl of cereal with milk splashing over the side.
• Add missing text. A leaflet that sketches the cakes on sale but never says “Two for one on Saturdays” has left out the message that makes people act, so it belongs near the top in large, bold type, with the address in the small print.
• Add conventions missing for that product type: a comic cover needs a masthead, a date and an issue number, packaging needs a barcode and price, and a game cover needs its age rating and a logo.
• Check that the format and dimensions really suit the brief.

Justify every improvement

Never suggest a change without saying how it helps. “Sketching the splashing milk instead of writing ‘image’ in a box tells the designer which photograph to take or buy, and shows the client that the serving suggestion backs up the claim that it makes a quick, healthy breakfast, so the brief is met with fewer redrafts.”