Human-Centered Design and the Field of Technical Communication

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 2016

Human-Centered Design and the Field of Technical Communication

Mark Zachry University of Washington ; Jan H. Spyridakis University of Washington

Abstract

In this special journal issue, we explore the turn toward human-centered design (HCD) in research and higher education. We begin with a discussion of how HCD emerged in scholarly work at the edges of our field in places such as design, psychology, art, and engineering. Following this, we consider how an HCD perspective is manifesting itself in academic programs in different institutional contexts. We then discuss how this trend is further illustrated by the transformation of our department at the University of Washington, which shifted from being the Department of Technical Communication to becoming the Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering. Finally, we discuss the work of a group of researchers who contributed articles to this special issue. Each of these articles offers a perspective from someone within our field about how an HCD perspective has influenced their thinking and research.

Journal: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published: 2016-10-01
DOI: 10.1177/0047281616653497
Open Access: Closed
Topics: multimodality technical communication

Citation Context

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Cites in this index (1)

Mara et al. (2009)

Posthuman Rhetorics and Technical Communication

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