Job Aid
Embedded Files
How to Set a Dining Table
Overview
Overview
Detail
Detail
Type: Printed Job Aid
Audience: Waitstaff at a Retirement Residence
Date: September 2025
Tools
Tools
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Illustrator
Excalidraw
ChatGPT
Skills
Skills
Information & Graphic Design
Wireframing & Prototyping
Stakeholder Collaboration
The Challenge
The Challenge
During meal services at Berwick Retirement Home, I observed a recurring pattern: tables were often set up inconsistently. These small errors added up. For residents, it meant an uneven dining experience; for staff, it meant extra time spent correcting mistakes.
I saw this as more than a service issue. It was a design opportunity. By applying instructional design principles, I could create a clear, visual job aid that reduced setup errors, saved staff time, and ensured a consistent, professional dining environment.
The Solution
The Solution
When I considered how to solve the recurring setup mistakes, I first weighed the option of conducting an in-person training session. While this could work in the short term, it would not guarantee consistency across shifts or with new staff.
Instead, I designed a step-by-step job aid that serves as a quick visual reference during meal preparation. Unlike one-time training, the job aid provides a sustainable, always-available guide that staff can rely on in the moment of need. My goal was to make it both practical for everyday use and professional enough to represent the organization, ensuring uniform dining setups over time.
The Process
The Process
I followed a structured, intentional process to ensure this job aid would be both practical and effective:
Recognize the problem → Observed recurring table setup mistakes during meal service.
Brainstorm the solution → Identified a printed job aid as the most efficient tool for quick, on-the-spot reference.
Plan intentionally → Selected 11×17 paper (the standard size available at Berwick), chose the servery wall as the posting location, and included the Berwick logo for professionalism.
Storyboard & wireframe → Sketched layouts in Excalidraw and used ChatGPT to refine the language.
Gather feedback → Presented the wireframe to my manager and revised based on feedback.
Develop → Captured real photos, added arrows and dotted lines in Illustrator, and built the final layout in InDesign.
Review & approval → Shared the digital draft with my manager, made final revisions, and received approval to print and post in the staff room.
Design Principles Applied
Design Principles Applied
Nothing about this job aid was random. It was about applying proven instructional design and visual design principles to ensure clarity, memorability, and usability.
Mayer’s Multimedia Principles
Coherence → Each step is stripped of unnecessary detail, focusing only on actions staff need to perform.
Signaling → Step numbers, arrows, and highlights direct attention to what matters most.
Spatial Contiguity → Photos and instructions are placed side by side, so staff don’t need to search across the page.
Dual Coding → Combining images with text (and mnemonics) reinforces memory through multiple channels.
Robin Williams’ Design Principles
Contrast → From the company's brand guide, I selected contrasting colors and typefaces to make the step markers and instructions stand out, while staying aligned with Berwick’s branding.
Repetition → Each step follows the same structure: photo + instruction.
Alignment → A consistent grid ensures text and images line up cleanly.
Proximity → Instructions are grouped directly with their corresponding photo, reducing cognitive load.
Together, these principles transformed the job aid into more than a simple checklist — it became a clear, reliable performance support tool for the workplace.
The Final Product
The Final Product
The finished job aid presents a seven-step sequence, pairing real photographs with concise instructions. At the bottom, full-table photos show the complete setups for Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, and Dinner.
Branded with the Berwick logo for professionalism and my logo for authorship, the aid was printed at 11×17 size and posted in the servery, where staff collect setup items. The larger format was chosen to make small visual guides (arrows, dashed lines, callout labels) easy to see at a glance.
Impact & Reflection
Impact & Reflection
The job aid is now posted in the servery at Berwick Retirement Home and actively used by staff during meal preparation. It provides a consistent point of reference, reducing setup errors and saving time during busy shifts.
For me, this project highlighted the value of an intentional design process, starting with real workplace observation, collaborating with stakeholders, and applying design theory to create a tool that delivers results. Nothing in this whole process was random.
It also reflects my three pillars of instructional design:
Curiosity → noticing recurring setup mistakes and asking how to fix them.
Efficiency → choosing a job aid over one-time training, ensuring a lasting solution.
Innovation → transforming outdated photo references into a modern, branded guide with clear visuals.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse