The Professional Toolkit (PT) project results in a digital profile document that presents your knowledge and experience with information design and relevant tools. The PT is challenging because it requires you to reflect on and describe yourself in a professionally meaningful way.
This project requires one submission. That submission includes the following documents:
For the full list of core and supporting documents/files, & specifications, refer to Submission Requirements.
The PT project challenges you to consider how to effectively communicate your career aspirations & professional value(s) in the context of information design. The course work that lead you to this project has asked you to engage with discussions of design & design strategy, to explore the potential value of tools for information design, & to begin to focus on what it means to communicate effectively. However, your knowledge & experience lack depth or diversity if this course represents the sum total of your encounters with design so far.
When elements of this project leave you feeling uncertain or ill prepared to respond, rather than give in to intimidation, focus on what you DO know and what you can LEARN from investigation. The description below asks you to rate your level of knowledge on several areas of design work as well as with several tools & technologies. Even if you have a bit of experience with some of the things we are doing this semester, you are likely to rank as a beginner on most of the areas listed. That is as it should be. Do not inflate your experience, knowledge, or ability. Peers who are potential team mates for the upcoming design project will be assessing whether or not they want to work with you at least in part based on what they read in this document. Honesty is essential. Each time you rate yourself as a beginner you identify an area for professional growth.
If you find terminology that you do not understand, look for guidance. You may be able to draw on the course text for some things. Although Norman does not limit his discussion to information design, he is talking about solving design problems. LinkedIn, YouTube, even Instagram and TikTok are all resources that curate useful information about information design, if you are willing to search for it. You might also consider visiting the following website: NNGroup.com (the site for the Nielsen-Norman Design Group) to search for any terminology you do not understand.
Above all else, focus on what you do know, and focus on what you know about yourself. What kind of problems do you find interesting and challenging? What kind of design challenges inspire you? When you look around at the vast array of information designs that we rely on when we need to learn about something or solve a problem, what designs (e.g., apps, websites, books, videos, podcasts, kiosks) would you like the chance to work on? What are your aptitudes for learning? for doing? for problem solving? Or as I often playfully ask in classes, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Deliverables: memo, professional profile
Document scope: 150 words (memo), 1 page (refer to specs below)
Project value: 100 points
Evaluation rubric: _Eval_ProToolkit.pdf
Recommended tool(s): Figma (profile doc), Microsoft Word (memo)
The PT project requires you to construct a 1-page, multipanel profile document that meets the specifications for content & design that are described below. Your document does not need to look like the samples that I provide to you, but it does need to match the complexity and the strong sense of visual order demonstrated by those documents.
Before you begin working on your own profile, I recommend that you retrieve & review those samples from Canvas Files: Williamson - Professional Toolkit.pdf, & Williamson - Professional Toolkit Example.pdf.
Design your profile doc using Figma. Because Figma is a professional-grade tool for interface design, it represents an appropriate choice for this project. This description presents a series of content segments that correspond to the areas you see on the sample documents. Note. You'll observe some differences in the headings of the Toolkit doc & the Example. Because I used myself as the subject of the Example doc, I chose to adapt a couple of the content areas to make more sense for someone who is an established professional rather than a developing one. When planning your content, stick to the teaching doc & this description.
Note. Design specs are presented in the final segment of this section. Make sure you review those before you begin assembling content on your Figma design space.
Rate your level of experience & accomplishment with the categories of design knowledge listed below.
The rating system for ranking your experience with Design Knowledge is detailed between the descriptions for Panels 5 & 6.
Rate your level of experience & accomplishment with the design tools & tool categories listed below.
Note. If you have experience with a tool that is not listed, but that accomplishes the same design goal(s) as something listed here, add a line to include that knowledge.
Example. If you have more experience using Audacity for audio editing than with Adobe Audition, add a rating for Audacity. Do not replace the technology listed here, however.
The rating system for ranking your experience with Technology Knowledge is detailed next.
When you rate your knowledge & experience with Design & Design Technologies, use the following scale. Each rating is progressive, meaning it includes the level of accomplishment of the previous rankings.
Be careful not to over-estimate your abilities. Consider these rankings on a professional rather than personal scale. For example, if you are truly knowledgeable & experienced enough with a design category or tool to teach working professionals how to use it (rather than teaching friends who just know less than you do), then you should rate yourself as an 8 (Mentor).
Even if you rate yourself as Beginner or Basic Knowledge with everything, it is merely an acknowledgement of where you are at in your professional development. We all start at the beginning with new things. There is no shame in that.
Example. Writer. Future UX Designer.
Design your profile document so that it conforms to the following specifications. Refer to the sample docs for general guidance on dimensions & layout.
Note. The background color for your content panels must contrast well with the textual content of the panel. That is, the text should be much darker than the panel background.
Your project will be accompanied by a memo of transmittal. That category of memo introduces the document it accompanies, providing context for its audience(s). Your memo should be addressed from you to me.
Your memo should incorporate the following content and design elements.
Consult the sample documents (refer to SVSU Canvas Files: Project Support) for additional guidance.
This section is designed to help you anticipate and avoid problems as you work on this project. Therefore, as you work, consider the following hints and tips.
Remember that writing in professional & technical contexts values highly the ability to write and speak with economy, directness, and professionalism. Another way of saying this is to make every word count. Stay focused on the details necessary to communicate effectively with your audience(s). Write and rewrite until your textual content makes sense and represents careful, concise, professional communication.
Consider what it means to establish a strong, consistent sense of professionalism & attention to detail visually and structurally (organizationally) with your design choices. Professional designers use words such as clean, logical, and orderly to describe document designs they appreciate & respect.
If you want to explore the opposite of these design values, feel free to do so. Make an alternate version of your profile document where you make unprofessional font, color, and design choices. Create something ugly so you might better appreciate professionalism in visual design. Just be sure you don't accidentally turn in that version as your project submission.
Edit carefully, seeking to express your ideas clearly and concisely. Edit out loud with the intent of writing in such a manner that your written content sounds professional and focused. Work to meet the design specs. Scrutinize your work so it is consistent, professional, and of good quality. Refine your document continuously as you work.
Read and attend carefully to these submission guidelines. Failure to do so may result in points lost on the final evaluation of your project.
Create a folder for this project inside your shared class folder on Dropbox.com. Remember, I can only view files that you place inside that folder. Until you place files in that space, you have not in practice submitted them.
Name the folder Pro Toolkit.
Make sure the files listed below are available to me in the project folder by the submission deadline. Model your filenames on the listed examples:
Note. Do not share the individual files or project folder with me. By placing the project files in the project folder, and by placing the project folder inside your class folder, you have already shared them by default.
This section describes the standards by which your final submission will be evaluated.
The final project submission is worth 100 possible points. You will earn points according to the standard described on the policies page (see Policies for a description of these categories).
The specific areas of emphasis for the PT project are drawn from this description and our discussions of the project (including the supporting teaching materials that I provide to you along the way). Review the project rubric (_Eval_ProToolkit.pdf) for the specific qualities and characteristics emphasized in each evaluation category.
Remember that I will only post the point values for projects on the Grades page in SVSU Canvas. I will provide the supporting details relevant to that evaluation in your class folder in a project-specific file. Look for a Microsoft Word file in your shared class space on Dropbox with a filename that that follows this pattern:
YourLastName_Eval_ProToolkit.docx.
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