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.
The term technical writer might be better described as technical
communicator.
I am trying to ensure that communicators talk earlier than ever to the
graphic designer so that there is a greater collaboration btwn the words and
aims of the words and the design aspects of the publication. In this way
everyone works from the early planning days to produce a unified product.
For example, I like to have an idea of how many colours and what size a
publication will be so that the writing can exploit these aspects of the
production. It sometimes decide how much content we need. This might sound
heretical to some people but paging and placemnt of text and tables and
lists etc are important but need a collaborative effort. For example. when
we are writing for translation we like to make sure we have spare room on
pages to accommodate other scripts. In any case when we have to reduce text
to fit a page we generally get tighter content that is shorter and better
than the longer version!
I also see a need for a graphic designer to have as least basic editing
skills so that can, with approval of course, realise where ther may be
mistakes or where text could be rejigged to integrate better into the
design.
At the stage of developing a theme or message it is good to involve a
designer who then has time to think about an appropriate approach. ANd they
have fresh ideas to projects from a different angle.
In any case as we start to use more diagrams and visualization of
information there is an even stronger need for the communicator and designer
to work along side each other from the start.
Irene Wong
Publishing Manager, ASIC
> Once upon a time (yes, this is a bedtime story) the job of the writer was
> to write. That has not been the case for most of us for over twenty years.
> The last time I was only a technical writer was back in 1982 when employed
> at Hewlett-Packard >
> Where in the world do tech writers work where they only write?
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
Now shipping: Help & Manual 4 with RoboHelp(r) import! New editor,
full Unicode support. Create help files, web-based help and PDF in up
to 106 languages with Help & Manual: http://www.helpandmanual.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
