User Experience
Use illustrations to support business explanations
Business illustrations should explain a relationship, sequence, or decision that customers need to understand. Choose their purpose first, provide the right text equivalent, and remove decoration that competes with the explanation.
A business page can look polished while its main illustration explains nothing. A generic collection of people, devices, and arrows may occupy the space where a customer expects to understand the service. Before commissioning an image, name the question it should answer. If no meaningful question emerges, a clear paragraph or a simpler layout may serve the reader better.
Choose one explanatory job
Useful illustration tasks include showing a sequence, separating responsibilities, comparing options, or explaining what happens after submission. Pick one main relationship. Define the reader’s starting knowledge and the decision they should be able to make afterward. Avoid combining an architecture map, a workflow, and a sales promise in one crowded graphic.
Write the explanation in text first. That draft becomes a check against missing steps and misleading arrows. Label hypothetical examples explicitly, and do not depict unverified customer results as if they were measured evidence. A visual claim needs the same editorial care as a written claim.
Match the text alternative to the purpose
WAI distinguishes informative, decorative, functional, and complex images, with different text alternative needs.[8] Informative illustrations need text conveying essential information.[8] Pure decoration uses a null alternative, while an image acting as a button or link needs an alternative describing its function.[8]
Complex graphs and diagrams need a complete text equivalent of the information they convey.[8] A short description of colors or shapes is not enough to explain a process. Provide a nearby structured explanation where appropriate. Keep important wording as readable page text rather than embedding every label inside a single image.
Hypothetical example: explaining a service request
A hypothetical service provider wants to explain the journey from request to resolution. The proposed illustration shows submission, triage, assignment, and closure. A separate branch shows a request returning for missing information. The accompanying text explains who acts at each step and what the customer receives.
The image does not promise a response time or show invented satisfaction figures. Its short alternative identifies the process, while the nearby explanation provides the full sequence and exception. In the Vietnamese version, the team reviews both terminology and label space rather than simply replacing English words inside the same fixed boxes.
Review comprehension before visual polish
Ask a prospective reader to explain the relationship without coaching. Check whether they can distinguish customer actions from provider actions and recognize any exception path. Review the image on a narrow screen and with enlarged text around it. Remove detail that cannot survive those conditions.
An illustration adds production and maintenance work, especially when a process changes. Choose editable source assets and assign an owner for updates. These recommendations do not by themselves establish formal accessibility compliance.
- Name the customer question the illustration answers.
- Check that every arrow and label matches the written explanation.
- Choose alternatives according to informative, decorative, or functional purpose.
- Provide full text equivalents for complex processes or data.
- Review both language versions and remove unsupported outcome claims.
