Chapter Seven
Preparing Graphics for Production
Abstract
This chapter explains basic production components of graphics, as well as covering real-world issues that can take place when preparing graphics and presentations for the courtroom.
Keywords
Expert testimony; Graphic design; Presentation; Printing; Resolution
• Limitations and benefits of print and digital presentation mediums
• Quick guide on how to prepare flexible graphics for production
• Other considerations for presenting graphics in court
Introduction
After going through the hard work of creating just the right graphics to explain the technical concept in your case, there is still one important step to consider before you are done. Just because that graphic looks great on your computer monitor does not mean it will look great in the final form it takes on. This is why the final step of preparing visuals for production can be so critical. This is especially true when dealing with graphics that will be used in court. Sometimes you have the full range of capabilities in a courtroom such as projectors or big screen high-definition televisions. Other times you are constrained to displaying your graphics onto plain old pieces of printer paper in black and white.
With these potential issues in mind, we will examine in this chapter how to prepare our graphics for both print and digital mediums. We will also examine how to prepare visuals in such a way that they work well for both mediums at the same time in case you are limited to one form or another in the courtroom. Our goal is that whatever the final form the graphic takes, print or digital, that the information is conveyed clearly and concisely without any detraction due to the final medium of delivery.
There are thousands of books and websites that explain with great detail how to prepare print and digital graphics. You can easily find that information elsewhere. To reiterate in different words, the point of this chapter is to provide real-world advice garnered from experience in courtrooms and from giving hundreds of presentations. If you want to learn how to perfectly replicate colors or design business cards then I suggest you seek out a book that trains you to be a graphic designer. Our objective is to make you proficient in graphic design as a means to an end; translating complicated technical concepts in plain language to laypeople.
Understanding Limitations
You can be anything you want when you grow up; I am not talking about those kinds of limitations. What we are concerned about here is specifically related to using graphics at trial. Having testified as an expert in many different courtrooms, I can attest that the technological capabilities in different courthouses range from archaic to relatively modern.
With that in mind, let’s look at some limitations we are likely to have in print and digital mediums, examine some practical considerations, and then dive into the details.
The benefits of printed graphics, if you are the one who is actually in charge of printing or getting the graphics printed, is that you know what the final product looks like as it will be displayed in court before you ever get there. Other benefits include the ability to make multiple copies of the graphic so that, for example, every member of a jury could review the graphic at the same time (and if the graphic has been entered into evidence, they could potentially have it available in the jury room during deliberation).
While there are numerous benefits to print, there are downsides as well. First, you may be constrained to only black and white instead of using full color. This is especially problematic if the original graphic you designed was created with the intention to only be viewed in full color. An example would be a graphic that explains multiple points, or delineates multiple subjects on a graphic in different colors. When that color graphic is viewed in black and white it can become muddied.
While it might seem far-fetched that you would be forced to print a color graphic in black and white, I have had multiple instances where I have flown in the night before, found out a graphic was needed in court for my testimony the next day, and had to print my graphic or report that contained full color graphics in black and white at the hotel business center.
I have also had occasions where a graphic or section of a report I have written was printed by the attorney who retained me, or opposing counsel, in black and white and I had to use that for my explanations on the stand. While I might mention during testimony that the original graphic was in color, I would not want that issue to impede my testimony or be a distraction to a jury.
The second primary issue with print is that you are more constrained by size. The size of the graphic you can create is dependent on the largest printer you have access to, or the largest printer that funds allow. Large-scale printing can be expensive and is not always an option. If you have a detailed road map of user activity portrayed in a single graphic, printing it on standard printer paper is probably going to be counterproductive versus printing it on a large poster board.
The finality of print also needs to be taken into consideration. If there is a mistake on the final printed product, it cannot be changed without first fixing it on a computer and then printing it again. If we are talking about printing the graphic on a large poster board that entails considerable time, effort, and cost. This might not be an option given time or location constraints when the rubber hits the road.
Despite the drawbacks of printed material, it is beneficial that you don’t need a computer, projector, or television to show it to someone. You can just pull the printed graphic out of your briefcase. Because of this, I would suggest always having a backup copy of your graphic in printed form, even if you intend to use a television or projector to show the graphic. As someone who uses technology every day, I recommend a degree of healthy skepticism concerning it working when and how you need it to.
Digital
Having your graphics in digital format means that you can transport them on a USB stick in your pocket, and display the graphic in its full glory on a screen or television. Of course, this means that we are assuming everything works as intended when you get to your presenting location or courtroom.
I give presentations across the United States, primarily to attorneys, and I can tell you from experience that graphics in digital format are awesome when they work, and they usually do, but I have had enough instances where there were serious complications that I always have some form of printed backup.
One instance where I trusted too much in technology was at a conference for attorneys where I was on a panel of experts answering questions, and then was supposed to immediately go from there into a PowerPoint presentation. In this instance there was no time to solve a technical issue. I needed to be able to plug in a USB into the computer they provided, open my presentation, and begin. I naively expected their provided computer to work as advertised, which of course, it did not. I ended up giving my 30 min presentation without any slides.
I have many examples when adapters, interfaces, and a myriad of other issues made connecting a laptop to whatever projection system was available in the courtroom, hotel, or convention center made for difficult times. Unless you travel with your own complete setup from laptop to projector everywhere you go, and you are allowed to use your own gear at the speaking location, you will encounter similar issues. Many courtrooms wouldn’t allow you to even bring that kind of gear inside. As a side note, this is why I recommend always getting to your speaking engagement at least 30 min early to scope out the projector or television you will be connecting to in case there are technical problems.
Even if all the technology works perfectly issues can still arise. One such instance happened to me when I was a speaker at one of the largest annual digital forensics conferences. At this conference you send in your presentation well in advance so that all the technical bugs are worked out by a professional audio/video company. All a speaker has to do is show up and start their presentation. I arrived at the room I was assigned to early as is my habit. After looking around inside the podium, under the table runner, and inside the audio/video cart, it became apparent that there was no computer in the room. I called the company in charge of the audio/video equipment and they sent one of their technicians over immediately. Apparently, the computer had been stolen! Luckily, the audio/video company was able to get another computer and get me up and running seconds before I was scheduled to start.
I share these stories because I want you to be prepared whenever you go to present. Make sure you know your graphics, whether it is a single illustration or an entire presentation. Never assume you’ll have a chance to run through your slides before you get there, and never assume the technology is actually going to work when you get there. Always have a backup plan; as the saying goes, “hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”
Quick Guide to Preparing Graphics
In your mind’s eye is the perfect graphic to illustrate a concept for the courtroom. Now it is time to make that idea a reality. An understandable first reaction is the question, “where do I start?” The following guide is designed to help you avoid creating a finished graphic that has some sort of major deficiency when you get to the final product. Have you ever purchased a piece of furniture that was “some assembly required” and at the end had a handful of unused parts and pieces? I sure have. This can often be the by-product of poor planning (or poor instructions). This quick guide will help you end up with a satisfactory final product, a sturdy piece of furniture instead of a wobbly one.
Canvas
Canvas is an old term. You have probably heard it associated with painting or the sails on a sailboat. As with most terminology related to technology, it is used to give a framework to understand a technical concept with a commonly understood physical object. Think about it, the main screen on your computer is your “desktop.” There is no desk, let alone a desktop, on your computer (Fig. 7.1).
First things first, what are you preparing your graphic for? Is it for print or the projector? This is going to help you determine what size to make your canvas. The default canvas for Photoshop is 8.5 by 11 in, the size of standard printer paper. Many times people will just use this default canvas size even when making graphics that will be projected. The problem is that if you take the graphic designed on a canvas meant for a piece of paper, it will likely look grainy, distorted, and fuzzy if stretched to fit a big screen TV or projector. Try to make your canvas size the same as the screen, projector, or paper that the graphic will be presented on. If you’re not sure what you will be presenting on, I suggest keeping with a standard aspect ratio (Figs. 7.2 and 7.3).
It is almost always a good idea to go from larger to smaller if you intend to use the graphic in multiple formats. Design the graphic for the projector first, with an appropriately sized canvas. Then for the version that will be printed, just shrink the graphics to fit accordingly. When you shrink graphics you don’t lose quality like you do when enlarging them. This is largely a by-product of resolution, which is our next topic.
Figure 7.1 This is the “Canvas Size” settings option within Adobe Photoshop. Graphic design programs such as Photoshop use legacy terminology from photography and painting that predates the digital age.
Resolution
The higher the resolution of a graphic, the bigger the file size will be. Conversely, the lower the resolution the smaller the file size will be. You can always optimize a graphic to make it smaller, but you can’t retroactively add resolution. When creating your graphic you want the original to be high resolution (Fig. 7.4).
Figure 7.4 When creating your canvas, a good ratio of pixels per inch (resolution) is 300. The more the pixels per inch (the higher the number), the higher the resolution.
If you watch a show on a television that is not high definition you will immediately notice how poor the picture quality is versus modern high definition televisions. This is because the resolution is significantly lower. Most of us have experienced this when dealing with graphics too. When you download a picture from the Internet and then stretch it out to fit inside of your PowerPoint, it can look really bad even if it looked fine on the Web. This is because in the process of stretching the image out you are revealing its low resolution. This is the difference between standing 10 ft from a television or having your face pressed against it; 10 ft away it looks perfect, up very close you can see the individual pixels on the screen (Fig. 7.5).
As a general rule, work in high resolution and then optimize your graphic later if it needs to be smaller to send in emails or uploaded to the Internet (Fig. 7.6).
Content
The content of your graphic is going to be specific to your needs; but there are some design elements that are helpful to follow for purely aesthetic reasons. When in doubt about design choices, remember the following:
• Limit the number and types of fonts. If you have text in your graphic, it is safest to stick with a single font, sometimes two. If you are using more than two fonts in a single image, you are either a design expert or crossing into dangerous territory.
• If you are placing a picture or graphic on the canvas and resizing it, use a “constrain” feature when doing so. This can be done in almost all programs from Word to PowerPoint to Photoshop. The keyboard shortcut to constrain the resizing will be in the help documentation. Constraining the resizing keeps the dimension locked when stretching or shrinking. If you resize the image without constraining, you risk messing up the proportions (Fig. 7.7).
Other considerations for your sanity and safety when preparing your graphics and presentation for court include the following:
• If you are making a presentation for court, I highly recommend keeping it as simple as possible, technologically speaking. In other words, I would not include audio or video in the presentation unless absolutely necessary. Increased complexity makes it more likely for something to go wrong. It is never fun to have to fix a technical glitch in the middle of a presentation.
Figure 7.6 This is the “Save for Web” option in Photoshop, which is designed to shrink the file sizes of graphics so that they are friendly for the Internet. Almost all graphic design programs have similar features.
• Know the graphic. Imagine the scenario where your graphic is printed on paper. There is only one copy of the graphic, and an attorney is showing it to the jury with a document camera. Everyone can clearly see the graphic but you, the expert on the witness stand can’t. From your perspective it is difficult to see. You should be able to explain the graphic from your mind’s eye with words only, and without the aid of the graphic itself, a laser pointer, or need to point at the image in any way.
• Test your graphic before presenting it. Make sure that it looks how you want when it is projected, on a television, or printed. Make sure your graphic looks great on all of these mediums in case you have to go to plan B because of circumstances outside of your control.
Summary
In this chapter we looked at why it is important to create your graphic in such a way that it can be used in numerous mediums, from print to presentations. We took a high level view at the most important design elements related to producing graphics capable of crossing mediums, and how to be prepared for any scenario with backup plans on presenting your material.
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