Response to 4 articles

After reading the four articles, I have started to realize the dominance that technical writing possesses within the field of graphic communications. I was fortunate that much of the information contained in the articles pertained to my career choice directly, with a majority of the articles making specific references to my profession. The first article even places writers and graphic artists under the umbrella group, Society for Technical Communication. The most notable acknowledgement was contained in the second article where the author stated that most writers and editors should have a working knowledge of, “graphic design, page layout, and desktop publishing software.” From this reading in particular, I have recognized that graphic design skills enhance the effectiveness of technical communication. Accordingly, I have concluded that technical writing almost benefits more from my profession then my profession does from it. To be an effective technical writer, one must acquire skills in visual communication through understanding graphic design. I feel that once I have mastered graphic design, I will have the ability to begin mastering technical writing. However, I would not have been able to presume this without having a solid definition of technical writing. For me, the Powerpoint presentation was most effective in clarifying this term. While the first five slides were successful in defining technical writing, the last slide more specifically pinpointed the elements I strive to incorporate in all of my designs. “Organization that guides the user, style that promotes rapid reading, visuals that clarify concepts and relationships, and format that is accessible and appealing,” are all the main focus of graphic designers as well as technical writers. In some aspects, I think it is appropriate to join the two terms, graphic designer and technical writer. The goals of both are much the same: the transfer of messages through words and/or visual elements that can be received and interpreted as was first intended.