Client Service Project Proposal

The Problem

Heather Weddington, Chief Departmental Advisor for the English department, has contracted my classmates and me to create informational graphic flyers for the advising department. She would like these flyers to increase student retention by illustrating step-by-step what students need to do to graduate under their concentration.

I will be creating a double-sided flyer on how students can obtain an English degree with a Technical Writing concentration in four years. My primary focus will be tailoring this flyer to student preference, as they will be the ones interfacing with this document. This flyer could potentially become one of each student’s primary sources for planning their registration schedule each semester if executed well. A secondary audience for the document will be the parents of the students under the Technical Writing concentration. Parents will be interested in tracking their student’s progress and will appreciate having a resource to refer to when helping their child register for classes.

Project Plan

First, I will thoroughly review all of the materials the client has provided me and download the ones I feel have the most relevant information for my flyer. Then, I will copy specific “snippets” of information out of those materials and paste them into a blank word document where I can start to organize their order and begin to create distinct headings. I like to do this because it lets me remove the most important information from the clutter that surrounds it, but also keeps my planning stages outside of the final document.

Next, I’ll start to look for design ideas on how I want to format my text and create a color scheme/design around that information. I want to keep the flyer simplistic so that students and parents are not distracted or confused by the design elements, but I also don’t want the flyer to be plain black and white. Nothing loses the attention of students faster than a boring, text-only document. I’m hoping to have a featured image on the front of my flyer with some bold text that tells students and parents what careers can be achieved with a Technical Writing degree and how technical writing can be beneficial in any workforce. On the back, I want to create either a fillable table that students can use to track their progress or just a suggested graduation path that students can reference when deciding what classes to take each semester.

Once I have decided on a general idea of how I want my document to be designed, I’ll start to create the design elements and refine the text that will be inputted into the document. The final document will be converted into PDF so it can easily be printed out into physical copies for the advising office, uploaded onto the ODU website, or attached to emails sent to students and parents.

Justification

The client wants a readable, student-friendly document that will clearly outline a Technical Writing student’s four-year plan and increase retention. By clearly defining what the Technical Writing concentration is, what careers come out of it, and what the curriculum will ask of the student, retention rates are sure to improve, as students will know exactly what to expect and will feel sure of their choice to pursue this degree. As well, a PDF document makes this resource easy to print or download, and easy to distribute both online and in person by having printed copies in the advising office and links on the advising website.

Timeline