Purpose behind the technical piece
Adventurer Instructions: Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors is a technical document and writing sample that showcases my procedural, creative, and layout design skills.
I chose the fictional Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors as my instructional landscape to try and remove any predictable elements from the tasks at hand. Since most of us aren’t tasked with retrieving ancient relics from booby-trapped sites, I wanted the audience to wholly depend on the document as a complete source of truth.
I acknowledge that this isn’t fully psychologically possible since the human brain is a fascinating and deep trove of conscious and subconscious knowledge. In that case, some “filling in the gaps” is bound to happen. Yet, I set myself this challenge to make the Adventurer Instructions as helpful and easy to use as possible.
Plus, it seemed like a fun idea.
Abilities on display
It wasn’t enough for me to jot out a series of steps for my audience to follow. Writing is an undeniably powerful tool for information exchange, but sometimes text that lacks strategy can be . . . boring. How many of us have daydreamed about lunch or the perfect holiday when faced with dry, spiritless words, or realised with mild yet sleepy alarm that we’ve been absent-mindedly re-reading the same complicated sentence? I’m not so arrogant to assume that my Adventurer Instructions won’t glaze over a few sets of eyes. However, to help fuel the learning process, I adopted the below approaches:
Used purposeful writing to engage my audience and avoid wasting their time
Presented complex concepts in simple language to support concentration and reduce mental effort
Sourced and harnessed graphics to boost learning and create a skim-friendly reading experience
Focused on clear page and document layout to make information easily-accessible
Crafted interactive elements to speed up document navigation
I put myself in my audience's shoes and also remembered the times I had to follow manuals. Whether it was assembling furniture, figuring out how to use a new device, or even following a recipe, the instructions were a means to an end. I needed them to accomplish a goal. My most frustrating user experiences have been when the instructions were unclear, turning them into an additional task I had to complete before even getting close to the original goal at hand. I surely can't be alone in this experience, so I channelled my previous dissatisfactions in an aim to create a guide that was helpful and didn't introduce additional stresses to my audience (being chased by a boulder is stressful enough).
Learning how to properly execute a push up is similar to learning how to retrieve an ancient artefact. Both scenarios include people with little to no knowledge on a topic and who require precise guidance; they're seeking actionable help to improve their lives and achieve a goal. Therefore, requiring clear and relevant instructions is a need that bridges the gap between the Adventurers of my technical piece and everyday users facing
novel challenges.
Design resources
Simply put, these are the design tools I used to break up the text, convey meaning, and help with document navigation. I subscribe to them as part of my business, making client collaboration easier.
InDesign (document layout and interactive elements)
Illustrator (vector handling)
Adobe Stock (image sourcing)
Target audiences
This writing sample speaks to clients who need support with crafting informational, engaging, and process-driven communications. Educating and guiding their audience would be a key deliverable, whether such an audience is external, internal, or both. The skills I’ve demonstrated in the Adventurer Instructions would support the effective information exchange required of manuals, handbooks, case studies, capability statements, and tender proposals.
" Learning how to properly execute a push up is similar to learning how to retrieve an ancient artefact "
Client benefits
Whether for a gaming company or construction contractor, copywriting agency or tech developer, my abilities captured in the Adventurer Instructions provide the below client benefits:
Senior-level content development skills at reduced overhead costs
Dedicated and nimble capacity that reduces time-consuming bureaucracy
Additional resource for small teams or busy periods
Content development and layout design experience that fill skills gaps
Seamless collaboration and additional savings by leveraging my subscriptions to industry-leading content creation software (Microsoft Office, Creative Cloud Apps, and Adobe Stock)
This case study has been a wonderful opportunity for me to share my offering. However, I’m here to help, and it would be great to see how our collaboration can boost your messaging needs.