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Instructional Guide Project
Project Type
Photography
Began
October 2022
Ended
November 2022
Role
Content Writer & Editor
This particularly early project marked a major step in my academic and technical writing development. Working with a partner, I created an instruction manual and video guide for assembling a kitchen cabinet, at the time inspired by challenges I faced with similar real-world manuals. The process included a topic proposal, design drafts, user testing, and revisions based on test feedback.
Despite setbacks, including technical issues using Word and its formatting, communication hurdles with my partner who was often unavailable, and an illness on my end that required my teammate to record the final voiceover last, the project was invaluable. By designing around a certain audience, that being a user looking for a straightforward and consistent instruction manual for a product they are unfamiliar with, I was able to greatly improve my user centered thinking. It strengthened my skills in usability testing, communication flexibility, style-based editing, and visual document design. Although I consider it a personal failure in terms of execution, it represents a critical point in my growth as a designer and technical writer.
I have included below image highlights key stages of the project, with a link at the top of the page leading to a collection of the full downloadable documents.
Instruction Topic Memo
This is the memo that both me and my partner wrote which included a rough written draft of our idea, and the layout steps in which we wanted to write the guide. This was before any visual drafting was done and served as a guideline. It was essentially a type of textual wireframe that we would reference as we worked.
Guide Table of Contents
This is one of the first pages of the guide right after the title page, which served just as a table of contents. This page was dynamic and could be used differently in both a visual and physical context. The blue highlighting present was something added in at a later revision which allowed users to click on that page number and jump to that specific page, if they were searching for an exact component. This was also inspired by my own frustrations of scrolling through digital manuals to find the equivalent page of the physical manual I had in my hand. This ease of access served as a much more accessible and less frustrating tool the user could take advantage of during a project that might need quick reference. I find the formatting here to be a bit off center, but given my lack of direct experience at the time, this is an understandable mistake.
Guide Safety Instructions
This was a section of safety instructions that came right after the table of contents, since the project referenced here was one that involved tools and heavy objects. In the real world, often times safety instructions are given at the beginning of manuals for power tools and the like, and so we wanted to provide an overview of all the potential safety steps the user would need to take before beginning in order to ensure the project goes smoothly, which was the end goal of this manual. All information here was done off of legitimate research into necessary precautions from similar tasks as well as some common sense ideas taken from first hand experiences.
Cabinet Guide Page 14
This is an example of one of the step pages within the manual, which is formatted the same way the rest of the document was, with some variation. In this case, the header with color comes first, followed by the title in that same dark blue color, with a header line underneath it, and any subtext given parenthesis and a lighter blue tone. This was then followed by instructions labeled in numerical format sequentially. You may note that there was no style guide included in this slideshow, and that is because our initial inexperience led us to not create one, as we were not aware one was often needed to follow, and so once we simply established the color outlines and order of contents we simply followed that layout mentally.
Cabinet Guide Page 9
This is a further example of the formatting that was given to all of these pages. A higher emphasis here was placed on the subtext, in the same blue color with parenthesis around them.
User Testing Memo
This is the memo summarizing our findings on our usability test. This was something I felt was extremely lacking in both quality and content, which is why I chose to display the errors present, as we only tested two users, and were both somewhat unfamiliar with the concept at the time. However it was still valuable experience in both technical writing and document design.
Guide Page Example 1
This is a screengrab of one of the pages of our guide, in specific the tools and equipment page. All the formatting here was done through our written wireframe near the beginning, including the list style, color, formatting, and terms. I included the particular errors the software picked up grammatically to highlight the instability but still sincere goal of this project.
Guide Page Example 2
This is the Graphics section at the end of the guide, which I felt was a informally designed and given much more of a loose estimate rather than a proper format. Part of this may have been the limitations of Word at that time, but it serves to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of this document.
Team Assessment Form
As a part of this project, I participated in an assessment form, meant to evaluate how I felt about working as a team. My formatting for this document was lacking in some areas given my inexperience, but it was good practice to being able to give and receive feedback on projects for improvement.
Instruction Topic Memo
This is the memo that both me and my partner wrote which included a rough written draft of our idea, and the layout steps in which we wanted to write the guide. This was before any visual drafting was done and served as a guideline. It was essentially a type of textual wireframe that we would reference as we worked.
Guide Table of Contents
This is one of the first pages of the guide right after the title page, which served just as a table of contents. This page was dynamic and could be used differently in both a visual and physical context. The blue highlighting present was something added in at a later revision which allowed users to click on that page number and jump to that specific page, if they were searching for an exact component. This was also inspired by my own frustrations of scrolling through digital manuals to find the equivalent page of the physical manual I had in my hand. This ease of access served as a much more accessible and less frustrating tool the user could take advantage of during a project that might need quick reference. I find the formatting here to be a bit off center, but given my lack of direct experience at the time, this is an understandable mistake.
Guide Safety Instructions
This was a section of safety instructions that came right after the table of contents, since the project referenced here was one that involved tools and heavy objects. In the real world, often times safety instructions are given at the beginning of manuals for power tools and the like, and so we wanted to provide an overview of all the potential safety steps the user would need to take before beginning in order to ensure the project goes smoothly, which was the end goal of this manual. All information here was done off of legitimate research into necessary precautions from similar tasks as well as some common sense ideas taken from first hand experiences.
Cabinet Guide Page 14
This is an example of one of the step pages within the manual, which is formatted the same way the rest of the document was, with some variation. In this case, the header with color comes first, followed by the title in that same dark blue color, with a header line underneath it, and any subtext given parenthesis and a lighter blue tone. This was then followed by instructions labeled in numerical format sequentially. You may note that there was no style guide included in this slideshow, and that is because our initial inexperience led us to not create one, as we were not aware one was often needed to follow, and so once we simply established the color outlines and order of contents we simply followed that layout mentally.
Cabinet Guide Page 9
This is a further example of the formatting that was given to all of these pages. A higher emphasis here was placed on the subtext, in the same blue color with parenthesis around them.
User Testing Memo
This is the memo summarizing our findings on our usability test. This was something I felt was extremely lacking in both quality and content, which is why I chose to display the errors present, as we only tested two users, and were both somewhat unfamiliar with the concept at the time. However it was still valuable experience in both technical writing and document design.
Guide Page Example 1
This is a screengrab of one of the pages of our guide, in specific the tools and equipment page. All the formatting here was done through our written wireframe near the beginning, including the list style, color, formatting, and terms. I included the particular errors the software picked up grammatically to highlight the instability but still sincere goal of this project.
Guide Page Example 2
This is the Graphics section at the end of the guide, which I felt was a informally designed and given much more of a loose estimate rather than a proper format. Part of this may have been the limitations of Word at that time, but it serves to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of this document.
Team Assessment Form
As a part of this project, I participated in an assessment form, meant to evaluate how I felt about working as a team. My formatting for this document was lacking in some areas given my inexperience, but it was good practice to being able to give and receive feedback on projects for improvement.
Instruction Topic Memo
This is the memo that both me and my partner wrote which included a rough written draft of our idea, and the layout steps in which we wanted to write the guide. This was before any visual drafting was done and served as a guideline. It was essentially a type of textual wireframe that we would reference as we worked.
Guide Table of Contents
This is one of the first pages of the guide right after the title page, which served just as a table of contents. This page was dynamic and could be used differently in both a visual and physical context. The blue highlighting present was something added in at a later revision which allowed users to click on that page number and jump to that specific page, if they were searching for an exact component. This was also inspired by my own frustrations of scrolling through digital manuals to find the equivalent page of the physical manual I had in my hand. This ease of access served as a much more accessible and less frustrating tool the user could take advantage of during a project that might need quick reference. I find the formatting here to be a bit off center, but given my lack of direct experience at the time, this is an understandable mistake.
Guide Safety Instructions
This was a section of safety instructions that came right after the table of contents, since the project referenced here was one that involved tools and heavy objects. In the real world, often times safety instructions are given at the beginning of manuals for power tools and the like, and so we wanted to provide an overview of all the potential safety steps the user would need to take before beginning in order to ensure the project goes smoothly, which was the end goal of this manual. All information here was done off of legitimate research into necessary precautions from similar tasks as well as some common sense ideas taken from first hand experiences.
Cabinet Guide Page 14
This is an example of one of the step pages within the manual, which is formatted the same way the rest of the document was, with some variation. In this case, the header with color comes first, followed by the title in that same dark blue color, with a header line underneath it, and any subtext given parenthesis and a lighter blue tone. This was then followed by instructions labeled in numerical format sequentially. You may note that there was no style guide included in this slideshow, and that is because our initial inexperience led us to not create one, as we were not aware one was often needed to follow, and so once we simply established the color outlines and order of contents we simply followed that layout mentally.
Cabinet Guide Page 9
This is a further example of the formatting that was given to all of these pages. A higher emphasis here was placed on the subtext, in the same blue color with parenthesis around them.
User Testing Memo
This is the memo summarizing our findings on our usability test. This was something I felt was extremely lacking in both quality and content, which is why I chose to display the errors present, as we only tested two users, and were both somewhat unfamiliar with the concept at the time. However it was still valuable experience in both technical writing and document design.
Guide Page Example 1
This is a screengrab of one of the pages of our guide, in specific the tools and equipment page. All the formatting here was done through our written wireframe near the beginning, including the list style, color, formatting, and terms. I included the particular errors the software picked up grammatically to highlight the instability but still sincere goal of this project.
Guide Page Example 2
This is the Graphics section at the end of the guide, which I felt was a informally designed and given much more of a loose estimate rather than a proper format. Part of this may have been the limitations of Word at that time, but it serves to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of this document.
Team Assessment Form
As a part of this project, I participated in an assessment form, meant to evaluate how I felt about working as a team. My formatting for this document was lacking in some areas given my inexperience, but it was good practice to being able to give and receive feedback on projects for improvement.
Instruction Topic Memo
This is the memo that both me and my partner wrote which included a rough written draft of our idea, and the layout steps in which we wanted to write the guide. This was before any visual drafting was done and served as a guideline. It was essentially a type of textual wireframe that we would reference as we worked.
Guide Table of Contents
This is one of the first pages of the guide right after the title page, which served just as a table of contents. This page was dynamic and could be used differently in both a visual and physical context. The blue highlighting present was something added in at a later revision which allowed users to click on that page number and jump to that specific page, if they were searching for an exact component. This was also inspired by my own frustrations of scrolling through digital manuals to find the equivalent page of the physical manual I had in my hand. This ease of access served as a much more accessible and less frustrating tool the user could take advantage of during a project that might need quick reference. I find the formatting here to be a bit off center, but given my lack of direct experience at the time, this is an understandable mistake.
Guide Safety Instructions
This was a section of safety instructions that came right after the table of contents, since the project referenced here was one that involved tools and heavy objects. In the real world, often times safety instructions are given at the beginning of manuals for power tools and the like, and so we wanted to provide an overview of all the potential safety steps the user would need to take before beginning in order to ensure the project goes smoothly, which was the end goal of this manual. All information here was done off of legitimate research into necessary precautions from similar tasks as well as some common sense ideas taken from first hand experiences.
Cabinet Guide Page 14
This is an example of one of the step pages within the manual, which is formatted the same way the rest of the document was, with some variation. In this case, the header with color comes first, followed by the title in that same dark blue color, with a header line underneath it, and any subtext given parenthesis and a lighter blue tone. This was then followed by instructions labeled in numerical format sequentially. You may note that there was no style guide included in this slideshow, and that is because our initial inexperience led us to not create one, as we were not aware one was often needed to follow, and so once we simply established the color outlines and order of contents we simply followed that layout mentally.
Cabinet Guide Page 9
This is a further example of the formatting that was given to all of these pages. A higher emphasis here was placed on the subtext, in the same blue color with parenthesis around them.
User Testing Memo
This is the memo summarizing our findings on our usability test. This was something I felt was extremely lacking in both quality and content, which is why I chose to display the errors present, as we only tested two users, and were both somewhat unfamiliar with the concept at the time. However it was still valuable experience in both technical writing and document design.
Guide Page Example 1
This is a screengrab of one of the pages of our guide, in specific the tools and equipment page. All the formatting here was done through our written wireframe near the beginning, including the list style, color, formatting, and terms. I included the particular errors the software picked up grammatically to highlight the instability but still sincere goal of this project.
Guide Page Example 2
This is the Graphics section at the end of the guide, which I felt was a informally designed and given much more of a loose estimate rather than a proper format. Part of this may have been the limitations of Word at that time, but it serves to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of this document.
Team Assessment Form
As a part of this project, I participated in an assessment form, meant to evaluate how I felt about working as a team. My formatting for this document was lacking in some areas given my inexperience, but it was good practice to being able to give and receive feedback on projects for improvement.
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