CLARIFY COMPLEXITY
"Complexity isn't what it used to be. It's more - and different."
Explaining Complex Concepts
The challenge for visual communicators is to provide a full and complete graphical explanation while accommodating the limits and strengths of human cognitive architecture.
Cognition and Complexity
A complex explanation places a great demand on working memory. Two important contributors to building accurate mental representations are coherency and context.
Applying the Principle
SEGMENTS AND SEQUENCES - Particularly effective because it is a natural cognitive strategy we use to decompose our world into smaller units. Designers segment graphics into dominant and subordinate elements. It groups important visual info together, through proximity, a connecting line, or a visual boundary.
SPECIALIZED VIEWS - Clarifying rather than simplifying complexity is most effective.
Interior Views - cutaways, cross sections, and transparent views portray the interior structure of a system.
Exploded Views - Depending on the purpose of the graphic, they do not necessarily require a realistic rendering. Line drawing - the parts are recognizable by shape.
Magnification -portray a level of detail that offers a fine-tuned perception of an object. Valuable for focusing on the crucial aspects of a device or system.
Implied Motion - representing motion is important for explaining the workings of a machine, assembly of a product, human movement, etc. Arrows / motion lines
INHERENT STRUCTURE - LATCH, order information by location, alphabet, time, category, and hierarchy.
