Sanpo-yoshi Communication

[Printing Column] Illustrations are great!

As the columnist for our printing department, when I write articles, the first draft consists solely of text. However, for sections where text alone might be difficult to understand or convey the intended message, I include diagrams and illustrations. These are created by one of our in-house designers.

I submit the manuscript with instructions such as “Illustrate the text below” and “Insert a graph.” The designers receive these and create the diagrams and illustrations, but… (I think this is sort of a rite of passage for designers, so designers who haven’t been with the company very long are usually assigned to these projects.)

Every time, the result of these exchanges exceeds my expectations, and I can’t help but think, “That’s exactly what I expected!”

Text Organized Through the Inclusion of Illustrations

• You can review the order in which you write
• Noticing Duplicate Content
• It will be easier to understand
• It becomes clear which parts to emphasize

Discoveries like the ones mentioned above are the benefits.

The Importance of "Eye-Catchers" That Appeal Through Visual Elements

When it comes to explanatory text, illustrations are far easier to understand than photos of actual machines and the like.

It’s not exactly “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but illustrations can improve understanding and sometimes reduce the word count to less than half of what it would be otherwise.

I’m truly grateful to our designer, who consistently creates precise, explanatory illustrations for us—even when we make unreasonable requests. This kind of back-and-forth with the designer—where we suggest things like, “It might be easier to understand if we did it this way”—applies not only to written content but also to the creation of packaging and labels, which serve as the face of our products.