Problem Statement

A recently graduated female student (in her early 20's),

undertaking a graduate program in Translation needs a way

to introduce herself into the workforce in order to better

understand and fulfill the market's needs.

Ideas selected

1. A blog about translation:

It would consist of writing about interesting topics about translation, recent researches,

common mistakes, areas of expertise, tips, sample material. All this is in order to let the

people out there know that you exist, that you are a translator, and that you have a service

proposition to offer.

2. A fan club of translation:

The idea is to create a place where freelance translators, who are beginners in the field and

market, can share their thoughts, doubts, experiences, and contact people in their same

situation. This is because translation organizations and associations only allow professionals to

subscribe, meaning people with certain years of expertise or knowledge. Therefore, beginners

are ruled out. This fan club will open their ways to the workforce.

Testing

I selected two different ideas to create two prototypes. One of the ideas was the one I

classified as practical and the other was chosen afterwards from the ideate brainstorming

after realizing the other two were not the most appealing to the stakeholder.

I couldn't test my prototypes with the stakeholder I interviewed. Instead, I showed them to a

person with wide knowledge and perspective and indirect experience on the problem. This

person liked the ideas behind the prototypes.

BLOG: it has a section about the author, common buttons for social networks, the

archive of posts, and a description of which topics the stakeholder could write about. Each

post also has an option for people to leave comments.

FAN CLUB OF TRANSLATION: Web page where only

beginners in the field of translation can apply; and therefore, subscribe. It includes a link about

the club; news about main topics, such as researches, common mistakes in translation, etc.; a

list of members in a similar format of FB (personal info, options for liking and recommending

the translator, etc.); requirements for becoming a member and the application form; and a

forum and contact section. The idea is to resemble associations and groups pages like ProZ,

ATA (American Translation Association), but that could be appealing and fruitful for beginners.

What worked:

- The ideas per se.

- The blog option of generating feedback and comments.

- The general aspects or links/sections of the Fan Club page.

What could be improved:

- Add a 'follow button' in the member page of the Fan Club.

- More appealing and direct 'contact' form (Fan Club idea).

Ideas:

- It would be interesting to find out if international organizations in the field of translation

could recognized or approved the Fan Club as a recognized association for beginners and

therefore, help these freelancers into their way of becoming later on part of this

worldwide organizations.

Prototypes

1. Blog

2. Fan Club