Carol Briam (poster)

An organizational framework that goes beyond words

An information designer’s job involves organizing words in a meaningful way, as well as organizing numbers in a meaningful way. Yet the two procedures are typically not considered as part of the same process of organizing. Technical writing textbooks manifest this division between the treatment of words and numbers. Typically, one chapter is devoted to organizing text (made up of words), while another chapter deals with the presentation of numbers and data graphics. More specifically, the chapter on organizing text typically discusses patterns of arrangement, such as cause and effect and comparison and contrast, while the chapter on data graphics usually focuses on types of data graphics, such as flowcharts and pie charts.

Despite this widespread practice, separate treatment of words and numbers/graphics is not necessary where organization is concerned. What I propose is an approach to organizing that can be applied to any type of information contained in written documents, whether the information consists of words, numbers, visual elements, or all three. The proposed framework offers a set of six organizational types that have their intellectual roots in the fields of discourse theory and information design, among other fields.

To show the validity of the organizational framework, the organizing principles are applied to samples from the work of cartographer Jacques Bertin, whose classic book Semiology of Graphics has had a profound effect on the practice of data analysis by graphical means. The organizational framework accommodates Bertin's notion of visual variables, or visual possibilities for representing measurements. The framework is also useful for analyzing ‘before-and-after’ graphics presented by Bertin to see how Bertin’s methods fit into the proposed organizational framework.

Carol Briam is an Assistant Professor at Zayed University in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where she teaches Technical Writing and Media Writing. Carol has a PhD in English and advanced degrees in management and economics from universities in the United States, her home country. Before moving to the Middle East in 2007, she lived in Bangladesh, Chile, France, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa. Whether working with the private sector or the public sector, Carol has repeatedly witnessed problems occurring in the workplace when people do not effectively organize information. This situation has led her to explore and develop a method for organizing words, numbers, and visual elements in written documents.