Book Commentary 34 Visual Meaning: Commentaries on the Continuing Influence of Edward R. Tufte Robert R. Johnson *JCDBookCommentariesEditor en I first came to technical writing over a decade ago, I as immediately taken by the importance of visual comunication. That is, I had for so long been a student of the itten word that the importance of visual text had esped me. As a teacher of technical writers, it was discovering that visual information takes on a meaning for readers that so fascinated me and gave me a unique tool for literally opening the eyes of my students to the craft of technical writing. I am not alone among those who came to technical writing through a fascination with visual design. Academics like Steven Bernhardt, Charles Kostelnick, and Lee Brasseur have long involved themselves with understanding the visual nature of communication in print and online forms. In the nonacademic sphere, Elizabeth Keyes, Ginny Redish, and John Carroll (to name only a scant few) also went down the visual communication road in an effort to bring visual communication to the forefront in technical com. munication. There are few, however, who have had the long term impact of Edward Tufte on the study of visual communication. Beginning with The VisualDisplay of Quantitative Information in the early 1980s, and on to Envisioning Information in the early 1990s, Tufte has cut a clear and focused path through the dense forest of visual language. With his newest book, VisualExplanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative, Tufte once again forges some new ground for us to explore along with him. In the two commentaries included in this issue, Nancy Allen and Russell Needham provide us with two interesting perspectives on the importance of Tufte's newest volume. Allen begins with a healthy skepticism that questions Tufte's focus on what she calls his "apparent search for eternal principles...and an objective universe." She, nevertheless, comes to the conclusion that the strength of Tufte's text lies in its rhetorical awareness: its sensitivity to usability and the needs of the reader. Needham, coming from the perspective of an industry writer and consultant, likewise depicts Tufte's book as a tour de force in user and reader understanding. He concludes with a nod toward the pedagogical potential of the book, especially in advanced courses or training seminars where Tufte's ideas can be used to embellish a classroom or seminar experience. I hope you will enjoy these discussions of an important work that surely will influence our field. *Journal of Computer Documentation May 1998/Vol. 22, No. 2
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Visual Meaning: commentaries on the continuing influence of Edward R. Tufte
Johnson, Robert R.
Follow ACM SIGDOC Asterisk Journal of Computer Documentation
, Volume 22 (2)
Association for Computing Machinery – May 1, 1998
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