You probably know that Picasso painted Guernica or that The Great Gatsby was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. But what about the billboard you pass every day on your commute, or the Help page you relied on to fix a bug in your favorite app? Who designed those? Who wrote those words? Chances are, you have no idea.

And that’s not your fault. Unlike novels or paintings, most of the work designers and technical communicators create isn’t attached to a visible name. It’s often published under the umbrella of a company, product, or brand. And because of that, the people who craft those experiences—designers, writers, researchers—are frequently treated as functionally invisible.

But just because we’re not named as authors doesn’t mean we aren’t shaping meaning in powerful ways.

The Myth of Objectivity

In fields like product design, UX, and technical communication, there’s a long-standing assumption that our job is to be neutral and objective. The idea has been that good design “speaks for itself,” and that the designer’s hand should be invisible. But as Slack, Miller, and Doak argue in "The Technical Communicator as Author", this mindset can be misleading and even harmful.

When we pretend the creator doesn’t exist, we deny the reality that all communication is authored by someone, and that authorship carries ethical weight.

Meaning Is Always Made

To create something, even a Help page or a data visualization, is to be involved in articulating meaning. The choices we make around tone, framing, structure, and emphasis aren’t neutral. They shape interpretation. They influence behavior. They determine whether someone feels included or excluded, heard or dismissed, empowered or confused.

So when we distance ourselves from authorship, we’re not achieving objectivity, we’re giving up accountability. Slack et al. put it this way:

“…because professional communicators contribute to the process of articulating meaning, whether they choose to or not, they must be able to analyze critically the ethical implications of the meanings they contribute to.”

As someone who works in product design, I know how easy it is to slip into the rhythm of knocking out user flows, specs, presentations, all without stopping to ask: What values am I embedding in this? Whose perspective is being prioritized? What impact could this have?

Owning Our Role

This doesn’t mean we need to agonize over every detail or that ethical clarity is always straightforward. But it does mean we should own our role in shaping the final product and recognize that invisibility isn't neutrality.

Whether we’re writing interface copy, designing charts, or mapping out content architecture, we are not machines. We are not outside observers. We’re creators whose work influences how information is understood and acted upon.

So even when I’m not publicly credited, I remind myself: I am an author. I may not get a byline, but I still bear responsibility. And that awareness helps me do better work—more intentional, more thoughtful, and, ultimately, more human.

Works Cited

Slack, J.D, Miller, D.J, & Doak, J. (1993). The Technical Communicator as Author. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Vol. 7, 13-36.