Aspects of a good Technical Communicator

“If the only tool you have is a hammer, every fastener will look like a nail to you.”

In the earlier post we saw what Technical Illustrations are and why do we need them. Just for quick revision, lets define ‘Technical illustration’ something similar to the clauses we come across in a legal document. :)

“any visual presentation which has the purpose of communicating technical information intended to aid in the design, manufacture, assembly, storage, distribution, use, disassembly, or disposal of a product or process.”

Technical illustrations are created from many different sources of technical data. As a general description, this data can be either analog or digital. Analog data includes sketches, paper drawings, prints, designs, maps, photographs, diagrams, charts, actual parts, models, mock-ups, and prototypes. Each of the preceding sources can also be found in digital form, ready to be used by computer graphic programs to produce finished technical illustrations. In fact, it may be more efficient to convert analog data to digital data by scanning or vectorizing rather than starting from scratch on the computer.

For example, if you are an illustrator who works only from existing engineering CAD geometry, and all the data available is photographic, you may be out of luck. Likewise, if the only way you can create pictorials is by tracing photographs, you’ll be lost when looking at hundreds of engineering drawings in raster format. A technical illustrator needs knowledge across several technical areas: engineering and technology, printing and publishing, computer graphics, aesthetics, and visual psychology.

So what are the skills needed to become a cool and good Technical Communicator?

• Sketching that communicates. You must be able to communicate using sketching. This means planning illustration strategies, communicating to your client, your boss, and fellow workers. Some technical illustrations can actually be sketches.
• Broad manufacturing and construction knowledge. You need to know how objects are made, assembled, fastened, and used. You should have a good understanding of materials and how they look after being formed, processed, cut, or finished.
• Broad knowledge of printing and publishing. Technical illustrations will be re-purposed for training, marketing, and customer service in books, manuals, multimedia, and over the Internet. Each medium has strengths and weaknesses that determine both the nature of the visual as well as its ability to communicate technical information.
• Extensive knowledge of geometry. It’s impossible to create effective technical illustrations without the ability to accurately evaluate both 2D-and 3D geometry.
• Strong knowledge of computer graphics tools. The better you know a tool, the more you’ll be in control of the illustration. Additionally, the more tools you know, the greater the chance you can pick the best tool for the job.
• A good understanding of color, light, and material. Critical decisions may be made based on subtle representations of a technical illustration. You may need to attend to the nuances of color, texture, surface finish, reflection and refraction, and environment.
• Knowing TGE (Too Good Enough). A technical illustration must be cost-effective. That means you need to know when to say “that’s good enough.” If it’s too good, it means you probably have wasted lot of productive time without any value creation for the project. If it’s not good enough, you probably have reduced its effectiveness.