Download Where We`ve Been

Susan Kleimann
Clarity Meeting
Hosted by
Lynda Harris, Write Group, Limited
Wellington, New Zealand
November 19, 2007
 Visual
Communication
 IRS Study
 Examples
 Benefits

Visual communication is
a dialectic between the
written word and visual
components. They work
hand in hand. You cannot
change one without the
other.
 We’re
surrounded by it. Some of it
good; some of it bad, but it helps.



80 million U.S. taxpayers
file their federal income tax
using Form 1040.
Instruction book is updated
annually to reflect new
legislation.
1977 is the last revision of
the Form 1040 and
instructions.
How can the Form 1040
instructions be improved?
What are the best practices
for design and content of tax
instructions?
Can a set of principles for
design and content of
instructions be derived from
the research?
How do the current
instructions compare with
Best Practices and Research
Principles?
 Taxpayers
rarely read tax instructions for
pleasure or entertainment
 Taxpayers read only as much as
necessary—if that!
 Taxpayers read to
• Find information
• Make a decision
• Act
Identified 51 jurisdictions
Analyzed samples for visual
elements
Analyzed samples for written
message structure
Considered graphic design
and navigational cues
Considered cognitive theory—
comprehension, literacy, and
readability
Considered language—word,
sentence, paragraph, document
levels and how to write
instructions
Solicited other experts to confirm
approach and findings
Tested our hypotheses
State Best Practices
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Alabama
Connecticut
Illinois
Minnesota
New York
N. Dakota
Oklahoma
Oregon
Utah
Virginia
Other Country Best
Practices
• Australia
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
Visual
Communication:
Visual
Communication:
Page Layout
Visual Cues
Gridlines
Icons
Typography
Tables
Color & White Space
Worksheets
Written
Communication:
Navigational Cues
Section Dividers
Written
Communication:
Message Structure
Advance Organizers
Definitions
Table of Contents
Complex Conditionals
& decision Trees
Sentence
Characteristics
Visual Unity
Checklists
Focal Point
Assembly
Hierarchy
Hierarchy
Bullets
Readability vs.
Usability
Search Complexity
Index
Sequencing of
Information
Confirmation
Validation
• Theoretical constructs of visual
and written communication
translate into practical application
• Best Practices Examples are best
practices
So what?
 Proximity
 Similarity
“The significant problems we
face cannot be solved at the
same level of thinking we
were at when we created
them.”
-Albert Einstein
Health Canada has suspended marketing of Adderall
XR products from the Canadian market due to
concern about reports of sudden unexplained death
(SUD) in children taking Adderall and Adderall XR.
SUD has been associated with amphetamine abuse
and reported in children with underlying cardiac
abnormalities taking recommended doses of
amphetamines, including Adderall and Adderall XR.
In addition, a very small number of cases of SUD
have been reported in children without cardiac
abnormalities taking Adderall. At this time, FDA
cannot conclude that recommended doses of
Adderall can cause SUD, but is continuing to
carefully evaluate these data.
Status
Health Canada no longer allows marketing in Canada of Adderall XR
products
Reason
Some children taking Adderall XR have died suddenly and without
apparent cause.
A sudden unexplained death (SUD) has occurred with three types of
medical conditions:
1. In children with an abuse of amphetamines
2. In Children with underlying cardiac abnormalities and who are taking
recommended doses of Adderall And Adderal XR, and
3. In a very small number of children without underlying abnormalities
The Future
FDA is looking at these data, but cannot conclude that
recommended doses of Adderall can cause SUD. FDA will update
this information when we learn more.
Visual
Written
• Set up and marked a predictable
structure
• Categorized info according to consumer
questions: What? Why? When?
• Numbered and stacked the conditions
• Simplified and reduced words
• Shortened and simplified sentence
structure
• Moved implicit to explicit
 Can
see the whole and the parts
You are here
 Can
see the whole
and the parts
 Can see the hierarchy
 Can
see the whole
and the parts
 Can see the hierarchy
 Can find the key
information
 Can
see the whole
and the parts
 Can see the hierarchy
 Can find the key
information
 Can retain
 Can
see the whole
and the parts
 Can see the hierarchy
 Can find the key
information
 Can retain
 Can act
In short . . .
Clarity
Susan Kleimann, Ph.D.
Kleimann Communication Group
www.kleimann.com
[email protected]