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I had the exciting experience yesterday of meeting a graphic
designer whose specialty is developing design to promote the communication
of information. His best piece IMO is a one-big-page (maybe 18" by 24")
four-color fold-out that replaced piles and piles of marketing manuals.
The company was actually losing market share, and they
(1) hired a consultant to research the problem
(2) consultant found that
the manuals were
organized by company divisions, which were meaningless to the sales people
(3) consultant recommended organizing the info by the kinds of
products potential customers asked about so that
(4) sales reps could figure out what products fit the
customer's needs
(5) at which point this designer designed the 18" by 24" and
(6) helped the client organize the necessary manuals using (gasp)
an organized plan!!!
(7) and *market share* improved.
He edited the
writing too. And he has no training in either writing OR plastics used in
planes, ships, or submarines.
I guess he's not a technical communicator.
Mary
Mary Durlak Erie Documentation Inc.
East Aurora, New York (near Buffalo)
durl -at- buffnet -dot- net
