Customer Reviews

Dynamics in Document Design: Creating Text for Readers

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As a designer of technical documentation for almost 12 years, I have studied, and used many of the concepts that Karen Schriver presents so well, in this definitive book on documentation design. For myself, finding this information and learning how to apply it to real-world situations was been a long and frustrating process, and there were many times when I wished for a book such as this.

Dynamics in Document Design is not a how-to book, nor is it a set of guidelines. It is information compiled from extensive research that provides designers and writers with the many variables that can be used to make a document accessible to the reader.

I am currently teaching document design as part of a technical writing certificate program at a local community college and Dynamics in Document Design is our recommended textbook. I am confident that Shriver's new book will become the reference bible for what many are referring to as the "emerging field" of document design (even though it has been emerging for more than a decade).

In her Preface, Shriver states that she "...decided to write this book because it has been difficult to find resources devoted to helping document designers reflect on the nature of good writing and design from the perspective of the reader." Thank you Ms Schriver!

This book should be read, not only by designers and writers, but just as importantly, by the companies whose products require documentation. I'm sure that many will be surprised by the correlations made between the quality of a product's documentation and the perceived quality of the product itself.

I can't say enough good things about this book. Buy it and read it and use it to create good usable documentation!

For years I've purchased almost every book on writing and design I could get my hands on. This one ranks up there with the very best of what I've seen such as Edward Tufte. Actually, I like this one better because it is not vacuous about what cognitive art means. Tufte claims to tell us about how people respond to text but he never gives any data. How strange for a statistics prof! Schriver offers studies in which we see reader after reader responding to a real document. I very much liked hearing the voices of the audience and seeing what they said. BTW I noticed that one reviewer below chastizes Schriver's book, presumably for poor editing. However, in looking at the page he refers to, HE not Schriver introduces the typing error. Get a clue before you review! I found the writing very clear and personal. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to meet the needs of their audiences.

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.

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.

Blew me away! Now, all we need is _Dynamics for Dummies_ because I can't get others to crack open the 600 page binding. This is the definitive book on document design, and covers the harder task of demonstrating that a document is successfully designed. One of the best highly technical books I've ever read. Covers history, modern practice, theory, links to other fields, etc. for lots of writing and communication issues. Slightly politically biased, which is one of the risks of a subjective writing style.

An excellent book! Dr. Schriver uses data from user studies rather than personal opinion to support her recommendations and guidelines throughout the text. A very comprehensive and thorough approach to document design issues and user profiles.

I read selected portions of Karen Schriver's book on document design. This is an excellent resource for those needing confirmation of design decisions or for those wanting guidance. I paid particular attention to the examples and the reviews of the impact of design and text choices. Some may be put off by parts of the book that are very academic; however, this is overshadowed by the practical information for "communications architects" (a phrase Ms. Schriver has coined to describe those of us who are both writers and designers of documents).

Great definition of the emerging field of document design, good history of the influences coming from consumerism, academia, technical writing, graphic design. Fantasic timeline of document design, 1900-1995. Rich case studies of the way documents engage readers' thinking and feeling, leading to a new way to link usability testing with your next document design. Fascinating summaries of research on typography, space, and the interplay of words and pictures. Pluses: here's a researcher who has actually looked at real documents and real users. How refreshing! Also, she has written a usable book, one that follows her own recommendations-- another amazing feat! Practitioners and scholars alike will find this book easy to understand, wide in scope, and deep in implication. This thoughtful book makes Wurman's Information Architects look like a fancy poster, and Mok's Designing Business look like a casual first-person narrative. Don't miss it. --Jonathan Pric

Finally a book that takes information design seriously! I liked this book VERY much because it went beyond confirming what I know about writing and design to tell me things I never thought about. I liked being challenged instead of being coddled. What a refreshing book to show data of real people reading real documents. Eat your heart out Saul Wurman, Ed Tufte, Bob Horn and other pretenders who claim their design ideas captivate the reading public and then provide not a shred of evidence to support their speculations. Every serious designer and writer should read this book. Schriver has a rare talent for telling the story of the reader in the reader's words. A good read but also evidence-based design--a rare treat.

Simply put, this is a "must have" book for any technical communicator or graphic artist at or above the masters degree level of education--or anyone who deals with advanced visual design/rhetoric. It has a wealth of references and research to back the theories explained in the text, and Schriver is one of the field's leading experts.

The book will come across as "too much information" for people who are only passively interested in document design, and that's okay. There are shorter, less detailed books out there for those "casual" readers with no interest in research, reference, history, or background material. (The Allen & Bacon series "Designing Visual Language" springs immediately to mind.)

The book's only shortcoming is that it is becoming a little dated, 12 years old at the time of this review. An expanded 2nd edition with new materials related to online design and multimedia would be welcome--if not a whole new book in and of itself.