A Creative Mind at Work
Creativity flows through my veins and permeates everything I do. If I had been born into an affluent family, I imagine my parents might have sent me to art school to fully harness that talent. But as immigrants, they encouraged me to pursue a path that promised stability and financial independence, so art or music school was never on the table.
That didn’t diminish my creativity; it just redirected it. After earning my MBA, I found unexpected ways to flex that side of myself. Even though forecasting and operational reviews didn’t call for artistic talent, I applied creativity and ingenuity to problem-solving. When it came to PowerPoint decks or marketing collateral, I was always ahead of the curve. My work stood out, not just in design, but in how it helped ideas land and resonate during engineering reviews.
The Employee Manual Redesign: A User-Centric Approach
Restructuring the HR handbook to improve clarity, accessibility, and the employee experience
Creativity Applied to Clarity and Design
When the Director of Human Resources asked me to help with their employee manual, the problem was clear: there wasn’t one. Instead, a draft sat buried in layers of heavily marked-up Word documents, looking more like an archaeological dig than an employee resource. As a result, new hires lacked access to critical policies and procedures, creating compliance risks.
Because of my communications expertise, the HR team trusted me to do two things: refine the writing so it was clear and approachable, and reimagine the design so the manual felt like a polished, professional guide worthy of representing the SJSU Foundation and not a homegrown document which it clearly was. I transformed the messy draft into a clear, well-designed, and easy-to-navigate manual that equipped employees with the information they needed from day one.
I began by carefully editing every section line by line, page by page. For passages with legal or policy implications, I partnered closely with HR to ensure accuracy while still improving readability. Once the content was solidified, I shifted to design. Using Adobe InDesign, I built a fresh, modern layout: clean typography, logical structure, and a consistent template that was both simple to navigate and visually engaging. I integrated university logos and brand colors and subtle design elements to create a sense of identity and pride.
The result was more than just a manual. It became a resource employees could actually use and trust. Instead of feeling like an overwhelming stack of edits, the manual now reflects clarity, professionalism, and San José State’s culture. It’s a great example of how creativity in both words and design can transform even the most technical document into something people want to engage with.
Excerpts
The SJSU Foundation Employee Handbook was a 74-page project that I shaped from start to finish. To bring the document to life, I spent a Saturday on campus photographing spaces in natural light, capturing the warmth and character of the university. Those images became part of a clean, modern design built in Adobe InDesign. I delivered two versions, one featuring the original photography and one without, giving the HR team the flexibility to choose what best suited their needs. Along with the finished handbook, I provided all Adobe assets so the team could easily update, print, or publish the manual online in the future.
Note
Samples from my freelance projects are included here to showcase my creativity and approach my work. Please respect the time and thought behind them by not copying, sharing, or reusing without my written permission. Thank you.