Project Specification
The print-based set of instructions was created in InDesign, developed to fit on a single 8.5 x 11 inch page, and includes text and graphics. The goals of the design include readability and legibility in the text, and to capture a sense of of shape, depth, and space in the graphic elements.
The audience I selected for my print-based set of instructions is my students. The document explains, in three steps, how to create an assignment comment and the purpose of this Canvas feature. Each of the three steps is numbered, includes a screen-shot image to help students locate the correct section in their Canvas course, and has a short text explanation with key words in bold. To further help guide students through the steps, an Adobe Stock graphic of a clicking-hand appears in each screen-shot image.
The small amount of color in the design is not essential to the instruction; it can be printed in black and white. I had three primary goals in creating this set of instructions: 1) make it as easy as possible for students to print and store by using standard-sized paper; 2) keep printing costs to a minimum by avoiding color ink and heavy shading; 3) present the information succinctly and make it easy to take in.
Project Development Process
After deciding on the topic and a basic page design, I gathered the instructional graphics by taking screen-shots of the entire assignment-comment process in student view and my regular instructor view in one of my courses. I attached brief descriptions to each image, then winnowed down to the most instructive ones, merging and revising the comments for clarity and precision.
To give a sense of depth, shape, and space, I used double-bars to contain the steps and placed a shadow around each screen shot. Contrast, repetition, and alignment all feature in the design to create a visual hierarchy, unify the image, create organization, and add visual interest, as described by Robin Williams in the 4th edition (2015) of her book, The non-designers Design book: Design and typographic principles for the visual novice.
Project’s Connection to Professional Goals & Objectives
I’ve spent countless hours of the last year encouraging students to use assignment comments and reminding them how to create them. The print-based set of instructions I’ve created is an elegant way to reduce duplication of my labor and offer students a static reference to print and store in their course notebooks, which I will include in my Fall 2023 courses. I have begun already to apply the principles of designing instructional graphics into my work as an instructor.