Jaime Snyder is an Associate Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her research focuses on social aspects of visual practices in the information domain, visual materiality and ethics and values in the design of visual representations of information. She also serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the UW Department of Human-Centered Design and Engineering.

Snyder’s current research uses frameworks from visual studies to look at the activity of image making as an information-driven, communicative practice. Anyone who has clarified a thought or prompted a response during a conversation by drawing a picture or sketching out a relationship has exploited the potential of image making as a tool for conveying information. Rich descriptions of visually enabled conversation and social interactions can greatly inform and influence the design of tools for supporting collaboration and coordination. The goal of her research is to expand the ways that the creation and use of visual information are understood and supported by these systems.