IIID conversation: Towards a document design standard

The series of IIID Conversations is an online forum for (information) designers to meet and exchange experiences. This time Rob Waller will talk about the evolution of plain language standards and the development of a new ISO document-design supplement and pattern library to support clearer, more user-focused communication.

In 2023 the International Standards Organisation published ISO 24495 Part 1: Plain language, with IIID represented in the drafting team by Karel van der Waarde. It represented a shift in how plain language is viewed – it’s no longer just about clear words and sentences, but covers everything about how people interact with written information. It asks: Is it relevant? Is it findable? Is it understandable? Is it usable? So obviously information design has a big part to play.

Karel contributed a section of information design, and since that time a team has been working to draft a supplement to the standard that takes this further. A draft of Part 5 Document design has been now submitted to ISO for a vote by national standards bodies, who have to approve it for further development.

As well as the core standard, the drafting team is proposing a pattern library that defines common design strategies and features in terms of how they solve users’ problems. Rob will show how the pattern library can be used to explain effective design and provide a vocabulary for discussing it – particularly for people without a design training, working in organisations who have to communicate with the public.

Rob Waller is a retired information designer with wide experience of practice, research and teaching. He is a former President of IIID, and is Visiting Professor in the School of Design, University of Leeds. He recently published an e-book, Things an information designer should know (www.designthings.org).