MA in WRD courses offer students both theoretical and practical knowledge in a wide array of subject matter. As the Autumn Quarter ends, students enrolled in WRD 320/WRD 524: Document Design were happy to share some of their final projects that demonstrate this intersection of theoretical knowledge meeting practical application.
Cross-listed for both undergraduate and graduate students and taught by Assosciate Professor and Chair Antonio Ceraso,
This course [is] a theoretical, historical, and practical exploration of new media and print document design… which examine[s] the subject from a rhetorical perspective, attending to the complex relationships between the design of written texts and users’ experience of them.
From the syllabus
Below, find a selection of students’ work, paired with their design rationale in their own words.
Emma Fantaccione
For my final Document Design project, I chose to redesign two of the many menus present at the steakhouse where I work. The establishment has been around for almost 30 years, and the current menus have a dated look with inconsistent design and typography choices. In my redesign, I aimed to bring the menu into 2019 by trimming and reorganizing the information and using a mix of serif and sans-serif fonts.
The final look is pretty lean with minimalist design and a focus on consistency. My hope is that it’s much easier for customers to read and navigate in the restaurant’s dim lighting so they can focus on their meal/date/phone instead of the menu. Sometimes, less really is more. (Except when it comes to mashed potatoes. Bring on the steakhouse-sized portions of whipped bliss!)
Delaney Morrison
For my final project I selected the Student Leader Vincentian Heritage Tour brochure. This brochure is used as marketing and informational material for both those interested in the trip and those who have been selected for the trip. The trip itself is through the Division of Mission and Ministry’s Meet Me at the Mission: Vincentian Heritage Initiative. This redesign was crafted in Adobe InDesign using text from the original document (as well as supplementary materials not originally included), original high-quality images from student participants from the 2017-2019 trips, and it follows the Division of Mission and Ministry’s branding guidelines. The original document lacked overall cohesion, did not follow the branding guidelines, and was missing crucial information for those interested/attending the tour.
This brochure serves as an opportunity to intervene into the student experience at DePaul by providing them with a unique study abroad opportunity directly tied to the university’s unique mission. Its purpose is to inform those interested in applying – as well as those who have been accepted – of the details of the trip itself. It goes through an overview of the application process, program requirements, highlights, and day-to-day agendas.
Ekram Othman
My project is a redesign of the MA in WRD Student Handbook. I chose to work on it because it needed to be more engaging, while providing students information about the program. Many did not know the handbook existed. I based my redesign on usability testing. I learned from the testing that students felt the document was text heavy, not compelling, and in some areas, confusing. I tried to clarify the information, rearranged, regrouped, and reorganized sections.
I updated with color, and shapes to highlight information, added icons to make it more interesting. I also made it two-columns instead of one long page of straight text. The columns helped add white space and made the pages easier to skim and scan because the hierarchy of information was made clear. There is more contrast, better alignment, repetitive shapes and colors to make things clear and familiar. I also made sure related information was in close proximity to one another and that hyperlinks worked.