| Abstract: | Summary As readability studies have investigated factors which influence the reading difficulty of verbal text, so this study has
been a beginning attempt to isolate the factors which influence the communication potential of illustrative material. It is
interesting to note that as readability researchers have found a correlational relationship between idea density (number of
different ideas per number of running words) and reading difficulty, so this study has shown an inverse relationship between
complexity of an illustration and its effectiveness in communicating clearly. Similarly, as readability studies show that
we must use words that are familiar to the reader, so we must present visual concepts in terms of the background of experience
of the intended viewer. And as in constructing effective textual material we must organize our material logically, eliminating
the unnecessary, so we must simplify the design of illustration, taking care, of course, not to lose the essential.
In this study the author presents some important insights into the factors that influence the communication potential of pictorial
illustrations. Seth Spaulding is a program specialist of the Ford Foundation's field staff, currently advising the Burma Translation
Society in Rangoon, Burma. |
