For the past 10 years since I’ve started my career as graphic designer, I came from commercial industry background. I started my career at design studio for 1 year and wedding photography for 9 years from 3 different companies. I have zero experience about management consulting or capacity building, and I never heard the word of “Procurement” in my entire life, until 2015.
Let’s flashback on early 2015, I was looking for new job out of wedding photography industry because I realized that 9 years is more than enough working in this industry for my experience, that is why I was looking for a new fresh experience and challenge.
On April 2015, I was joined at international consulting firm, and the firm had running project with international donor fund and National Public Procurement Agency (Lembaga Kebijakan Pengadaan Barang/Jasa Pemerintah - LKPP) for Procurement Modernization Project (Proyek Modernisasi Pengadaan). The project is to provide procurement skills training for 45 Procurement Service Unit (Unit Layanan Pengadaan) from all across Indonesia for 3 years compact project. The objective is to train 500 procurement professionals all across Indonesia with international procurement best practice.
My job on this project is to provide training materials for 18 Core Modules Participants’ Supplementary Booklets to support the training as human resource development capacity building. The booklets distributed in one package of training materials with A4 binder book Participants’ Manual in 200 pages.
“The challenge is to simplify the Participants’ Manual into 9x11cm booklet that summarize the modules.”
When I was developed Module 2 Booklet “Planning Simple Procurement”, the module is learning technical skills of planning simple procurement. The first thought in my head was: “what the heck is procurement?”. I googled translate Procurement into Bahasa Indonesia and the translation mean “shopping”, good I like shopping! But, wait… it’s not that “shopping shoes or bags” as I usually do. The short and simple description in my own language is, the government process to acquire facilities (goods/ services) for public use such as flyover; train; MRT (Mass Rapid Transit), highway, busway, etc, by using public taxes and state budget (APBN)
From that understanding of procurement, I continue to learn more specifically of what is simple procurement. Learning the module by asking the Procurement Subject Metter Experts is a key. And this is the design cover of Module 2 Booklet:
The concept is to visualize the procurement of bridges to connect the city, to improve better economy in the city, the local government conduct the procurement from state budget (taxes) to provide bridges and street to connect the small cities.
From that experiences, here is the 5 steps on how to design module training booklet or handy pocket book from learning module for capacity building:
1. Learn and understand the module
This is the challenge if you have zero knowledge of the module topic is, the only key is to learn and understand the module, find the silver lining or the key message. As a person with no background in public procurement, I learn from zero to understand the basic concept of what is procurement, once I understand the basic principles and concept it is easier to go through the next module
2. Consult with Subject Matter Expert (SME) to pick module topics
A module may consist plenty of sessions with more than 5 topics in 1 module, (example: 1 module/ 7 sessions) to avoid bulky hand-book and put all the module session in booklet, better to consult with the module creator or SME to pick the essential module topic to insert in the booklet. The SME is the right person to pick the right module topic from each session because they know which one is important and have necessity to be share in the booklet.
3. Collaborate with SME: communication and proactive
SME is a resourceful expert to learn the module especially if you never heard about the module topic before, I communicate with the SMEs very intense and proactive in asking the questions what I want to understand. You will get deeper understanding of knowledge from accountable resource.
4. Translated into visual with your audience language
Know who is your audience first. Since I know the audience is training participants, which most of them is procurement practitioner – contract maker officer – budget officer, sometimes also government staff with no background non-procurement. The visualization of the module booklet has to be easy to understand as possible, how to simplify a quite complex learning topic. I translated the module using my own common understanding with a purpose the module is grounded to understand even by common people. I made comic strip in few booklets with a purpose to make it interesting and make sense by giving concrete example.
5. Pre-test the visual graphics
Do a review and pre-test of the visual graphics on the booklet, such as the booklet cover or images graphics on the content, with a purpose to see if the visuals make sense and connect with the module itself.
Alongside the process of developed 18 Core Modules Booklet, it was the most challenging and interesting project I have ever experienced. Because the challenge is to translate – visualize (communicate in visual graphics/ images) the key message – to the audiences in attractive design book.
To be a part in this project is a game changer in my career journey for the past 3 years. It is challenging because I have to learn (quite hard) about procurement principles; contracting in procurement; complex and strategic procurement; fraud in procurement. It is interesting because I gained new knowledge about procurement, that actually I have use public facility that comes from public procurement in my daily basis such as: busway/ highway/ MRT etc.
Since then develop communication products for capacity building has become new interest for me in graphic design world and I want to specialized on this skills set, because I love the challenge when it comes to communicate effectively through visual graphics, a lot of things to explore and learn.