Fixing a novice document design issue

When it comes to document design, it's an interest of mine and I'm passionate about it. I think of how useful the document is to the end user when I'm either creating or updating a document.

A few months ago, when I looked at a document that a fellow colleague was working on, she had repeated the service that she was documenting in the title of every page. I asked her why she did that. She told me that her team lead, the diva, told her to.

Ugh. That's poor document design. It's pretty clear that you're in a document talking about the service. Why have it as a prefix for the title of each page that you have? You're taking the user read the same prefix over and over. Is that practical or helpful? No.

Her argument was that it was a best practice from a previous solution that she worked on. Um, no. Your page titles needs to be meaningful, but not monotonous and redundant.

My manager sent her a request to fix this issue in multiple documents. 

I'm such an advocate for the end user. This person wants answers immediately when looking at a document. It's not happening with unnecessary fluff.

My colleague had brought up this issue, but the diva was adamant that she was right. The issue is that the diva doesn't come from a writing background and it shows here. Our colleague does. I do, too.

The other sad thing is that she has been a writer on our team for seven or eight years now. She hasn't caught on.

Spreadsheet hell

I have been writing two new documents for work. They are based on two spreadsheets that are horribly designed.

This person interchanges the software product's name and the software company's name. On top of that, she has merged a bunch of columns, so it's difficult to comprehend. Ugh!

Finally, this person repeats the same list of software products for every software release that our company does. Yet, the list is supposed to reflect a specific release. Huh? It's such a waste of time going through each software release because the versions rarely change.

I am nearly done with this set of spreadsheets for the previous release. I am expecting a new set this week. I have a feeling that they will look equally horrible because this person hasn't bothered to make her spreadsheets meaningful and useful. Instead, it's a dumping ground for her data.

Super glue and poor design

For a while, one of the rubber feet on my work laptop constantly falls off. As a temporary solution, I glued it back with nail polish. It works for a few months before I need to reapply it. I knew that I needed to get some super glue soon.

I went to the dollar store on the weekend and picked up a tube. The rubber foot is drying nicely as I type.

The weird thing about the super glue is that it came in a cylindrical container. The glue and the tip were separate when I got them. After screwing on the tip with the lid and using it, the glue does not fit in the container anymore.

Poor design. I'm not about to unscrew the tip and have super glue all over me. Instead, I had an empty mason jar that is now the super glue's new home.

Web site and blog design, along with reducing apps

I have briefly mentioned a side project that I am working on with a handful of people. The person behind this project, whom is my friend, said that he had set up the Web site. I have been writing and feeding him content.

Well, I asked him to show me the Web site. It is literally one long page of sample content. I told him a while back to take my content and paste it. He hasn't. Either he doesn't know how to or is expecting me to do it.

Now that I have access to looking at these files on the FTP site, I pointed out that having a one-page Web site where each section changes after a certain period is annoying. It's also not the best if you have a ton of content and have to scroll down the single page to see what you want.

Since we talked about having a blog and my contributing to it, which I obviously have experience in, I asked if we can use WordPress or something where we can have both Web page and blog content all in one. He wanted one site for our Web site and another one for the blog. What?

He knows that I have Web site design and maintenance experience. When we worked together at the same company over a decade ago, I handled the corporate Web site.

Apparently, his version of WordPress is just for blogging. I have asked him to provide me with the login information and I'll take it from there. I need to see what version he has installed.

I tend to end up leading certain tasks, mainly because I am competent and have a vision for how Web site design and usability go. I can also recognize when things aren't going as well as they should, such as the one-page Web site without any of my content. The site is his and it probably is difficult to have someone else take over what he is supposed to do.

He also has asked me to join WeChat, WhatsApp, and Slack. We do not need so many communication channels. I uninstalled WeChat. All our development chats are on Slack, so we don't need WhatsApp. He also has my phone number and we can text. Just pick one app and stick with it!

Anyway, that's my little update on the odd things happening with this project. Here's hoping that I can get both the blog and Web site working this week.

Nails

A while back, I decided to purchase a Groupon deal for a manicure. It was for shellac polish on my fingernails, which lasts for roughly two weeks.

Before I went to my salon appointment, I had never had my nails professionally done. I have always done them myself. It has been a ritual for years where I spent each Sunday morning trimming, filing, buffing, and polishing my nails. I have always found the ritual to be therapeutic.

Well, two weeks ago, I broke tradition and had my nails done at a local place. Everyone there spoke Mandarin. I don't understand the language, but speak Cantonese. So, we communicated in English.

My guy has always said that I have pretty nails. Before we went on our first date, we were chatting briefly in the lunchroom one afternoon. He actually held my left pinky finger and said that I have pretty nails. He has never stopped saying that to me, which is sweet.

When one of the beauty experts was taking off my nail polish, she noticed that my nails were still shiny. She actually had to call in two other staff members to observe my nails. Finally, the owner asked whether I polished my nails. I do. She told me a couple of times that I have pretty nails.

Anyway, it was nice seeing how a professional person does nails. I do almost the same thing, except for the following:

• Soak my hands in a warm bath, to soften my cuticles
• Have a gel lamp to cure the gel shellac
• Put intricate flowers or beads on my nails
• Give my arms a massage after my nails are done

I had picked a pretty berry colour. The woman doing my nails agreed that it was a pretty colour. She did a great job. I would go back again to have them done.

So, at the airport, while my guy was boarding a plane to Warsaw, he had asked how my weekend went. I told him about my first visit to get a manicure and uploaded this picture:

He liked my nails.

When he came back from his trip and we had dinner, he looked at my week-old manicure and said that I have pretty nails. He also liked the colour.

I tend to like clear polish because it's easier to maintain. My guy likes when I have polish on both my fingers and toes. He tends to like colours more, but colour can be harsh on nails when you don't let them breathe.

I am changing things up a bit. Last night, I would have written this post, but I was too busy trying to get the gel polish off my nails. It takes some patience to soak your nails and scrape the gel off. 

I have lilac-coloured nails now. We'll see what my guy thinks of them this week.