Brumberger, Eva. "Visual Communication in the Workplace: A Survey of Practice."

Brumberger, Eva. "Visual Communication in the Workplace: A Survey of Practice." Technical Communication Quarterly 16.4 (2007): 369-395. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 05 Oct. 2009.

Brumberger examines the importance of visual design in the workplace based on surveys – in the form of charts, tables, and graphs – of professional and non-professional designers. She organizes her discussion in the following manner: a review of the past and present literature, research methodology, results, discussions, and implications. She gives recommendations for future pedagogical directions that she believes will help educational curriculum be more valuable for its students. She notes a survey respondent’s claim, “Unless you are communicating through the spoken word alone, everything you say/write/show is visual. Just as most technical writing courses address presentations, different types of writing, and different ways of disseminating writing, they should also address creating and using graphics, graphical layout techniques, and other visual display[s] of information” (388). From this quote, it becomes evident that visual design is an important skill and is relevant in the workplace.

This article is significant because it gives a real world, pragmatic element to the importance of good visual design skills. It addresses the pedagogical issues of teaching students to be viable in the workplace and acknowledges the value of visual communication abilities. She asserts that the roles of designer and writer have converged into one. Possessing a clear understanding of theories and structures, she highlights the importance of visual design in desktop publishing, document-design, Web design, and presentation software.

Brumberger mentions numerous articles on visual communication and acknowledges other researchers that propose similar thoughts to her own. This article highlights the importance of Web design. The research within the article is methodical and systematic. She proves that “technical writers appear to dedicate comparable amounts of time to visual communication regardless of the industry sector in which they work” (378). The assessment reveals the implied importance of visual communication and highlights the seriousness of visually designed hypertexts. Regardless of education or job title, visual design is a regular and expected component of communication in most workplace environments. The survey results convey that visual design has become increasingly important, and the role of the technical communicator includes visual design capabilities. Finally, given the research, it is now critical for employees, employers, and educators alike to understand and invest in visual design.