Cognition, Design, and Usability: An Primer for Technical Communicators

TC Dojo Kirk St.Amant presentation Cognition, design, and usability, a primer for techcomm hero image

Nothing is inherently usable. Rather, usability is about cognition—or how our minds process sensory input. If technical communicators understand such factors, they can create materials that address them and develop more usable designs. In this session, the presenter overviews

Cognitive factors affecting expectations of design and usability
Methods for researching cognition and expectations
Approaches for applying cognitive research to design
Techniques for assessing usability in terms of cognition

By understanding certain cognitive factors, technical communicators can create more usable items and assess the usability of existing materials.

About the Visiting Dojo Master

Kirk St.Amant is a Professor and Eunice C. Williamson Endowed Chair in Technical Communication at Louisiana Tech University where he is Director of the Williamson Usability Research Center. Kirk is also a Research Faculty member with Louisiana Tech’s Center for Biomedical Engineering and Rehabilitation Science (CBERS) and is an Adjunct Professor of International Health and Medical Communication with the University of Limerick in Ireland. He researches how cognition affects usability and design with a focus on international health and medical contexts and international online education.