#visualdiary8

[akcadle]

My second entry also relates to my time with the hockey club at Kansas where in my senior year when I was President, our arena sold sponsorship rights to a local bar for our annual rivalry game versus Mizzou without our permission. As a collegiate team/organization, like many teams/clubs/organizations at colleges across the United States, we have very strict rules when it comes to associating with drugs and alcohol. A handful of years before I began at KU, our club got in trouble by hazing underage players with alcohol and we were removed from campus for a period of time, so when I found out that our home arena, who we’re in constant contact with throughout any given season, sold title sponsorship rights to a local bar without our permission, I was forced to withdraw our team from the game and find a new arena to host the game. It took weeks, many passionate conversations with the opposing team’s coaches and staff over the eventual outcome so that both sides were pleased, we settled on a home and home rivalry series with each team hosting the other at their campus instead of just a single event in Kansas City. The event proved to be very beneficial to both clubs both from a PR and financial standpoint. I was very proud of my staff for working tirelessly to help find a new venue, work out solutions, and still create a can’t miss event at a much less desirable arena.

[creativecollectionnk32-blog]

Visual Diary 8 | Parameters

Self-Serve Kiosks

I recently did some heavy traveling and time seems like an important parameter to consider when it comes to design leadership. In a fast-paced world where everyone is in a hurry, waiting in line is less than ideal. People are constantly looking for solutions in design that allow us to wait a little less and have more time for other things. The self check-in kiosks at airports are interesting to me because while they seem to save time, you still have to wait in line for them. This being said, it still seems to be a popular option and I tend to enjoy them. We see more and more self serve kiosks daily and they are designed to save time and make sometimes chaotic situations, less chaotic. I will say no one fully enjoys the process of an airport and security and checking bags etc., etc. Therefore, the airport is a perfect place to add in a self-service kiosk because it’s one less dreaded step when traveling. I specifically flew in American Airlines this trip and while I impressed overall with their kiosks, it seems some deeper software work would help a lot of the bugs I noticed. I witnessed about 60 check-ins and there were a lot of issues with payments and printing of boarding passes and baggage tags, which brings me to my next point. If you’re going to have a self-serve system it needs to be solid and well designed. I see plenty of room for better design with these kiosks, but they are certainly headed in the right direction and I’m grateful for the inventiveness in the business of travel, as it mostly is a major time saver!

[craftyfriendcolorthing-blog]

The EMPR Coat - This coat alleviated parameters by creating a jacket that transforms into a tent. The constant is to help the homeless population in Chicago. This coat goes beyond the regular boundaries of design to make it adhere to giving. https://www.empowermentplan.org/the-coat

[nice-lines]

Wake foils enable riders to rise above choppy conditions that would otherwise keep them in the boat instead of behind it.

The term 'foil' in the watersports world refers to the pylon and wing that thrust the rider and board above the water's surface. Before foils were used, wake riders would need pristine water conditions because the board sat directly on the surface of the water.

Utilizing a foil setup behind the boat shows a creative approach to dealing with the parameters at hand. It is not difficult to visualize a group of riders distraught at seeing bad water conditions that didn't allow them to ride. By using a foil board, they can now ride all season and with any wave conditions.

Foil boards also allow wakeboarders to ride behind any type of boat. Before the foil was introduced, you essentially needed to be towed behind a wakeboard boat. These specially designed boats are incredibly expensive to operate and maintain. They create massive waves for riders to carve and jump across. With the foil, any boat that can reach 15mph can be used. This opens up wakeboarding for many more riders.

The parameters faced by the first wakeboarders to incorporate foils into their setup dealt primarily with tangible roadblocks. Cost of a boat, water conditions, and the sub-par experience of not being able to ride all lead towards foils becoming a 'must-have' item for wakeboarders looking to enjoy a longer season at a reasonable price.

Today, dozens of manufacturers create wakeboards specifically designed for this athlete in mind. Many offer setups that are modular, allowing the same board to be ridden behind a boat, in surf, or with a kite. The pylons and wings are also modular, able to be swapped out for different skill levels or weather conditions. This flexibility is getting more people into the sport.

[laurennbradford-blog]

The Lightbulb

Thomas Edison had to have known the revolutionary impact the lightbulb would have on society. Where people once depended on the sun in the daytime and candles at night, they know had access to artificial lighting at all times. It also affected the economy by increasing the length of the workday. Because there was a better light source, workers no longer had to stop before the sun went down. Today, most of us could not imagine living without the lightbulb, including me. At this very moment, I have 3 on.

[insowmnia]

Tieks broke parameters on what a shoe looks like and the need for a shoe to be transformative for a woman that is working to fit into her bag. A physical parameter is finding a manufacturer that can make a shoe that is bendable in the sole. 

[akcadle]

Both of my entries for this week’s visual diary are going to be from when I was in undergrad at the University of Kansas. While at KU, I volunteered with the club hockey team designing merchandise and uniforms. Before I got to KU and joined the growing staff, no one had spearheaded selling merchandise. I was willing to reach out to vendors and build a website if needed to get our fans merchandise, knowing it could be our primary source of revenue each season given we didn’t charge for admission and concession stand revenue went to the arena, not us. My first year I was able to get stores set up with numerous vendors for a variety of items and we were consistently selling 100s of items each season, then COVID-19 gripped the world and canceled a season and a half of ours, and many other teams around the nation. We, like many, didn’t know how we’d turn a profit and be able to play the following season if we didn’t make money to support our operating costs due to not having a season. So although the pandemic was awful in many ways for so many people all over, it forced my team and I to find new ways to market and sell to our current fans, and reach new ones all over the country. After my four years at KU, we sold over $45,000 worth of merchandise, more than quadrupling the amount of money the University aids us with each season. Upon graduation, our coaching staff and university representatives told my team and I that without the massive amounts of sales over the years, especially during the off-seasons from COVID-19, the future of the club was seriously in doubt.

[creativecollectionnk32-blog]

Visual Diary #8 | Parameters

One of the best examples I can think of when it comes to parameters and design leadership is smart and re-usable packaging. Even packaging that is eco-friendly is an example of this because they are considering the carbon footprint of their product and its packaging. I love seeing eco-friendly packaging, but even better than that is smart packaging-turning a package into a use for something else. In this case the use for the package goes perfectly with the shirt. This is such a cool idea and I love this design because it was well thought out and creative.

I hope more businesses consider their packaging like this in the future because it really can make a difference when considering our carbon footprints. People who take their parameters into deep consideration throughout their entire design process will prove effective in creative solutions such as this!

[nice-lines]

The High Line park is a park in New York City that is built on a repurposed freight line.

The High Line park is a success and a direct result of using parameters to build transformative public spaces.

The High Line park isn't your typical city park. It is owned by the city of New York, but operated and maintained by Friends of the High Line, a nonprofit that raises and contributes nearly 100% of the High Line's annual budget. This unique relationship benefits everyone involved.

The city gets a thriving communal space for nearly zero investment.

The park is meticulously maintained and features artists, musicians, and other groups on a regular basis.

Park visitors get a unique experience, leaving inspired by the results of transforming a railroad to a park.

Other cities see an example of a sustainable park building that they can apply to their own cities. 

The High Line park faced its fair share of problems and setbacks before opening. Many of these parameters and challenges had a profound impact on the end result.

The site was nearly demolished, but the local community stepped in to raise awareness and voice their desire for more public land. That community voice is felt while visiting the park, by keeping elements from the original railway intact.

The High Line team is dedicated to showcasing the park as an example of sustainable business practices. To align with that goal, all the greenery has been specifically chosen to thrive and contribute towards a certain ambiance at the park. The care and thoughtfulness in these decisions is obvious, as the park is beautiful and well maintained.

The materials used throughout the park have significance. When the team began the project, they removed all the abandoned rail line to prepare the site. Once the tracks were pulled and the structures were completed, the tracks were brought back to be repurposed as design elements and art installations. 

By understanding and leveraging the tangible parameters they were given, the High Line team created a park that tells a clear story about its own existence. By focusing on the details and creating unique experiences from the materials they were given, they have created a case study for other cities to use as they look for similar opportunities of their own.

[creativecollectionnk32-blog]

Visual Diary #9 | Cultural Parameters

Babbel is an excellent example of design leadership with consideration of cultural parameters. This one obviously pertains to language. I think this app has really made some substantial strides as of late and they are even offering learning Spanish for free for 3 months which is really cool! They have done a good job with their marketing strategy. For example, they have a commercial that shows someone learning a new language while making their commute to and from work. They offer a way to speak the language as part of the learning process or mainly by reading. I recently got this app to learn Italian for when I travel to Italy this summer. I haven’t been able to dive into yet, but so far I’m really impressed with Babbel and think they have definitely put a stake in the ground when it comes to learning languages! I’m looking forward to using it and seeing how seamless the process is!

[creativecollectionnk32-blog]

Visual Diary #9 | Cultural Parameters

Design leadership can take many things into consideration. But how about design that deflects the bounds of cultural parameters. I’m sure most people have seen the “love has no labels” display campaign video. It’s amazing to me and I love watching it because it just reminds me over and over that we are all the same at our cores. This design and idea overall was just genius to me! This is design leadership that directly relates to cultural parameters and how labels mustn’t define us. In a world that can seem so divided, a lot of the time the answer is to all come together and make the world a better place!

[laurennbradford-blog]

Graffiti + Nature

I really love seeing images where nature and art meet. It’s a great example of design leadership because it makes use of design parameters such as space, and anticipation of the future. In the example above, the more the tree grows, the bigger the afro gets!

[insowmnia]

The EMPR Coat - This coat alleviated parameters by creating a jacket that transforms into a tent. The constant is to help the homeless population in Chicago. This coat goes beyond the regular boundaries of design to make it adhere to giving. https://www.empowermentplan.org/the-coat