Re: Numbers or Letters when labeling a graphic?

["Meryl R. Cohen" <merylster -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Maybe make the procedure numbers be Step 1, Step 2, etc?

Meryl

On Tuesday, April 24, 2018, Lin Sims <ljsims -dot- ml -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:

> Resolution: he's fine with numbers if we can figure out a way to ensure
> that people don't get confused if there is both a graphic with a number key
> AND a procedure. I can get behind that--ambiguity is bad.
>
> Now to figure out a way to remove the ambiguity. If anyone has pointers on
> that, let me know. I'll consult the book for a bit and see if it has ideas.
>
> Thanks for all the feedback.
>
> On Tue, Apr 24, 2018 at 8:50 AM, Rosalma Arcelay <rosie -at- cpanel -dot- net> wrote:
>
> > No one is spelling out numbers. I use Arabic digits when I label a
> > diagram. My coworker uses letters.
> >
> >
> > Oh, that makes more sense now! :)
> >
> > Maybe a coin toss?
> >
> > Rosie Arcelay
> > Technical Writer II
> > cPanel, Inc.
> > rosie -at- cpanel -dot- net
> >
> >
> >
> > On Apr 24, 2018, at 7:30 AM, Lin Sims <ljsims -dot- ml -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
> >
> > No one is spelling out numbers. I use Arabic digits when I label a
> > diagram. My coworker uses letters. We want to be consistent between the
> two
> > of us, and we're disagreeing on which is better to use when labeling
> areas
> > in a piece of hardware, locations in a floorplan, or in a software UI.
> >
> > I did do some research on the book I showed him, the one he rejected as
> > "the writer doesn't know what he's talking about". Turns out the writer
> is
> > a trained graphic designer, has a 350-cite bibliography, and this book is
> > referenced in a lot of other books about illustrating technical
> information.
> >
> > We'll see how it goes after I point this out to him. We've not been
> > working together too long, but so far we've managed to compromise on
> pretty
> > much everything where our personal styles differ. I'd say we're about
> 50/50
> > on that, which is good.
> >
> > On Tue, Apr 24, 2018 at 8:18 AM, Rosalma Arcelay <rosie -at- cpanel -dot- net>
> wrote:
> >
> >> I donât think I have ever seen a graphic with numbers spelled out.
> >> That being said, the first question I would ask isâ Who is your user and
> >> how will they be using this graphic?
> >> If itâs a graphic thatâs meant to be scannable (aka, read quickly), I
> >> would go with the numbers. Same if itâs being translated.
> >> If itâs not, and itâs something thatâs going into a magazine, for
> >> example, where people are taking their time to read it, then spelling
> out
> >> numbers might work (even though it would be weird, imo).
> >>
> >> Rosie Arcelay
> >> Technical Writer II
> >> cPanel, Inc.
> >> rosie -at- cpanel -dot- net
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On Apr 24, 2018, at 1:54 AM, Erika Yanovich <ERIKA_y -at- rad -dot- com> wrote:
> >>
> >> If not too much text is involved, I'd used call-outs/bubbles with the
> >> actual explanation inside.
> >> HTH,
> >> Erika
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> >
> > --
> > Lin Sims
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Lin Sims
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