Re: Thinking in Pictures

[Larissa Neumann <neumannl -at- DSCLTD -dot- COM>]

I definitely agree that good use of graphics is very important in
communicating technical ideas effectively.

I have noticed that some technical communicators tend to classify themselves
as "writers", and therefore want nothing to do with the production of
graphics, or even the design of publications.

This, it seems to me, is very limiting. We call ourselves technical
communicators. Graphics are just another method of communication. Because
different people have different learning styles, some members of my audience
may be fine with written descriptions, but some may do better with graphics.
As always, I need to know my audience.

It seems to me that even if we don't produce the graphics ourselves, as
technical communicators we should learn how to think about the design of
graphics, when to use them in a document, and how to give suggestions to a
graphic artist so that the graphics that are generated are useful to the
users.

Another thing that I hear from a lot of people (not just technical
communicators) is that they "can't draw". I also used to feel that drawing
was something that I would never be able to do, have earned C's in art
classes all through public school.

A couple of years ago, I took a beginning drawing course, and discovered -
to my delight - that I actually could draw. In fact, now that I have
developed that skill, I regularly have "drawing cravings" that are not
satisfied until I do something graphical.

Recently, I bought a copy of "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain". I
don't recall the name of the author right now, but she claims that using her
method, almost anybody can learn to draw. In addition, she claims that the
act of drawing puts your brain into another mode of thinking that can
unleash your creativity.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, as food for thought.

Larissa Neumann
DSC Ltd.
neumannl -at- dscltd -dot- com


>A topic that is rather close to me involves the use of graphics in
technical documentation. I know that there are many >schools of thought on
this subject, but it's one that has special meaning to me.

>If any of you have read Temple Grandin's book, Thinking in Pictures, you
have an idea of what I speak. My son has the same >syndrome as Ms. Grandin,
and, therefore, for him to comprehend written words alone is often
difficult. To help him in >learning basic skills such as arithmetic, I found
that I needed to use a lot of visual reinforcements to spare him the
>necessity of visualizing what the words say, something that is difficult
for him. Ultimately, I reached the conclusion that >many users of products
that I document may well have the same difficulty and may need the visual
reinforcement. For that >reason, I use graphics to reinforce ideas that may
get lost in a sea of textual explanation.


[snip]

 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=