Midterm Proposal

I have written many posts and tweets as a different persona than the one I chose for this class. As the Sheetwise Designer I have written about graphic design and the tips and tricks that I have learned in my career. Because I needed to create an anonymous persona for this class, I wanted to stick to what I know (graphic design) but find a different angle than my existing online presence.

As The Design Shrink I sought to tell my personal struggles in the design industry. I wanted to bring solace to those designers who find themselves burned out and angry in an unforgiving profession. I was once a burned out and angry designer. It took me a long time to gain confidence in my work and I have struggled to show that confidence in my writing. In the few posts that I am personally happy with as The Design Shrink, I discovered that I might one day be good at telling the stories of my own personal journey.

Unfortunately, through our last assignment of searching for alternative publishing opportunities for The Design Shrink, I discovered that my persona as The Design Shrink doesn’t have a focus that would garner many readers as an online presence should. I focused on writing about my own experiences as a designer and have realized that my experiences aren’t interesting enough to propel The Design Shrink into legendary status. Maybe one day, when I have 40 years under my belt, The Design Shrink will re-surface and write an entire book detailing my adventures. But for now, The Design Shrink must be retired.

I am now left with a quandary. I am well versed the field of graphic design and could write post after post about the knowledge I have gained, but I would like to test the waters in writing about a completely different field of interest. I am in the process of building an interactive kayaking trip report website focused on filming and documenting overnight kayaking/camping trips throughout the country. I have been gathering information and filming some of the trips I have taken already, but have yet to launch any online presence for the website.

I propose to write as Paddle Savvy in an effort to jump start our online presence in anticipation of the future website.

Paddle Savvy will be an outlet for kayakers looking for a river they have yet to paddle. The website will focus on safety and providing information that is currently difficult to come by. PaddleSavvy.com will provide one place for all of the information needed for over-night kayaking trips. Kayakers will be able to find the water levels for rivers, where to put in and take out, and where safe parking areas are for overnight parking. The proposed trip reports will include videos of the trips where possible, maps and written reports detailing any issues that could be encountered along the way.

My online persona for the second half of this semester will focus on garnering interest in overnight kayaking/camping trips, and writing trip reports for those rivers I have already traveled.

My writing has improved with practice and I think I am ready to launch the early stages of PaddleSavvy.com.