Documentation, as we all know, comes in many interesting forms. And some of the most useful documentation often comes in a form that you don’t or least expect.

Case in point: one of the best pieces of documentation that I’ve ever used came with the New Internet Computer (NiC) that I reviewed for About.com in early 2001. The piece of documentation that stuck in my head all these years showed how to do a task that vexes users of electronics everywhere: connecting cables. And when I say show, I mean that literally.

The document in question was a fold out that consisted of a number of large colour photos. Each photo was numbered, and each photo was very clear. It was obvious where the connectors for each cable were supposed to go, and I could see each connection on the NiC in the photos. The fact that there were no words wasn’t a barrier, either.

Over the years, I’ve used documentation for other consumer products. The illustrations in most of the documentation consisted of line drawings. To be honest, I prefer photos to line drawings. No matter how detailed the drawings are, they generally can’t compare to photos for quality or clarity. On the other hand, using photos in printed documentation is expensive. Even more so if you’re using colour.

That doesn’t mean it can’t be done – what about PDFs or an online format? Regardless of the approach you use, here are a few factors to consider when using photos to document hardware:

• Where possible, use colour. You can lose some detail with a black and white or grayscale image
• If the photos are going to be in a PDF or online, make sure they’re not heavily compressed. As we’ve undoubtedly all seen, not only do you lose detail with a heavily-compressed photo but they’re also unsightly; not what you want associated with the documentation you create …
• Zoom in on key elements in order increase the level of detail and to give users a better view of any tricky bits
• Number photographs and make sure that they follow a logical sequence
• Where necessary use clear, thick arrows or boxes to help guide users
• Try to avoid adding any wording to the photos. This can help keep translation costs to a minimum

If you can think of anything else, feel free to leave a comment.

Photo credit: sebastiano from morguefile.com

Related posts:

1. A thousand words, or a waste of space?
2. Documentation for consumer products: give it a chance
3. Colour, and other visual cues