Tech Writing by Design

by Peggy J. Heath

Technical Writing as Information Design
Nathan Shedroff knows Information Design. As expert, innovator, and leader in the fields of Information Architecture, Interaction Design, and Online and Interactive Media, his book, Experience Design 1¹, has understandably become an industry bible.

Defining Information Design
In a line of startling simplicity amidst a heavily textured exploration of Information Design in his 1994 article entitled, Information Interaction Design: A Unified Field Theory of Design², Shedroff describes Information Design as:

(addressing) the organization and presentation of data: its transformation into valuable, meaningful information³

Sound familiar? Is there any part of that description that does not apply to technical writing? If we as technical writers can so easily assume Shedroff's description of Information Design as the larger part of what we do, isn't it reasonable to conclude that we have much more in common with an industry promoted by slick Web sites and edgy company names than may at first glance be obvious?

What Can We Learn?
It is this conclusion that fuels the six part series entitled, Tech Writing By Design. The objective of this column is to explore the common ground between technical writers and information designers through the use of Web sites, book and article excerpts, interviews, and practical examples demonstrating the application of information design principles to technical writing.

How Can We Benefit?
In the first article of this series (Welcome to Tech Writing by Design, The Willamette Galley, Volume 5, Issue 3, May 2002), we asked the question, Why is it important to consider technical writing in the light of Information Design? We considered three good reasons for exploring the world of Information Design and will begin this month's inquiry with a closer look at the first reason.

Establishing Common Ground
Nathan Shedroff establishes the premise that we're all really dipping from the same creative inkwell by using that cagey technique information designers are so good at-presenting information we all know in a new context or wrapper so it assumes a heady visionary luster. In his Information Interaction Design article, Shedroff states:

One of the most important skills for almost everyone to have in the next decade and beyond will be those that allow us to create valuable, compelling, and empowering information and experiences for others. To do this, we must learn existing ways of organizing and presenting data and information and develop new ones. Whether our communication tools are traditional print products, electronic products, broadcast programming, interactive experiences, or live performances makes little difference. Nor does it matter if we are employing physical or electronic devices or our own bodies and voices. The process of creating is roughly the same in any medium⁴.

With these words, we are being invited to label what we know as technical writers about organizing and presenting data and information as The Starting Point and to move forward from there to new ways of creating meaningful information for the end user.

This is where it gets interesting.

Data vs. Information
Whether speaking through his Information Interaction Design article, his Web site, or to an interviewer's question, Shedroff always hammers home the importance of differentiating between data and information. It's a critical distinction for this discussion because it's where Information Design and Technical Writing truly merge. Shedroff writes:

Data is fairly worthless to most of us; it is the product of research or creation (such as writing), but it is not an adequate product for communication. To have informational value, it must be organized, transformed, and presented in a way that gives it meaning⁵.

In other words, in order to be of value, data must be presented in a context where relationships are established. A sack of groceries can be data. Presented in the context of a recipe where relationships between the "data" are established, a sack of groceries becomes organized (measured out), transformed (cooked, baked, fried, grilled, etc.) and presented (served) in a way that gives it meaning, i.e. a meal.

More specific to technical writers, meter usage data called into a utility's software program becomes meaningful information when it is organized, transformed, and presented in a daily usage report. This report is used by the utility analyst to identify peak hours of usage and becomes valuable information for predicting future energy demands.

While technical writers create the context that transforms data into meaningful information through manuals, reports, white papers, or a basic set of instructions, information designers evaluate the different ways the resulting information will be experienced by the user.

And to what end? Just as Nathan Shedroff suggests, to create valuable, compelling, and empowering information and experiences for others.

How Do We Start?
So how do we as technical writers begin to develop new ways of transforming data into empowering information? By considering the end user's experience in new ways.

As humans, we experience and respond to information in either a left or right brain manner (or a combination of the two). But as technical writers, we typically think about and present data primarily with a left brain approach-logically, sequentially, rationally, analytically, and objectively.

If the user is capable of experiencing information in a more random, intuitive, holistic, synthesized, and subjective, right brain kind of way, can we add meaning to that end experience with a more right brain approach? What would that look like? Would the information still be useful and instructive?

Fortunately for our purposes, a Portland architectural firm has adopted the position that there is value in organizing and presenting information from both perspectives. By offering a left and right brain experience for visitors to their Web site, http://mahlum.com, they've lifted our theory from these few pages and given it global application on the World Wide Web.

The only question remaining is, as a visitor to the site, is it a valuable, compelling, and empowering experience?

---

Resources

1. Shedroff, N. 2001. Experience design 1. Indianapolis: New Riders Publishing.
2. Shedroff, N. (1994). Information interaction design: a unified field theory of design. http://www.nathan.com/thoughts/unified/index.html. (23 May 2002).
3. Ibid. 3
4. Ibid. 1
5. Ibid. Information Design section, 2
   
   Peggy Heath, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, and formerly in the fields of public health and not-for-profit program development, is currently pursuing certification in Professional and Technical Writing and a career transition into the field. She can be reached at pj@femlore.com.