Murphy BOOK REVIEWS

Johnson also offers a supple-

mental Web site, www.
gui-bloopers.com, that provides addi-
tional information: a bloopers check-
list, an appendix of color bloopers
(the book itself is printed in black
and white), additional bloopers, and
additional content.
Roger A. Grice

ROGER A. GRICE is a clinical pro-

fessor of Human-Computer Interaction
and member of the Information Technol-
ogy faculty at Rensselaer Polytechnic In-
stitute, Troy, NY. He is an STC fellow
and recipient of the Jay R. Gould Award
for Excellence in Teaching Technical
Communication. through defining what a wiki is, the
(from products, sites, or applica- high points of creating a wiki, and
tions), and explains the reason for achieving buy-in from all parts of an
the blooper. He then gives solid ad- Wikipatterns organization. He misses the mark,
vice for avoiding the blooper, includ- Stewart Mader. 2008. Indianapolis, however, in the “how-to use a wiki”
ing examples of corrected design. IN: Wiley Publishing. [ISBN 978-0- arena by providing fewer than 20
Each example is clearly captioned 470-22362-8. 167 pages, including pages of how to actually use a wiki.
(lack of captions was a major criti- index. $29.99 USD (softcover).] This is an unfortunate omission, be-
cism of the first edition) and tied into cause novice adopters have no
the discussion.
An aspect of the book that I find
especially valuable is that Johnson
S tewart Mader’s Wikipatterns pro-
vides a fresh, simple approach
to building a successful business
choice but to go elsewhere to learn
the basics to guide their organization
in adopting the use of a wiki.
does not nitpick. Rather, he brings case for building a wiki in any orga- Beyond giving a definition of a
forth the bad examples as a spring- nization, large or small. Mader, a wiki, Mader gives us an in-depth
board for discussing design and use dedicated Wiki evangelist for Atlas- look at the psychological interaction
of GUIs and serves as a guide and sian Software Systems, focuses on you can expect within your organiza-
tutor for UI designers— both new growing vibrant collaborative com- tion by defining the personas—Wi-
and experienced. munities within business, academic, kiChampion, OverOrganizer, Wiki-
The book targets three primary and nonprofit organizations. Troll, and Wikiphobia, along with
audiences: developers who develop Wikipatterns began as a wiki others— of your potential users that
software or Web sites with little guid- and, as such, the language is easy to can provide obstacles to or facilitate
ance from UI professionals, manag- read, and you’ll make your way your organization’s adoption of a
ers of software development teams, through the book in a short time. wiki. More importantly, he provides
and UI designers— especially those Case studies included at the end of a step-by-step approach to driving
who are new to the profession. To each chapter build excitement and large-scale adoption in your organi-
the audiences that Johnson identifies, you’ll discover many ways to use the zation. He cautions you to venture
I would add: experienced UI design- collaborative power of a wiki. Un- forth with a pilot adoption that is
ers who could use a brief refresher doubtedly, you’ll want to jump right composed of select people, those
of the basics; technical communica- in to using a wiki for your collabora- who “will benefit most from early
tors who are involved in designing, tive endeavors. wiki use . . . that are motivated to
testing, or describing UIs; and aca- Mader promises that the book “is use new tools, and make excellent,
demics who teach undergraduate as much a how-to guide for using a representative examples of wiki use”
courses in UI design or usability. All wiki as it is a how-to guide for mak- (87).
would find much of value in the ing change happen” (xxxiii). Wiki- In the appendix, Mader answers
book. patterns does indeed guide you the most frequently asked questions

Volume 56, Number 2, May 2009 • TechnicalCOMMUNICATION 187

 BOOK REVIEWS Murphy

by those who are new to using an understanding of color channels

wikis. For readers who will be lead- but also practical tips for applying
ing the change in their organization, the theory to design.
the appendix is required reading as it Likewise, the chapter “Visual and
is a laundry list of questions manage- verbal narrative” will be particularly
ment will ask prior to supporting interesting to technical communica-
adoption. tors. Ware reiterates that pattern per-
Since the book’s publication, its ception is “the basis of visual think-
founding wiki, www. ing” and that, unlike the learned
wikipatterns.com, has continued symbols of verbal language, this ba-
growing and provides users a much sis is neither arbitrary nor socially
more in-depth exploration of uses learned. His purpose is to delineate
and personas than the book gives. verbal and visual language to dem-
What you won’t find on the Web site onstrate the strengths of each, re-
are the case studies that make up minding you that “Good design is
just under one third of the book. not about pictures versus words”
And while there is no doubt that (129).
you’ll want to start using a wiki after The chapter “Creative meta-see-
reading Wikipatterns, the Web site curate processing of these visual ing” focuses on the process of design.
provides the key information you’ll queries; thus, better understanding of Although this may seem an odd in-
need without the expense of pur- these queries can lead to better de- clusion, the chapter elucidates the
chasing the book. sign. Although Ware’s definition and ways in which the designer relies on
Louellen S. Coker terminology may feel somewhat visual thinking in the creative pro-
alien—and intimidating—to those of cess.
LOUELLEN S. COKER has more us in technical communication, he Throughout, Ware offers numer-
than 15 years of experience in public actually offers an accessible and ous practical suggestions, although
relations, instructional design, Web de- practical introduction to the physio- they could be placed more consis-
sign, technical writing, and editing. With logical “why” behind the principles tently within the chapters. Addition-
a technical communication MA, she is of design. ally, he includes intriguing tidbits of
president of Content Solutions, an STC He begins with an overview of information. For example, “as a rule
senior member, and a past Lone Star the basics of visual perception that of thumb a thirty-degree orientation
Community president. She has taught lays the groundwork for chapters difference is needed for a feature to
technical communication and presented dedicated to more specific aspects of stand out” (31). However, the great-
workshops. visual thinking. For example, he fo- est value of the book lies not in its
cuses on forms of contrast— color, pragmatic advice, but in its presenta-
Visual Thinking for shape, size, figure-ground—and dis- tion of what could easily be over-
Design cusses visual search strategies and whelmingly technical material. Ware
Colin Ware. 2008. Burlington, MA: then broadens the discussion to rec- makes information tangible through
Morgan Kaufmann. [ISBN 978-0-12- ognizing patterns in two-dimensional concrete visual examples, and his
370896-0. 197 pages, including in- space. Later chapters extend this to verbal and visual tone is as welcom-
dex. $39.95 USD (softcover).] three-dimensional patterns and the ing as it is informative. The result is
cognitive costs—the time and effort a book that will be of interest to any-

C olin Ware offers an overview of

the neurophysiological under-
pinnings of visual thinking, which he
involved— of accessing information.
Ware argues that complex objects
and scenes are “patterns of patterns”
one curious about the scientific foun-
dations of design work.
Eva Brumberger
defines as “a series of acts of atten- (109) and emphasizes that our recog-
tion, driving eye movements and nition of such patterns relies on a EVA BRUMBERGER teaches profes-
tuning our pattern-finding circuits” network of pathways in the brain sional communication at Virginia Tech.
(3). By “thinking,” Ware is referring that allow us to connect what we see She has also worked as a technical writ-
to the actual physiological and psy- to what we know. er/editor on both a full-time and a free-
chological events that comprise ac- Discussing color, Ware helpfully lance basis. Her research interests in-
tive vision. He argues that effective applies opponent process theory to clude visual communication, international
design should support quick and ac- design, providing you with not only communication, and pedagogy. She is a

188 TechnicalCOMMUNICATION • Volume 56, Number 2, May 2009