David Sless

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For the last 50 years, much of it in collaboration with government, industry, the public, and my colleagues at the Communication Research Institute, I have been developing the methods for designing public documents: those everyday forms, notices, bills, timetables, labels, instructions, and websites that are in the public domain and are one of the principal means of communication between organizations and individuals.
This work is best seen as a contribution to the field of information design: making public documents accessible and usable by people to a measurably high standard. Of the many examples of improved documents, the following stand out: the redesign of the telecommunications bill resulting in the highest customer satisfaction ever recorded; the redesign of the package labels of well-known medicine brands that set world's best practice in product instruction design; and the world-leading development of the Industry Code of Practice for Labelling for all non-prescription medicines sold in Australia, giving consumers the most usable medicine labelling anywhere in the world.
In parallel with this practical design work, I have been investigating with my colleague Dr Ruth Shrensky the underlying theories and assumptions that apply to the broad field of communication. Our contribution here is to the fields of semiotics and communication theory. We offer a radical simplification of ideas about semiotics and human communication. This is a major paradigm shift, at the leading edge of developments in communication and information design which can, in the right environment, result in major positive changes in the teaching of the next generation of university graduates in our field.
Phone: 0412356795
Address: 60 Park Street, Fitzroy North, Melbourne, Australia 30-68

less

National Taiwan University of Science and Technology

Handan Tirit

Tiit Remm

University of Tartu

T.S. Lin

National Taiwan University of Science and Technology

Havi Murungi

Rebekah Rousi

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Books by David Sless

A New Semiotics An Introductory Guide for Students

A New Semiotics, 2023

A New Semiotics is an introductory guide to the field of semiotics. Assuming no prior knowledge o... more A New Semiotics is an introductory guide to the field of semiotics. Assuming no prior knowledge of semiotics, this accessible text takes a fresh look at semiotics and suggests that many of the forebears and many contemporary contributors to semiotics have misconstrued the nature of their work.

The authors start off by asking ‘What is semiotics?’ and go on to outline a journey towards a new semiotics. It offers a clearer way forward out of the prison of complexity invented by the fathers of contemporary semiotics—Peirce and Saussure. Each chapter ends with a summary, exercises and discussion points for students, and further reading.

This is the ideal text for introductory courses in semiotics within linguistics, communication studies, visual arts and related areas.

To read the first two chapters go to the link below. To read the rest, you will have to buy the book. Sorry.
https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=uYKiEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT17&dq=David+Sless+and+Ruth+Shrensky&ots=EFHdXtsExH&sig=UE_-YxS69K5ueHKcoTjxRJsSFnQ#v=onepage&q=David%20Sless%20and%20Ruth%20Shrensky&f=false

Readings toward Science Communication

by Rob Wiseman and David Sless

Readings toward Science Communication, 1996

For scientists and students of science communication, this collection of readings provides an int... more For scientists and students of science communication, this collection of readings provides an introduction to the field of communication. This book sets the problem f communication about science within the larger discipline of communication, and explores new ways of thinking about and practising communication. It contain seminal articles and recent case studies prepared by leading researchers, including linguists, semioticians, and information designers.

Learning and Visual Communication

Learning and Visual Communication, Jan 1, 2018

Originally published in 1981, Learning and Visual Communication is about how to use visual commun... more Originally published in 1981, Learning and Visual Communication is about how to use visual communication in education. It offers visual forms of communication. In order to do this it draws on recent research - at the time of publication - in psychology, philosophy, semiotics, cultural analysis, education and media studies. Visual thinking, the key concept of the book, is defined in psychological and philosophical terms. It is placed in its cultural context and it is argued that it has not received the attention that it deserves in our educational system, which is dominated by literacy and numeracy. This is despite the increasing use of visual communication as an aid to learning and as a source of basic data in a whole range of disciplines such as physical science, geography, history and anthropology amongst others.

ISBN: 9780429664175

Table of Contents
Preface

Acknowledgements

1. The Thinking Eye

2. Communication

3. Visual Communication – the Author/Message Relation

4. Visual Communication and the Student

5. Learning and the Forces of Change

6. The Photograph

7. The Drawing

8. Graphs and Diagrams

9. Typography

10. The Future of Visual Education

Glossary

Annotated Bibliography

References

Index

Writing About Medicines for People: Usability Guidelines and Glossary for Consumer Product Information

by David Sless and Rob Wiseman

Visual thinking

Designing Information for People

Designing information for people, Jan 1, 1994

"Edited by R Penman & D Sless Understand information design: the process of creating informat... more "Edited by R Penman & D Sless

Understand information design: the process of creating information which is accessible and usable.

This collection of papers from our highly influencial symposium in 1990 is the classic text on Information Design in Australia.

Long before most people had heard about usability or 'user-centred design', and before the internet, the Institute had developed methods for designing accessible and usable information.

Contents

Introduction: Robyn Penman
Opening address: informing Australia: Ian Castles
What is information design?: David Sless
New design standards for ABS publications: a case study: Maureen MacKenzie
Presenting mathematical information: Edwin Coleman
Product labelling regulation: can it lead to good information design?: Arthur D. Shulman and David Sless
The Telecom Bill: redesigning a computer generated report: David Sless
Multimedia presentation of information: communication solution or communication problem?: Richard K. Lowe
A science of graphical data display: William S. Cleveland
Understanding forms as communication: a case study: Robert Barnett
The power of literacy: myths and fallacies: Rosie Wickert
Standard letters: how standard are they? what do they really say? : Nicolette Stasko
The cybe etic frontier: speculations on the future of human computer interaction: Brenda Laurel"

Writing About Medicines for People: Usability Guidelines for Consumer Medicine Information

Learning and Visual Communication

Learning and Visual Communication, Jan 1, 2019

Originally published in 1981, Learning and Visual Communication is about how to use visual commun... more Originally published in 1981, Learning and Visual Communication is about how to use visual communication in education. It offers visual forms of communication. In order to do this it draws on recent research - at the time of publication - in psychology, philosophy, semiotics, cultural analysis, education and media studies. Visual thinking, the key concept of the book, is defined in psychological and philosophical terms. It is placed in its cultural context and it is argued that it has not received the attention that it deserves in our educational system, which is dominated by literacy and numeracy. This is despite the increasing use of visual communication as an aid to learning and as a source of basic data in a whole range of disciplines such as physical science, geography, history and anthropology amongst others.
Table of Contents
Preface

Acknowledgements

1. The Thinking Eye

2. Communication

3. Visual Communication – the Author/Message Relation

4. Visual Communication and the Student

5. Learning and the Forces of Change

6. The Photograph

7. The Drawing

8. Graphs and Diagrams

9. Typography

10. The Future of Visual Education

Glossary

Annotated Bibliography

References

Index

In Search of Semiotics

Chapters in books by David Sless

4. CONVERSATIONS IN A LANDSCAPE OF SCIENCE AND MAGIC: THINKING ABOUT SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

CONVERSATIONS IN A LANDSCAPE OF SCIENCE AND MAGIC: THINKING ABOUT SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

Communication is one of the contemporary 'success' words. It conjures up ideas of successful acti... more Communication is one of the contemporary 'success' words. It conjures up ideas of successful action and change: 'getting our message across', 'running public information campaigns', 'changing attitudes', 'raising awareness', 'setting the agenda', 'managing a public image'. These are the types of positive, successorientated ways that our contemporaries talk about communication in public life. Not surprisingly then, something called Science Communication has arisen wherever scientists, science journalists, public relations consultants, and science policy workers perceive a gap between their sense of science and its importance, on the one hand, and public perception of science, on the other hand. If there is a falling off of recruits to science courses, the answer is Science Communication. If people think scientists are nerds, mad, evil, or just boring, the answer is Science Communication. If the government cuts funding in scientific research, the answer is… and so on. In other words, science communication is seen as a tool for getting the job done. The more of it, the better! Implicit in this view of science communication is a simple belief: communication works. Communication, it is believed, has the capacity to change people's attitudes and behaviour in any desired direction. This simple belief-that communication does things to people-is so widespread, so widely accepted, that it seems beyond doubt and in no way problematic; indeed, it is 'common sense'. All that is needed is the skill and the money to go out and do it. Not surprisingly then, many have taken on the mission of science communication with great enthusiasm, conviction, and a strong desire to make it work. And success seems to be evident everywhere. Science centres and museums, column inches in the press, programs on TV-all these are evidence that science communication is out there and doing a good job. This is intuitively obvious-or so it seems. We take a different view. We think that science communication activities in our society are like rainmaking ceremonies in nonscientific societies. We take this view for four reasons. First, from a scientific perspective, the evidence for the effectiveness of communication is about as strong as the evidence linking rainmaking ceremonies to the occurrence of rain. Second, from a rhetorical point of view, the rationale and arguments about the effectiveness of communication bear a striking similarity to the types of rationale and arguments that are used to support the efficacy of rainmaking ceremonies. Third, from an anthropological point of view, rainmaking ceremonies provide us with one of the best ways of understanding science communication practice. Fourth, from a philosophical point of view, to think about either rainmaking or communication in terms of cause and effect-ceremony performed, causing rain;

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