DESIGNING EFFECTIVE PROPOSALS THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO DESIGN PROPOSALS PEOPLE WANT TO READ PRESENTERS: Jessica Brassard / Michigan Technological University Michael Northrop / Arizona State University Tobin Spratte / Arizona State University
SYNOPSIS
T
hanks for joining us! This workshop will be interactive. We will be discussing tools and tactics for creating distinctive proposals and other research documents. We will create figures, illustrations and diagrams. Throughout the workshop, we will cycle through active conversation, creation, editing, review activities. The team places an emphasis on ease-of-creation, aesthetics, and functionality so you can employ the skills without special software. We will overview graphic design principles to build spatial awareness. We will also cover advanced document formatting including tasteful margins, whitespace, image borders, distance between lines (leading), and typeface. The workshop is designed to allow participants to use their preferred word processing and slide presentation software on their own devices. Let’s get started!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I: CONTEXT
PART III: SKILLS
3
We are in the information age.
11
Sourcing and creating visuals
3
Enter the Concept Paper. A Model of Typical Content.
14
Hands-on: Pick an image to build your own figure
4
Understanding Your Reactions
14
How to properly credit images
PART II: THINKING VISUALLY
15
6
Graphic design fundamentals
Image file types and proper insertion
9
Examples: what do we like and why?
16
Concept paper edit
16
10
Visual note-taking and visual meetings
InDesign demo: common aspects of design tools
10 MIN BREAK
10 MIN BREAK
PART IV: FEEDBACK
PART V: VIDEOS AND THE FUTURE OF PROPOSALS
PART VI: CONCLUSION
30 min total 10 min
PART I: CONTEXT We are in the information age. The Internet has transformed human communication and disrupted public culture the same way the printing press did. Easy access to knowledge about anything and everything has created an information tsunami, causing people to take shortcuts to ingesting and
10 min
Enter the Concept Paper. A Model for Typical Content. See electronic file and seperate handout for a draft concept paper.
digesting information and changing the way we present it. We must now write and illustrate persuasive proposals for an audience with brief, selective attention spans who only read about 20 percent of any given text.
GROUP DISCUSSION: • How do you feel or think about this? • How would you improve it? • Is it effective as it is? • What does “effective” mean to you? This same concept paper will be used throughout the workshop. We will iterate on it in a few different ways.
10 min
Understanding Your Reactions Think about how you reacted to the concept paper in the last discussion. Why is it that you might have responded in a positive, negative, or indifferent way? The world of design is filled with expertise regarding the intentional delivery of information, features, opinions, and products. Sub-specialties in information design, information design, user experience (or UX) design, and product design shape our physical and digital worlds. UX designers and product designers are especially concerned with learning how user groups respond to products. At least, they should be.
Design of Everyday Things Donald A. Norman, ISBN: 0465067107 This book, originally published in 1988 and revised in 2008, has been a foundational text for designers of software electronics, cars, and the built world.
A Norman door is a poorly designed door that confuses or fails to give you an idea whether to push or pull. It was named after Don Norman, the author of The Design of Everyday Things which explored the phenomenon. Source: www.ucreative.com/articles/pushor-pull-norman-doors-and-designing-for-humans/ Photo source: https://www.specialmodernblog.com/2018/01/bad-doors/
Similar to PIs who are attached a research idea, sometimes designers can get carried away in a part of their design. An example of this happening in the world is called a “Norman Door.�
The Art of Rhetoric Aristotle, ISBN: 0140445102 In this classic, Aristotle argues that persuading others requires appealing to their emotions, to their reason, and to your character.
CRAIG SLIST
A MA Z O N
S i mple i nterface. Box desi gn. N o f ri lls.
Polished. Visual interface. Built for the buyer.
MA & P A
NA TIO NA L BRA ND
TH I RSTY?
To convince agencies and organizations to fund you, you must persuade people to fund you. Unfortunately, people are rarely rational or economical. You must appeal to their visceral nature and always ask yourself as you develop a proposal: What’s in it for them?
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
Daniel Kahneman, ISBN: 0374275637
Robert B. Cialdini, ISBN: 006124189X
Trained as a psychologist, Kahneman won a Nobel prize in economics for prospect theory—or how people choose between probable alternatives involving risk when outcomes are uncertain. This book summarizes his decades of research on how people think and make decisions.
30 min total
10 min
Cialdini outlines six principles used by car dealers, fund raisers, and salespeople in persuading others: reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity.
PART II: THINKING VISUALLY Graphic design fundamentals Color: the aspect of the appearance of objects and light sources that may be described in terms of hue, lightness, and saturation Balance: the symmetrical or asymmetrical arrangement of objects to create visual weight Rhythm: the repetition or alteration of elements to create movement, pattern, or texture Proportion: the comparison of dimensions or distribution of form where scale is relational
Dominance: emphasis is placed on relationships of scaled design elements Unity: the relationship between individual elements to create wholeness Repetition of form: development of a cohesive balance within a single graphic or multiple graphics. Color, shape and style are examples of repetition of form. Aesthetics: Pleasant or intriguing aspects that cause the graphic to be remembered in a valuable light
10 min
Examples: what do we like and why? Let’s look at some examples. What do you notice first as you consider each of these examples? What do you like? What don’t you like? Why?
15 min
Visual note-taking and visual meetings Let’s talk about a hypothetical problem space, though it is a reality for many of us. As we talk about this problem space, we are going to exercise our visual skills through note-taking.
GROUP BRAINSTORM:

We are going to brainstorm solutions as a group. Jess will serve as the visual note-taker. Problem: Meetings over a distance. Feel free to take your own visual notes:
The Aesthetic Brain: How We Evolved to Desire Beauty and Enjoy Art Anjan Chatterjee, ISBN: 0199811806
Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative Edward Tufte, ISBN: 0961392126
Beautiful Evidence Edward Tufte, ISBN: 0961392177
Visual Meetings: How Graphics, Sticky Notes & Idea Mapping Can Transform Group Productivity David Sibbet, ISBN: 0961392177
10 MIN BREAK 90 min total 30 min
PART III: SKILLS Sourcing and creating visuals
Shutterstock.com
Unsplash.com
Freepik.com
SUB SC R IPTION
FRE E
FRE E
CreativeMarket.com
Your marketing and communications unit
Your smart phone
FR EE / PAY PER ITEM
FRE E !
20 min
Hands-on: Pick an image to build your own figure Choose some text in the concept paper that you think would translate to a good visual. Start creating the
5 min
visual as an individual, then we will transition to group creation.
IN DIV ID UAL CREA TIO N
GRO UP C REA TIO N
10 minutes
10 minutes
Play around and create an image or figure using what you just learned.
Look at the images and figures that were created by the people in your group. As a group, select elements to incorporate into a group image or figure. Try not to default to just one person’s design.
How to properly credit images Ask the source. They will almost always have a preference. Creative Commons does not always equal free for use. It is a structure for people to control the open access of their work in the reality of sharing content across the globe. Creative Commons Licensing types (from the CC website: https:// creativecommons.org/share-yourwork/licensing-types-examples/) The following describes each of the six main licenses offered when you choose to publish your work with a Creative Commons license. We have listed them starting with the most accommodating license type you can choose and ending with the most restrictive license type you can choose. Creators choose a set of conditions they wish to apply to their work. Attribution (by) All CC licenses require that others who use your work in any way must give you credit the way you
request, but not in a way that suggests you endorse them or their use. If they want to use your work without giving you credit or for endorsement purposes, they must get your permission first. ShareAlike (sa) You let others copy, distribute, display, perform, and modify your work, as long as they distribute any modified work on the same terms. If they want to distribute modified works under other terms, they must get your permission first. NonCommercial (nc) You let others copy, distribute, display, perform, and (unless you have chosen NoDerivatives) modify and
use your work for any purpose other than commercially unless they get your permission first. NoDerivatives (nd) You let others copy, distribute, display and perform only original copies of your work. If they want to
5 min
modify your work, they must get your permission first. For examples: https:// creativecommons.org/shareyour-work/licensing-typesexamples/licensing-examples/
Image file types and proper insertion Not all figures are equally useful. Lo-res and hi-res images: Each have appropriate goals and situations. JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) Originally designed as a format to store digital photography, it has expanded to include graphics. It uses compression to keep file sizes small. Can be any resolution. 300 DPI is high res and reproduces well in print. 72 DPI is low-res and looks good on your monitor but appears blurry or fuzzy when printed. PNG (Personal Network Graphic) Used primarily for online and PowerPoint presentations. PNGs can be made to have a transparent background. This allows the image to be placed on top of an image without the appearance of a white box around the graphic. The PNG file can vary in resolution from low to high. It is compressed but still can be a quite large file size due to the transparency feature. File size is also directly related to image
size: a 2x3 inch PNG will have a file size much smaller than the same image as an 8x10.
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) Can be a static or animated graphic. Typical GIFs are 256 color and often appear blocky or grainy. Not advisable to use this format for presentation or proposal. TIFF (Tag Image File Format) Used to store photographs as high-resolution with no visible loss of quality. These files are not compatible with Word or PowerPoint.
20 min
5 min
Concept paper edit THINK ABOUT: • Adjusting margins, leading, and paragraph spacing. • Adding heading styles • Changing the style of the table • Adding the figures you’ve worked on
IN DIV ID UAL CREA TIO N
GRO UP C REA TIO N
5 minutes
15 minutes
As individuals, take your copy of the concept paper and begin to edit it using your own skills and aesthetic sensibilities.
As a group, decide which elements from the individual concept paper drafts should be submitted for consideration.
InDesign demo: common aspects of design tools While Michael is giving the InDesign demo, work as a group to save one concept paper as a PDF to the Google Drive.
10 MIN BREAK
During the break, concept paper designs will be displayed for you to consider and think about. Form some responses. Write down some of your thoughts
30 min total
PART IV: FEEDBACK GROUP DISCUSSION: Group critique of the participant concept paper progress.
10 min total
5 min total
PART V: VIDEOS AND THE FUTURE OF PROPOSALS PART VI: CONCLUSION