Who we are
Cherryleaf is a technical writing services company formed in 2002 by four people with a passion for technical communication and learning development. Today, we’re based by the western edge of London (“Silicon upon Thames”) and in Brighton. Our clients are based mostly in the UK and EU27 countries. If you are based elsewhere, we still may be able to help.
We have a combination of technical knowledge and communication skills. We apply these, in most cases, by creating written content.
Who we help
Project Managers who are launching a new product or service
They’re working in software and technology companies. They need API reference, Help, compliance, UI/UX content, or training documentation for their products and services.
Managers responsible for policies and procedures
They need clear to provide clear and up-to-date policies, procedures and other compliance information written for their staff.
Developers who need to write API or end-user documentation
They want to improve their communication skills, or find someone who can do the writing for them.
People needing to hire technical communicators
Managers or HR professionals who need a specialist who can find them candidates for their vacant technical communication roles.
Professional technical communicators
They want training to become a better technical communicator.
People starting their careers in technical writing
They want to improve their technical communication skills.
What we produce for you
These days, it can misleading to think only in terms of paper manuals, online Help, or even a document itself. What we produce could appear as sentence on a dialog screen, a pop-up definition on a web page, a callout in an onboarding screen, as a subtitle to a video walkthrough, and so on.
Content as Service Design
We see content as Service Design – bridging the gap between what users want to do, and the things users cannot figure out for themselves. This means the mindset of:
- Empathy for users and for learners
- Content is there for a purpose.
- You need the right information for your audience.
- Explaining in a way that users can understand
- You can’t fit all the information users need into a UI screen
- Create content that is useful, usable, findable, credible, accurate, concrete, and complete.
- Use clear English.
- Using the right tool and medium
- We take a vendor-neutral view. We want to recommend the best solution for your needs.
- Offering a range of services
- We can still help even when you want to do a lot of it yourself.
- We’ve trained nearly 1,000 people in technical communication. Join in!
Our owners
Ellis Pratt
Ellis is a Consulting Technical Communicator and Director at Cherryleaf. He has been working in technical communication since the early 1990s. He has a degree in Business Studies. He is also:
- A Member of the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC)
- An Associate of the Institution of Engineering and Technology
He was a judge for the UK Technical Communication Awards 2020 and the DevPortal Awards 2020. He is a regular conference speaker on technical communication topics.
See also:
Ginny Critcher
Ginny has a background as a skilled trainer and information designer. She has over twenty years experience in teaching and training throughout the world. Ginny has extensive project management skills. She also has considerable experience using the main technical authoring tools.
Ginny is fluent in Spanish.
She has:
- An MSc (in Information Systems)
- A BA (in Spanish Studies)
- A RSA TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) certificate
Ginny manages the development of Cherryleaf’s training courses.
See also:
Awards, Books and Memberships
Training course accreditations
Cherryleaf’s Technical Author/technical writing training course‘s content is accredited by the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators, the professional body for Technical Communicators in the United Kingdom. It is an independent assessment of the course’s quality. This course is also recommended by The Australian Society for Technical Communication and The Technical Communicators Association of New Zealand to their members.
Cherryleaf’s Advanced Technical Communication training course is recommended by The Australian Society for Technical Communication and The Technical Communicators Association of New Zealand to their members.
Published books
Cherryleaf’s staff are contributors to the following books:
- The Language of Technical Communication. 2016. XML Press.
- Current Practices and Trends in Technical Communication. 2017. ISTC Books.
Legal information
Registered in England 4575705
VAT Number 803 2288 54
Carol Johnston
Carol Johnston MA (Cantab), who was one of Cherryleaf’s original founders, died on 22 January 2012. Please see the eulogy on our blog.
Contact us
Want to discuss your situation, and explore how Cherryleaf can help you? You can tell us about your project, issues and goals. We’re here to help.