Example Illustration 1. a character from a story

An Illustration is a visualisation such as drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that stresses subject more than form. The aim of an Illustration is to elucidate or decorate a story, poem or piece of textual information (such as a newspaper article) by providing a visual representation of something described in the text.

Illustrations can be used to display a wide range of subject matter such as:

• giving faces to characters in a story;
• displaying a number of examples of an item described in an academic textbook (e.g. A Typology);
• visualising step-wise sets of instructions in a technical manual.

The term 'Illustration' can also be used in a non-visual sense i.e. "give an example to Illustrate the point you are trying to make".

See Also

• Posters
• Charts