Visual Communication and Design, Now with Audio!

Podcast: Minimalism in writing and presentation

HarryMiller — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:56:00 GMT

The concepts behind Minimalism have been an accepted part of good technical writing and presentation style for some time, but it never hurts to hear it again. Eric Schmidt just finished a two-day writing workshop on minimalism, and he talks about the...(read more)

Interview: Finding the right graphic design

HarryMiller — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Geetesh Bajaj, PowerPoint MVP, designs and sells high-quality PowerPoint templates on his site, Ppted.com . He also provides in-depth how-to information on his other site, Indezine.com , as well as writing the Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Complete...(read more)

Learn by doing: Example of using games to teach software

HarryMiller — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:30:00 GMT

In my last post , I talked about how I believe that appealing to multiple learning styles is the key to creating valuable instructional content. Obviously, one of the best ways to learn how to do a new (or frequently forgotten) task is to just do it....(read more)

Screencasts ARE documentation

HarryMiller — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:00:00 GMT

We came across a blog post , written by a technical writer, who describes her personal experiences with creating screencasts. Her manager asked each member of her writing team to create a video featuring a product that they document. This line from the...(read more)

Interview: Creating attractive PowerPoint presentations

HarryMiller — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Geetesh Bajaj, PowerPoint MVP, designs and sells high-quality PowerPoint templates on his Internet site, Ppted.com . He also provides in-depth how-to information on his other site, Indezine.com , as well as writing the Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007...(read more)

Podcast: Visual efficiency in design and in video demos

HarryMiller — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:36:00 GMT

Visual efficiency means creating graphical elements and placing them to take advantage of the way the eye and brain work. We based our discussion around a presentation given by Ryan Coleman (linked below), who discusses four things that the eye and brain...(read more)

30-second video tips on YouTube

HarryMiller — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:23:37 GMT

If you didn’t want to log into Facebook to see the video tips, they’re now on YouTube. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think! Here are a couple of examples; the rest are on the Office Online channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/OfficeOnlineVideos...(read more)

Interview: Designing PowerPoint templates and images

HarryMiller — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Learn by watching 30-second video tips on Facebook

HarryMiller — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:29:00 GMT

Part animated comic strip, part screencast, these short videos are designed to help you learn Visio 2010. What do you think about this strategy and the videos themselves? Visio video page on Facebook : http://bit.ly/VisioFBVideo If you use Visio, you...(read more)

Clarity Episode 4: Website map in exchange for information

HarryMiller — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:00:00 GMT

A chance encounter at a coffee shop leads Clarity to a new case and a possible lead for information. Watch how Visio tames the client’s website through an easy-to-use wizard that pulls information directly from the site. Will we find out what people around...(read more)

Clarity Episode 3: Network diagrams are no sweat

HarryMiller — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:00:00 GMT

A nervous client with a tight deadline needs to document his network, fast. Harrison Clarity applies his Visio skills to create a network diagram quickly and easily. - Eric S....(read more)

Podcast: Creating screencasts as a narrative series

HarryMiller — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:48:00 GMT

What’s the best way to create a screencast that teaches people how to do something? Well, we don’t know the answer to that. Instead, we talk about one particular series that includes “how-to” screencasts as part of a dramatic narrative. The intent behind...(read more)

Clarity Episode 2: From Excel spreadsheet to Visio org chart

HarryMiller — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:07:00 GMT

Harrison Clarity, visualizer-for-hire and Visio master, demonstrates how to convert data from an Excel spreadsheet into Visio organization chart shapes with just a few clicks. You, too, can download the free trial of Visio 2007 here . -...(read more)

Matching message and presentation … with PowerPoint 2010

HarryMiller — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:09:00 GMT

This presentation, which combines some of the new features in PowerPoint 2010 as well as a tasteful and integrated application of animation, provides five rules for matching your message and your presentation. Office PowerPoint 2010 "Five...(read more)

Podcast: Matching visuals and presentation style to your information

HarryMiller — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:10:00 GMT

Information is communicated not only by words in a message, but also in the way the message looks and the style of how it’s delivered. If these aspects don’t all work together, the message loses effectiveness. Listen to the episode Duration: 15:05 Size:...(read more)