Week 10 - Report Log

Hello All,

Hope you all had a good week after Spring Break, although most of us were probably working.

During the past week, I had to decide whether to produce the brochure for my translation services business in a trifold format or a booklet. Since I wanted to step out of the box and have some different than a trifold, I considered other options such as a small booklet, but realized that this would most likely become an expensive option for printing. Finally, I decided on a trifold that will be included in sort of a fancy packet but that I can also send by mail if necessary. I would have never thought that coming up with these decisions would be so complicated.

Another decision I made after looking at other translators' websites (although these were mostly companies) is that the brochure will be available online but in the form of slides, for readability purposes.

I am putting together the reviews I received and will improve the flyer per the suggestions of my peers.

Additionally, I continue working on the content for the brochure, which is not an easy task. Deciding what to include is key to interest potential clients, and I want to produce something that has useful information and is pleasant to review at the same time.

Wishing you all a productive week.

Liliana

Report Week#9 - Productive as a Working Bee

Good morning to all!

Aside from working on the drafts for the two fliers that will be used to announce a presentation on the translation industry, I started to work on the brochuer. This is a very important item of the marketing packet because it will be printed, and therefore, become a more permanent marketing tool for my translation services. I am working on the thumbnails and making decisions on whether or not to include some kind of picture. I would not like to include a picture, although some people do it, because I don't think it reflects my work (I am not a PR person). In any event, something to ponder over the week. The good thing is that the color palette is final, and I will continue to play with the background I have created. I am still wanting to find out printing possibilities. It looks like it would be quite expensive to do a green printing right now, but at least I can find out what it takes and design accordingly (for when I am a successfull translator/technical writer making big bucks!).

When designing the flyers, the most difficult thing is deciding on the layout and what information to include. I felt like if I did not give enough information, people would not be interested in atttending. However, I got valuable feedback on my work, and I am working on improving the appearance of the flyer. I was not able to obtain feedback on the flyer prepared for presentations before students. One thing I can say is that it never turns out the way I pictured in my mind.

Though I do not enjoy the luxury of Spring Break, I hope there will be less students showing up (and parents calling!) to see their advisors, so that I am not that tired when I get home from work. I am looking forward to watch couple more tutorials throughout the week on my beautiful 22in screen... feels like I am watching a movie!

Happy Spring Break!

Liliana

"The purpose of our lives is to be happy." -Dalai Lama

Photo: Working Bee (c) Anthony Criego 2009

Week#8 - Update

Hello all,

The past week was productive in terms of tutorials and I also worked on thumbnails for the brochure and inserts. It was particularly useful to learn about Copyright issues; I will be taking a TWC course related to this matter during the fall. My impression is that it will always be kind of complicated to keep up with all the copyright information because of the way online communication tools are evolving.

Nothing went wrong the week... other than I am not completely happy with my designs. I guess getting feedback from peers during this week will help me see what I'm not seeing that makes me feel uncomfortable with my designs. I still have some time to tweak them before Wednesday.

So, the goals for this week is to continue working with the tutorials, polish the designs I am working on, and provide editorial review for some of my peers' designs/projects.

I wish you all a creative and productive week!

Liliana

Week #7 - Report Log

Hello all!

Well - it's been an interesting week for me... and not for good reasons.

Before the computer catastrophe started, I was able to go through part of Nigel's tutorial on how to design a brochure. He gives great tips that go way beyond designing. For example, he recommends to make thumbnails or sketches of the brochure (or whatever document we will be working on) and addressing printing and budget issues. It is important to consider these before we start designing to avoid using images or working on a fancy design that may not print as expected. He also recommends to request a pre-press of the document.

He also makes a wise observation: that if we are working on a document for a non-profit, a glossy or fancy look would probably be a red flag for potential contributors: audience consideration is of the essence.

I was able to work on two designs for a business card (one pictured on the side) and on one for a letterhead. They may not be the final versions, and will continue to work on those, and see how they work as I develop other documents.

On another note, I appreciate reviewing fellow students' posts, as there's always something to learn from those. Also, interesting designs.

For this week: I will continue to work on layouts for brochure, and watch tutorials on color and typography. Of course, the posting on this week's reading is on the list as well. Learning about Copyright issues is fundamental; from what I have reviewed, it is a complicated subject.

Have a great week everyone!

Lili

"Challenges bring opportunities."