Document Redesign

Overview

This project was assigned in Document Design, a graduate Technical Communication course. It was a timed final exam, and the assignment’s purpose was to assess students’ knowledge of redesigning poorly-designed documents. The original document was in Microsoft Word, and we were encouraged to design the document in InDesign and to add interactive elements.

Task

Initially, there were a few distinct challenges:

• I was working with a strict time limit – all edits must be done in the allotted timeframe
• I was new to InDesign – it was my first time working in-depth with the software
• The original document needed a lot of work, and it essentially needed to look like a new document

This was my first timed redesign assignment, and it was definitely a challenge to remember that I couldn’t work leisurely. I was used to learning as I went, because there’s so much to learn with InDesign, but this time, I had to apply all knowledge I had already learned. If I needed to try something new, I had to do it quickly. In addition, the document needed a lot of revision to become an attractive and effective document. The redesign looks like a completely different document than the original.

Action

There were several steps I took to succeed in this project:

• Added missing elements
• Removed unnecessary elements
• Adjusted the format and typeface(s)

The original document was missing necessary elements. I added an attractive cover page, an interactive table of contents, page navigation buttons, and a link to the program webpage on the cover page of the document. I felt that these were vital elements that a good document must contain.

There were a few unnecessary elements included in the document that I removed. I omitted the blank page at the end of the document and also got rid of the random highlighted text throughout the document.

There were formatting errors throughout the document, such as faulty bullet points and inappropriate headings. I changed these details, and I also adjusted the multiple typefaces to one typeface for the entire body text.

RESULTS

The original document and redesigned document are seen below. I created what I believe to be an appropriately designed and formatted document from which the school district could benefit.