People, proxemics, and possibilities for technical writing

It is argued that, because markets are becoming increasingly global, international readers who are familiar with English and comfortable with the standard ratio of equal parts of white space and text must be distinguished from domestic readers whose international exposure may be limited and whose requirements can be better addressed by creating a document which conforms to their cultural perceptions of space. Anthropologists have shown that perceptions about space and man´s relationship to it vary from culture to culture and consequently it is dangerous to make assumptions about a local audience based on experience with international audiences. Edward Hall´s work on proxemics (1969), the perceptions concerning spatial relationships, and examples of technical document designs in England, Japan, and the Middle East are discussed