TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Visual Information books by Edward Tufte? From:Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca> To:Tracy Taylor <ipsque -at- yahoo -dot- com>, TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Sat, 31 Dec 2005 09:57:35 -0500
Tracy Taylor wondered: <<Has anyone used any of Edward Tufte's books to
help design visual information for documentation?>>
I imprinted on his books early in my career. So I suppose you could say
that all my design work since then has been strongly influenced by
Tufte's approach. I was also fortunate enough to read Jacques Bertin's
"Semiology of graphics" (in translation). But I don't use this
information as a cookbook; I use it to understand the parameters of a
design and figure out how to implement the design effectively in that
context.
<<any resource that helps you figure out what types of information are
best in a diagram, and what information is best presented in which type
of visual?>>
The first step always involves a careful consideration of the degree of
abstraction required--or, expressed in less jargon, how "real-world"
the image must be to communicate. Color, for example, requires a
photograph if you want to express how that color is perceived
(near-zero abstraction) but a precise CMYK or RGB number with no actual
visual content if you want to define the color for printing or a
computer monitor (near-100% abstraction). Similarly, a photograph is
best if you need to show exactly what the viewer's eyes will see,
including all the irrelevant details (near-zero abstraction) whereas a
highly simplified line drawing is better if you want to exclude every
potentially irrelevant detail, leaving only the key details (near-100%
abstraction).
In between these extremes lie a range of options. The trick is to look
at each option (photo, line drawing, graph, mathematical equation,
number, word) and ask yourself how its inherent level of abstraction
relates to the message you want to communicate. I'm not aware of any
one book that defines this simply and clearly and tells you how to
apply this knowledge; I'm hoping to write one in a couple years once
I'm finished my current projects.
In case you're interested, I found bargain prices on Tufte's books at
abebook.com and alibris.com at various times, and now own two of the
three. I'd dearly love to find an affordable copy of Bertin's book, but
that apparently isn't going to happen any time soon. Sigh.
Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Doc-To-Help 2005 now has RoboHelp Converter and HTML Source: Author
content and configure Help in MS Word or any HTML editor. No
proprietary editor! *August release. http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005
