#3

Kramer, Robert and Stephen A Bernhardt. “Teaching Text Design.” Teaching Technical Communication. Ed. James M. Dubinsky. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2004. 128-138. Print.

1. I guess Kramer and Berhardt believe there’s confusion surrounding Redish’s second definition of information design, “the way information is presented on the page or screen” (212).

2. Kramer and Bernhardt use their chapter in the anthology to exemplify what these different ways of presenting information might look like. Some of their main points include “see[ing] the page as a grid, us[ing] active whitespace, us[ing] text structures to guide the reader, creat[ing] a typeset look through appropriate use of proportional fonts and spacing, [and] control[ing] the document through features such a style definers” (243).  They also offer pedagogical applications through suggesting exercises, such as having students “produce a simple essay or review in a two-column format… [or] to set up a resume on two different, contrasting grids, perhaps with one purposefully over-designed” (245-6).

3. Questions for class discussion:

            1. How might you incorporate text design in your English 402 classroom? What sorts of activities might you include? Is it something that you’d address early on? Why/not?

            2. Would you encourage your students to design every text they submit to you with a separate rational? Why/not?

4. Links to other readings:

            - Obviously, there’s a connection to Redish’s “What is Information Design?,” as Kramer and Bernhardt wrote an extension of Redish’s second definition. Kramer and Bernhardt also overlap with Mirel, who focuses on the overall process of information design, as she highlights the importance of usable texts. There are other pretty obvious connections to Jackson, who further analyzes Bernhardt and Kramer’s ideas regarding simplicity, consistency, and standardization.