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.
Subject:Re: focus so deeply on DTP. From:Beverly Parks <bparks -at- HUACHUCA-EMH1 -dot- ARMY -dot- MIL> Date:Mon, 6 Nov 1995 06:58:02 MST
John P. Brinegar <johnbri -at- PRIMENET -dot- COM> wrote-->
...
> (1) Readers are increasinly more visually oriented and less textually
> oriented. My work today has much lest text these days than it did with I
> took up tech writing 45 years ago. It has far more illustrations, tables,
> and charts. The size and positioning of these elements are important to me.
...
You are so right, John. As tech writers, you worry about making
the words as understandable as possible by the reader. (Is this
too much detail? Or not enough? What about this terminology?)
All those carefully considered details will be for nothing if
the final product LOOKS like crap. Page layout and design is
what initially grabs the reader, not the words. I would even
wager that page layout and design is instrumental in *keeping*
the reader reading.
=*= Beverly Parks -- bparks -at- huachuca-emh1 -dot- army -dot- mil =*=
=*= Huachuca : That's pronounced "wah-CHEW-ka" =*=
=*= "Unless otherwise stated, all comments are my own. =*=
=*= I am not representing my employer in any way." =*=