Event Program: Developed in Canva Pro

Context

In summer of 2022, I coordinated a regional hospital’s high school volunteer program. This position required direct supervision of the Junior Volunteers, along with creating their individualized schedules and coordinating staff/department shadowing opportunities. To celebrate a wonderful summer of volunteer work, I planned the annual Recognition Night for the Junior Volunteers, families, friends, hospital staff, and program sponsors. This portfolio deliverable is the Recognition Night program that was given out to roughly 80 attendees. I utilized an existing Canva Pro template and modified its textual layout and colors as I saw fitting. Using a template over an original design was intended to save time, but I was also curious if the program’s “customizable” options would fit my initial audience and design preferences. 

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Rhetorical Strategies

Before starting to design the event program, I examined previous programs to get a sense of their textual elements, page layout, and color scheme. Each previous program incorporated the hospital’s colors, navy blue and white, in different capacities. In order for the text to be fully legible on my program, I decided to make the central colors bright blue and white. I also intended to highlight the navy blue that is incorporated in the hospital’s logo. With that being said, the hospital’s logo and sponsor’s logo are positioned at the top of the program’s front page for added emphasis. Each page of the program is meant to be read in a downward motion, establishing a textual hierarchy (except for the “2022 Junior Volunteers” page, which was listed in alphabetical order). The order of the pages also follows a hierarchy, with the rhetorical questions of “who,” “what”, “where”, and “when” addressed on the first page, with the remaining pages following the order of the Recognition Night proceedings. Within the text itself, I spent time trying to strike a balance between bolded/unbolded fonts and text sizes. Certain information needed to be prioritized for reader comprehension, and I needed to anticipate that text skimming would occur.

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The “Special Recognition” page is the most text-heavy, and it also took the longest chunk of time to compose. One third of the Junior Volunteers received awards, so I took care to create award names and descriptions that reflected exemplary volunteer behavior throughout the summer. This page is arguably the most rhetorical savvy, since I needed to show the attendees why that particular Junior Volunteer was highly deserving out of the entire group. I prioritized word choice, especially action verbs such as “consistently demonstrated” and “radiated” that would place emphasis on actions and behaviors. These action verbs were also paired with adjectives that distinguished one award from another. Overall, word choice was the best rhetorical mechanism to implement because it addresses the strengths of the award recipient within the Junior Volunteer Program’s opportunities/events.

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Reflection

By working on the event program for Recognition Night, I was able to explore the limitations within an existing design while creating opportunities to insert my own stylistic vision. All of my previous design projects were completed by hand with the help of an Adobe Creative Program. So, this deliverable gave me practice working with an “existing” piece of work while still taking creative ownership. I may be asked to collaborate on projects in the workplace or perhaps jump onto another staffer’s existing project. The skills that I have garnered within the event program design process may be applicable to these real-world situations.