Dear Colleagues,
The Communication Research Institute has just released an e-book version of the excellent book, Writing about Medicines for People.
http://communication.org.au/product/writing-about-medicines-for-people/
A review of the paper edition follows, explains why this book is useful for every design research library:
--snip--
Review: Writing about medicines for people: usability guidelines for consumer medicine information. By David Sless and Rob Wiseman. 1997. Melbourne: Communication Research Institute of Australia.
This book is a systematic tutorial on writing and designing consumer medicine information (CMIs). CMIs tell consumers how to use medicine effectively. Sless and Wiseman show how to write them well. The first three chapters explain the purpose of CMIs, how to develop them, and how to manage the development process. The next three give detailed instructions on writing CMIs and testing them to make sure they work.
While this book addresses the specific purpose of writing CMIs, some aspects of this book have wide application in the design school curriculum. Chapter two gives twenty useful rules for understandable writing. These apply to instructions and explanations for any process or product from do-it-yourself furniture and computer software manuals to cookbooks and CMIs. Learning to write clear and comprehensible instructions is closely linked to the difficult art of describing processes in a clear, comprehensible way. As a result, it also serves those who write about research issues.
A CMI is a tool, and the chapter on diagnostic testing can be useful in testing other kinds of user-centered information tools. Test questions should differ for different kinds of information. The information consumers need in a signage system or a software manual differ from those in a tool kit or you-are-here map. Many principles remain the same.
This book will serve many purposes. Learning to write - and design – a good CMI belongs in any information design curriculum. Whether or not a design school teaches information design, the library needs this book.
Now that CRI makes this fine book available in digital form — only $30 — I suggest that you take advantage of the opportunity to get a copy. If you are involved in research training or in information design as a researcher or designer, you will find this book helpful.
--snip--
Warm wishes,
Ken
Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | University Distinguished Professor | Swinburne University of Technology | Melbourne, Australia | [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> | Mobile +61 404 830 462 | Home Page http://www.swinburne.edu.au/design/people/Professor-Ken-Friedman-ID22.html<http://www.swinburne.edu.au/design> Academia Page http://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman About Me Page http://about.me/ken_friedman
Guest Professor | College of Design and Innovation | Tongji University | Shanghai, China
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