Overview

As a collection of deliverables, this final project emphasizes my ability to synthesize research and practice. Furthermore, it demonstrated my understanding of course concepts through my ability to reflect and build upon them. This compilation also gives several examples of smaller projects I have worked on.

Role 

For this portfolio, I researched (based on course readings and conversations) and wrote the process and through lines conversations that accompanied the deliverables that I had created independently; with the exception of collaborating with colleague Imari Tetu on the COVID response guide. For that specific project, I focused on the research, Imari focused on design, and we collaborated on content writing. Each deliverable required research through the application of course materials and theories.

Methods and Tools

Theory application and research implementation, demonstrating competencies, establishing through lines

The Goal 

Because the goal of this project was to demonstrate course competencies and my ability to connect professional writing theory to deliverables that I am likely to create in the industry. Although employers are unlikely to ask me for a theoretical justification for my content decisions, this project was extremely valuable in developing my ability to do so.

Approach

This deliverable in of itself is a portfolio and features my design decisions and justifications within its content. That said, I had to be extremely intentional about which deliverables I included and my justification for each. In addition, I wanted to demonstrate my competencies in professional writing through my theoretical and practical applications for each.

Although the justification and inclusion rationales are included in the deliverable, my overall goal in their selection was to demonstrate the variety of deliverables I could be expected to produce in the industry world. Therefore, this design portfolio could act as a showcase of my abilities in fulfilling a company’s needs. For example, the COVID response guide is not something that I would have expected to know how to create even just a few years ago but is now something that I have demonstrated as a competency.

The need to name and develop through lines that demonstrated my ability to connect theory and practice was the most difficult component of this composition, particularly naming them. For instance, I know that from my studies and experiences accessibility is a core value to me and being able to recognize and implement that value in my work was extremely crucial. For example, in the examples for data visualization, I used data from a classroom of kindergartners. By understanding my audience, I knew that a list of names and numbers would not be accessible information for them and opted to visualize the data in the form of a pie chart so that even without the understanding of fractions, the kindergarteners may still understand the representation of the data.

Ultimately, this design portfolio showcases my competencies across a variety of projects for different audiences. Furthermore, it demonstrates my ability to combine theory and practices; something that my post-graduate education has afforded me and will aid me in both industry and academia—regardless of which path I choose.

Deliverable

841-Design-Portfolio

Outcome

Although this project was primarily rewarding for myself; through its demonstration of my ability to combine theory and practice, it was also extremely helpful in preparing for my certifying portfolio. Additionally, it presented almost a summary of key ideas in professional writing that I will be able to reference as I traverse through my journey in the industry.