What technical writing taught me about design at Google

Session overview

Patrick Hofmann, a User Experience Designer at Google in Australia, presents this one-hour webinar, free to members, as a precursor to one day workshops that he will be running for TechCommNZ during the week of 21-25 September.

Patrick started his career in 1993, and his roles evolved from technical writer to technical illustrator, instructional designer to information architect, usability researcher to interaction designer. Throughout this evolution, there were principles and practices, theories and treatises that never wavered. A majority of them were foundations of technical writing – how we best optimise the communication of our products and the engagement of our users. Now in his work as a User Experience Designer at Google, what principles have stood the test of time to rule him from day to day? Their impacts are visible in our day-to-day lives.

The webinar will cover:

  • The evolution of Google Maps over the past decade
  • The commonalities of technical communication and usability
  • The motivations for stripping away information
  • The nuances of truly knowing your users
  • The fundamental questions we must ask.

Date and Time

The webinar will be held on Tuesday 18 August from 11:00 am-12:00 noon NZ time.(9:00 am - 10:00 am AEST).

Costs

The costs for this webinar are:

  • TechCommNZ members (and affiliates: TWIA, NZATD, PRINZ) - FREE
  • TechCommNZ student members - FREE
  • Non-members - $30 +GST

Event Registration