Creating Screenshots and Images for User Guides Course
Efficient ways to create professional-looking diagrams, images and screenshots
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Cherryleaf’s elearning course on creating screenshots and images for user guides gives you the foundations for creating professional images in an efficient way. The course includes exercises and model answers for the delegates to complete and review.
Why attend this course?
Creating screenshots, diagrams and images is something that every technical communicator needs to do, but very few have had any formal training in how to do it. Sometimes, the result is that the user guides and online Help contain images that are unclear, inconsistent, and frankly, unprofessional. They can make the product look like it's poor quality.
Creating them can also tie up the Technical Writer's time, especially if they need to be changed frequently.
Who is this course for?
Anyone developing user guides and online Help who wants:
- A foundational understanding of how to use diagrams, screenshots and images, in an effective and efficient way.
- To see practical, real-world examples.
It’s ideal for you if you’re:
- Creating screenshots, diagrams or images, but you’ve never had any proper training in how to do this well.
- Looking for more efficient ways to create or change screenshots, diagrams or images for end user or developer documentation.
We’ll take you from first principles, so all you need is a basic understanding of what is a user guide.
What you'll learn
Cherryleaf's e-learning course on creating screenshots and images for user guides gives you the foundations for creating professional images in an efficient way. The goal of the course is to enable you to use diagrams, images and screenshots to communicate to your audience, with a focus on simplicity and ease of understanding. This is accomplished through a mix of design theory, best practices, software, and practical application.
Please note, we don’t focus on highly detailed technical illustrations or 3D drawings that you might find in the aerospace or automotive industries. Also, the course does not cover Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality.
You'll go through the key stages in developing screenshots, diagrams, and other images:in developing images. You’ll learn to understand the context, choose an effective visual display method, focus the user's attention, apply design best practices, and use the appropriate software tools to communicate your message.
- Introduction
- Understand the context
- Choose an appropriate visual display method
- Screenshots
- Simplified User Interface
- Diagrams
- Aspect ratio
- Icons
- Image maps
- Wordless guides
- Focus attention where you want it
- Gestalt theory
- White space
- Think like a designer
- Layout
- Colour
- Accessibility
- Style guides
- Software
- Software tools
- SVG
- Automating tasks
- Stock images
- Presentation applications
- Animations
- Summary
The course contains 22 exercises (and suggested answers) for you to practice your skills.
Delivery format
The course comprises eight modules in total, which you can complete at your own pace.
The course will take delegates approximately 1 day to complete.
You will have access to the modules from the moment you subscribe.
You can download the course handouts.
The courses are hosted and sold by via the Teachable platform. From a VAT perspective, they are the “Merchant of Record”, and receipts contain their VAT number.
You have the option of taking the course on an iPhone or iPad, using the MyTeachable app in the Apple App Store.
Prerequisites
We'll take you from first principles, so all you need is a basic understanding of what is a user guide.
You'll need access to PowerPoint, or a similar application, in order to complete some of the exercises. And it will help if you have a copy of Snagit.
Our expertise
As well as teaching technical communication, we also create end-user documentation, Help and UI text for clients. This means every course is based on practical experience of technical communication in today’s environment.
Your Instructor
Cherryleaf is a technical writing services company formed in 2002 by people with a passion for technical communication and learning development.
Cherryleaf is recognised as a leader within the technical communication profession. Our staff have written articles for the Society for Technical Communication's (STC) Intercom magazine, the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicator's Communicator journal and tekom's TCWorld magazine. They've also written books on technical communication. We've presented webinars for Adobe, Madcap Software or the STC, and we've spoken at various conferences around the world.
Today, organisations throughout Europe use Cherryleaf’s services so they can provide clear information that enables users and staff to complete tasks productively.