A LO O K I NTO T HE PROCE SS BEHI ND T HE JO UR N AL
BY EMILY HOEHENRIEDER SENIOR PROJECT WINTER 2018
CONTENTS 01
PROJECT OVERVIEW 2
02
PROJECT METHODOLOGY
8
03
RESOURCES & LIMITATIONS
14
04
RESEARCH 18
05
DESIGN PROCESS 26
06
REFLECTION & NEXT STEPS
44
01 PROJECT OVERVIEW
PURPOSE As I was beginning to graduate college, I began getting increasingly stressed. Not only was I still taking a full load of classes, but I was constantly editing my portfolio, looking for jobs, and thinking about the approaching changes in my life. To keep myself sane, I began to write down what I had done so far to prepare for my future. This included keeping track of jobs that I was applying for or thinking about. As a somewhat organized person, I searched endlessly on the internet for a template to organize my job searches. Then I searched for a template to organize my references. Then I thought about my budget and having to find housing. Soon I became more stressed trying to keep track of everything than actually completing the tasks I needed to. That’s where the idea for this book came in. The purpose of this guided journal is to give graduating students and post-graduate students a place to jot down all the things that come with the first year of “adulthood.” (Adulthood is in quotations because I know technically you’ve been an 6 | ADULT STEPS: PROCESS BOOK
adult for the past 4 years, but now it’s actually feeling like adulthood.) These students might be moving to a totally new town while trying to find a job and buy a house and find friends and keep in touch with your friends from college and also remember your grandma’s birthday? I want this journal to help in all of the things that need to be remembered. I hope this journal relieves the stress the future holds for some graduating students like it does for me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR My name is Emily Hoehenrieder and I am a graduating senior from California Polytechnic State University with a major Graphic Communication concentrating in Design Reproduction Technology.
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JOURNAL OVERVIEW The journal contains different sections for tracking various aspects post-grad students may want to keep track of. These sections include jobs, money, and housing and social. Within these sections are various subsections. Along with these sections there are cheesy inspirational quotes in-between to keep the user engaged in the process and to try to keep the daunting situation of adulthood on a lighter note. Along with quotes, blank notes pages are also spread out within the book. JOBS The jobs section contains three subsections: a reference log, a job search tracker, and an interview checklist. The reference log is a place for users to fill out potential mentors/ references contact information. The job search tracker is a place for users to fill out jobs they have applied for and if they have heard anything back. The interview checklist is a place where users can write down different research notes of a job they are interviewing for and other aspects they may want to remember for the job.
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MONEY The money section contains two subsections: a budget chart and a monthly bill payment chart. The budget chart is a place where users can track of how much they are spending each month. The monthly bill payment chart is a place where users can track their bills, when they are due, and if they paid for them. HOUSING The housing section contains one subsection: a house hunting checklist. The house hunting checklist includes what users should keep track of when they are looking at houses and a place for them to take notes. SOCIAL The social section contains two subsections: an anniversary/birthday tracker, and a “create your own list” section. The anniversary/birthday tracker helps users keep track of important events throughout the year. The “create your own list” section let’s users create other list they may want to keep track of.
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02 PROJECT METHODOLOGY
PROJECT PATH
Start Brainstorm
Mood Board
Identify Target Market
Send Survey
Research Design
Layout Design
Finalize Project Idea
Research and Development
Design Phase
Project Completion
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Cover Design
Send Design Survey
Proof Book
Get Estimate from Blurb
Order Book
Work on Process Book
End
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PROJECT TIMELINE JANUARY
2/2/18
WEEK
8
15
22
29
PHASE ONE Finalize Project Idea
Research and Development
Identify TM Send Survey Collect Survey Response
PHASE TWO Layout Design
Design
Cover Design
PHASE THREE
Project Completion
The project timeline is separated in three different phases. The research and development phase, the design phase and the project completion phase. By breaking the project timeline
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into different phases, I was able to focus my energy on the specific elements of the phases. I was able to stay very close to my project timeline and I used this project timeline to make sure I was on track with finishing my project.
FEBRUARY 5
12
MARCH 19
26
5
esign Send out Design Survey Proof Design and Book
Send Book to Blurb Work on Process Book Print Process Book
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12
03 RESOURCES & LIMITATIONS
RESOURCES MENTORS I had a variety of designers and graduate students help in mentoring the completition of the journal. The graduate student I consulted on this book was Elizabeth Swastek. Elizabeth is a recent graduate who helped in coming up with content for the process book. I also consulted Kelsey Pickert for design help as she is a graduated designer from San Diego State Univeristy. BUDGET I wanted this book to be relatively inexpensive because I knew my target market was not as affluent as a more mature demographic would be. The need for an inexpensive product paired with my fairly small amount of personal money allocated to this project, left a small budget of $60 for the journal. Here is the breakdown of the budget. $10 - paper for rough draft printings $50 - purchasing five draft books from Blurb.com
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I chose to use Blurb to print my draft books because they are relatively inexpensive and print well. They also have a quick turn around time and I wanted these journals to be available for students to see at the Senior Showcase at the end of the quarter. MATERIALS Materials for the construction of the book were included in requesting the printed book from Blurb. Other materials I used in this project were Adobe InDesign CC 2018, Adobe Illustrator CC 2018, Adobe Photoshop CC 2018, Apple iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil. I also used a HP Photosmart Printer and copy paper to print out drafts of my journal as I designed.
LIMITATIONS TIME Time was probably the biggest limitation I had going in to this project. There are only 10 weeks in a Cal Poly quarter, and although I utilized all of the weeks, I was still unable to get as far as I wanted in the project. I was able to stick to the project timeline however which was able to get me a printed draft of the journal to showcase at the end of the quarter. ACCESS TO GRADUATED STUDENTS This was another limitation I wasn’t expecting to run into. It was hard to find students that have already graduated to survey. I wanted already graduated students to survey because I wanted some insight on things that they encountered through their first year post-college that they may want to track. I was able to get through this problem by contacting post-grad students through social media and requesting that they take my survey. More information about the survey results can be found in the Research section of this journal.
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04 RESEARCH
TARGET MARKET The target market for this guided journal was very specific. As previously mentioned on the title of the process book, this journal is for people in their first year post-college. To get more inside the mind of my target market, I created three target market fake personas of people who may want to use this book. In creating these personas, I was able to understand more of the design choices I wanted to use as well as the layout choices. After creating these personas, I then sent out a survey to various post-grad adults across California. Included in the survey were questions pertaining to the usage and contents of the book. Visual data collected from the survey can be seen on page 23.
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Sarah Hayes | Female, 21 years old • Graduated from Sac State University • Obtained a degree in marketing • Hobby is photography • Anxious about entering the world after college
Tom Hunter | Male, 22 years old • Graduated from Boston college • Obtained a degree in graphic design • Coffee enthusiast • Really confused about how to apply for jobs and the interview process
Mary Baker | Female, 19 years old • Third year student at University of Michigan • Working towards a degree in chemistry • Pinterest enthusiast • Trying to get internships and already thinking about life post-college
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MARKET RESEARCH After creating learning more about my target market and creating the target market persona’s, I then sent out a survey to learn more about what the market for an interactive “adulting” journal is and if there is one. I decided to reach out to my target market through an on-line survey. I decided upon this method of research because it is fast, efficient, and my target market is familiar with giving information through technology. I wrote an eight question survey that I sent out to various post-grad adults across California. I was able to locate these post-grad students through acquaintances that I know that have already graduated and social media. The surveyed post-grad students came from a variety of schools and a variety of majors. Included in the survey were questions pertaining to the usage and contents of the book. Visual data collected from the survey can be seen on the right.
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SURVEY RESULTS Surveyed 36 Post - Grad Students through on-line service
1
Were you confused about anything after graduating college?
Common Answers - Finances - Budget
2
If you got a job following graduation, did you keep track of your job searches? NO (32%) YES (68%)
3
Were you confused about anything graduating college? If so, what was confusing and why?
Example Answer: I was (and still am) confused on how to manage my finances. I was never taught how to appropriately budget and how much I need to set aside to create a steady accumulation of savings.
4 Did you feel prepared for life after college entering the workforce?
NO (54%)
YES (46%)
5 If you could change one
thing about your first year post graduation what would it be and why?
“More ambition! Wish I had started off strong and kept my forward momentum instead of getting too comfortable with my new lack of obligations.�
6 Do you think keeping track of post graduation items (i.e. job searches, budget, references, housing, relocation) would be beneficial to you?
86% said yes
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BRAINSTORMING After learning more about my target market and the things they may want to see in this book, I decided to brainstorm my initial ideas through the creation of a mind map.
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05 DESIGN PROCESS
MOOD BOARD After making a mind map to think of ideas for the content of my journal, I set out to make a mood board to help me with the design choices I planned to make for the layout and cover for the guided journal. I used the online website Pinterest to reseach and construct a mood board for the feel of this project. The pictures seen on the next page are gathered mostly from the Internet, specifically Pinterest.
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LAYOUT DESIGN A lot of user research went into the layout for the pages in my book. I began with researching layout designs in planners. I then sketched out my designs on paper and had participants in my target market fill out the forms in my designs. I had them use a talk aloud method and took notes on what they said during filling out the design. After completing all of my designs on paper and testing them out, I transferred my designs in InDesign. After completing all of my designs in Indesign, I printed out drafts of the book. After printing out the drafts I tested the designs and also had more users test the design by filling in all of the layout pages. I gathered more notes in this testing period and then went back into InDesign and made the corrections.
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I took notes on printed layout drafts so I could reference them when I edited the document in InDesign
I printed a full draft book on my desktop printer to test out the layouts in each section.
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LOGO SKETCHES For the logo of Adult Steps, I wanted to create something fun and not too serious, but also something sophisticated and classy. To get the fun look I desired, I decided to handletter my logo. I wanted to also make sure the logo didn’t look to young for the target market so I made sure to use a thick and simple cursive style while handlettering the logo. On the next page, you can see my various logo sketches. I chose the sketch that would become my logo because it was simple and had a nice clean composition. Because this book is a little confusing in terms of what it entails, I wanted to be sure that the logo would be clear and large for the book so people would have an immediate idea of what this book consists of.
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FINAL LOGO
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PROFILES To continue the design process, I used surveys and research to find which colors to use for the book. I initially started my design with a bright green color. I started with this color because I wanted the book to emanate new growth that can happen in adulthood. After gathering results from my survey however, the green was not liked by my target market. I ended up choosing a blue color for my design after more research. I chose this combination of a bluish/teal because it is a calming color. I wanted readers of this book to be drawn to the book with a bight color but I didn’t want readers to feel stressed out by this bright color. After choosing the blue profile combinations I followed up with another survey to my target market. My target market seemed to find the blue color scheme more attractive. I also used a dark gray for the text/line art because it is softer and less harsh than black.
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PRIMARY COLOR C: 46 M:0 Y: 22 K: 0
R: 133 G: 208 B: 205
# 85cfcd
SECONDARY COLOR C: 87 M:26 Y: 51 K: 11
R: 0 G: 131 B: 126
# 00827d
TEXT/LINE COLOR C: 71 M:61 Y: 57 K: 70
R: 35 G: 39 B: 42
# 232629
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FUTURA For the typeface choice I wanted to use a sans serif typeface because it adds a modern vibe to the book design. After researching typefaces, I ended up choosing Futura as my final typeface. Futura means future and that is a major theme of my journal. HISTORY OF FUTURA “Futura is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed by Paul Renner and released in 1927. It was designed as a contribution on the New Frankfurtproject. It is based on geometric shapes, especially the circle, similar in spirit to the Bauhaus design style of the period. It was developed as a typeface by the Bauer Type Foundry, in competition with Ludwig & Mayer’s seminal Erbar typeface of 1926.
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Futura has an appearance of efficiency and forwardness. Although Renner’s design rejected the approach of most previous sans-serif designs (now often called grotesques), which were based on the models of signpainting, condensed lettering and nineteenthcentury serif typefaces, in favour of simple geometric forms: near-perfect circles, triangles and squares. It is based on strokes of near-even weight, which are low in contrast.” Source: Burke, C. (1998). Paul Renner: The art of typography. London: Hyphen.
ABC DE FGHIJKLMONPQRSTUVWXYZ abc defghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789#$&@
A BCDEFG HIJKLMONPQR S T U VWXY Z a bcdefghi jklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789# $ &@
ABC DEFG HIJKLMONPQ RS T UVWX Y Z abcdefghi jklmnopqrs t uvwx yz 0123 456789# $& @
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DESIGN CHOICES WHITE SPACE I used white space in my design to help create a modern and simple design. White space also helps creating a more organized and appealing layout design. QUOTE DESIGNS I wanted to further an authentic feel for the book by adding lettering designs of quotes throughout the journal. Though quotes can be overused sometimes, I liked the idea of quotes breaking up the layout design. I chose some inspirational quotes and some funny quotes. All the quotes reference growing up and becoming an adult, so they relate to my target audience. One of the quote designs I used can be seen on the right. HANDLETTERING I added lettering elements to the journal to add an authentic touch. I wanted there to be a playful but classy theme to the journal which is why I chose to letter in a script pattern for most of the lettered quotes and headings. 42 | ADULT STEPS: PROCESS BOOK
Example of a lettered quote that can be found in the journal to break up the sections.
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FINAL PRODUCT
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05 REFLECTION
REFLECTION & NEXT STEPS In preparing this journal there are some things I would do differently. I would start with more research and longer surveys to my target audience. I feel like I did an adequate amount of market research to make sure this journal will have a place in the market, but I do not feel like there is enough information I attained about what the target market would like to see in this journal. I want to continue to research the user experience of the book. I want to make sure the layout and order of the parts of the journal are organized in an understandable way. Another part of preparing the journal that I would change is my project management. Though I was able to get a first journal draft complete on time, I wish the journal was more complete. Though, I do wish to use the Senior Showcase where this journal will be presented to help gather more information about the journal. Another thing I would like to change about the book is how it was bound. I chose to bind it as a perfect bound 48 | ADULT STEPS: PROCESS BOOK
book because it was a cheaper method and I wanted to make this book affordable to many people. I think spiral binding the book would be easier for users to write in the book. I think what went well about creating this journal was figuring out that there was a market for this journal. Not only did I want to create this journal because it is something that is close to me, but I was able to do research by surveys and social media and I got a positive reaction that my target market was very interested in purchasing something like this. After finishing up the quarter, I plan to continue my book. I want to keep working on the layout and content of the journal and I hope to someday put this journal on the market.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to my mentors and everyone who participated in the survey or gathering of research for the journal. HUGE thank you to Elizabeth Swastek who came up with this idea and let me take the reigns on making it a reality.