I have been working really hard trying to get the procedures manual finished. I still have a way to go though. The sections that I have to finish aren't going to be as hard or as long as the first one was. I am working on the next section right now, so I thought I would take a break to write this blog.
The material that my supervisor gives me are documents that they have used in the past for training. Unfortunately, a lot of the documents are not finished and many aren't very professional. I am having a difficult time deciding how to rewrite the material and where to place them within the manual. Fortunately, my supervisor is helping me figure this out.
In fact, my supervisor has helped me a lot. She gives me a lot of suggestions, most of which are really helpful. However, the titles she suggested I use for some of the sections do not really make a lot of sense. I have still not figured out any better alternative titles. I suggested a few that I thought were good, but she didn't really like them.
I am still trying to figure out a good style for the manual. I have tried several different ones, but haven't come up with one that I think will work best. I think it needs some color to make it stand out, but I don't know which colors would work best. The manual is for Admissions Representatives at 5 different schools and all of the schools have different colors and logos. I am having trouble deciding how to make it consistent. But, I am sure that I will figure it out eventually.
Well, I think that is all that I have to say right now.
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Manuals can be hard because they are so damn uncreative. I am sharing similar problems with a manual I'm editing for volunteers. I am using many photos, tables, and bullet lists as possible, but I feel its not doing a good job of explaining why.
ReplyDeleteAs for the style, I find simplicity is the best way before making it more complex. A manual is a more of a reference. So, before each section title, there is a number (1,2,3). Everything under a section title gets a number too (1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 3.1). This way you can say, "See section #.# for details."
I was having a thought, of course I really don't know anything about your article, but if each school had their own section, you could of course match their section to their colors - I don't know, if your document isn't really like that, you wouldn't want to alienate someone by using another school's colors. Think about maybe using neutral colors like grey or damp blue...or purple. lol. Maybe using colors that aren't ANY of the schools colors is the key...Just random thoughts!
ReplyDeleteI like Vanessa's ideas about the color matching and using one base color that isn't affiliated with any of the schools. I have never worked on a procedures manual, or a manual -at least that I can recall--so it sounds like you have some work to do but you can put your PWE skills to good use on this project. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jesse manuals can be really hard because they are straight and do not allow you to be very creative. Is there a way that you and your supervisor can compromise about the title, since you really can't be creative with the manual?
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have a lot to work on with these manuals, Nicole. I would love to hear more specific details about the projects you're working on -- you provide a very general, "overview-ish" type of discussion here, but it's difficult to give feedback and revision suggestions without knowing more about the specific topic/audience/purpose of the manual as well as the specific types of questions/concerns/problems you're working to address. For example, you mention that "a lot of the documents are not finished and many aren't very professional." What, specifically, do you mean here -- what makes them "unprofessional," in your view? What specific things do you need to do in order to make them more "professional"? And the style -- what specific type of style do you need to create? How would you describe that style? Why is that style important/appropriate? Answering those types of questions first can then help you to identify specific textual and design strategies you might employ in the documents.
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