Synopsis
I was tasked with designing the monthly newsletter for the quilting machine manufacturer, The Grace Company. I initially worked with another designer to establish the style guide and revise the previous layout.
After a few editions I was the sole designer for the project, but I continued to seek feedback from the other designer and the rest of the team. This team included a marketing director, a project manager, and a developer.
Making It Responsive
Throughout the 11 months I worked on the newsletter I brought about various improvements with each new edition. When I started on the project there was only a desktop version of the newsletter. I proposed creating a mobile-friendly version and I designed and incorporated that into the remaining editions.
Improving Accessibility
Another improvement was increasing the accessibility of the newsletter. Our target audience was generally older so we increased the size of the typography to help with readability. We also made links more accessible by changing them from the URL to a title describing each link. This made them clearer and also assisted people with vision impairment using screen readers.
Time Frame: 11 Months (2018 - 2019)
Desktop Newsletter
Mobile Newsletter
Challenges
Meeting Deadlines
One challenge our team faced initially was scrambling to get the newsletter done by the end of the month. Due to a lack of established deadlines we were rushing to finish on time.
Solution — Creating a Schedule
The team held a strategy session to create internal deadlines for each department so that the project would flow more smoothly. I created a document outlining each deadline. Going forward we were able to finish the newsletter a week before it needed to be published. This allowed us a buffer in case we had to make any last-minute changes.
What I Learned
It was a great opportunity to work on a single product for such a long period of time. Because there was a new edition of the newsletter each month, our team was able to make iterative changes. I felt like every month the newsletter was getting better and our team was getting more efficient at delivering it.
Teamwork
I learned a lot about teamwork throughout this project. Every month required each member of the team to produce content. We depended on each other in order to be successful.
Communication and Taking Criticism
I had to clearly communicate with each member of the team. I had to be willing to take criticism on my designs in order to make them better. I also had to tactfully point out to the developers any problems with the implementation not matching the design until they were resolved. This project greatly improved my abilities to work successfully with a team.