Technical Communication & Instructional Design
Client/Product: Garmin inReach® MINI Communication Device
Project: Quick Start Guide
Year Completed: 2022
Garmin makes a variety of products, many of which involve GPS technology for land navigation in the backcountry. The inReach Mini is a popular, all-in-one unit designed for emergency communication, texting services, and basic land navigation. Garmin provides a well-written user manual with each device, but does not include a Quick Start guide for the device's primary function: emergency rescue alert.
While some of the language in the device indicates a reasonable level of user literacy ("Ensure the device..."), I felt clear illustrations would be important given the important nature of the device's functions. All text, graphics and design are my work unless otherwise noted. Full disclosure: Garmin is not my client.
Client/Product: Hamilton Beach 12-Cup Coffee Maker
Project: User Guide Sample
Year Completed: 2022
Hamilton Beach is an established designer, marketer and distributor of home and commercial kitchen appliances. This is a sample of user guide for one of their most popular 12-cup coffee makers. All text, design and graphic illustrations are my own.
Full disclosure: Hamilton Beach is not my client.
Client: Biddeford School Department
Project: Google Classroom Professional Training
Year Completed: 2020
Biddeford School Department is public K-12 school system located in Biddeford, Maine. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing professional development, I was asked to create training documentation for Grade 4 & 5 staff introducing the basics of the Google Classroom application.
The full training consisted of a powerpoint presentation and discussion, as well as the attached "cheat sheet" document to be used as a continuing reference tool. The users were all college educated, many with graduate degrees, so literacy was not an immediate concern. However, many of the users are not digital natives, and therefore I chose to break the document into several step-by-step tasks over a series of pages with annotated screenshots for clarity. Full disclosure: I am not affiliated with Google, Inc.
Client: ATP Solutions
Project: Public Health Notice
Year Completed: 2022
The document was created in response to a prompt describing the issues surrounding Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) and their impact to an office environment. Given the context of the work, the users were determined to have at least a high school level of education, which suggested a moderate FOG index rating for any textual elements. The preventative nature of the warning also called for corrective visuals, which were provided by Creative Commons. Full disclosure: ATP Solutions is a fictional client. The document was created for portfolio purposes.
