When showing your product, you can use either a photo or a drawing. No matter which way of presentation you choose: Be consistent. Standardize your types of images. Always use the same type of image for the same purpose. Don’t show the same object alternately as a photo and as a drawing, but stay with the display mode once chosen.
It cannot be generally said whether photos or drawings are more effective. Both have their specific strengths. However, along with the growing popularity of instructional videos on the internet, photos are gaining preference—in particular among younger audiences.
In general:
▪Use a photo to show great detail and when your audience may have trouble interpreting a drawing.
▪Use a drawing to reduce the amount of detail, or to show details selectively, or to show hidden details.
A drawing must be simple for its strengths to outweigh those of a photo. If you can’t make a drawing simple, better use a photo if you can.
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▪Photos show exactly what the product looks like. This minimizes the risk of misunderstandings.
▪Photos show parts in their exact positions and perspective.
▪Users don’t need to perform any mental transfer, which can make interpreting easier.
▪Because they look more real, photos better attract attention than abstract drawings.
▪Because they look more real, photos are more memorable than drawings. |
▪Drawings can be simplified to show only what’s important. Irrelevant elements can be omitted even if they can’t be dismantled in reality. Thus, drawings have particular strengths if they can be simplified in contrast to a photo.
▪Drawings can be designed so that parts of an object’s interior are visible (see Ways of showing the interior of objects).
▪Drawings can depict even very large objects that don’t fit on a photo.
▪Drawings can already be created while the product is still under development or doesn’t even exist or if the product isn’t available for taking photos.
▪Drawings can be updated to some degree if the product changes.
▪Texts in drawings can be translated, which may be needed if a drawing shows text that’s printed onto the product. |
Photos are often easier to obtain than drawings and thus cheaper, but this isn’t always the case.
▪If you have some existing CAD data, you can create high-quality 2D and 3D drawings from this data. However, note that CAD drawings typically are too complex for user assistance and therefore need to be simplified—which involves some extra work.
▪If you have some existing photos but prefer drawings, in your graphics software you can try to use an image filter that automatically converts a photo into an image that looks like a line drawing.
Another important consideration can be the question as to how easily you’ll be able to obtain additional images of the same kind in the future.
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