Reading in the 21st Century White Paper
Tools: Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator
Timeline: September 2023 - October 2023
Background
Sustained reading is on the decline due to the rise of social media. Why is that and what can be done to combat it?
This white paper's objective is to highlight the dramatic drop in reading as social media and technology have taken precedent while also presenting solutions that readers can implement in their everyday routines to reduce the effect social media has on their reading habits.
Process
Target Audience
This white paper is written with a very broad audience in mind.
Professionals
Students
Adults
All of these groups are affected by this new lack of reading.
Research
Before I could go any further, I dedicated time to researching and finding as much information about the collapse of sustained reading as I could. And as it turns out, there is not as much information out there as you would think. While researching, I also came across my own findings and conclusions which only further backed my thesis.
Outline
My outline was a vital part of creating an organized and well thought out paper. Before I could write anything, I first had categories that I had to organize all the information I wanted to include in my paper.
The Problem, Opportunity, or Scope
What is the issue?
Why does it exist, and how is it getting worse?
Who is affected by it?
What will happen if a solution is not found
The History
How did we get here?
What are the milestones, events, and developments that took us to this place?
The Solution
What are some possible solutions?
The Benefits
What will the reader get if they adopt the recommendations you suggest?
What specific benefits are available, and to what degree?
Where should they go look?
Design Process
Once all my information was organized and written out, it was time to design the layout and graphic elements for my paper.
First, I chose to use light and dark blue as my main colors. Blue is used to help reading comprehension, so it only felt right to utilize.
I decided that the main component of my designs would be books and pages. This allowed me to remain consistent throughout all 14 pages of my paper. I then created a pattern with flying book pages that would seamlessly repeat on each page.
Additionally, I created elements that would relate to the content on the page such as graphs, books, and social media icons.
Design Elements
Final Product
My final product, “Reading in the 21st Century” is a 14-page white paper designed to emphasize the dip in sustained reading and inspire readers to make a change to combat this through utilizing resources and solutions discussed.