Technical Illustration, from Hand Drawings to Computer Art  

Technical illustration ranges from hand-drawn artwork to complex computer imagery. It extends from instructional materials intended for the general public to complex technical engineering drawings intended for other engineers. This article, with a timeline, chronicles the evolution of technical illustration. Descriptions of illustration basics are included along with an introduction to ISO/S1000D/W3C standards and practices.

Broz, Donald. Broz and Dian (2007). Design>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration

Ten Tips for Talking to Artists  

Explains some of the terminology used to describe graphics and explains the roles graphic designers play in the production of technical art.

Lyons, Chopeta C. Intercom (2004). Articles>Collaboration>Technical Illustration>Graphic Design

Ten Useful Tips for Beginners

In this tutorial we'll list 10 really useful techniques and shortcuts for Photoshop beginners. These tips will hopefully do wonders for your Photoshop skills, and speed up your work.

Elated (2003). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Photoshop

Ten Ways to Keep and Get Clients

Realistically, it will be impossible to keep every client due to any number of factors; the marketing director you've worked with for years leaves or another design firm offers a 'loss leader' project. While some scenarios are out of your control, many are not and taking a proactive stance can do wonders.

Schultz, Derald. Creative Latitude (2005). Careers>Freelance>Graphic Design

Tetrarch: Technical Communication

The most effective marketing literature is that which goes beyond being just promotional, it is that which provides genuine assistance to its audience. And that assistance need not stop once a product has been selected and purchased. Installation instructions are all too frequently treated as an afterthought, the marketing and promotional effort having been expended in persuading the audience to purchase the product. All too often marketing considerations cease with the sale and there is little or no without regard for what happens once the product has been sold.

Tetrarch. Design>Graphic Design>TC

Text on a Path

A very frequently asked question in Photoshop 911 is putting text into a circle or a shape. A number of readers have asked how to put text into a shape so it runs around pictures. This is all doable so long as you remember the rules of putting text on a path.

Photoshop Tips and Tricks (2006). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Photoshop

Text-Based Logos

Logos in the form of words or letters have natural properties that make them visually effective: (see also logos article): good recognition; good descriptiveness; and good presence.

Hunt, Ben. Web Design From Scratch (2005). Design>Graphic Design>Web Design>Typography

TextArc, Visualizando Textos

La visualización de la estructura textual de un documento resulta de gran ayuda en su análisis y complementa técnicas como la lingüística computacional, al utilizar la capacidad de detección de patrones del cerebro humano.

Dursteler, Juan Carlos. InfoVis (2002). (Spanish) Design>Graphic Design>User Interface

Texto, Tablas y Gráficos

No siempre un gráfico es el elemento más ilustrativo. Las frases escritas, las tablas y los gráficos tienen su propio lugar en el discurso de la construcción de la claridad y el entendimiento. 

Dursteler, Juan Carlos. InfoVis (2002). (Spanish) Design>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration>Charts and Graphs

Texture and Type Treatments

Photoshop is useful at generating interesting textures and patterns, and version 7 even has a nifty Pattern Maker filter to help you craft patterns that tile seamlessly. To create a more custom look, I like to create patterns and texture using different combinations of the built-in filters along with Blend Modes and Adjustment Layers. It's fun to spend time experimenting in the Photoshop laboratory to see what you can come up with.

Duggan, Sean. Mac Design Magazine (2003). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Photoshop

That Monster called Free Pitch

No matter what you call it, Spec Work, Free Pitch, etc the concept is the same. I'll get a handful of designers or studios to come up with a handful of concepts for my website, and the winner gets my business. Great concept? No! There are no winners here.

Burke, Miles. MilesBurke.com.au (2007). Careers>Freelance>Graphic Design>Contracts

Theories of Visual Rhetoric: Looking At The Human Genome    

For too long, journal articles and textbooks on scientific and technical discourse have adopted a positivistic approach to visuals. Unfortunately, this approach is problematic. It ignores that visuals are constructions that are products of a writer's interpretation with its own power-laden agenda. For example, in representing a tamed and dominated nature, visuals become instruments of patriarchy. Reading them responsibly requires that we uncover some of the values attached to the strategies of creating visuals and to the objects created. This article reviews the current approach taken by composition scholars, surveys richer interdisciplinary work on visuals, and-- by using visuals connected with the Human Genome Project--models an analysis of visuals as rhetoric.

Rosner, Mary. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2001). Articles>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric

Thick and Thin Lines

The use of thick and thin lines is an important stylistic device in Technical Illustration.

ITEDO Software (1998). Articles>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration

ThinkCreation Blog

You can find desktop publishing tutorials, tips of the day and design resources.

Bruno, Elisabetta. ThinkCreation (2005). Design>Graphic Design>Document Design>Blogs

Thinking About Graphic Design

There was a time when graphic design - or how things looked at least - was regarded as the most central part of the web experience. A 'good' website, in the eyes of management at least, involved little more than the company message accompanied by attractive pictures, ideally animated as often as possible. Nowadays, we are beginning to realise that whilst design remains a vital differentiator in terms of web experience, it is for very different reasons. Users are by now accustomed to the very highest levels of graphic design work online. This means that whilst a professional approach is essential for any organisation serious about their online presence, on it's own a 'good looking' site is not sufficient. It is in its impact on usability that graphic design is now particularly significant in the online environment. Graphic design, or visual communication, is about more than looks. The way site content is presented will have a significant effect on how easy-to-use it will be. This not only includes questions of appropriate images and styles, but also choice of colour schemes and the way different interface elements are represented.

Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2000). Design>Graphic Design>Web Design>Usability

Thinking Outside the Box-Shaped Photo: How to Create Cool Photo Edges in Photoshop CS2

Don't be satisfied with boring rectangular photos! Thanks to Photoshop, you can use simple techniques to create amazing edge effects and cool artistic borders that can add the ultimate finishing touch to your photos. Dave Cross shows you how easy it is to create many different variations from three key techniques.

Cross, Dave. InformIT (2006). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Photoshop

Three-Dimensional Illustration for Technical Communicators    

You don't need to be a skilled illustrator to create effective 3-D graphics. Three-dimensional illustration allows the technical communicator to respond quickly to project changes and create imagery appropriate for most publications or multimedia. Burns' article shows the benefits of 3-D artwork and its potential for technical communicators.

Burns, Tom K. Intercom (2008). Design>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration>3D

Tone Down Highlights

Sometimes the only thing that keeps a good portrait from being a great portrait is a little too much shine on the skin. Here’s a quick and easy way to tone down those highlights.

Harris, Rich. Planet Photoshop (2006). Design>Graphic Design>Photography>Adobe Photoshop

Toward Consistency in Visual Information: Standardized Icons Based on Task    

Argues for continued work on developing standards for icon design. Suggests that icons should be standardized not just within products, but across applications. Suggests that icons be standardized based on the complexity of the task represented.

Gurak, Laura J. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric

Towards a Rhetoric of Tactile Pictures  

This paper offers a first step towards a rhetoric of tactile pictures by applying the visual framework developed by Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen to a tactile alphabet book. After a brief review of tactile research, this paper explores the ways in which tactile pictures represent objects in the world and the stategies the pictures use to enact interative-represented participant relations. These explorations demonstrate that Kress and van Leeuwen's framework offers valuable insights and a sound basis, but their framework must be adjusted to the semiotic codes used in tactile pictures. It is hoped that this essay will encourage interest and research into tactile rhetoric. Such research would benefit both those who rely on tactile pictures and those who study rhetoric in its many manifestations.

Wiest, Carol. Enculturation (2001). Design>Graphic Design>Rhetoric>Visual Rhetoric

The Tradeoff Between Compactness and Appeal in Icons  

What is the tradeoff between compactness and appeal in icons? While I do not have any firm rules, I can suggest some heuristics or simple principles.

William Horton Consulting (2001). Design>Graphic Design>Usability

Trapping? Dangerous Subject

Oh, it's in vogue these days isn't it. Trap here. Trap there. All the computer graphics experts and magazine writers showing off their divine knowledge, writing about 'trapping.' Some people don't even know what trapping is. Some don't even care. But the computer industry sure wants us to know – and they want us to buy the latest and greatest software to prove it. Do I sound cynical? (He asks with a sly grin.) Your first line of defense in avoiding trapping traps is to understand the concepts.

Showker, Fred. Design, Typography and Graphics (2001). Design>Graphic Design>Prepress

Turning Portrait Into Stone Statue with Photoshop

This is a simple tutorial on how you can make a statue from a portrait with Photoshop. It is highly recommended if you're using a close up portrait of a woman/man.

ReviewZine.com (2006). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Photoshop

Two-Point Perspective

In this lesson we are going to create a 2 Point Perspective view drawing of our subject working from plan and elevation view reference.

Hulsey, Kevin. Kevin Hulsey Illustration. Design>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration>Isometric