A Unified Theory of Information Design ― Visuals, Text & Ethics

A theory of information design and ethics, based on the semiotics of C. S. Peirce, is used to explain the major properties of visual communication in all its forms and provides a unifying description of grammatical text with a grammar of traditional visual elements: color, shape, texture, imagery, action signals, diagrams, charts, and tables

Nicole Amare is an associate professor of technical communication at the University of South Alabama, where she teaches composition, technical writing, editing, ethics, stylistics, and grammar. She is the author of Real Life University, a college success guide, and editor of Global Student Entrepreneurs, Beyond the Lemonade Stand,and Giving Back. Some of her research has appeared in the Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Business Communication Quarterly, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Women & Language, and Technical Communication. Her most recent book, with Barry Nowlin and Jean Hollis Weber, is Technical Editing in the 21st Century (Prentice Hall, 2011). Alan D. Manning received his Ph.D. (linguistics, with a minor in technical writing) from Louisiana State University (LSU) in 1988. He taught linguistics, literature, and writing courses at LSU, Stephen F. Austin University in Texas, and Idaho State University, before joining the Brigham Young University linguistics faculty in 1994. His published research primarily deals with information design, editing, and semiotic analysis. He is coauthor, with Frank Parker, Kathryn Riley, and Kim Campbell, of Revising Professional Writing in Science and Technology, Business, and the Social Sciences, 2nd edition (Parlay Press, 2007).