This page shows a few examples of how I have used my creativity and technical know-how to produce attractive designs and improve on existing functionality.
Induction Pack
Capita Children’s Services asked me design their induction pack folder for new employees. Using the company colours and approved imagery, I produced this clean, attractive design on a die-cut template that I sourced from the Internet.
SIMS Documentation Centre
Until I joined Capita Children’s Services, SIMS users had three choices when it came to accessing the handbooks. They had to navigate to a folder on their hard drive and find the PDF, they could search on the support website or they could access this PDF that contained links to the files from within the software:
Before
I designed a system of menus, produced in Adobe Illustrator and converted to PDF to provide interactivity that enables users to search for documentation by category or alphabetically. I also implemented a text search capability. The result is a well-received, popular system enabling users to easily find the documentation they need. The Documentation Centre also provides access to a range of additional documentation including video tutorials and quick reference sheets. Every menu screen contains links to the SIMS product and customer support websites, plus a link to email the Publications team directly. As a parallel project, I also created an HTML version as a proof of concept.
After
What’s New Page
When users upgrade to a new version of SIMS, they are presented with a graphical PDF describing some of the new features that have been delivered. The What’s New Page was beginning to look dated and needed bringing up-to-date with the new branding of Capita Children’s Services products that was introduced in 2009.
Before
Instead of naming the releases after the month in which they were delivered, Capita Children’s Services moved to a system of naming releases after the season. I designed a set of What’s New Pages, each with its own use of the company colour scheme and approved imagery. I created a new Word template to make it easier to create and publish the What’s New Page and, using PDFMark technology, built interactivity into the Word template automatically provide interactive navigation, print and close functionality upon conversion to PDF. The final touch was to provide links from descriptions of new module functionality to the relevant part of the relevant handbook.
After
Top Up Support Flyer
Capita Children’s Services asked me to refresh the promotional flyer for their Top Up Support service. The pricing information had become obsolete and it was seen as a good opportunity to improve the document’s appearance.
Before
I updated the text to increase its persuasiveness whilst also making it more concise and easier to read. Customers are used to receiving documentation from Capita Children’s Services in the traditional blue corporate colours, so I chose a different colour scheme from the approved palette to make the document more eye catching. Finally, I chose a landscape layout to further enhance the flyer’s visual impact and provide more space for the information.
After