#30687
Dam Visuals: The Changing Visual Argument for the Glen Canyon Dam 
Arguments manifest in scientific visuals through graphic representation, content placement, and overall document structure. These arguments, designed to influence public perception, change over time in relation to sociopolitical climate. Analysis of a series of documents constructed deliberately to influence perception can help to determine patterns of argumentation and perceived exigencies. In this article, four self-guided tour brochures produced for distribution to visitors to the Glen Canyon Dam in 1977, 1984, 1990, and 1993 are analyzed in order to identify rhetorical strategies designed to influence public perceptions of the dam site, and examine how public perception of the dam, and related argumentation, is structured by sociopolitical climate.
Ross, Derek G. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2007). Articles>Scientific Communication>Technical Illustration>Visual Rhetoric
#25612
An Introduction to Visualisation
Visualising things makes them tangible and brings them into shareable form. Visualisation brings ideas to life and helps understanding. Visualisation techniques help elicit, communicate and analyse ideas and concepts.
Joe, Phillip. Design Council (2005). Articles>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration>Visual Rhetoric
#21630
El lenguaje escrito no es más que un caso particular del lenguaje visual. En realidad hay muchos lenguajes visuales que parecen tener reglas en común. Pensar en el lenguaje visual nos puede ayudar a transmitir nuestros mensajes de forma más efectiva.
Dursteler, Juan Carlos. InfoVis (2003). (Spanish) Articles>Language>Visual Rhetoric>Technical Illustration
#29162
Andrew Feenberg's critical theory of technology is an underutilized, relatively unknown resource in technical communication which could be exploited not only for its potential clarification of large social issues that involve our discipline, but also specifically toward the development of a critical theory of illustrations. Applications of critical theory help strengthen our discipline by forcing us to delineate extant approaches and consider whether democratic goals are being achieved through those approaches. If a critical theory of illustrations can be built from Feenberg's critical theory of technology, it should be useful for classroom instructors and researchers as well as theorists.
Northcut, Kathryn M. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2007). Articles>Scientific Communication>Visual Rhetoric>Technical Illustration
#18841
Many technical documents are rich in text and poor in graphics. Not all documents have photographs and illustrations to provide the reader with visual cues. Text organizers can be used as a method for relieving the visual grayness that happens when a document is all text. Headlines, kickers, subheads, headers, footers, pull quotes, and bulleted lists are all text organizers that can be used throughout a technical document to promote a better flow of information.
Sadowski, Mary A. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Document Design>Visual Rhetoric>Technical Illustration
#13533
Verbal Versus Visual: A Word Is Worth a Thousand Pictures, Too
A picture is worth a thousand words, or so the saying goes—a saying debated by some but accepted pragmatically by most. Do we not all remember some little drawing or other that came in handy to clarify an otherwise plainly unintelligible discourse? Professionally, experienced technical communicators know the benefit of adding illustrations to the text of their technical publications. With increasingly better tools available for their production, pictures seem to have a bright future indeed.
Doumont, Jean-luc. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Rhetoric>Visual Rhetoric>Technical Illustration
#10357
Visualizing Information: An Overview of This Special Issue
The guest editors offer a brief history of visualization, discuss the present state of the art, and explore the possibilities and challenges that lie ahead. They then discuss the contents of this special issue in terms of the trends in visualization theory and research. They conclude by observing that technical communicators must respond to the challenges presented in the content of this issue, both by using the methods presented and by performing the further research the authors call for. Additionally, researchers must incorporate the results of inquiry in the related fields.
Gribbons, William M. and Arthur G. Elser. Technical Communication Online (1998). Articles>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric>Technical Illustration
#34566
Harnessing the Power of Annotations -- An Interview with Dan Brown
Annotations come in all shapes and sizes depending on the artifact and the intent of the document. People are probably most familiar with wireframe annotations, where the author calls out areas of the screen to describe functionality not immediately discernible from the picture alone.
Spool, Jared M. User Interface Engineering (2009). Articles>Interviews>Visual Rhetoric>Technical Illustration
