Re: Numbers or Letters when labeling a graphic?

[Rosalma Arcelay <rosie -at- cpanel -dot- net>]

> No one is spelling out numbers. I use Arabic digits when I label a diagram. My coworker uses letters.

Oh, that makes more sense now! :)

Maybe a coin toss?

Rosie Arcelay
Technical Writer II
cPanel, Inc.
rosie -at- cpanel -dot- net



> On Apr 24, 2018, at 7:30 AM, Lin Sims <ljsims -dot- ml -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
> 
> No one is spelling out numbers. I use Arabic digits when I label a diagram. My coworker uses letters. We want to be consistent between the two of us, and we're disagreeing on which is better to use when labeling areas in a piece of hardware, locations in a floorplan, or in a software UI.
> 
> I did do some research on the book I showed him, the one he rejected as "the writer doesn't know what he's talking about". Turns out the writer is a trained graphic designer, has a 350-cite bibliography, and this book is referenced in a lot of other books about illustrating technical information.
> 
> We'll see how it goes after I point this out to him. We've not been working together too long, but so far we've managed to compromise on pretty much everything where our personal styles differ. I'd say we're about 50/50 on that, which is good.
> 
> On Tue, Apr 24, 2018 at 8:18 AM, Rosalma Arcelay <rosie -at- cpanel -dot- net <mailto:rosie -at- cpanel -dot- net>> wrote:
> I donât think I have ever seen a graphic with numbers spelled out. 
> That being said, the first question I would ask isâ Who is your user and how will they be using this graphic?
> If itâs a graphic thatâs meant to be scannable (aka, read quickly), I would go with the numbers. Same if itâs being translated.
> If itâs not, and itâs something thatâs going into a magazine, for example, where people are taking their time to read it, then spelling out numbers might work (even though it would be weird, imo).
> 
> Rosie Arcelay
> Technical Writer II
> cPanel, Inc.
> rosie -at- cpanel -dot- net <mailto:rosie -at- cpanel -dot- net>
> 
> 
> 
>> On Apr 24, 2018, at 1:54 AM, Erika Yanovich <ERIKA_y -at- rad -dot- com <mailto:ERIKA_y -at- rad -dot- com>> wrote:
>> 
>> If not too much text is involved, I'd used call-outs/bubbles with the actual explanation inside.
>> HTH,
>> Erika
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> -- 
> Lin Sims

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