Visual Communication and Design, Now with Audio!
Good-looking information just works better.
Podcast: Planning and Storyboarding
Is it worth spending the time it takes to sketch out graphical ideas in advance, or is it better to...
Date: 03/11/2010
Podcast: Pictograms, simplicity, and complexity
There’s often a conflict between conveying information quickly and conveying it effectively. How...
Date: 02/26/2010
Podcast: Minimalism in writing and presentation
The concepts behind Minimalism have been an accepted part of good technical writing and presentation...
Date: 02/05/2010
Interview: Finding the right graphic design
Geetesh Bajaj, PowerPoint MVP, designs and sells high-quality PowerPoint templates on his site,...
Date: 01/25/2010
Learn by doing: Example of using games to teach software
In my last post, I talked about how I believe that appealing to multiple learning styles is the key...
Date: 01/19/2010
Screencasts ARE documentation
We came across a blog post, written by a technical writer, who describes her personal experiences...
Date: 01/18/2010
Interview: Creating attractive PowerPoint presentations
Geetesh Bajaj, PowerPoint MVP, designs and sells high-quality PowerPoint templates on his Internet...
Date: 01/18/2010
Podcast: Visual efficiency in design and in video demos
Visual efficiency means creating graphical elements and placing them to take advantage of the way...
Date: 01/14/2010
30-second video tips on YouTube
If you didn’t want to log into Facebook to see the video tips, they’re now on YouTube. Please leave...
Date: 01/12/2010
Interview: Designing PowerPoint templates and images
Geetesh Bajaj, PowerPoint MVP, designs and sells high-quality PowerPoint templates on his Internet...
Date: 01/11/2010
Learn by watching 30-second video tips on Facebook
Part animated comic strip, part screencast, these short videos are designed to help you learn Visio...
Date: 01/04/2010
Clarity Episode 4: Website map in exchange for information
A chance encounter at a coffee shop leads Clarity to a new case and a possible lead for information....
Date: 12/14/2009
Clarity Episode 3: Network diagrams are no sweat
A nervous client with a tight deadline needs to document his network, fast. Harrison Clarity applies...
Date: 12/11/2009
Podcast: Creating screencasts as a narrative series
What’s the best way to create a screencast that teaches people how to do something? Well, we don’t...
Date: 12/08/2009
Clarity Episode 2: From Excel spreadsheet to Visio org chart
Harrison Clarity, visualizer-for-hire and Visio master, demonstrates how to convert data from an...
Date: 12/08/2009
Matching message and presentation … with PowerPoint 2010
This presentation, which combines some of the new features in PowerPoint 2010 as well as a tasteful...
Date: 12/07/2009
Podcast: Matching visuals and presentation style to your information
Information is communicated not only by words in a message, but also in the way the message looks...
Date: 11/20/2009
Create an office layout? Let Clarity show you how
Check out the first episode in our series that demonstrates the “film noir” side of Visio (and some...
Date: 11/17/2009
Podcast: Deconstructing a new video series – what works and what doesn’t?
This episode captures a meeting where two writers and their manager deconstruct their new video...
Date: 10/14/2009
Podcast: Office Offline and comics in communication
David Salaguinto joins us to talk about his comic Office Offline. David creates Office Offline to...
Date: 09/29/2009
Podcast: Is familiarity or novelty a better strategy in visual design?
People get bored of seeing the same old things all the time. But they also don’t like things that...
Date: 08/28/2009
TC4D: Make Better Videos with Less Rework by Using Storyboards
Storyboards help you plan your video shot by shot. That way, you can make sure your video is at...
Date: 08/26/2009
Podcast: Should I think about design or is clear communication enough?
When you create a document or a presentation, is the information all that’s important? Is it worth...
Date: 08/07/2009
Podcast: Video in Social Media
Video has become an integral part of social media. Especially for younger people who are growing up...
Date: 07/24/2009
Podcast: Using Visual Space Dynamically
Visuals are usually created with the display space in mind. If the display area is a certain size,...
Date: 07/10/2009
Podcast: Office Casual and the success of directness
Office Casual is one of the most successful video series created by Microsoft content producers....
Date: 06/30/2009
TC4D: Guiding viewers through complex information
Complex information is usually easier to understand when it’s presented in a graphic format, such as...
Date: 06/22/2009
Podcast: Eye candy and aesthetics make things work better
Research has indicated that attractive things are easier to use and work better than purely...
Date: 06/16/2009
TC4D: Preparing for a media-centered future
Well, the title of the presentation I saw was "Preparing for a Media-Centered Future", but the...
Date: 06/15/2009
TC4D: Technical Communication in the 4th Dimension
TC4D is my video blog about technical communication in the fourth dimension. In episode 1, I talk...
Date: 06/08/2009
Podcast: Leading visual content teams
Where does Jonathan want to take content for the visual tools PowerPoint, Office Graphics, and Visio...
Date: 06/02/2009
Podcast: Visual literacy and illiteracy
Harry, Jonathan, Joy, and Eric talk about what visual literacy might mean and whether there is such...
Date: 05/18/2009
Podcast: Montage and visual juxtaposition
Harry, Jonathan, Joy, and Eric talk about theories of montage and relating images through sequence....
Date: 05/04/2009
Multimedia Technical Communication
I've been creating a lot of multimedia content since I finished the bulk of editing for my core,...
Date: 09/11/2008
Prioritizing for the Reader
Download the episodeDuration 3:11Size 2.5 MB Sometimes there are a lot of little notes that can be...
Date: 08/13/2007
New Technical Writers with Mike Pope
Download the episodeDuration 20 minutesSize 14 MB Mike Pope, a technical editor with ASP.NET, and I...
Date: 08/02/2007
Filling in the Story
Even though I really like concise writing, sometimes the whole story has to be told. Download this...
Date: 07/24/2007
The IM Model of Tech Writing
Thoughts about highly-targeted information delivery. Download this episodeDuration 2:14Size 2.0 MB...
Date: 07/17/2007
STC Conference Springboard Session: Multimedia Content
I'll be hosting a springboard session at the STC conference next week. Springboard sessions are...
Date: 05/11/2007
How I expanded my concept of the technical editing role
I've been having a short discussion with Tom Johnson at I'd rather be writing about the new format...
Date: 02/23/2007
Writing a Technical Book
A writer who used to be on the Visual Studio Tools for Office team, Kathleen McGrath, is finishing...
Date: 10/12/2006
A Writer's Thoughts about Technical Writing, Part 2
I have recorded episodes with two of the writers on the VSTO UE team (McLean and Norm), and here is...
Date: 10/01/2006
When Writers Make Mistakes
If you take on projects outside of your basic job description, chances are some of them won't work...
Date: 09/08/2006
Going into the Field
Writers can increase the value of their documentation by visiting customers where the customers work...
Date: 08/29/2006
Writing the First Draft, Part 1
I got a great request from John in a comment. He suggested blogging about how technical writers...
Date: 08/22/2006