Category Archives: Technical Communication and Aesthetics

There is Beauty in Technical Communication (Revised)

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Technical communication is an art that combines technology, language, and aesthetics. It is not solely concerned about technical writing and utility. Technical communication, however, requires the use of principles and elements of design that contribute to creating aesthetic appeal. Aesthetics and technical communication are becoming intertwined, and for technical communication to be effective, it must be aesthetically pleasing. I will demonstrate the importance of aesthetics in technical communication by explaining the meaning of aesthetics. I will also demonstrate the use of aesthetics in technical communications, and finally, I will discuss the necessity of aesthetic appeal.

Introduction to Aesthetics

For something to be aesthetically pleasing, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to contain pretty pictures and color. What I am referring to is the organization of the information. Information must be organized in a way that is pleasing and easy for the audience to navigate. Sometimes, that organization includes color and images, but white space and font choices also contribute to the organization and aesthetic appeal of a document.

We find things aesthetically appealing when they create a sense of harmony, because harmony is pleasing to the eye and enjoyable to the audience. Harmony is important in technical communication because it engages the viewer, creates an inner sense of order, and creates a balance in the visual experience. If a document is not harmonious, then it can easily become too chaotic or boring. A lack of harmony can prevent the reader from being engaged.

Bad Use of Aesthetics in Technical Communication

However, aesthetics can make technical communication less effective when they are used incorrectly. If too much color or imagery is used, it can distract the reader from the actual information. The first example that comes to mind is the use of aesthetics in power-points. Power-points usually contain too many unnecessary images and incorrect use of visuals, making it difficult for the viewer to focus on the relevant information. My previous blog post provides additional information about bad use of aesthetics in Power-points. I have also provided examples of good and bad use of aesthetics in web design:

1. Bad use of aesthetics

This is an example of bad use of aesthetics because there is no harmony. The homepage is crowded with images that lack order and organization. There is too much use of color, especially high impact colors such as lime green and hot pink.

2. Good use of aesthetics

This example is similar to the one above because it contains images that link to other websites. However, this website is harmonious. The images are organized with an adequate amount of white space, making the website pleasing and easier to navigate.

Importance of Aesthetics

Aesthetic appeal is important in every aspect of technical communication, because a lack of aesthetic appeal hinders audience engagement. Aesthetics are becoming especially valuable in website design. With a million sites in existence and only a click away, websites have to use aesthetics to capture the short attention span of the audience. Once the they capture the attention of the audience, they have to find ways to use aesthetics to keep their attention.

Conclusion

Technical communication doesn’t always have to be entertaining or fun, but it must always be aesthetically pleasing. Utility and usability go hand in hand with aesthetics, because in order to meet the goals of utility and usability, certain aesthetic guidelines must be met.

Blog Post #9: Ways to avoid TL;DR

The transition from print to social media has drastically changed the role of the content creator and his/her duty in conveying an efficient yet thorough message to an audience.  The pressures of detailing a message with complex vernacular and thorough completeness has seemingly shifted to short definitive statements and highlighting of important material.  How do creators adapt to creating effective messages with minimal clutter?

Before the evolution of social media and technology, print media was the most reliable mode of communication for individuals and businesses alike. Although considered “outdated” and/or “boring” today, taking the time to read and understand a body of text allows the reader to become more engaged and understand the situation clearer.  According to the article “Print is Dead? Not so Fast”, on Forbes.com, the author states several reasons why print media is still relevant today.  However, although a majority of the reasons given are debatable, one solid point states “consumers are more engaged when reading printed material, unlike websites, which are often skimmed in as little as a 15 second visit.”  From this statement, it is possible to assume that since people were forced to read completely through texts during this time period, they possessed a higher level of literacy then many individuals do today.

Nonetheless, times have changed and technology and social media has evolved into the leading mode of communication in our modern society.  According to the article on Forbes.com, technology such as the internet allows for “cost effectiveness, exposure potential and convenience,” when it comes to marketing and advertising. But what does this mean for the content creators and audience?  Should readers be responsible for longer content or do creators ignore certain rhetorical aspects to accommodate all levels of literacy?  In my opinion, a mixture of both is necessary.

The incessant bombarding of multimedia messages through social media has led to a new mentality of faster is better when it comes to communication.  Social media outlets, such as Twitter and Facebook, allow users to access and view information at the click of a button or touch screen.  Instant deals, news, and/or other relevant information are available quickly and typically, in the palm of your hand.  There is no long text to read or pages to sift through. The hashtag aspect popular on Twitter is significant because it helps spread messages and awareness in rapid time and/or allows people to get up-to-date with the current information surrounding a topic.  According to an article by Jenny Doren and Laura Mandaro on the USA Today website, the recent Ferguson, MO decision sparked almost immediate protests across the nation, partly due to such hashtags as “#fergusondecision”, “#blacklivesmatter”, and “#justiceforMikeBrown”.  People immediately became aware of the decision and reactions simply by clicking on these tags.

Ferguson hashtag

The work my father does as a proposal writer illustrates another example of completing efficient technical communication.  When dealing with more intricate and complex topics, longer text usually is necessary, but finding ways to limit the wordiness allow these texts to still be interesting and engaging.

bad technical writing imagetechnical writing image                       

                       Image A                                                          Image B

Image A above is an example of technical communication that could be improved.  It conveys a message through text but could potentially be more effective if broken down more and utilizes other multimodal aspects.  Image B is an example of technical communication that is more effective today. Understanding and executing ways of sequencing concepts in longer texts will allow the audience to be more interested and engaged.  Combining text with images, including graphs and tables, gives the work more flair and activity.  Concepts and ideas are broken down more so most people can better understand and comprehend the message.

Overall, this new era relies on quick yet efficient communication.  Long texts will always have a place, but it is up to the creator to find ways of making it engaging while maintaining the message it contains.  However, it is also up to the audience to be educated and should he/she wish to explore new endeavors, be responsible for taking the time to learn the ways.

Sources:

Jenny Doren, WFAA-Texas | Laura M, and Aro. “Ferguson Tweets, Hashtags Spike as Anger Rises.” USA Today. Gannett, 26 Nov. 2014. Web. 08 Dec. 2014.

“Print Is Dead? Not so Fast.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 28 June 2012. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.

“Technical Writing Examples – Google Search.” Technical Writing Examples – Google Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.

 

 

The Art Called Technical Communication

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The way we view technical communication have dramatically changed in the past few years. Thanks to the convergence of social media, advances in video technology and the ongoing transformation of print media which have changed the manner by which we create, transmit, receive and comprehend media communication.

Technical communication has helped us be able to identify the story or program purpose, design the message and use the appropriate communication medium for large, small-scale or individual audiences. It has enabled us to take advantage of aesthetics as we learn to communicate whether by learning how to create concise, informative messages for traditional and online print, video, audio, interactive or combinations of media formats.

Technical communication is a multimedia form of art in which we work with everything from linear text to hypertext, from static images to video, and we mix and match the form to make a creation. To me art is an experience we can get through one or more media. We see the beauty of technical communication from manuals included with products; the cover page of books written by our favorite authors, an instruction, to an explanation of a “how to do” video. What all of these have in common ranges from graphics, video, colors, and even fonts which come together to form unique ways to communicate to an audience.

A technical communicator may benefit from a good grasp of aesthetics to ensure the product is both usable and attractive. In various markets where the aesthetic is shaped by the technology, such as engineering, the technical communicator must be aware and able to adjust their presentation appropriately. We need to be aware of the audience and know what our audience responds to in terms of presentation and structure. How well we can speak to that audience depends on whether we have the skill in the appropriate domain and medium (Renteria). 

If there’s one thing we can all agree upon, it is the fact that art is about communication!

Renteria, Roger. “Resolved: Technical Communication IS Art | TechWhirl.” TechWhirl. 22 Oct. 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.

There is Beauty in Technical Communication

For technical communication to be effective, it MUST be aesthetically pleasing. For something to be aesthetically pleasing, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to have pretty pictures and color. What I am referring to is the organization of the information. Information must be organized in a way that is pleasing and easy for the audience to navigate. Sometimes, that organization includes color and images, but white space and font choices also contribute to the organization and aesthetic appeal of a document.

We find things aesthetically appealing when they create a sense of harmony. Harmony is pleasing to the eye and enjoyable to the audience. Harmony is important in technical communication because it engages the viewer and it creates an inner sense of order, and a balance in the visual experience. If a document is not harmonious, then it can easily become chaotic or boring. A lack of harmony can prevent the reader from being engaged.

Aesthetic appeal is important in every aspect of technical communication, but especially in website design. With a million sites in existence and only a click away, websites have to use aesthetics to capture the short attention span of the audience. Once the they capture the attention of the audience, they have to find ways to use aesthetics to keep their attention.

Aesthetics can make technical communication less effective when they are used incorrectly. If too much color or imagery is used, it can distract the reader from the actual information. The first example that comes to mind is the use of aesthetics in power-points. Power-points usually contain too many unnecessary images and incorrect use of visuals, making it difficult for the viewer to focus on the relevant information.

Technical communication doesn’t always have to be entertaining or fun, but it must always be aesthetically pleasing. Utility and usability go hand in hand with aesthetics, because in order to meet the goals of utility and usability, certain aesthetic guidelines must be met.

Blog #12: Technical Communication and Aesthetics

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “aesthetics” as follows:

The philosophy of the beautiful or of art; a system of principles for the appreciation of the beautiful, etc.; the distinctive underlying principles of a work of art or a genre, the works of an artist, the arts of a culture, etc.

One of the central texts for this class is Writer/Designer. In their handbook Arola, Ball, and Sheppard present writing and composing texts as design processes. Design–whether one is creating texts, teapots, or telescopes–can imply both the creation of something that is uniquely suited to and useful for a particular purpose, as well as something that is aesthetically beautiful or attractive.

Now that you have a little more experience designing in a number of different technical communication genres,  you should have some ideas about the relationship between utility/usability and aesthetics in technical communication. Is effective technical communication–i.e., technical communication that is useful and usable–necessarily aesthetically pleasing or attractive as well? In what kinds of rhetorical situations does aesthetic appeal enhance the effectiveness of technical communication? In what kinds of rhetorical situations might aesthetic appeal detract from the effectiveness of technical communication? When should we care about creating technical communication that is beautiful, entertaining, fun, etc.? And when, if ever, are such concerns irrelevant to our primary goals of utility and usability?

To the extent that aesthetic concerns inform and shape technical communication processes, new digital technologies arguably facilitate the creation of artifacts that are well-designed in every sense. Indeed the New London Group, whose theory and pedagogy provide some of the foundations for the approach to composition described and encouraged in Writer/Designer, argue that multimodal composition most often involves “redesign” whereby “available designs” are remixed and repurposed, rather than the creation of something entirely new. Laser printers and the availability of templates, color-pickers, image filters, and programs such as InDesign, Publisher, and Scribus, arguably give amateur desktop publishers design and print capabilities once reserved for the most experienced and talented professionals.

Given how technology has reconfigured the rhetorical situation, we might ask what role the creation of something truly “new” plays in contemporary technical communication? Is “novelty” or “originality” something for which technical communicators should strive, in what rhetorical situations? How do we define or redefine plagiarism in an environment where remixing and reuse are recognized as normal, even essential parts of the composition process? And if technology opens the possibility that even amateur efforts might meet “professional” aesthetic standards, one might ask the questions “who sets such standards?” and “why do they matter?”

“The Bad Artists Imitate, The Great Artists Steal by Banksy” via Duncan Hull on Flickr.

Posting: Group 2

Commenting: Group 1

Category: Aesthetics

What do you think? In your Blog #12 post, take a position about how aesthetics influence technical communication, and how new digital technologies may be affecting how aesthetics shape our understanding of “usability,” “utility,” and “effectiveness” as they apply to technical communication artifacts. As always, craft your response as a cohesive essay or argument, rather than a list of answers to the questions and topics outlined here. Please carefully read and follow the guidelines and posting information for this blog.

Featured Image Credit: IKEA by Missy S. on Flickr.