Karen Schriver’s Summary

Karen Schriver is a consultant, researcher, and educator in information design. Her early work at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) charted new territory in understanding the integration of word and image, audience analysis, and people-centered design. Her book, Dynamics in Document Design: Creating Texts for Readers (Wiley & Sons), now in its 9th printing, is regarded as an essential work in the field. Winner of ten awards for research, Schriver has made a significant impact on how information designers around the world think about their work.

Schriver employs research-based principles to inform the design of everyday communications. She brings together the latest research on how people think and feel as they engage with web sites, instructions, forms, educational materials, and marketing communications. She has taught at Carnegie Mellon University, University of Utrecht (Netherlands), University of Washington (Seattle, Washington), and University of Stellenbosch (South Africa).

Schriver is a Fellow of STC and a frequent keynote speaker. She is the first recipient of the STC’s Ken Rainey Excellence in Research Award for "outstanding research contributions to information design, passion for consumer advocacy, and exceptional service as an international ambassador for research." She is on the board of directors for the Communications Research Institute (Melbourne, Australia) and the Center for Plain Language (Washington, DC). Her recent research investigates (1) the nature of expertise in information design, and (2) how people read online text and graphics. Karen Schriver’s Specialties:

Consults on the strategic design of communications. Offers services in information design, document design, technical communication, and content design for hardcopy and Web-based communications. Assesses the usability and quality of communications through cognitive and ethnographic research. Provides expert-witness testimony on the clarity of visual and verbal content. Composes speeches and coaches professionals on public speaking. Offers custom-designed courses on writing and design.