Design ChangeMakers

Design is not only about giving form to something; it is a tool for political transformation that must consider social and ethical points of view. In this project we will address the problems of developing identities and campaign materials for a grassroots campaign, product, service, system, installation, etc… that creates awareness, engagement, and a call-to-action around a social issue that you will explore. This should be something forward-thinking, thought-provoking, valuable, inclusive, and accessible. Push the boundaries of this project to elevate your portfolios and make a difference.

Each team member needs to develop at least one primary, one secondary, and one small tertiary touchpoint. Therefore your robust brand/campaign will have at least 9 components total. Additionally, you will need to split the work of developing a pitch and case study.

1. researching the social issue – finding pain points
2. researching competition and inspiration
3. characterizing and building empathy for intended audience and market
4. integrating an inclusive process throughout
5. defining the brief: mission, vision, values
6. developing distinctive and forward-thinking concept
7. designing identity and visual vocabulary
8. developing cohesive system across different touchpoints
9. communicating a strong narrative
10. creating awareness, engagement, and a call-to-action
11. time-management
12. presentation and writing skills

Concept (25pts)

• • Strength & innovation of overall concept (distinctive, forward-thinking)
  • Quality of user-centered research and social issue to identify pain points
  • Appropriate solution addressing pain points and target audience
  • Communicating and demonstrating a strong narrative across brand & chosen touchpoints
  • Quality of content and language

Graphic Identity (25pts)

• • Clarity of mission, vision, values, attributes, positioning of brand
  • Overall visual solution for defined audience and concept (appropriate, original, clear)
  • Final solution for logo treatment
  • Color scheme implementation
  • Appropriateness and quality of asset creation

Touchpoints (25pts)

• • Innovative and effective touchpoint choices to communicate brand
  • Thoroughness, effectiveness, and craftsmanship of touchpoint designs
  • Maintaining design consistency (w/ some variety) across touchpoints
  • Overall formal visual structure of various touchpoints
  • Overall typography of various touchpoints

Case Study (25pts)

• • Clear & convincing argument explaining the brief, problem, solution, team contributions
  • Demonstration of process through research, brainstorming, audience definition
  • Demonstration of concept evolution, development, visual design iterations
  • Explanation of outcome, challenges, reflection, and vision
  • Quality, clarity, and organization of case study document

Pitch (10pts)

• • explanation & clarity of overall problem, solution, and rationale
  • verbal presentation skills / visual design of pitch

Collaboration (10pts)

• • team evaluation (collaboration, communication, respect, integrity, motivation, timeliness)
  • level & value of contribution

You will develop a hypothetical organization/campaign motivated by helping a social cause of your choice. (You are also allowed to work with a real organization if you arrange it, which could be super cool). Try to address a problem specific to your audience’s needs.

Below are just some suggestions and a starting point. You will want to narrow your focus. We don’t need to solve all of the world’s most wicked problems all at once – we will want to reduce these problems down to a personal, approachable, relatable level. Possibly try choosing something more local/regional based to start.

You will want to do an inventory of your team’s interests, knowledge, and background, as well as acknowledge any biases. Get out of your comfort zone and consider your intended audience. Be willing and eager to interview, survey, and include this audience throughout your process.

Bellingham City Council Local Issues

Housing Crisis Links:

• Bellingham Occupied Protest
• HomesNow. Not Later.

Western offices for Social Justice:

Community Ambassador Network/Local Issues

WWU AS Programs

Ethnic Student Center Clubs

LGBTQ+ Western

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

• Cultivate
• Imposter
• Humanity in Youth
• Unlike
• It’s Okay
• #Casual_Descrimination
• Harbor
• The Current Project
• Sharea & Nothing Left Unsaid
• Voter Information Association
• Inter-Action
• Shift/Standpoint
• Echo Chambers
• Market For Hunger

• Kindling
• Synch
• TakeAway
• Products from past 481 Workshop – focused on helping the elderly

• Immi
• Module

• Incognita
• Tome
• Li General Store
• Ordinary Meal
• Slow Fish
• If BART Could Speak
• You Are Not Okay
• Digital Afterlife

• MICA Social Design | Case Studies
• Design for Social Innovation SVA
• University of Applied Arts Vienna Social Design

• IDEO.org
• AIGA Design For Good
• Project M
• AIGA ChangeMaker Briefs: Mental Health
• AIGA ChangeMaker Briefs: Environment
• AIGA ChangeMaker Briefs: Local Youth Problems
• AIGA ChangeMaker Briefs: Housing & Homelessness Issues
• AIGA Changemaker Briefs: Local Immigrants & Refugees
• Ideas That Matter

• Civilization
• Poly-mode
• MANY
• MULE
• IDEO
• Justin Kemerling
• Creative Reaction Lab
• Jerome Harris
• Frog Design
• Hyperakt
• Loop
• Human After All

1. Social Issue Research: To become more familiar with your social issue of interest, conduct thorough research and try to break it down, making the problem approachable and attainable. Identify the pain points that you connect with most.
2. Inspirational Research: To see the possibilities of social impact, research other organizations, movements, campaigns.
3. Identify Audience: Based on knowing the social issue first, discover the intended demographic and market. Base this off of thorough research. Don’t leave out marginalized voices.
4. Interview: Conduct in-depth interviews with your intended audience(s). Keep them involved throughout the process. Get varying viewpoints.
5. Personas: Create at least 2 in-depth audience personas. Identify behavioral patterns, characteristics, biographical information, how they would interact and engage with your organization, and include photo representation.
6. Ideate: Conduct exercises that will help you digest, focus, and narrow the problem down.
   1. Begin with a macro view of the problem and then scale it down to a more micro personal view – try Mind-Mapping associations and consider the Life-Cycle of the experience.
   2. Ask yourself the Who, What, When, Why, Where of the problem.
   3. Then develop How Might We questions on various ways to improve the problem.
   4. Challenge yourself to find different outcomes to the problem. How can you best reach and inspire your audience?  – is it a physical product? is it an installation? does it use emerging tech? does it involve infographics? is it a system or service? is it a grassroots campaign? does it need a website? does it need a publication or an explainer video? does it tell a story?
7. Competitive Research: Conduct competitive research, so you can position your organization. Look for similarities and differences and make comparisons amongst your competitors. Look for common patterns and relationships.
8. Nomenclature: Establish a name for your organization/campaign. Brainstorm a list of at least 20 possible names. Narrow your list to three final choices. 7 criteria for a good name: distinctiveness, brevity, appropriateness, easy spelling and pronunciation, likability, extendibility, protectability.
9. Brief: Based on the results of your competitive and audience research, give the organization an image and describe its values. Explain the who, what, when, why, where, and how the organization comes into contact and fulfills the needs of your audience. How would you position your organization in relationship to existing ones? Identify the competition. What could you do to make your organization distinctive and effective? Define the following:
   • Core Purpose/Mission
   • Vision
   • Intended Audience
   • Value Proposition
   • Brand Attributes
   • Positioning Statement
   • Services/Products
   • Features/Benefits/Promises
   • Key Competitors
10. Identity: Develop a logo and a visual vocabulary that will support its applications in multiple circumstances. Do numerous sketches, type, color, form explorations. A large stand-alone version of your logo in black-and white and color (if utilized) must be part of the final case study. Translate your identity into a visual system. Think of color accents, textures, motifs, patterns, shapes, paper quality, photo treatment, writing, etc.
11. 3 Touchpoints per Teammate: Develop what we could consider the beginning, middle, and end of your experience.
    1. Beginning: How are we introduced to the experience?
    2. Middle: How are we engaging with the experience? (biggest touchpoint)
    3. End: How does the experience keep us coming back or provide a call-to-action?
       • For 3 person teams, develop at least 9 touchpoints total that demonstrate this experience. Below are some suggestions. Each team member needs to design at least one from each category:
         1. beginning: social media, pamphlet, postcard, stationary set, business card, sticker, direct mail, small catalog, invite/announcement, signage, vehicle wrap, advertisements, short promo video/anim, single web page, other promotional materials, etc…
         2. middle: product design, service design, website, mobile app, longer motion/video, packaging, installation, wayfinding, publication, poster series, environmental/experiential graphics, , infographics/data viz, emerging technology integration – AR/VR, etc…
         3. end: newsletter, promotional materials, merchandise/swag, social media posts, short video/anim, annual report cover and/or spread, direct mail, advertising, etc…
12. Case Study Presentation: PDF or formatted to fit on your website, containing your rationale, creative process, and final solution. Keep book or drive along the way and it will make the process easier at the end. Consider the process steps from the following list and see Deliverables for format/content:
    1. social issue research
    2. inspirational research
    3. audience identification
    4. interview/survey
    5. personas
    6. ideate
    7. competitive research
    8. nomenclature
    9. defined brief
    10. logo development
    11. visual identity development
    12. touchpoint identification and development
    13. outcomes, reflection, challenges, future 

Week 1

Jan 4: Assign Project. Look at examples. Go over social issues.

homework: Research Social Issues, Conduct Inspirational Research, Identify Audience

Jan 6: Discuss Research, Inspiration, Audience. In Class – Mind-Map, Write Framing Questions

homework:

• • • • Interviews
      • Personas
      • Survey
      • Competitive Research

Week 2

Jan 11:  discuss audience, research, survey/interview results, and outcomes of brainstorm sessions. Write “How Might We’s.” Create character board: use gravity filtering – annotated with descriptions become project design attributes.

homework: Start developing brief/concept and brainstorm names.

Jan 13:  look at initial briefs/concepts and name ideas.

homework: refine concept, sketches for logo, moodboard

Week 3

Jan 18: look at final concepts, logo sketches and moodboards

homework: refine logos, begin a light style guide for identity, finalize list of touchpoints for each team member

Jan 20: look at logo refinements, style guides.

homework: start application of first touchpoint

Week 4

Jan 25: look at logos, identities, first touchpoint exploration

homework: continue to refine touchpoint and start on others

Jan 27:  look at touchpoints

homework: continue refining and developing touchpoints

Week 5

Feb 1:  look at touchpoints

homework: continue working on touchpoints

Feb 3:  look at touchpoints

homework: continue working on touchpoints

Week 6

Feb 8:  look at touchpoints

homework: continue working on touchpoints

Feb 10:  look at touchpoints

homework: continue working on touchpoints

Week 7

Feb 15:  Pitch project. Case study and Touchpoints due. 

Case Study: demonstrating process and final solution. approx. 1,000 words with plenty of photos, mock-ups, process, etc. (PDF or Google Slides or on your portfolio website)

1. 1. Background – A brief introduction of the project – brief, social issue research, team, contributions, length of project
   2. Problem – What problem did you set out to tackle?
   3. Solution – What was your proposed general solution? This includes how you approached the problem, strategy, etc.
   4. Process: What steps did you take to reach the final product?
      1. Inspirational Research – What did you learn from other social impact design examples?
      2. Intended Audience – Who are they and how did you determine this?
      3. Pain Points & Opportunities – What pain points and opportunities did you discover through interviews, surveys, contextual research, gathering of statistics/data, etc.
      4. Concept Evolution/Ideation – framing the problem, setting and prioritizing goals, strategy statement, naming the organization, developing the brief.
      5. Visual Design – Establish your style guidelines. What were the design directions you explored on the identity and various touchpoints? Show and explain any moodboards, sketches, wireframes, preliminary visual designs, and refined designs. What feedback did you get on the various design phases?

   5. Outcome: What was the end result?

      1. Experience Flow – Show a flowchart map of the beginning, middle, end of the experience.
      2. Final Design – Show the final identity, mockups of each touchpoint, any videos or prototypes, and highlight their features.
      3. Challenges – What were the challenges you had to overcome?
      4. Reflection – What did you learn from completing this project?
      5. Vision/Future Goals – Is there any room for growth with this project?