#media literacy truly is in the toilet

[ravenkings]

[lesbiansanemi]

Just saw a post of someone complaining that falin was fridged…. Man you people really will just say things huh

[mattyunijourneybrief7]

Project Reflection

After the presentation, we sat down in our group in the eating and drinking area at HOME to discuss our final preparations. 

It is time for our group proposal, and we needed to allocate at least a section to each member to split the workload equally. I am tasked with the Design Proposal, which I am confident in tackling. I truly believe in our idea so I will make sure the proposal section best describes our idea.

The Design Proposal

When visiting HOME, we were presented with their vision and how they operate. It was a striking realisation that the staff were given more of an opportunity to make a difference, for example with Carbon Literacy Workshops, which the customers didn’t have access to.

Joseph Beuys famously said “everybody is an artist”, which inspired our group to send the same message within the context of climate change; that the customer can be just as influential in making a difference than the staff at HOME, and to give them the platform to ‘be an artist’ by ensuring a fair balance between the staff and customers.

HOME have taken many actions to combat climate change, such as installing automatic lights in each room to keep the use of energy down, using metal bins instead of plastic, reducing the quantity of print, using glass walls to keep electricity usage down to use sunlight as a light source, repurposing sets used in theatre shows, as well as a multitude of other actions. When we visited HOME for the first time, these actions were not obvious to ourselves or other customers.

As soon as we were informed of these actions, it influenced our own perceptions of HOME. It made us aware of our own actions and made some of us feel a sense of pride for not owning a car and taking public transport to travel. Beforehand, many of us didn’t process what actions we were taking, which made our group refer back to the HOME customers, and how so much more could be done to influence them.

The aim for our project was to influence visitors and audiences at HOME to make more environmentally sustainable choices; in the HOME building, where a customer resides, and online. With this in mind, we knew we needed to carry out two actions; direct and indirect. We needed to communicate the message and influence the audience.

Our first objective was to convince HOME, and in order to achieve this, we made sure our project outcome didn’t overhaul their current behaviour; instead altering it by offering an extra perspective. We feel that in order to convince, it wouldn’t be a good idea to inform the client that their current performance is unsatisfactory and to go back to the drawing board.

To begin our project, after visiting the building, we analysed where customers were going and how the building was used. The current direct communication HOME has with their customers is located on a small wooden tree on the wall next to the toilet, as well as an animation that is shown before cinema screenings to promote sustainability. As a group, we came to the conclusion that the toilet area was not an area where the message should be communicated. Our proposal was to use the entrance area which had a large empty space where we felt customers could be influenced. It was important to our group that customers were instantly aware of the message.

We targeted this area as the place to inform customers of the goals of HOME, as well as an interaction point where the customer can be influenced. We explored the idea of having a physical object such as a tree to visualise the environment, as well as communicating the message with a new screen above the interaction point.

HOME is an arts centre, which prompted us to explore the idea of using sculptures related to climate change created by local artists as a centre piece, which would give artists a platform to showcase their work, as well as influencing customers by communicating the message of HOME.

However, after reflecting on the idea of having a physical object such as a tree as a centre piece, we decided that this idea would prompt a large number of changes to HOME, which contrasted our original plan of a slight change instead of an overhaul. This prompted our group to focus solely on how we could influence the customers.

HOME currently has 3000 members and 250000 non-members of their current HOME membership card, which highlighted a problem that we felt confident in solving. Being part of HOME to us was a vital cog of the machine of promoting sustainability for both the staff and customers. In order to achieve our goal, we needed to reach out to non-members by creating a new more efficient service, which we decided to be a digital app.

The UK average of using a smartphone daily is 3 hours and 23 minutes, so the integration of an app would enable HOME to influence customers at home and online, as well as the building itself. We decided that a points system would encourage users to change behaviours, whilst feeling a sense of belonging to HOME.

Our design proposal was to first of all communicate a simple but effective message: “We are HOME You are HOME”. Combined with the hashtag #OurHOME, the purpose of the message is to tell the customer that they are just as important and influential as the staff in becoming sustainable. We want HOME to be an inclusive family with shared goals. The message will be told through 4 mediums; a HOME card, an app, a visual animation and print/digital advertising.

To enhance the message, we decided to split the two sections: ‘We are HOME’ and ‘You are HOME’, to differentiate and to visualise the joint forces of customers and staff. We proposed to include an environmentally friendly colour for the ‘You are HOME’ section, as well as their current burnt orange colour for the ‘We are HOME’ section to avoid confusion and keep within their current branding guidelines; again, referring back to our plan of offering a slight change and not an overhaul.

The purpose of the HOME card is to promote the app as well as HOME’s sustainability. The card will visualise the campaign perfectly; it is double-sided, combining the two sides ‘We are HOME’ and ‘You are HOME’. To match the card, the poster is a two-tone colour design with both colours of the campaign, with a visual of a tree placed in the centre to represent the family unit of HOME. The two parts to our slogan share two halves of the space, in order to represent an equal balance; contrasting together to create one poster that sends a clear message to the audience.

To relate the printed material to the digital app, we proposed to include a QR code on both the card and poster, with a purpose of linking the user to the app on their smartphone. The app is there to replace the current membership card HOME offers, and to provide the customer a sense of belonging at HOME. However, it was important for us not to differentiate the app from the website, so we included the main features from the website to provide a similar experience with the aim of keeping familiarity.

When the app begins, the message is displayed clearly as a splash screen, leading the user to a login screen. Once logged in, the user is presented with a membership page with a personal QR code and a points system embedded. The points system prompts the user to change their behaviours outside of HOME, as well as inside the building. It was important to make sure the user interface visually matched a physical card layout, to ensure minimal confusion.

We included the Events and News pages from the website to give the user another way of booking tickets and staying up to date with the news related to HOME. The final section on the app is a sustainability section which teaches the user about the climate impact of HOME and what actions they are taking, as well as providing the user an opportunity of pledging to take action themselves, with points rewards to give the user initiative to keep interacting, thus enabling them to use the building more with the rewards they gain throughout their sustainability journey.

The animation was the final piece to our jigsaw which was crucial in terms of getting the message across to the audience. First of all, we evaluated where the most effective place was to place it.

It is essential to our group that the message is told instantaneously, which prompted us to choose the box office area in the entrance. The box office is a place where many customers go to buy tickets before going their separate ways within the building. By placing the animation on the screens at the box office area where customers are accustomed to already, it utilises the current behaviours of customers.

There are three sections to the animation: the campaign message, two regularly updated goals of HOME that themselves and the customer can work towards, and finally the app advertisement. We had a goal of keeping the animation under 45 seconds to make sure the customer had enough time to take in the information. The campaign message was included on both the beginning and end of the animation to drive home the idea of a shared HOME.

With all of our campaign materials, we wanted the message to be communicated effectively in a loud and clear manner. We as a group feel we have achieved this, and we are proud of our final outcomes.

Customers of HOME deserve to be informed about climate change and given the opportunity to change as much as the staff. After all, we all share the same planet, and we can all make a difference together. We as a group want the staff at HOME and the customers to join forces and work towards the same goals, which can be done by communicating the message, in order to influence others. As HOME is an arts centre in the heart of Manchester, there are many potential spheres of influence.

In order to strike a balance between the staff and customers, we created an effective message which encourages customers to make changes to their own behaviours. This message will be told through advertising with posters, social media, cards within the building, as well as an animation. The current digital revolution gives humans the opportunity to spread a message across the world in seconds, so we have utilised this opportunity by creating an app for users to change their behaviours online, in the building, and at their places of residence.

The worrying reality of undertaking this project has opened our eyes to the fact that the message isn’t being sent out enough, which has prompted groups such as Extinction Rebellion to take action and protest. It is upsetting that a child called Greta Thunberg on the face of it seems to be the one human being on the planet to be pioneering the message that human action is needed now on climate change. You would certainly assume this would be a job for world leaders.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed tackling the project and we hope that we influenced the client in a positive way with our ideas. The project has certainly influenced our own actions going forward to protect the planet.

A Personal Reflection

To begin with, our ideas were good, and our intentions were there, we just couldn't manage to glue the whole thing together at times, and it took a discussion whilst preparing for an interim presentation with the client to give us the motivation to complete the task in hand to the best of our abilities and work together as a strong unit.

Overall, looking back on the project as a whole, I am pleased with the outcome myself and my group came up with.

This experience has been different for me, as I am used to designing apps and user interfaces. I was eventually tasked with the design of the animation, which I enjoyed. Adobe After Effects is a fantastic programme that gave me the tools to create what I believed to be an efficient outcome.

The only negative aspect to my animation would be the link between downloading the app and the message. There wasn’t a strong enough call to action, which was the result of my own efforts to keep the time of the video under 45 seconds.

My group members were great to work with in the end, problems within teams are commonplace in team work. It is why we do it at university; to improve and get better. To the next one..