Dynamics in Document Design: Creating Text for Readers

Book Description

From an international leader in document design, research-based insights about writing and visualizing documents that people can use . . .

This book is for writers and graphic designers who create the many types of documents people use every day at home or school, in business or government. From high-tech instruction manuals and textbooks to health communications and information graphics, to online information and World Wide Web pages, this book offers one of the first research-based portraits of what readers need from documents and of how document designers can take those needs into account.

Drawing on research about how people interpret words and pictures, this book presents a new and more complete image of the readerâa person who is not only trying to understand prose and graphics but who is responding to them aesthetically and emotionally.

Written by document design expert Karen A. Schriver, Dynamics in Document Design features:

Case studies of documents before and after revision, showing how people think and feel about them
Analyses of the interplay of text and pictures, revealing how words, space, visuals, and typography can work together
A fascinating and informative timeline of the international evolution of document design from 1900 to the present

Customer Reviews:

The resource I keep coming back to..........2005-08-10

This book is the most useful one I've found on the subject. Design books of all stripes (document-design focused or otherwise) have a tendency to provide "principles" without ever providing real support for said principles. Books will be loaded with recommendations that may or may not be well supported by data, quantified or at least well documented study results, etc.

Schriver's book does exactly the opposite, and this is why it is longer than many others. It is impossible to read about Schriver's document design principles and not know exactly where they came from. Virtually every recommendation is, for once, well supported by research findings. This book never tells you to do something without first explaining why it should be done.

If you're looking for a short-and-sweet book that conveys the most basic principles of document design ("principles" that may in fact be a designer's personal preferences), this isn't it.

If you're looking for a book that will help you make better design decisions and help you understand why to make these decisions over others, then this is the book for you. After all, it isn't so unusual for professional designers and others in the workplace to have to explain exactly why they've made certain choices over others, and this book can help.

Not what the title explains.......2005-04-26

This book could be cut off to more than half pages it is now. The information is over explained and reader gets bored.

Better luck next time!

The benchmark in its field.......2005-03-06

The reviewers who say this book is wordy and over-long just don't get it. This is not a "how to do it in five easy lessons" handbook. If you find a book like that - burn it! Books like that are usually self-published by amateurs who don't understand the complexities of the field, and they are worse than useless. In fact, they are often filled with advice that has been so oversimplified that it is actually wrong. You CANNOT learn document design in five easy lessons.

Conversely, Schriver's book is a refreshingly thoughtful, well-researched, and comprehensive overview of document design. It starts with the history and philosophy of document design and continues through contemporary needs and trends. It contains especially strong advocacy for usability studies, including documentation of those conducted by the author and her colleagues. It's about time we document creators stopped "blaming the user" and started taking responsibility to make improvements when documents are hard to understand.

Document design is a relatively new field of study, so the comprehensive timeline of its development is a gold mine, especially since no author has attempted it before. This type of in-depth research is sorely needed.

Schriver explains things in a way that is clear and compelling, with lots of thoroughly documented examples and supporting charts, tables, and graphics for clarification. And her research spans several decades, which is invaluable for tracking the evolution of document design. She has produced an unparalleled work which will be the benchmark against which other books are measured for a long time.

Thoughtful, but overly long and loosely held together.......2003-11-22

For an author who believes in giving priority to readers, she actually does a rather poor job considering her reader. She is an academic and as such has the foible of wanting to put all her knowledge on display. So she's done little trimming and condensing of her material into a form that is really useful to readers who want to quickly get to core ideas about document design theory and practice.
The opening chapter abstracts are unnecessarily long, and just repeat what shortly follows in the body of the chapter. While I liked the way she put document design in a social and historical context, this could have been done much more succinctly. The long timeline is too tangentially related to what readers really want to know about, namely document design, to interest many of them. It seems included because the professor did a lot of research and just hated not to have more to show for it than a few succinct paragraphs.
Later chapters presenting the results of various reader response studies are interesting enough, but surely we could move more quickly to the results and their relevance to document design without spending so much time with dry narration of the actual empirical testing.
The theoretical section offers a long overview of theoretical approaches, arguing in favor of a rhetorical approach. Yet the chapters that go on to apply the theory offer advice and conclusions that hardly seem to warrant such a heavyweight theoretical foundation. For instance, the chapter on typography just offers familiar practical advice of the sort one gets in many introductory books on typography. The same is true about the long section about grids. All the opening theory favoring rhetorical approaches yields results that sound very close to the plain old common sense of the non-theoretical how-to craft school that gets debunked in the opening. So she does not end up making a very strong case for the value of her own theoretical approach, and we feel we waded through a lot of theory without much benefit.
In reality, I think she does have a case and she does have some good examples of how attending to the reader through empirical research can improve document design. But her ideas would be much more forcefully and usefully presented in 200 as opposed to 500 pages.

Terribly wordy - lots of deadwood.......2003-01-29

Sorry - I would not recommend this book to a TECHNICAL writer.

This book has 559 pages and could be cut down to maybe 100 pages of useful information. Each chapter has a full page explaining the chapter... if you have to do that, you haven't planned and written the chapter well. A good product sells itself.

It takes the author 5 pages in the preface to explain the book! It also has a lot of side head paragraphs explaining more... explaining the explanations. This book was painful reading for me... I kept thinking "bla bla bla bla bla"

Customer Reviews:

Outdated in format but very good.......2006-06-20

The reason for my post is this: it gave me a good viewpoint and methodology on how to budget, estimate, and quote hours s ell as the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).

This book will tell you what it takes to design information concerning all aspects of software and hardware documentation. What it does, and I believe sets itslef from other books, is how to budget and plan estimates for software and hardware technical writing.

It will tell you how to write procedures, install guides, indexes, nice-to-haves, and user manuals. It will tell you what the SDLC is and what needs to happen at each stage; very useful to a novice (me). Great book for that and a good reference manual for those looking for tips on how to write; it will take you through step-by-step on how to deliver proper documentation... invaluable.

For its time, it was formatted in a way that was acceptable. If you can see past that and take away tidbits and chunks of information, this book is for you additionalto what I have said above.

It served my purpose of learning SDLC nuances; it talks of how to write and interview SMEs (very valuable to a novice), and give a great way to figure out how to estimate and plan a project.

I give it a B+ in 2006 times. I wonder what these knowledgeable authors would write if it was updated -- and they are very knowledgeable.

Enjoy

Excellent entry- to mid-level.......2003-04-08

This book is clear, readable and interesting (more than I can say for my other reference books on this subject). It uses not just examples of good doc writing and formats, but also examples of first-cut not-so-good ones, and contrasts them. The layout of the book is easy to use, and the content complete.

I have several other reference books on this subject, and this is the one I love.

Master of none.......2001-10-13

This is very much a book for beginners. What areas it does cover are only done on a superficial level. Anyone that has any formal training/education in technical writing will find very little in this book that is not either basic information or common sense. Important areas are covered in such a way that you know that you have to go elsewhere for the full story. There are too many better books out there.

If you read only one tech writing book . . ........2000-10-02

If you read only one tech writing book, this should be that book. Saying neither too much nor too little, this book steps you through everything you need to know, from where and how to find the background documents you need in order to learn about your subject, through how to schedule your project, to how to produce your outline, drafts, and finished document. Read this book!

This book is good for a mid-entry Technical Writer.......1998-12-12

It covers a lot in the 400+ pages of which it is comprised. Much of it is devoted to the planning stages of creating a technical document (with emphasis on software user guides). This book would be great for anyone who has between 1-3 years technical writing experience, or anyone attempting to implement new documentation procedures for their department. I still refer to the book from time to time. It also serves as a very good reference tool.

Average customer rating:

Before&AfterPageDesign-Great Book!
Dated but Useful
Great tips.
New to design?
Good material for the starting designer

Before & After Page Design
John McWade
Manufacturer: Peachpit Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 020179537X

Book Description

Before and After magazine's focus on clarity and simplicity and its insistence on approaching design not as mere decoration but as an essential form of communication have won it legions of fans. If you're among them, you'll welcome the first book from B and A's founder and publisher. John McWade walks his own talk, bringing you a beautifully clear, cohesive, and elegant primer on page design. You'll learn by example how to design single-page and multi-page publications, brochures, and advertisements, applying the principles design professionals live by. You'll also learn how to choose the right font for your project, why one typeface works better than another, and lots more. Best of all, you'll discover how to think visually--transforming the images in your head into documents that communicate effectively on the page.

Customer Reviews:

Before&AfterPageDesign-Great Book!.......2007-09-30

This is a great and helpful book for graphic designers, beginning and advanced. It is a thin book, paperback, not heavy to carry around with you. It's also easy to read and understand. Also a great price/value. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about design. :) :)

Dated but Useful.......2007-07-24

Would rather recommend their beautiful magazine and/or PDF publications which come out irregularly. Every issue is a treat. Take caution however; sadly their customer service treats subscription problems with contempt.

Great tips........2007-06-29

I subscribe to the before & after website and decided to buy this book based on my satisfaction with that membership. The book has great design information. It's so helpful to have the here's what it looked like before and here's how it could be better aspects. It really helps me in my design work.

New to design?.......2006-07-09

This book is wonderful for designers new to design. It teaches you the basics rules and gives plenty of examples (before and after) of how to arrange elements and type.
Very "eye catching" solutions! I am an illustrator & this is a wonderful way to enhance and round out my creativity in my illustrations. A definite must for someone new.

Good material for the starting designer.......2006-02-27

Good book, teaches you the basics of desing this book should be purchased by people that are barely starting.

Average customer rating:

Longman Guide to the Web, The
Lester Faigley
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

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ASIN: 0321067304

Handwriting Recognition: Soft Computing and Probabilistic Approaches (STUDIES IN FUZZINESS AND SOFT COMPUTING)

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Handwriting Recognition: Soft Computing and Probabilistic Approaches (STUDIES IN FUZZINESS AND SOFT COMPUTING)
Zhi-Qiang Liu
Manufacturer: Springer-Verlag
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3540401776

Book Description

This book takes a fresh look at the problem of unconstrained handwriting recognition and introduces the reader to new techniques for the recognition of written words and characters using statistical and soft computing approaches. The types of uncertainties and variations present in handwriting data are discussed in detail. The book presents several algorithms that use modified hidden Markov models and Markov random field models to simulate the handwriting data statistically and structurally in a single framework. The book explores methods that use fuzzy logic and fuzzy sets for handwriting recognition. The effectiveness of these techniques is demonstrated through extensive experimental results and real handwritten characters and words.

Chicago Guide to Preparing Electronic Manuscripts (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

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Chicago Guide to Preparing Electronic Manuscripts (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)
The University of Chicago Press
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Plastic Comb

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ASIN: 0226103935

Book Description

This guide to preparing manuscripts on computer offers authors and publishers practical assistance on how to use authors' disks or tapes for typesetting. When the thirteenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style was published in 1982, the impact of personal computers on the publishing process had just begun to be felt. This new book supplements information in the Chicago Manual by covering the rapidly changing subject of electronic manuscripts. Since the early 1980s more and more authors have been producing manuscripts on computers and expecting their publishers to make use of the electronic version. For a number of reasons, including the proliferation of incompatible machines and software, however, publishers have not always found it easy to work with electronic manuscripts. The University of Chicago Press has been doing so since 1981, and in this book passes on the results of six years' experience with preparing such manuscripts and converting them to type.

Professional Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET

Average customer rating:

Lacks consistency in explanations...
Disappointing for a 2nd Edition
This book is not good
.NET reporting in a day
Not worth the money

Professional Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET
David McAmis
Manufacturer: Wrox Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1861007744

Book Description

Virtually all applications need to present data to users, but any work beyond basic formatting - charts or conditional formatting, for example - can be very complex to program manually. Crystal Reports is one of the world's leading software packages for creating interactive reports, and it provides developers with an array of tools for creating rich reports that can be published on the Web or integrated within applications. Versions of Crystal Reports have been included with Visual Studio since 1993 but the latest version, Crystal Reports .NET, is now integrated more closely than ever before with Visual Studio .NET.

This book provides a detailed guide to the functionality provided with Crystal Reports .NET and shows you how to integrate reports into your .NET applications. The examples are in VB.NET, but Crystal Reports .NET itself is operated by a clear language-neutral user interface in the main, allowing reports to be created and manipulated in practically every .NET language supported by Visual Studio.

This book covers:

Crystal Reports .NET overview
Report integration for Windows and Web-based applications
Creating XML report web services
Working with .NET data, formulas, and logic
The reports engine
Distributing your application

Download Description

What is this book about?

Crystal Reports is one of the world's leading software packages for creating feature-rich reports and is now fully integrated with Visual Studio .NET. With this book, you will learn how to use the software to produce elegant and effective reports for Windows and the Web. It provides a detailed guide to the functionality provided with Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET, and shows how to integrate reports into .NET applications.

What does this book cover?

Professional Crystal Reports for Visual Studio.NET 2003 has been expanded to include functionality of the latest offering from Microsoft’s .NET platform and also the latest release of Crystal Reports. With the release of Visual Studio.NET 2003 the version of Crystal Reports included with the product has been updated and expanded. This title covers all of the fundamentals of working with Crystal Reports including:

Creating and integrating reports into Windows and web-based applications
Creating XML Report Web Services
Working with ADO.NET
Using formulas and logic in reports
Developing distributed reporting applications
Deploying reporting applications

The book also explores topics covering the new features and functionality.

In this new edition, you'll also find a number of enhancements, including the following:

An entire chapter focused on Report Design
More in-depth code samples to build complex applications with an emphasis on commonly used features.
Examples that demonstrate integration with other databases and platforms (i.e. Oracle, etc.) as opposed to just samples for Access, SQL Server, etc.
Expanded coverage on using parameters with Crystal Reports and customizing the report content at run-time.

Customer Reviews:

Lacks consistency in explanations..........2006-05-04

I agreed with many of the prior reviewers when they stated that the book doesn't cover many options and in some examples they are covered completely and other examples jump around and lack the same "follow through" in the lesson as the prior examples. I also found that included screenshots were not consistent as well. Often when I was expecting a screenshot because the explanation given in the text was not so clear, no screenshot existed. In Chapter 3 the author has you use an example from Chapter 2 and in the SubReports section, the correct example could not be found. I found the example stated in the text but it did not contain the example shown in the screenshot.

In my opinion, when I purchase a book to learn a new software application that is 1) expensive, and 2) difficult to figure out, I expect consistency in a text this way I come to know what is expected by the person teaching. This book lacked that. If I had been somewhat knowledgeable with Crystal Reports prior to reading this text, it might be a different story altogether, but that wasn't my case. Final note, the author doesn't state what .NET code he will be using. I came to find out that its VB.NET, unfortunately for me I'm a C# programmer. I figured it out but I probably wouldn't not have purchased the book if I had known that from reading the covering or book description.

Disappointing for a 2nd Edition.......2006-02-17

The book is a reasonable resource.

I was disapointed in the number of typos and errors in the code in the book. I was more disappointed in the lack of mention of these errors in the errata section of the web-site.

Unfortunately this has been my experience with the last few books I purchased so perhaps that's just what to expect.

The text is clear and easy to understand. It covers the basics of creating a report and covers most of the features in at least a cursory way and others in depth.

Even though disappointed I think the book is a useful resource.

This book is not good.......2005-12-28

Actually I purchased this book few months back. Today my opinion is this book is not upto the mark. It is only blah blah blah. No topic is covered in detail. I needed to search web for many things after reading this book. He is nowhere discussing crystal reports SDKs in detail. We wont get any overview of crystal reports SDKs provided with visual studio.

.NET reporting in a day.......2005-10-30

Good reference and tutorials for designing templates and adding them to your own apps to view and print reports. Could rename it ".NET reporting in a Day" as that is all it took for me. I reccomend this book.

Not worth the money.......2005-10-21

This book has an annoying trait of explaining super basic things as if you had no knowledge of computers. It tells you step by step how to add a project. Select File -> New -> etc. Which is fine if all material is covered with this detail. But it's not. The harder stuff is, or this stuff that's is impossible to arrive at with clicking, is glossed over. For instance, there's a section that tells you how to use Crystal Parameters with values entered in a textbox. A very useful thing. The explanation is laborious on how to add components on the form but when he gets to the code part, he says, "You can now use this code to set you parameter fields" No mention of where this code goes. How could they assume you've never turned on a computer before with the Select File -> New bit and then assume you know where this code goes. It makes this book useless. It's one of things that is just infuriating. Who do they think the audience is for this book? If you know VS you know how to add a project, for Christ's sake. If you know Crystal you know how to make parameters. The reason you buy this book is to see how the two work together. WTF!

Desktop Publisher's Idea Book, The: Second Edition

Average customer rating:

A little less than I had hoped it would be.
The Desktop Publisher's Idea Book, Second Edition
Not what I expected...
A Must Have!
One Great Resource -- Many Great Applications

Desktop Publisher's Idea Book, The: Second Edition
Chuck Green
Manufacturer: Random House Reference
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679780068
Release Date: 1997-07-29

Book Description

Professional designs -- create them yourself -- for print or for web

Using your own desk top publishing or word processing software and laser printer, you can easily create all 104 design projects inside The Desktop Publisher's Idea Book, 2nd Edition. The author shows you step-by-layout-step how to create professional, eye-catching designs that boldly and creatively state your message. This new edition is packed with simple, inexpensive, effective designs for brochures, business cards, catalogs, invitations, stationary, t-shirts and over 98 more!

Each project comes complete with page dimensions, typeface names and sizes and sources for clip art and photos. You'll find valuable information for working with illustrations, photographers and printers. There's also a resource list for locating supplies and special materials. No other DTP design book offers you as many project layouts. It's simply the very best book of its kind.

Customer Reviews:

A little less than I had hoped it would be........2006-02-23

I have purchased a number of desktop publishing books and would have to say when compared to others this is extremely dated. By that I mean many of the examples are no longer relevant... that is unless you and your customers still use floppy disks, VHS, and a roladex on a daily basis! Not too cutting edge. However, it was not a total loss of $$$. There are many ideas that are useful and while a few of the others are outdated, they may still trigger some ideas to transition to applications for modern times. I feel if you get one good idea from a book, it may be worth the price of admission.

The Desktop Publisher's Idea Book, Second Edition.......2004-04-23

This is an incredible book. Chuck Green shows us how he produces clean, professional, fresh, striking ideas for a large variety of design applications and he tells us how he produces them. His instructions, like his designs, are well laid out and very clear. Novice designers can now produce very professional and effective design by following his advice and examples. Experienced designers will find a wealth of information.

I have gone to Chuck's web site Ideabook.com for years to get ideas and reference. I was always amazed how Chuck could have so much information and by the use of layout, colour and graphics make the site inviting, fun and yet not cluttered. His book follows his web site design in that he shows both great design and how to instructions in a very appealing and easy to follow way. Chuck's ability to simplify the complex is unique and to me very valuable. Tremendous value, a must have reference book.

Not what I expected..........2002-02-08

As a graphic artist, this book was a book about templates, and personally I have created and seen much better work than was featured here. This is the last book I buy from Mr. Green.

A Must Have!.......2001-08-29

I just received the "Desktop Publishing Idea Book" and I am in love. One of the sections I enjoyed is the Resource section in the back in respect to Project Materials. I would love to see a section on the ideabook.com web site relative to these type resources. I spent about three hours on the ideabook.com web
site this morning. What a wonderful source of information in addition to this valuable book, and the site's structure and navigation is commendable.
Having been developing web sites myself for over five years, I am slowly making my way into DP because my clients think that because I am a professional web developer and graphic designer, I should be able to whip up a business card or brochure for them. The concept isn't hard for me. I have been artistic and a natural brainstormer all my life and enjoy dabbling with new software. The problem is taking the time out to branch into
another area and going through that uncomfortable learning curve. Chuck's book is a wonderful tool to set my brain in motion and it has done just that. Having only browsed through a few chapters and jumping from section to section, I already have pages of notes and ideas to help promote my existing dot com businesses. This morning I also ordered Chuck's newest "Logo" book too and anticipate the wealth of information it likely contains. Thank you, Chuck Green, for the inspirations
and nudge forward into DP. It undoubtedly will take some of that uncomfortable learning curve away.

One Great Resource -- Many Great Applications.......2001-07-03

Although the Idea Book includes many projects designed with easy to follow templates in mind, probably the best thing about this book is that it's NOT just another book of templates.

I found many projects in the book to be unique and effective revenue generators and promotional tools that I may never have otherwise created.

I personally used his "WebCard" idea (page 321) on my own website, and response to this one simple little graphic application has been phenomenal.

The "Book Jacket Index" (page 44) is now something I use on all my frequently referenced books -- highlighted passages can only be seen when you remember which page they're on, and I'm tired of all the little Post-Its poking out of my books -- they get bent, moved, and eventually dry-up and fall out. The jacket index eliminates these problems.

The "Info Book" and "Take A Test Brochure" are two more examples of great items to suggest design clients use as marketing tools.

And don't forget Chuck Green's website, ideabook.com -- it's Chuck-full (I mean Chock-full) of additional information for using design, clipart, and fonts effectively. A great resource for any creative professional.

Customer Reviews:

Comprehensive Style Guide for Software Documentation.......2006-12-25

This is a great book that tackles every aspect of software documentation with enough detail to get you started. Read Me First gives the push you need to begin laying down your own styles. It also reviews some basic grammatical issues that you as a Technical Writer must be aware of. I would recommend using several style guides if your company doesn't already have one. The Microsoft Style Guide is another great reference to consider. I gave this book 5 stars because of its easy to read format.

Good book, poor binding.......2006-11-02

This book has a lot of useful information. It's a good companion for The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications. I like to underline and make margin notes but this book won't lie flat enough for these activities without ripping the binding. It has already fallen apart and I'm not even halfway through it. I tried to find a way to contact the publisher but searching for a few minutes found nothing.

excellent chapter about documents with links.......2005-09-13

Sun offers a style sheet for technical writers. These suggestions are used by Sun in its documents and are a very clean and internally consistent guide. Of course, it is not restricted to descriptions of Sun's products. A lot of care has gone into the guide.

Plus, the suggestions are not just for printed documents. Nowadays, a lot is expressed in languages with links, like HTML or PDF, and the advice pertains here too.

For illustrations, you are shown how to display interactable icons differently from non-interactable images. Subtleties, to be sure. But taking these into consideration makes for a clean document.

On the subject of documents with links, a chapter has cogent suggestions on the proper usage. Like avoiding overlinking, which is a common flaw amongst writers new to this. Also avoid linking with anchor text that is generic, like "click this". Instead, use more descriptive strings to help search engines classify the document that is pointed to. Assuming that both documents will be on the Web. But even if not, they might still be in your internal corporate web, and you might have an internal search engine spidering these. The strings will help the engine better classify both documents. This chapter may be the most vital of the book.

A good book gets even better in 2nd edition.......2003-08-01

The first edition of this style guide was good, especially if you wanted an alternative to the Microsoft Manual of Style, but this edition is even better. It covers a wider range of issues (for example, adding much information about writing online material), and covers them very well. In fact, the book goes a bit beyond style in an appendix on developing a publications department, but the topics covered are certainly relevant and valuable, so I'm glad they were included. I don't always agree with the style choices, but that's irrelevant; I've never seen any style guide I completely agree with. Overall, I'm so impressed with this book, I'm likely to use it as a textbook for teaching technical editors. As you can tell, I'm giving it the "highly recommended" stamp.

Super Reference Book for Creating a Company Writing Style.......2000-12-10

This is an excellent book to read if you are in the position of having to create any kind of writing style guides for the company you work for. The book's sections include one on writing style itself and why it is important, working with an editor, working wit illustrations, writing for an international audience, legal guidelines, the "mechanics of writing," creating an index, among others. The book makes some good points and provides an informative reference for writing style questions.

Two small points against it. The CD is difficult at times to use and the Recommended Reading section lists some books that are out of print. Time for an update perhaps?

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