Wednesday, February 20, 2013

More SmartArt graphics: Hexagon Radial and Picture Frame

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

(This post was first published in 2011 right after we released new SmartArt for Office 2010. It's the third in a series about SmartArt, which begins with 10 new SmartArt graphics.To read all of them, follow the links at the bottom of this post. This one was written by Adam Callens, Program Manager.)

We're always looking for ways to improve our products and provide content that meets your needs. So today I'd like to introduce you to two brand new SmartArt graphics for Office 2010 -- Hexagon Radial and Picture Frame.

Hexagon Radial is a new take on an old concept. Circular process diagrams are widely used, so we decided to create something familiar but with a different visual twist. The use of hexagons and trapezoids gives you a multi-step process with a central theme or title, but with a visual sharpness provided by the numerous corners and straight lines. We intentionally put a lighter color on the connecting trapezoid so that the focus remains on the text and not on the shapes themselves.

New Hexagon Radial SmartArt graphic

As we've seen the use of images in documents and presentations continue to rise, we wanted to provide a clean way to tie your text to your image without having to use traditional captions. The Picture Frame layout accomplishes this by using an offset frame or border that binds the text to the image. This may present a challenge for you if the frame overlaps important content in the image. If that happens, I recommend using the Crop tool on the Picture Tools tab. With the image selected in your SmartArt graphic, clicking the crop tool allows you to move and resize your image without moving or resizing the shape containing the image.

New Picture Frame SmartArt graphic

I hope you enjoy using the new SmartArt graphics as much as we enjoyed making them and, as always, we welcome your feedback!

For more about other newly released SmartArt graphics, see the following:

-- Adam Callens


View the original article here

No comments:

Post a Comment