Technical communication or information design

The impact of technological and scientific innovations combined with consumer demands for clear, usable product information have changed the core competencies that technical communicators now need. In short, the job title, ‘technical communicator’ does not reflect what contemporary practitioners do. Despite the debate over the various meanings and ‘ownership’ of information design, the title, ‘information designer,’ appears to be the ‘best fit’ to describe the new profile of technical communicators. A study of contemporary New Zealand technical communicators reveals a shift similar to that of practitioners in the United States to redefine their roles as information designers.