Using Graphic Indicators to Facilitate Mechanical Reasoning in Procedural Graphics

Readers might face cognitive overload when attempting to comprehend intricate procedural action from illustrations based instructions. Readers often lose the ability to mentally animate a mechanical process that has spatial interconnections. Technical illustrators can help readers with mental animation by providing the required graphic frames for every major subtask and situating the illustration in the suitable perspective with respect to the reader and the task. Illustrators should consider applying both external and internal graphic cueing techniques selectively and judiciously. This paper argues that illustrators need to consider multiple graphic variables before optimizing on the set of design guidelines that help readers maintain spatial connectivity in the work environment.