In Which a Concept Model Makes Me Giddy

Concept models aren't for everyone. When I show fellow designers these artifacts, I sometimes get "You show that to clients?" Like any deliverable, there's a time and a place for concept models. If you're anything like me, however, you think visually. Even if your models don't see the light of day, a good model can help you get a better grip on the problem, or lay some groundwork for your designs.

Brown, Dan. User Interface Engineering (2009). Articles>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration>Sitemaps

Do Screen Captures Still Make Sense?

Writing more simply helps keep content more manageable and can increase its usability. So why do we continue to litter content with screen captures, which can be difficult to manage and often duplicate what users already see in application interfaces?

Masalsky, Paul. Content Wrangler, The (2009). Articles>Documentation>Technical Illustration>Screen Captures

Spatial Descriptions by Children

Drawing a map is cognitively challenging. It requires you to do some abstract visualization.

Katre, Dinesh S. Journal of HCI Vistas (2007). Articles>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration>Children

Analytics According to Captain Kirk

By seeing all of the available data in one chart, associations, patterns and conclusions can be drawn simply by comparing the relationships as they are presented. This is something that I learned from Edward Tufte.

Bailey, Matt. Lyris (2008). Articles>Web Design>Technical Illustration>Log Analysis

Screen Shots in Documentation

Just as I would with words, I'll cut out the obvious and whatever does not add value. I prefer an additive approach (put it in only when the words seem inadequate) over a subtractive approach (take it out if it seems superfluous). In other words, I'll be more open to screen shots in the future, but they have to work themselves into the document, not just be their by entitlement until expelled.

Hughes, Michael A. User Assistance (2009). Articles>Documentation>Technical Illustration>Screen Captures

How To Use An Apostrophe 

A clear, well-illustrated guide to when one should (or should not) use an apostrophe.

Oatmeal, The (2009). Articles>Writing>Grammar>Technical Illustration

Contemporary Educational Psychology: Cognitive Processes in Complex Science Text and Diagrams     

Ainsworth’s (2006) DeFT framework posits that different representations may lead learners to use different strategies. We wanted to investigate whether students use different strategies, and more broadly, different cognitive activities in diagrams versus in running text. In order to do so, we collected think-aloud protocol and other measures from 91 beginning biology majors reading an 8-page passage from their own textbook which included 7 complex diagrams. We coded the protocols for a wide range of cognitive activities, including strategy use, inference, background knowledge, vocabulary, and word reading. Comparisons of verbalizations while reading running text vs. reading diagrams showed that high-level cognitive activities—inferences and high-level strategy use—were used a higher proportion of the time when comprehending diagrams compared to when reading text. However, in running text vs. diagrams participants used a wider range of different individual cognitive activities (e.g., more different types of inferences). Our results suggest that instructors might consider teaching students how to draw inferences in both text and diagrams. They also show an interesting paradox that warrants further research—students often skipped over or superficially skimmed diagrams, but when they did read the diagrams they engaged in more high-level cognitive activity.

Cromley, Jennifer G., Lindsey E. Snyder-Hogan and Ulana A. Luciw-Dubas. Contemporary Educational Psychology (2009). Articles>Education>Scientific Communication>Technical Illustration