Twenty-five years ago, how many people were thinking about the internet on a daily basis? Now you can find everything, including technical and instruction manuals, online. But some things never change. Users still need instructions and warnings to guide them in the safe and proper use of products. Good design, clear instructions and warnings, place
Technology is changing the way we do business, the way we communicate with each other, and the way we learn. This new edition is intended to help technical writers, graphic artists, engineers, and others who are charged with producing product documentation in the rapidly changing technological world. While preserving the basic guidelines for developing manuals and warnings presented in the previous edition, this new edition offers new material as well, including a much-expanded section on hazard analysis. Features Provides more explicit guidance on conducting a hazard analysis, including methods and documentation Offers in-depth discussion of digital platforms, including video, animations, and even virtual reality, to provide users with operating instructions and safety information Incorporates current research into effective cross-cultural communication—essential in today’s global economy Explains new US and international standards for warning labels and product instructions Presents expanded material on user analysis, including addressing generational differences in experience and preferred learning styles Writing and Designing Manuals and Warnings, Fifth Edition explores how emerging technologies are changing the world of product documentation from videos to virtual reality and all points in between.
For designers, writing and research skills are more necessary than ever before, from the basic business compositions to critical writing. In this competitive climate, designers are routinely called upon to make words about the images and designs they create for clients. Writing about design is not just "trade" writing, but should be accessible to everyone with an interest in design. This book is a complete, introductory guide to various forms of research and writing in design—and how they explain visuals and can be visualized. These pages address communication on various levels and to all audiences: - Designers to Designers - Designers to Clients - Designers to the Design-literate - Designers to the Design-agnostic Being able to express the issues and concerns of the design practice demands facts, data, and research. With Writing and Research for Graphic Designers, you’ll learn how to turn information into a valuable asset— one of the key talents of the design researcher.
There are a lot of good books available to help people write better. They include dictionaries, usage guides, and various types of writers’ manuals – and professional writers ought to have many of those books on their bookshelves. But most architects and other design and construction professionals are not professional writers. Instead, they are people who spend a large part of their professional lives writing. That’s a big difference, and that’s where this book will help. The Architect’s Guide to Writing has been written not by an English major, but by Bill Schmalz, an architect who knows the kinds of documents his fellow professionals routinely have to write, and understands the kinds of technical mistakes they often make in their writing. This book is designed to meet the specific needs of design and construction professionals. It’s not going to waste their time with the things that most educated professionals know, but it will help them with the things they don’t know or are unsure of. It’s not a Chicago Manual-sized encyclopaedic reference that includes everything any writer would ever need to know, because architects don’t need to know everything. But what they do need to know – and what they use every day in their professional lives – has been assembled in this book.
Without words, apps would be an unusable jumble of shapes and icons, while voice interfaces and chatbots wouldn't even exist. Words make software human–centered, and require just as much thought as the branding and code. This book will show you how to give your users clarity, test your words, and collaborate with your team. You'll see that writing is designing.
A survival guide for writers in the real-world, Writing and Designing Manuals, Third Edition has become a standard reference for technical writers and editors. Readable and practical, it addresses all aspects of manual development from choosing a format to writing effective warnings. Not limited to text elements, the manual also provides guidance for designing illustrations to complement the text and underscore the safety warnings. The completely revised and updated Third Edition includes: Þ Current materials on desktop publishing Þ Alternative media such as videos, CD-ROMs, and on-line help Þ The impact of new technology such as CD-ROMs and digital cameras on manual design and production Þ New regulations for products sold overseas Þ Impact of the Internet on manual design Gone are the days when a manual might be a few pages of typewritten text. Thanks to the advances in computer technology, even tiny companies can produce slick, professional publications. Writing and Designing Manuals, Third Edition guides you through the messy, complex, frustrating, and fascinating business of producing manuals.
• Authors are top game designers • Aspiring game writers and designers must have this complete bible There are other books about creating video games out there. Sure, they cover the basics. But The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing and Design goes way beyond the basics. The authors, top game designers, focus on creating games that are an involving, emotional experience for the gamer. Topics include integrating story into the game, writing the game script, putting together the game bible, creating the design document, and working on original intellectual property versus working with licenses. Finally, there’s complete information on how to present a visionary new idea to developers and publishers. Got game? Get The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing and Design.
Now in its second edition—updated and expanded to address such issues as email etiquette and Web-based marketing, communication, and job searches—the best-selling Writing for Design Professionals is the standard guide for mastering the complexities of effective writing in professional practice. Stephen A. Kliment explains the principles of clear writing, from the formal “Dear Ms. Jones: I recently visited Polk Street Elementary School, and I agree the facility urgently needs to be modernized to make way for the progressive teaching techniques you have planned for your school district.... I believe that my firm, Izumi Associates, can make this happen” to the punchy remarks of the late William Caudill, “Say ‘frog,’ we’ll jump.” Dozens of sample letters, proposals, brochures, reports, book reviews, oral presentations, staff communications, and more—all drawn from the world of practice, and in both print and electronic formats—guide readers through the ins and outs of composing the end-products of writing. Writing for Design Professionals is organized for easy reference, and includes the following topics:• marketing: Web sites, correspondence, brochures and portfolios, proposals, newsletters, and other promotional tools• project writing• writing in school• job applications and Web-based job boards• writing in academe• writing for the media• writing as a career• public speaking plus: how to avoid jargon and gender-specific language, tailor your writing to your audience, enhance your writing with appropriate graphics, write to international clients, write as a product manufacturer, and measure the impact of what you write. Resources include lists of design media.Like a trustworthy desk-side consultant, Writing for Design Professionals, Second Edition, should be next to the computer of every architect, planner, interior designer, engineer, and student who wishes to present a polished, professional image through effective written communication.
Writing can be a special challenge for artists and designers, who tend to be more visual than verbal. Writing for Visual Thinkers is designed to help people who think in pictures gain skills and confidence in their writing abilities. Andrea Marks approaches the craft of writing from many directions, all with the ultimate goal of unlocking the reader's verbal potential. This new and expanded edition introduces brainstorming techniques that focus on writing and explores the various connections between verbal and visual thinking. Writing for Visual Thinkers includes a companion CD with an ebook containing hundreds of links to articles, books, websites, blogs, wikis, video, and audio podcasts by writers and designers including Ellen Lupton, Steven Heller, and Jessica Helfand.
