Welcome to my portfolio. See samples of my work. Read about my approach to design, writing, training and instructional design. Contact me with ideas about work, thoughts, and play. Most of all, enjoy your visit.
I like the early part of the writing process: researching, identifying the target audiences and their needs, and meshing the needs with the message. Then comes the gruelling middle part, choosing exactly the right words. I try, as Elmore Leonard advises, to leave out the parts that people skip. The reward for all this is what keeps me writing—the editing!
Writing projects include annual reports, newsletters, brochures, promotional materials, and magazine articles. Editing examples: Web pages, a memoir, a mystery novel, and countless business reports. Also...
Scripts
- Manifest Destiny, a musical about the War of 1812, (book & lyrics by yours truly; music by composer Steve Pratt)
- Millennium Madness, a turn-of-the-century caper (15 min.), Winner of CBC Radio's Ontario Today competition
- His Waterloo, satire on water quality in Ontario (15 min.), Honorable Mention of CBC Radio's Ontario Today competition
- Volunteering, for the Canadian Diabetes Association (13 min.)
- Inspired by Memories, Ignited by Hope, co-authored retrospective of the Huntington Society of Canada (20 min.)
- Scandals? We Don't Got No Stinking Scandals, a book about Canadian political scandals, 1867-2005
Online Writing
- The Audiocast Diaries: Reflections on radio and podcasting for delivery of educational soap operas, an academic paper published in the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning
- Articles on history and travel at Suite 101
- Many online learning courses for automotive, education and health organizations. See instructional design below
This mantra of The Bauhaus, a design and architectural school founded by Walter Gropius in 1918, sums up my approach to design: out of purpose and function comes the visual and creative form. It challenges me
to work harder, smarter and more ingeniously to serve my clients, most of whom deal with tight budgets.
I produce graphic designs, mixed and multimedia with Adobe Photoshop, CorelDraw, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, InDesign, Premiere, Flash, and Audacity. To see a sample of my website design, check out Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research.
Adult education relies on the combined efforts of the teacher and the learner. I try to be "the sage on the stage" or a "guide on the side" (Burge & Roberts), "almost silent, but watchful and helpful" (Davies). My teaching, training, instructing, coaching gigs include:
- Mohawk College, Image Editing & Creative Applications courses
- Fanshawe College, Web design course
- Humber College, fundraising course
- Productivity Point International, software classes
- Computer Coach, software classes
- East York Learning Experience, ESL and literacy tutoring
- Welcome Inn, business plans sessions
- Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO), volunteer consultancies
- Alliance for International Women's Rights, volunteer ESL tutor
Instructional design is a systematic approach to course development. It is an interactive, iterative process which requires ongoing feedback and evaluation. I work with subject matter experts to produce effective, engaging, and efficient instruction: online learning programs, print materials, presentations, and mixed media.
Only unlinked screenshots to the online learning courses I designed are available, due to the privacy policies of my clients.
| Fanshawe College design & publishing |
Davita, Inc. government compliance |
Hyundai Auto customer loyalty |
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| Ford of Canada customer service |
Retirement Education Centre |
Nelson Thomson ESL grammar |
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Other clients for print, design, and mixed media instruction include:
- Hyundai Auto Canada: several departmental processes
- Audi Canada: departmental manuals
- Volkswagen of America service training eLearning course
- Volkswagen Canada: training materials
- Stepping Stones: learning the Cree language (CD)
- Friends of Bon Echo Park: retail train-the-trainer
- Mississippi Valley Conservation: database manual
Listen to the Part 1 podcast of Breathe In, Breathe Out, a 10-episode educational soap opera about the evils of teen smoking.
In the movie, Sea of Love, Al Pacino explains to his boss that when people are playing the getting-to-know-you game, they haul out all their best stuff and show off. "You know," he says, "...the Wonder of Me." This site represents my best stuff.
As a lifelong learner, I've collected my share of degrees, diplomas and certificates:
- graphic design, University of Manitoba
- fine arts, University of Guelph (BA)
- leisure services, Malaspina University College (dip.)
- arts administration, Banff Centre School of Management (cert.)
- French immersion, University of Western Ontario (cert.)
- TESL, Queen's University (cert.)
- distance education, Athabasca University (MDE)
I love my family, my friends, my country, and doing neat things, such as searching for my gggggrandfather, Obadiah Taylor and other ancestors (genealogy), travel, photography, walking, yoga, swimming, volunteering, and did I mention travel?
I'm always interested in talking about challenging projects to work on, either face-to-face in Canada's Golden Horseshoe area, or virtually anywhere in the world. Of course, if you pay my way, I'll gladly come to your part of the world, too.
Call me on my land line at 01.519.770.0369
Or drop me a line at welliott@golden.net
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My guiding design principles:
Occam's Razor and KISS.
Last updated June 23, 2011