Project XX by Aino Horsma

Aino Horsma

Project x xeptional

Aino Horsma x xeptional.com

PROJEC T X XEP TIONAL An MFA The sis by Aino Horsma

Writ ten and de signed by Aino Horsma. Ac ademy of Ar t Universit y 79 New Montogmer y S treet Fif th Floor San Francisco, C alifornia 9 4105 USA x xeptional.com ainohorsma.com To cont ac t us, plea se send an email to: aino@ainohorsma.com Copyright ÂŠ 2013 Aino Horsma No por tion of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without prior consent of Aino Horsma. Printed and bound in the United S t ate s of Americ a.

for my mother who raised me to understand, that barriers from gender roles only exist in our minds I love you, Mom.

Content

Washington, We Have A Problem American Government

Publics Distrust No One Likes Politics

Lady Leadership She Can Make A Difference

Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Got the Power Women Govern the Wallet

XX Shifting Power Take Action Who Are We Talking to Be XXeptional

XX Community Be Active

59 74 86

103

Case Studies Extraordinary Partners

143

Human Centered Design

163

Bibliography

218

Foreword

Growing up with one sister and a single mother, I learned, in every-day life, achieving and managing almost anything has little to do with your gender. Our mother taught us to change the car tires and clear the snow from the driveway, reminding us that there are very few tasks in the world that only men can do, and promising to tell us what those were, as we would grow up. And we grew up expecting to be treated equally. Not only my upbringing, but also my cultural background encourages gender equality. According to un’s Human Development Report “The Scandinavian lands are among the most egalitarian in the world.” Women make up 40 percent of the members of the Finnish parliament, the second highest in the industrialized world. Finland was the first country in the world to give women equal rights to vote and run for office in 1906. It was also the first country in the world to have both female president and prime minister simultaneously in 2003. “ The Fourth symposium of Gender and Well-being: the Role of Institutions from Past to Present,” held in Madrid in July 2008, examined closely Scandinavian gender equality and the ways the same model could be exported to other countries. As an idea, this sounds wonderful, to export an ideal with such a high

value. Personally, however, I believe that each country’s unique history and the multitude of cultures strongly guides how these nations will develop. And history should be made inside communities. In the representative democracy of the United States of America,z Congress represents the people. But when you look at the members of Congress you could easily think that either there are very few women in this society or they are not meant to be seen in the tables of power. As Marian Wright Edelman the founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund stated “You can’t be what you can’t see.” Every female trailblazer becomes a role model simply by achievement. This is why we need more women in Capitol Hill. We need to see that Congress, in fact, represents the people, that it also truthfully represents the 51% percent of the American population that are women.

Shif ting Power from Purses to Polls

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“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” —Alice Walker, Author

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Shif ting Power from Purses to Polls

Washington, We Have A Problem Currently, of the 435 voting members of the House of Representatives only 77 are women, and of the 100 members of the US Senate, only 20 are women. Hence, women constitute 51% of the American population but only 18% of Congress.

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American government

In a representative form of government (Representative Democracy) citizens eligible to vote choose another citizen to make political decisions for them. The us is a Representative Democracy and the members of the us Congress hold legislative power: the authority under the constitution to make laws and to alter or repeal them. Congress consists of 535 members: 100 senators and 435 representatives who are chosen through direct election. Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the people of a district. Congressional districts are apportioned to states by population using the United States Census results. Each state in the union has at least one representative in the House of Representatives. Regardless of population, each of the 50 states has two senators and the 100 senators each serve a six-year term. The 1st United States Congress met from March 4, 1789 to March 4, 1791, during the first two years of George Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presidency. They first convened at Federal Hall in New York City and later at Congress Hall in Philadelphia.

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Shif ting Power from Purses to Polls

Underrepresented The One Hundred Thirteenth United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. It is composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, on January 3, 2013, and will end on January 3, 2015, seventeen days before the end of the presidential term. The current congress has 97 female members, including 20 female senators, the most ever in us history. However, Congress is composed of 535 voting members: 100 senators and 435 representatives. Hence, women hold only 18.1% of the seats in the 113th us Congress: 17.7% of the House of Representatives and 20.0% of the Senate. In addition, three women serve as Delegates (non-voting members). Only 31 states have female members in Congress, and a total of only 292 women have served in the us congress to date compared to 11, 807 men that have served in the us Congress to date. Women constitute 51% of the us population but only 18% of Congress. How can a congress that doesn’t ref lect the actual gender distribution represent the nation in a way that considers everyone’s needs, rights, and responsibilities? For instance, Congress governs laws concerning healthcare and employee rights. Without equal female representation women’s voices are not heard and women’s needs won’t be met.

How can a congress that doesn’t reflect the actual gender distribution represent the nation in a way that considers everyone’s needs and rights?

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American government

The 1st United States Congress met first at Federal Hall in New York City and later at Congress Hall in Philadelphia.

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Shif ting Power from Purses to Polls

The 113th Congress of the United States

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American government

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Shif ting Power from Purses to Polls

Women constitute 51% of the American population but only 18% of Congress.

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American government

113th Congress:

Women

s e n at o r

r e p r e s e n tat i v e

S e n at e

H O U SE O F RE P RESENTATIVES

Of the 100 members of the us Senate, only 20 are women.

Of the 435 voting members of the House of Representatives only 77 are women.

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Shif ting Power from Purses to Polls

Rosie the Riveter is commonly used as a symbol of feminism and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic power.

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American government

Women in politics in the modern world are under-represented in most countries worldwide compared to men. However, more and more women are being politically elected to hold important leadership positions in states and governments. More than 20 countries currently have a woman holding office as the head of a national government, and globally the participation rate of women in nationallevel parliaments is nearly 20%. The us government does not support any political gender quotas, mandatory or voluntary. And truly the proportion of women in leadership roles in the Senate, House of Representatives, and Presidential positions ref lect this clearly; women are heavily underrepresented in the us politics. In the elections of 2012, the greatest ever number of women already holding a political office (incumbents) were up for re-election in the Senate. However, in the us Congress women historically and currently lack representation. The results from the 2012 election were historical. Women made great strides, increasing the female representation in the us to higher level than ever before. No matter how positive the change, women still remain in minority forming only 18% of Congress.

The 2012 election was historical. Female representation in the US Congress increased to a higher level than ever before. However, despite the positive outcome, women still remain in minority, forming only 18% of Congress.

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Shif ting Power from Purses to Polls

The 113th Senate of the United States only has 20 female senators.

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American government

When Comparing the global participation rate of women in national level parliaments USA falls below the average.

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Shif ting Power from Purses to Polls

Convince yourself Women have historically been underrepresented in the US politics—both running for public office and participating by voting. The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1870, prohibits each state government from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen’s “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Yet, gender was an accepted reason to prevent someone from participating in political decision making. It took another 50 years before the Nineteenth Amendment ratified women’s suffrage—the right of women to vote and to run for office—as a national right in 1920. Nearly one hundred years later women still hold only 18% of the seats in Congress. The Women and Politics Institute at American University in Washington DC published a study about gender disparity in us politics in January 2012. The research shows that at both local and federal levels of us politics the number of women holding public office falls below 24%—and in some cases as low as 8%. The same study compared the percentage of female representation in global politics showing the us ranking as 91 out of 190 countries. Less developed countries like Uganda and Afghanistan ranked ahead of them. The Women and Politics Institute has studied gender disparity in politics for the past ten years. They found the following attitudes to have substantial inf luence on women when considering political candidacy: 1 Women are significantly more likely to see the political environment as highly competitive and biased against female candidates. 2 Women are much less likely to think that they qualify to run for office. 3 Women see themselves as less competitive, less confident, and less willing to take risks—all traits considered important in politics. 4 Women react more negatively to loss of privacy and potentially having to engage in a negative campaign than men. 5 Women are less likely to receive the suggestion to run for office (generally from anyone, but especially from party officials).

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American government

6 Women are still responsible for the majority of childcare and household tasks and often feel that running for public office would be neglecting the family and this responsibility. In the 2008 presidential election female vote exceeded male vote by 6%. However, only 53% of eligible female voters exercised their right. This shows that women are relatively active when it comes to voter registration. Nevertheless, the number of female representatives in Congress show that women, as well as men, are more likely to choose a male candidate over a female oneâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;if one is even available.

Did You Know?

The last two elections in 2008 and 2012 can be considered historical, in the positive and the negative sense: In 2008, for the first time since 1987, the United States made no progress in electing more women to Congress. In 2012, women made historical strides: the 113th Congress has 20 female senators, the most ever in the US history.

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“I don’t think a lot of females are that dominant that they would like to contend.” —Aja Lucero, Interviewee

Shif ting Power from Purses to Polls

The Public Distrust Project XXptional conducted a research to find out what women think about the American politics. 38 women were approached by phone or by an online survey asking 47 questions about their political activity with continuing questions of why or why not. Results were unsettling yet not surprising.

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No one likes politics

Statistics show that women don’t run for office as often and as successfully as men and don’t find it interesting or compelling. Yet, politics is important part of governing our lives. In order to find out what women think about politics and how they experience the political decision making, we decided to talk with women. Project X Xptional interviewed almost 40 women: 20 over the phone, and 18 with online survey. Both groups were asked the same 46 questions with follow up questions of why and why not. Ages of women varied from 18 to 51 and interviews were conducted between October 18th and 24th 2012. See addenda for the interview questions. Findings were fascinating. Politics were generally seen important, yet corrupt and negative. Most women felt like their voices are not heard, and they were willing to participate more. However, they didn’t find most of the traditional ways of participating (donating to party or Super pac, public hearings, etc.) very interesting. Here are the key themes that repeated often in the interviews: Politics is difficult and confusing Women consider politics difficult to understand. They find it hard to follow and often don’t have enough knowledge of how American political system is structured or what steps they should take in order to try to make a change.

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Shif ting Power from Purses to Polls

Politics is important and affects women’s lives and future Politics does affect women’s lives currently. Women are concerned about their future as well as the future of their children, and they think politics has great effect on it. Yet over 75% does not consider themselves politically active. Politics is time-consuming One big concern was the lack of time. Many were willing to get more information and stay/become informed if it would be quick and easy. Lack of time was the most common excuse for not participating in political action or educating yourself about politics. Gender equality matters Most interviewed women (about 80%) thought that it is very important for women to participate in politics (10 on a scale 1–10). About 40% thought that it is more important for women to participate than for men because of the current imbalance of political power. Many women felt angry that their perspectives are not currently represented enough in political conversations about women’s health or position in the working world. Women also believed that society would be different if women had more political power. Women are willing to utilize their purchasing power More than 90% of the interviewed women would buy a product that was publicly affiliated with a cause they thought was important and over 70% would buy a product that was publicly affiliated with a cause they thought was indifferent. Over 70% would be willing to pay more for the product that was publicly affiliated with a cause they thought was important and more than 70% would be willing to change their consuming behavior to support a cause they considered important.

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No one likes politics

75% does not consider themselves politically active

80% thought that it is ver y important for women to participate in politics.

40% thought that it is more important for women to participate than for men

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Shif ting Power from Purses to Polls

Interviews: Key Findings WOMEN AND THEIR LIVES Women see “women’s rights” and

To make politics more compelling,

women’s health issues as one of the

women want to have their voices

most important topics in politics

better heard, see how politics relate

along with education and healthcare.

to their lives, what are the steps they

Economy in the US was seen some-

can take, and see changes that have

what important, as well.

been made (or can be made).

Women are concerned about their

Most don’t donate money but would

future and about the future of their

be interested to see how the money

children. They think politics has

that was donated is use and more

great ef fect on this. Yet over 75%

than 70% thought corporate social

do not consider themselves politi-

responsibility was very important

cally active.

(10 on a scale of 1–10). Almost 100%

Women don’t want to become more involved in politics because it is very time-consuming, dif f icult, and

panies carry their social responsibility if it was easy to f ind out.

generally they don’t trust the sources

More than 90% have a smart phone.

of information.

Most (over 70%) would be willing to

Women don’t want to run for public of f ice because it is too dif f icult (“I’m not qualif ied”), very time consuming lifestyle, and publicity of it was seen as a very negative thing. Women thought more women could be encouraged to participate by educating them and showing how political decision making af fects/relate to their lives.

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would like to see how dif ferent com-

No one likes politics

use their smart phone in order to obtain more information about a product they are purchasing and the cause the product is publicly supporting.

Politic s is Difficult to understand /

Gender equalit y Currently not happening

hard to follow

Important for legislative process

Too time consuming

and power

Corrupt

Likely to change society

Impossible to have effect on

Very important for women’s rights

or change

Difficult to obtain

Boring

Empowering for women

Depressing

Would bring new perspectives,

Dangerous conversation topic

compassion, empathy, and perhaps

Huge confusing machinery

less “ego-driven” politicians to the

Unable to be developed or become

political decision making process

more progressive Money Power Boys club For rich white old people Repetitive Very important Patriotic Democratic or Republican / donkey or elephant

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Shif ting Power from Purses to Polls

“In this particular political climate, in this particular country and in this particular time it is more important for women to start getting involved that it is for men.” —Mary Lowe, Interviewee

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L ady Leadership

“Every woman who is in a position in which women have never been before becomes a role model simply by being there— the woman we see chairing a corporate board and the woman presiding over the us House of Representatives. Her presence says: This is where women belong.” —Madeleine M. Kunin

she can make a difference

According to the interview research conducted by X X, most women believed society would be different if there were more women participating in the political decision-making and legislative process. One popular point of view was that women think differently and would use political power differently than men. Women were considered to be able to contribute better to the common good over personal good. This perspective is shared by Madeline M. Kunin, the first female governor of Vermont, former Deputy Secretary of Education and Ambassador of Switzerland under President Bill Clinton, in her book Pearls, Politics, and Power. Kunin states, from her own personal experience, that women bring different life experiences to the debate. Even men, who advocate for womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s issues, do not have first hand experience of what it is to be a woman nor deal with these issues every day.

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S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

In our everyday lives, politics is most visible in things that actually get done and decided in Congress. Kunin points out, that intensity in the process makes a huge difference. The resources, like time and money, are limited in politics. And only so many issues can be dealt with in a given period of time. “Those who fight hardest and refuse to give up usually win” Kunin explains. It is not difficult to see that we need more politicians who understand the effect that politics has on women’s lives. And those politicians are women, because they have that first hand experience that is needed, and they will care enough to “fight hardest and refuse to give up”.

We need to see the heroines “ Every woman who is in a position in which women have never been before becomes a role model simply by being there—the woman we see chairing a corporate board and the woman presiding over the us House of Representatives. Her presence says: This is where women belong.” Writes Madeleine M. Kunin in her book Pearls, Politics, and Power. It is true, women are misrepresented in the media and underrepresented on the political stage, but they are there. Women have made it. And there are true trailblazers that deserve more visibility. Young women need inspiration and role models to look up to. They need women who stand up and say: “we did this, you can do it, too.” Like Marian Wright Edelman, Founder & President Children’s Defense Fund, said: “You can’t be what you can’t see.” Well, let’s make the achievements visible. Let’s show the men and women of the us that there are strong and capable women in the us politics. Let’s show that women are successful politicians and their place is in the front row of the political scene.

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Sh e c a n m a k e a d i ff e r e n c e

“The difference between female and male legislators is that women bring different life experiences into the debate. They change the conversation” —Madeleine M. Kunin, American diplomat and politician

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Sh e c a n m a k e a d i ff e r e n c e

Hillary Rodham Clinton is currently ranked as number 2 on Forbesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; The World â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 100 Most Powerful Women list. She served as the 67th United States Secretary of State, Senator of New York, leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, and the First Lady of the United States.

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S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

above: Condoleezza Rice served as the 66th United States Secretar y of State. She was the second woman and the first female African-American Secretar y of State as well as the first female National Security Advisor for the Bush administration. She was also a professor of political science at Stanford University and served on the National Security Council. left: Nancy Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives. She also served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Pelosi was the first woman to hold the office and to date is the highest-ranking female politician in American histor y.

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Sh e c a n m a k e a d i ff e r e n c e

S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

Kathleen Sebelius has served as the 21st United States Secretar y of Health and Human Services since 2009. She was the second female Governor of Kansas, the Democratic respondent to the 2008 State of the Union address, and chair-emeritus of the Democratic Governors Association.

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Sh e c a n m a k e a d i ff e r e n c e

Sandra Day Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor was the first woman to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court. She served as an Associate Justice from her appointment in 1981 by Ronald Reagan until her retirement from the Court in 2006.

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S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

1. Janet Napolitano is the first woman to serve as the United States Secretar y of Homeland Security, in office since 2009. She was also Arizonaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s third female governor, and the first woman to win re-election. Napolitano was also the first woman to serve as the Attorney General of Arizona. 2. Kamala Harris is the 32nd and current Attorney General of California. She is the first female, African-American, and Asian American attorney general in California, as well as the first ethnic Indian American attorney general in the United States. 3- Deborah Wasserman Schultz is the us Representative for Floridaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 23rd congressional district and the Chair of the Democratic National Committee. She previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. She is the first Jewish Congresswoman ever elected from Florida. 4. Nikki Haley is the 116th and current Governor of South Carolina. She is the first woman to serve as Governor of South Carolina and the second Indian-American governor in the countr y. She is also the third person of color elected as governor of a Southern state. Haley, 41, is also the youngest current governor in the United States. 5. Cathy McMorris Rodgers is the us Representative for Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 5th congressional district. She is currently the highest ranking Republican woman in Congress, serving as the Chair of the House Republican Conference. She is only the second woman to serve in that capacity. 6. Olympia Snowe is former United States Senator from Maine. She has become widely known for her ability to inf luence the outcome of close votes, including whether to end filibusters.

Every woman who is in a position in which women have never been before becomes a role model simply by being there.

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Sh e c a n m a k e a d i ff e r e n c e

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“This never would have happened if there wasn’t a woman on the committee.” —Loretta Sanchez, Congresswoman.

(Speaking about achieving f inancial suppor t for helping rape vic tims in Kosovo, which would ultimately help the whole Muslim communit y to heal af ter the war.)

S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Got The Power Women may lack political power but they have considerable amount of purchasing power. 75% of women identify themselves as the primary shoppers for their households and women account for 85% of all consumer purchases.

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Women Govern The wallet

In spite of women’s dollar still being 77 cents (the us Census Bureau, 2010) 75% of women identified themselves as the primary shoppers for their households (mri’s Survey of the American Consumer in Fall 2011). Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases—from cars to health care. Women spend 58% of us online retail dollars; make 80% of all healthcare decisions; and make 68% of new car purchase decisions. Women don’t only spend more money than men they are also starting to close the wage cap in ceratin areas. In 47 of the 50 largest us metro areas, single, childless women in their 20s make more money than their male counterparts. In 2008, 35% of wives earned more than their husbands. The same year, 64% of mothers with children under six worked outside the home. Women’s purchasing power has increased so much in the past couple of decades that economists have coined the term “sheconomy.” It defines the phenomena described above—today women make the vast majority of most of the purchasing decisions, and the trend is not slowing down.

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S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

sheconomy According to dictionary term economy stands for “The wealth and resources of a country or region, especially in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services.” Sheconomy was coined to describe the financial power that women have in the American society. It doesn’t mean that women generally earn more money than men. But rather, the purchasing decisions, made over the money both genders earn together, are mostly made by women. Sheconomy is not a dictionary term—yet—but it is the wealth and resources of women in terms of the consumption of goods and services. It’ been known for a while now, that women’s power to make and affect purchasing decisions is so significant that brands everywhere have started to take that into account in marketing. What has changed over the time, however, is that women today are also the earners. More women graduate from collages these days than men, and with higher education comes better salary. The development is still slow and often the reason, men drop out of college more often than women, is that men don’t need higher education to get better salary, but women do. However, the progress is on going and one third of wives already out earn their husbands. In future, sheconomy will be even more important part of the us economy than it already is.

Sheconomy is “the wealth and resources of women in terms of the consumption of goods and services”.

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Women Govern the Walle t

Women’s purchasing power has increased so much in the past couple of decades that common language has adopted the term “sheconomy.”

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S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

D 54

Women Govern the Walle t

85% of all brand purchases are made by women and 75% of women identified themselves as the primar y shoppers for their households

D 55

S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

85% of all consumer purchases in the us are made or inf luenced by women.

50% of the non-farm jobs in the us are held by women.

29% of the us companies are owned by women.

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Women Govern the Walle t

D 57

xx Shifting Power

Women find politics important and they want to affect the society but they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have time to participate or they simply donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t trust the current politicians. Project XXptional is a cause-related marketing brand that will enable women to shift the focus of their power from purses to polls.

Take Action

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cause-related marketing (crm) is a mutually beneficial collaboration between a corporation and a nonprofit in which their respective assets are combined to create shareholder and social value, connect with a range of constituents (be they consumers, employees, or suppliers), and communicate the shared values of both organizations.â&#x20AC;? Source: ht t p://w w w.g rantspace.org Project X Xptional aims to be a connecting link between corporations and selected non-profits in order to raise funds for womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s political education and political awareness campaigns. It is important to understand that Project X Xptional itself is not a non-profit but a for-profit entity that works in the interest of the American female population. The object of Project X Xptional is to encourage women to participate in American politics in order to increase the amount of female representation in the political decision making process where women currently are heavily underrepresented. The aim is to educate women about the importance of political decision-making and power, to encourage women to take an active role in politics, and to inspire a shift from purchasing power to political power by encouraging women to invest in products and services that support their cause.

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S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

The organization manages a cause-related marketing brand to raise awareness about gender inequality in politics and to raise funds for educating women about American politics and for encouraging female participation in politics.

Brands commit to the campaigns with multiple year contracts and brands dedicate selected products to the campaign.

Brands use their own expertise and budget to promot products and campaign.

XX 60

Ta k e A c t i o n

The majority of funds raised by selling the certified products will be directly transferred to special fund provided by NOW Foundation. We will only charge a licensing fee, and do not transfer charity funds through the organization. NOW Foundation (The National Organization for Women Foundation) will serve as the distributor of funds gathered from the campaigns. The funds will be allocated to three main projects hosted by following non-prof its: AAUN, Running Start, and League of Women Voters.

With enough funds raised we can urge political education and participation among all ages and on all levels in society by collaborating with organizations like Running Start, AAUW, and League of Women voters.

Running Start Educating highschool girls about American politics and to encourage their participation in politics. The American Association o f University Women Encouraging female college students to become more active in politics. League of Women Voters â&#x20AC;&#x153;Get out the voteâ&#x20AC;? campaigns aimed at women during local and national elections in the US to activate female voters.

XX 61

S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

Ethical consumerism In an ideal world, all consuming is ethical. People would pay attention what they shop for and where, and companies would gladly carry some social responsibility. In the current situation, however, the majority of corporations, as well as consumers, need either a carrot or a stick as a motivation to do the right thing. “A stick ” would be legal punishment for example for dumping toxic waste in to nature. An example of “a carrot” could be tax deduction for donating money to a non-profit. A typical example of everyday ethical behavior is donating a small amount of money to a good cause when purchasing something. It is common practice to ask for a dollar for some medical research or a youth club when paying for your groceries. Often requests for donations are backed up by emotional messages of how there’s illness or suffering and you can help by just donating one dollar. This is called emotive appeal. Emotive appeal is efficient when raising funds. Like in any marketing, pleading to emotions instead of reason is common practice and usually creates faster results. There is also a problem with decisions made with the heart instead of the brain. According to Slavoj Žižek, a Slovene philosopher and cultural critic, emotive appeal as part of fund raising creates a big problem. People will donate a small sum, and go about their lives without questioning their position in the social system, thinking that they have now done their share. In the end, the fund raising had a passivizing effect, even if the intention was good. Emotive appeal or not, the will to do good is strong. Françoise Quairel-Lanoizelee and Michel Capron examined corporate social responsibility and ethical consumerism in their book La responsabilité sociale d’entreprise. One of their research findings was that “75 per cent or European consumers indicated that they would alter their consumption behavior to aid social causes. The interview research conducted by Project X Xptional showed similar results. More than 90% of interviewed women said they would buy a product that was publicly affiliated with a cause they thought was important and over 70% would be willing to pay more. Another notable finding was that more than 70% would be willing to change their consuming behavior to support a cause they considered important. This means they would to question their brand loyalty to participate in something they saw worthy.

XX 62

Ta k e A c t i o n

90% of interviewed women said they would buy a product that was affiliated with a cause they thought was important.

70% would be willing to pay more for a product that was affiliated with a cause they thought was important.

70% would be willing to change their consuming behavior to support a cause they considered important.

XX 63

S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

In an attempt to reach as large audience as possible, Project X Xptional will be using some means of emotive appeal. After all, the message is very personal for many Americans—51% to be exact. But we also want to activate people as much as possible. This means the emotive appeal cannot be our “only weapon.” Project X Xptional will use strong, emotional messaging to catch the attention of the audience without forgetting to offer plenty of factual information to support the statements. We will also offer the audience activating messages and means to participate. Our goal is to move the masses and change history.

XX 64

Ta k e A c t i o n

Cause-related marketing is a mutually beneficial collaboration between a corporation and a nonprofit.

XX 65

S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

There’s Demand for political activity The interview research pointed out that women find politics important and they are willing to participate. They would even be willing to contribute financially if they felt that there was no danger of corruption and they could see where the donations end up. The biggest obstacles were the lack of time and easily digestible educational information about politics. In other words, women need quick access to reliable, non-partisan information about politics and help with remembering political events and organizing the “political calendar.” Politics, on the other hand, needs more active participation from women: more voting according to women’s own interests and more running for public office. Politics also needs to become more interesting, more simple, and more concrete. Women need to see how political issues cross paths with their lives, and they need to hear it with common language instead of political jargon. Education is the key to enlightenment. As the governor of Utah Brigham Young put it: “You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.” Along comes X X: a cause-related marketing brand that helps to empower women with political information, and enables women to use their purchasing power to obtain political power.

The goal of the Project XXptional organization is to create a power shift from purchasing power to political power by encouraging women to buy products from companies that care about what happens in society and what happens to women. With enough funds raised Project XXptional can urge political education and participation among all ages and on all levels in society by collaborating with organizations like Running Start, AAUW, and League of Women voters.

XX 66

Ta k e A c t i o n

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S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

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Ta k e A c t i o n

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S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

Educate and inspire Collaborating brands, or brand partners if you will, commit to Project X Xptional campaigns with multiple year contracts. Brands dedicate a product to campaign and use their own marketing expertise to promote the product and the campaign as they see fit. A part of the profits raised by selling the Project X Xptional certified product will be directly transferred to a special fund provided by the NOW Foundation. The Project X Xptional organization will only charge a licensing fee, and does not transfer charity funds through its organization. The National Organization for Women Foundation The now Foundation is a 501(c) (3) organization devoted to achieving full equality for women through education and litigation. The Foundation focuses on a broad range of women’s rights issues, including economic justice, pay equity, racial discrimination, women’s health and body image, women with disabilities, reproductive rights and justice, family law, marriage and family formation rights of same-sex couples, representation of women in the media, and global feminist issues. The now Foundation is affiliated with the National Organization for Women, the largest feminist grass roots organization in the US, with hundreds of chapters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and hundreds of thousands of contributing members and supporters. Source: w w w.nowfoundat ion.org The now foundation will serve as the distributor of funds gathered from Project X Xptional campaigns. The funds will be allocated to three main projects hosted by the following non-profits: aaun, Running Start, and League of Women Voters. The American Association of University Women aauw empowers women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. Their nonpartisan, nonprofit organization has more than 150,000 members and supporters across the United States, as well as 1,000 local branches and 700 college and university partners. Since a auw’s founding in 1881, its members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day—educational, social, economic, and political. a auw advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. Source: w w w.aauw.org

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Ta k e A c t i o n

Running Start By educating young women and girls about the importance of politics, and imbuing them with the skills they need to be leaders, we give women the “running start” they need to achieve greater political power. With an earlier start in politics, women will climb higher on the leadership ladder, allowing more women to share in the decision making power of this country. Source: w w w.r unningstar tonline.org

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters is a citizens’ organization that has fought since 1920 to improve our government and engage all citizens in the decisions that impact their lives. The League of Women Voters operates at national, state and local levels through more than 800 state and local Leagues, in all 50 states as well as in dc, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Hong Kong. The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and inf luences public policy through education and advocacy. The League of Women Voters Education Fund works to encourage the active and informed participation of citizens in government and to increase understanding of major public policy issues. Source: w w w.lw v.org

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Who are we talking to

Figuring out the right the target audience has a great effect on the brand personality. Demographic information like age, gender, geography, etc. defines the foundation for the style the brand will carry. For example, women older than 60 would most likely prefer a different style of photography or typography than women younger than 18. Project X Xptional brand â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary target audience is American women of ages 18â&#x20AC;&#x201C;40. The reason we are targeting women is that they are still heavily underrepresented in congress. The Women and Politics Institute at American University in Washington dc published a study about gender disparity in us politics in January 2012. The research shows that on both local and federal levels of us politics the number of women holding public office falls below 24%, and in some cases as low as 8%. The same study compared the ratings of female representation in global politics showing the us ranking as 91 out of 190 countries. Less developed countries like Uganda and Afghanistan ranked ahead of them. We believe that educating women about politics would empower them to take more action and to get more involved in politics.

XX 74

To define the right audience we need to examine the voter behavior of American people. Voting and registration rates tend to increase with age. In the us in 2010, only 21% of 18-to-24-year old citizens voted, compared with 61% of those 65 and older. We want to encourage women to vote and educate them about how politics can affect their lives, therefore we have chosen to approach that part of female voters who are the least active currently; women 18–40.

100

0 18–29

30–39

voted

40–49

50–59

60–69

70+

Voting and Registration by Age in the United States, November 2010. Source: us Census Bureau, Current Population Survey

r e g i s t e r e d, bu t n o v o t e Not registered No response

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In the attempt to raise as much funding as possible for political education and activation of women it is sensible to approach the demographic who would be most likely to participate in the Project X Xptional campaigns. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve already defined the age range of our audience, which was derived from the voting habits of American women. We found out that younger women are less likely than older women to register to vote as well as vote after registering. This is how we defined the age range for our audience to be 18â&#x20AC;&#x201C;40. However, the age alone is not enough to determine our audience. To be able to offer the best possible services we need to narrow down our audience more. Project X Xptional is a cause-related marketing brand. This means that in order to raise the funds we need we also have to be able to sell the products and services from the collaborating brands. As we talked about womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consuming habits we found out that women dominate the usage of money. They are the ones who make the most of the purchasing decisions in American households. We also found out that in 47 of the 50 largest us metro areas, single, childless women in their 20s make more money than their male counterparts. It seems like the women who make the most money are more likely to live in urban areas than in the countryside. Participating in Project X Xptional campaigns can be considered as an investment: you purchase something you believe will change your future in the long run, and to make this investment you need a little bit of money. To increase the likelihood of having our audience participate we have decided to concentrate on urban areas. However, we would like to stress the fact that even if we approach the wealthier American women, the whole population will benefit from the outcome as the funds will be allocated to educate and encourage women of all income levels.

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W h o a r e w e ta l k i n g t o

in the 47 of the 50 largest US metro areas, single, childless women in their 20s make more money than their male counterparts.

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Voting and registration rates tend to increase with age. In the US in 2010, only 21% of citizens 18â&#x20AC;&#x201C;24 voted, compared with 61% of those 65 and older.

Urban mix 18–40 Keywords: upbeat, smart, edgy Urban Mix women live in city areas. They can be students, professionals, or stay-at-home-moms. W hat connects these women is the urban lifestyle of socializing in cafes and restaurants, perhaps using public transportation, appreciating diversity, and participating in a variety of events. They can be interested in politics but often don’t have time to participate—and even sometimes forget to register to vote as a result of a busy life or maybe moving recently to a new municipality. They can also be ignorant about politics but aware of the problems in the surrounding community and are willing to change the situation if helped to understand how. Urban Mix women have different social and ethnic backgrounds. Either their education or personal experience has shown them that life does not treat everyone with equality and unpleasant things can happen. These women are young enough to understand that they—and their children—still have decades of future ahead of them and they’re not ready to throw that away.

Urban areas in the US.

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Urban Mix are women of ages 18 to 40. They live in urban areas, are interested in the surrounding community and are willing to change the society.

S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

Jennifer, 32

Shauna, 20

Jennifer’s job as an account manager

Shauna is still in college. She has never

keeps her busy. Back in the college she

registered to vote, and doesn’t really

used to participate actively in political

know how the legislation or election

debate but today she rarely has time,

process works. She still has a couple

and moving to another state distanced

years left of school but already she’s

her from her former political circles.

worried about being able to pay back

Working in a technology-related field,

student loans. A couple of her male

she’s no stranger to gender discrimina-

friends from school dropped out just

tion and often men with less experi-

before graduating because they were

ence take the promotions before her.

offered well-paying jobs.

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W h o a r e w e ta l k i n g t o

Sara, 26

Corinne, 37

Sara is a law student. Weekends she

Corinne has two kids: Alisha, 4, and

volunteers at the local women’s shelter

Samuel, 6, who was diagnosed with

to gain some school credit for commu-

add a year ago. Corinne works at the

nity projects. Most of the customers

local pharmacy but the insurance that

at the shelter are either looking for

her employer offers does not cover all

a safe place to escape from domestic

the therapy and medication Samuel

violence or spending the night because

needs. Samuel also needs special help

they don’t have any other place to go to.

at school but his school does not offer

Sometimes the women coming to the

this service and his family can’t offer

shelter are pregnant by accident or by

to hire someone. Corinne does not

rape. There are not many clinics that

want to put Samuel in a special class or

help women in that situation in Sara’s

a different school but because of lack of

hometown but luckily there are couple

funding in Samuel’s current school she

of non-profits they can turn to for help.

might have to.

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Urban Mix lifestyle is busy with hobbies, social activities, work, studies and children. It is a lifestyle of adults and young people who want to do more for the community but canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find the time.

S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

Be xxeptional

Women have power yet lack equal representation. Women want equality and leadership, yet fewer opportunities come their way. Women are ready to take action and level the playing field if they are given an easy access to do it. Women don’t want excuses or delay in the progress. They are here and they deserve to be seen. Women are xxeptional. The extraordinary difference that separates women from men is, of course, chromosome X. Each person normally has one pair of sex chromosomes in each cell. Females have two X chromosomes, whereas males have one X and one Y chromosome. This is the main reason we wanted to call our brand X X, to celebrate the small difference that defines our gender. We, also, wanted the brand to draw attention to our cause. We didn’t want to hide or come out as being modest. Project X Xptional is a bold brand that says: “ look here, this is where we stand.” X as a name and symbol felt very appropriate. “X marks the spot” is a common saying when calling out a detail. This is what we wanted to express, as well. X marks the spot and we are ready to mark X X all over Capitol Hill.

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Be x xeptional

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3x 0.

The xx logo The Project X Xptional logo is simple and recognizable. Inspiration for the visual expression came from “marking the spot with X” and here the spot would be lack of female representation in us politics. We wanted the logo to look like anyone can take a paintbrush, march out, and mark the spot where needed. The look and feel of the brand is active and slightly revolutionary in the spirit of “women’s revolution,” and we wanted the logo mark to have same spirit of civic activism. The logo mark is a reproduction of actual painted X’s. Due to restrictions in different methods of production we have had to come up with a couple of different versions of the logo mark: accurately reproduced brush strokes, simplified brush strokes and simple graphic X’s.

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Be x xeptional

The most accurate version of the logo mark is only used in large representations. This version has fine details that do not reproduce well in smaller sizes.

1.5”

Use this logo in sizes 1.5 inches high and big ger.

The simplified version of the logo mark is meant to represent some detail giving the look and feel of the original logo mark yet showing less detail, making it possible to use this logo mark in smaller sizes. Use this logo in sizes 0.3–1.5 inches high.

0.3”

0.25” 0.1”

The most simple version of the logo mark is meant to be used in ver y small sizes. Use this logo in sizes that are smaller than 0.3 inches high.

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incorrect use

Do not distort.

Do not separate Xs.

Do not change color.

Do not tilt.

Do not add shadow.

Do not add gradients.

Do not insert a picture.

Do not use separate colors.

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Be x xeptional

“revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.” —Che Guevara

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Brand colors Project X Xptional has chosen to use the colors red and blue—colors often used in politics—along with black as its primary color palette. Secondary colors are earthy tones that complement the primary palette.

Primary colors

Secondary colors Black CMYK: 0 0 0 100 RGB: 0 0 0 Hex: #000000 PMS: PANTONE Black

Dark Gray CMYK: 0 0 0 80 RGB: 88 89 91 Hex: # 58585B PMS: PANTONE 425

Red CMYK: 0 100 100 0 RGB: 237 28 36 Hex: #ED1C24 PMS: PANTONE 185

Medium Gray CMYK: 0 0 0 60 RGB: 128 130 133 Hex: #808284 PMS: PANTONE 430

Blue CMYK: 100 36 0 70 RGB: 0 52 90 Hex: #00345A PMS: PANTONE 654

Light Gray CMYK: 0 0 0 30 RGB: 188 190 192 Hex: #BBBDC0 PMS: PANTONE 428 Light Blue CMYK: 29 6 0 38 RGB: 121 148 168 Hex: # 7894A8 PMS: PANTONE 5425 Dark Rust Brown CMYK: 0 83 83 55 RGB: 131 39 20 Hex: #832713 PMS: PANTONE 174 Light Rust Brown CMYK: 0 83 83 29 RGB: 181 60 41 Hex: # B43C28 PMS: PANTONE 7598 Powder CMYK: 0 8 34 2 RGB: 250 225 175 Hex: #F9E1AE PMS: PANTONE 7401

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Graphics Since Project X Xptional wants to stand out as an active brand that inspires women to stand up, walk out and take charge, the graphics are designed to ref lect motion, activism and movement. Paint brush graphics that say “Let’s get things done” will provoke images about civil activism, building new things or improving and fixing things that need it. The colors red and black are used to catch attention and contrast colors that collaborating colors might be using in their own marketing. In color psychology red is often described to evoke strong emotions. It’s often characterized as an energetic, active, and passionate color, which suits our purposes well.

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typefaces The chosen typefaces ref lect the nature of the brand. National is a typeface published by typeface foundry called Village. It is modern but friendly. Village characterizes National on their website: “National’s details are drawn from the best pre-Akzidenz grotesques, giving it a humble, workman-like character with an agreeable tone of voice.” (vllg.com). Chaparral Pro was designed for Adobe by Carol Twombly. On the Typekit website it is characterized as follows: “Chaparral has varying letter proportions that give it an accessible and friendly appearance in all weights from light to bold.” and “Chaparral’s highly functional design is surprisingly beautiful.” (typekit.com) National book • Infographics • Chapter openers • Call outs • Highlights

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 !”#€%&/()=

National bold • Headlines • Subheads • Quote bylines

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 !”#€%&/()=

National black • Large quotes

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 !”#€%&/()=

Chaparral Pro Book • Body copy

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 !”#€%&/()=

Chaparral Pro Light Italic • Captions • Online intro

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 !”#€%&/()=

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Be x xeptional

Language Because we want Project X Xptional to stand out as a phenomenon and a movement we have decided to incorporate strong use of language. Project X Xeptional will use provocative slogans that will incorporate humor and catch attention effectively. The brand is unapologetic and brave, and we want the slogans and catch-phrases to ref lect this.

Womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Place is in the house or the senate. Make you mark in history. My America is not 82% male. Step up, stand out and take the lead. be xxeptional.

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S hif t ing P o w e r f r om P ur s e s t o P ol l s

MArketing xx Part of the profits made with licensing fees will be used in marketing. Creating a highly recognizable and desirable brand will greatly benefit both Project X Xptional and the collaborating brands as well as the end goal: increasing womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s political education and participation. Because our target group is young (18â&#x20AC;&#x201C;40) urban women we will aim to keep the marketing and the media choices young. In addition to the online marketing through our online community and app we will create a set of posters for outdoor marketing and t-shirts to be handed out and sold at our events and on our website.

49%

Join us. Be xxeptional. w w w.x xeptional.com

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Be x xeptional

51%

america is not 82% male. Women constitute 51% of the US population but only 18% of Congress. Help us make things right. Be xxeptional, join us at xxeptional.com.

Stand out in the communit y with Project X Xptional t-shirt and let ever yone know where you stand. Logo in the front and statement in the back will remind ever yone about our important cause.

x xeption

al.c

Front

x xeption

Front

Back

al.c

Back

XX 10 1

The Project X Xptional business system follows the graphical guidelines set to carr y the brand message through using only the colors black and red and taking advantage of the brush stroje graphics.

XX 10 3

X X Community To reach as many people as possible with our brand message and our mission, we have created a vibrant XX community, that lives online and on your smartphone. This community will have an important role in connecting the collaborating brands and XX activists. It will also be a place of sharing information and keeping up to date about political events.

XXitingly active

The goal of Project X Xptional is to bring corporations and consumers who both want to encourage equality, together, in a collaboration that is truly meaningful and beneficial for both parties. To enable that, we have created the X X Community, that is an active environment of education and fund raising. An integral part of the X X Community is the X X app that has a place for fund raising, in other words for shopping. It also has a handy political events listing that will keep you up to date with what is going on, when, and where. In the app, the X X Community Wall is a place to share the photos you took when participating in some of the events or activities to inspire others in the community. And you can even register to vote through our smart phone application. X X Online Community shares some of the features of the X X app but without the personalized touch. You can still access many of the features but you will not get your own reminders, favorites and you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t post on the community wall without our mobile application. However, the online community works as a general platform to tie our message together, and it gives an opportunity for collaborating brands to participate in visually engaging campaigns outside their own online territory. Both, our online community and X X app, are highly integrated with appropriate social media to increase the visibility of our message and take advantage of the existing social networks.

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xxeptionally connected From one point of view, the X X app is an educational application, that helps demystifying the American political system and demonstrates that the more actively we participate in politics, the greater effect it can have on our daily lives. Our interview research showed that most interviewed women found politics very important and wished they could participate more. The three biggest obstacles for becoming more involved with politics—according to the women themselves— were: lack of time, lack of information about political decision making process, and not being able to see how politics affects their personal lives. These key findings were used to draft out the application functions. Since lack of time was one of the biggest obstacles in becoming more involved, we decided to add some organizing tools to the app. Hence, one of the key components in the X X app is its effective “events” function that lists current political news and events making it easy and fast to add desired events to your calendar of choice (e.g. Google Calendar, Outlook, Android Calendar, or Apple ios Calendar), and highlight your favorite events for fast browsing. What makes this events calendar different from other existing ones, is that it will send push notifications about future elections, voter registration, political debates, public hearings, and any other political events in your local area. However, X X app is not only an event listing application but also a cause-related marketing and shopping tool. It will connect brands and companies with consumers who are willing to change their consumer behavior in order to support a cause they find important—in this case, gender equality in politics. The foundation of the idea is that consumers have power—in other words, money—that they are willing to use. And they are not willing to stop consuming. So, instead of trying to persuade women to donate to a cause, Project X Xptional offers them an opportunity to “vote with their wallets.” A good example of similar ideology is (red), an organization that raises funds for The Global Fund. (red) is non-profit organization. However, Project X Xptional is not a non-profit, but for-profit product company that is on the mission to provide education and connect ethical consumers to brands that see cause-related marketing—and gender equality in politics—suitable for their branding and marketing strategy.

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Platform & Programming Two biggest operating systems in the American market are Apple ios and Android. The Mac Observer published a research, conducted by Strategy Analytics, about us smartphone market shares in 2011 and 2012. According to the research, in 2012, Apple ios and Android dominate the smartphone market with 89% market share (Apple ios 33%, Android 56%). From 2011 to 2012 their mutual market share increased by 6% from 83% to 89%. And from 2011, Apple ios gained 10% now being the fastest growing smartphone operating system. Fast growth of the market share makes Apple ios a strong candidate for a suitable platform. But what really makes the Apple ios the perfect match for X X, is its popularity among women. According to Admob’s study about gender by platform 43% of Apple ios users are women, whereas only 27% of Android users are women. Apple ios has its own software development kit: ios Developer Program. ios Developer Program comes with a set of development tools such as: Xcode to build and graphically debug our application; ios Simulator to run, test, and debug our application using simulated iPhone and iPad on our computer; Instruments to optimize our application; and Interface Builder to design our application. The first thing to do is to register as an Apple Developer on apple.developer.com. This will give us free access to Apple developer tools and resources for creating ios and Mac apps. This, however, will not provide us with distribution channels through App Store. To gain access to App Store we need to enroll into the ios Developer Program online. To enroll as a company or an organizationm, we need to provide, in addition to our legal entity name and address, a d-u-n-s® Number (a global identification number system for companies and organizations managed by Dun & Bradstreet). The information provided will be verified and afterwards Project X Xptional can purchase the ios Developer Program set for $99/year. After developing X X app with ios Developer Program tools we can distribute it with Apple’s App Store, which will collect 30% of the revenue as a fee for using their service leaving only 70% of the price as profit from the application sale. The user interface framework for iPhone is Cocoa Touch and programming language is Objective-c.

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mobile application MArkets Business Insider’s “The Top 10 Best-Selling iPhone Apps of All Time” (March 5, 2012) shows that the most popular genre in applications currently is entertainment. On the Top 10 list, only one application was not a game. It was Camera+, an application that offers basic photo editing features. All others on the list are different kind of smartphone games, among which Angry Birds appears twice. All Top 10 applications are paid and prices vary from $0.99 to $2.99. Seems almost depressing to try to compete with genre like entertainment. Especially since the interview research showed that according to the women who were interviewed politics was often considered boring, uninteresting, and corrupt. However, the situation might not be quite as desperate as it first seems. Gridley & Company’s research “pos Goes Digital: Evolution of the In-Store Shopping Experience” (March 2012) showed that 62% of shoppers search for deals digitally for at least half of their shopping trips, and that 52% of adult cell phone owners use their devices while in a store to get help with purchasing decisions. This is where X X app will come handy for busy female consumers trying to make a purchasing decision.

100 90

43%

46%

27%

42%

57%

54%

73%

58%

iPhone

ipod touch

Android

webos

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Gender by platform (AdMob).

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Female

MAle

Smartphone owners in the us by age (MobiLens)

4.9%

6.4%

7.8% 21.5% 14.8%

21.5%

27.2%

A g e 1 3 –1 7 Age 18–24 A g e 2 5 –3 4 Age 35–4 4 Age 4 5–5 4 Age 55–64 Age 65+

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Flow chart that describes the functions of the X X app.

Start up Registration & Profile Voter Registration

Main Menu

Brands

Events Event listing

Favorites

Listing of brands

Products & Services

Event description Brand page More campaigns

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Settings

Profile

Camera XX Camera launches the iPhoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in built camera to capture moments in political events and activities that community members would like to share on the community wall or save to their own photo galler y.

Community Wall Community wall is an on going and scrollable listing of photos shared by XX community members. Users can comment on the photos and see how the events were.

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Fast growth of the market share makes Apple iOS a strong candidate for a suitable platform, but what really makes the Apple iOS perfect match for us is its popularity among women.

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After the startup screen the user will either sign in or register. They will also have a chance to register to vote.

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From the main menu the user can navigate to view the events, communit y or brand listing. Additionally they can launch the camera, edit their profile or application setting or share any view on social media websites such as Facebook or Twitter.

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The X X app uses iPhoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s native camera to capture images that can be directly posted to the X X Communit y Wall or saved in your own X X photo galler y.

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On the communit y wall other X X members can see how the event you visited was. They can comment on your photos or your photo galleries.

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The XX app connects likeminded consumers and brands. for political organizations it is a meeting place where brands can offer them relevant shopping experiences.

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The brand and categories menus work as scrollable listings that can expand to accommodate as many collaborators as needed. Each brand will have their own section in the application to present their own ideolog y and campaigns.

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Online xxperience Alongside the app, xxeptional.com is the X X community’s cornerstone. It brings together the collaborators and the community members in an open environment. To use X X app you have to download the phone application, but xxeptional.com is available on your browser. The functions are simplified. You can’t post to the community wall, but you can see the events and browse the brands. Our goal is that as many people ass possible will download the app and also visit the website. The website is designed to be a one page site with sticky top bar and sticky navigation that follows the view port. Smooth scrolling and anchor links to corresponding sections will make sure that the online experience is seamless and pleasant.

About XX • Contact info • Careers

Brands • Shop by category • Alphabetical list • Campaign of the week

XX Certification

Results

Get involved

Careers sub-page

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Events • Event listing

Event description Brand’s page • External link to the brands own website

• Add to your calendar • Sign up/buy tickets link

Landing page

XX App • Direct link to App Store for downloading the XX app

Campaing highlight

• Call to action, special event/road show/campaign

• Social media sharing: Facebook & Twitter.

Sub-page for the highlighted campaign, add to calendar.

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C ase Studies See the XX brand implemented in these following four case studies. Each of these case studies features a possible collaborating brand that has been chosen because of their mission statement or the interest in improving the surrounding community that they share.

XXtraordinary partners

In his book “ The Green Marketing Manifesto”, John Grant states, in order to maintain credibility, “you must be absolutely certain that your business can and will live up to the standards you set for yourself, in every facet of the business.” Not following the standards you’ve set up for yourself has been a problem with companies trying to use environmentalism as a strategy in marketing as well as an ideology. Sometimes even good intentions get buried under bad publicity, and you lose your credibility in the eyes of your audience. Grant is talking about green values. But many of his advice can be implemented to social or community-involved marketing strategies. Project X Xptional wants to make sure that it has the appropriate credibility. One aspect of it is choosing the right partners, in other words, choosing partners that support our feminist agenda and are believable when doing so.

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In 2006, J.Crew introduced Madewell, a modern-day interpretation of an American denim label founded in 1937. Madewell continues to bring the same original integrity to everything it makes today, including a wide range of effortlessly cool pieces to pair with denim. Step inside any Madewell store across the country and you’ll notice a friendly general-store vibe and antique décor that naturally ref lect the authenticity and timelessness of the clothing. In addition to Madewell’s brick-and-mortar stores, madewell.com (launched in 2010) is a strong sales driver. Madewell has also been making a further play in the digital space with a robust social media presence. At J.Crew, it’s one of our top priorities to run our business with a sensitivity to the world around us. We proudly support the work of a number of local and international charities. Our beneficiaries range from educational programs and nonprofit trade associations to organizations that fight life-threatening diseases. Source: www.jcrew.com

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Make your mark Join Madewell and letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s make history. Make your mark visible abd tell us what your future looks like and how we can change it with politics. Make Your Mark campaign in Madewell stores near you. Find your store: madewell.com.

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aldo specializes in the creation of high-quality fashion footwear, leather goods and accessories. aldo places a premium on being a good corporate citizen by working to enrich the communities in which we live and work. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not uncommon for aldo or its employees to participate in fund raisers or to volunteer their time to community causes. aldo is a brand with a conscience, a brand that cares. We actively support the fight against aids. Giving back to our communities is a necessary and fundamental part of the work we do everyday. Source: www.aldoshoes.com

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Sephora is a visionary beauty-retail concept founded in France by Dominique Mandonnaud in 1970. Sephoraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Values Inside Out program matches individual Sephora stores with local non-profits. Each store has the opportunity to choose a charity they feel passionate about and help by providing funds, raising awareness, and volunteeringâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to help that organization fulfill its individual goals over the course of 2013. Source: shop.sephora.com

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Marc Jacobs International llc has a long-standing commitment to the fight against the global hiv epidemic. On this occasion, they have recognized on aid for aids International, a great partner to further the work in the field through their programs. Marc Jacobs International llc was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in New York, New York. The company operates as a subsidiary of lvmh, Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Source: www.aidforaids.org

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Human-Centered Design The whole idea of Project XXptional was to create something that fulfilled the needs of women. There was no point of making something simply because it would be pretty. To find the deliverables Project XXptional followed IDEOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategy for human centered design: hear, create, and deliver.

What is human centered-design?

“Human-Centered Design (hcd) is a process and a set of techniques used to create new solutions for the world. Solutions include products, services, environments, organizations, and modes of interaction. The reason this process is called “ human-centered ” is because it starts with the people we are designing for. The hcd process begins by examining the needs, dreams, and behaviors of the people we want to affect with our solutions. We seek to listen to and understand what they want. We call this the Desirability Lens. We view the world through this lens throughout the design process. Once we have identified a range of what is Desirable, we begin to view our solutions through the lenses of Feasibility and Viability. We carefully bring in these lenses during the later phases of the process.” Source: ideo Human-Centered Design Toolkit

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Colin powell, American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army.

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HEAR It was decided from the beginning that it was integral for Project X Xptional to serve its audience. The goal of the brand was to be a useful tool and inspirational element in womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives. Therefore, we needed to find out what women think about politics and how we can help them. Project X Xptional interviewed 16 women over the phone, 4 women face-to-face and did online surveys with 18 women. This research was conducted between October 18th and 24th in 2012. All the interviewees were asked the same 46 questions with follow up questions of why or why not. Ages of participating women varied between 18 to 51. Interviews were intense. Women had a lot to say, and most of them were passionate about the effect of politics to their lives. Even the ones who found politics dull and uninteresting acknowledged the importance of political decision-making. Findings were fascinating. Women wanted the politics to serve them but felt like they were helpless to make it happen. Immediately it was clear: there was a big opportunity here for X X.

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interviews: questions

A) Personal political profile 1. Can I ask how old you are? 2. Are you a registered voter? If no, why not and do you know where to register to vote and who is eligible? If yes, how did you know that? 3. Do you follow political news? If no, why not? If yes, what media do you use to follow the political news? 4. On a scale of 1 to ten how interesting you find politics. 5. On a scale of 1 to ten how interesting you find politics? 6. Do you think voting is important? If no, why not? 7. Do you think political activity (like donating money, participating in party activities, demonstrations, and following public hearings) is important? If no, why not? 8. Do you know when the next elections are? If yes, how did you know that? 9. How do you choose whom to vote for?

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10. Do you identify with a party? If no, why not? If yes, what benefits do you find in identifying with a party? 11. What is the most important measure to you on the ballot for this election? Why? B) American political system 12. Can you describe the American political system? 13. What words or images come to mind when you think of politics? 14. Could you see yourself running for public office? Why/why not? 15. What do you think are good qualities in a politician? 16. What topics do you consider important in politics? 17. Have you ever thought how US politics might evolve in the next 10-20 years? If yes, how?

18. Do you think politics affect your future? If no, why not? If yes how will politics affect your future? 19. How do politics affect your life at the moment? C) Gender in politics 20. What would you guess the gender distribution is in Congress? 21. Do you think gender equality is important in politics? Why/why not? 22. Do you think society would be different if Congress had equal representation of both genders? If yes, how? 23. Do you think the US will have a female president? Why/why not? If yes, when? 24. What would be some pros and

D) Personal political activity 26. How would you describe a person who is active in politics? What makes one active in politics? 27. Would you consider yourself to be active in politics? If yes, what are the specific things you do that make you active? If, no why not? 28. What fears or doubts or apprehension do you have about becoming involved? 29. Would you feel comfortable expressing your political affiliation in public? If no, why not? 30. Do you use Facebook or some other social media? If yes, do you publicly share your political ideals/opinions for example by listing if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a member of a political party in your profile or by sharing

cons of having a

stories/articles/postings with

female president?

political content?

25. Would you vote for a female candidate? Why/why not?

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31. On a scale 1-10 how important do you think it is that women participate in politics? 32. Do you think it is more important for women to participate in politics that it is for men? If yes, why? 33. How can we engage more women to participate in political activity? 34. What would make politics more compelling for you? 35. Do you donate money for political causes / Super pacs? If no, why not? If yes, what causes/pacs? 36. Would you rather donate money to a party or a cause? Why? 37. Would you like to know more in detail how the money that was donated are used? E) Politics and consumerism 38. On a scale 1-10 how important do you find corporate social responsibility? 39. Would you like to receive more information on how different

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companies carry their social responsibility? 40. Would you buy a product or service that is publicly supporting a cause you consider important? 41. Would you buy a product or service that is publicly supporting a cause you consider indifferent? 42. Would you be willing to pay more for the product youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re purchasing to support a cause you find important? 43. Would you be willing to change your consumer behavior to support a political cause? For example, would you be willing to try a new brand or a product? 44. Do you read product labeling? If no, why not? 45. Do you have a smart phone? 46. Would you be willing to scan a qr code or a bar code on a product while shopping to find more information about the product or company behind it?

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Women wanted the politics to serve them but felt like they were helpless to make it happen. it was clear Immediately: there was a big opportunity here for XX.

Example Interview Interview of Mary Lowe, October 16th, 2012. Duration 30 minutes and 24 seconds.

XX: Okay. So, I’ ll start. Mary, can I ask how old you are?

Okay. Um, do you think voting is important?

Mary: Twenty-six.

Voting is important? Very.

Twenty-six. Are you a register voter?

For the same reason?

Yes.

I think it’s important because, for me personally, like, how can I have an opinion or, you know, how can I be upset about something, if I’m not even participating in it? It gives you a voice.

Do you follow political news? I do. What media do you use to follow the political news? Internet or like what (inaudible) paper (inaudible).

Right. Um, do you think political activities like donating money, participating in party activities, demonstrations, following public hearings, ah, is important?

Okay. So, you said, “ internet and newspapers?”

I do.

Yes.

Um, do you, ah, do you participate in any of that yourself?

Okay. On a scale from one to ten, how interesting do you find politics? Ah, I’ll say, seven, well, eight. Okay. Do you… um… Do you find politics generally important? Yes. Why is that? I mean, I think they’re important because they govern the way we live our lives.

I’ve donated money before. But, and, I’ve definitely been interested in volunteering on a campaign. But, I don’t go to demonstrations. Right. Um, do you know when the next elections are? November 2nd. How did you know that? Ah, general awareness. (Laughter)

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Okay. Do you know where to register to vote and who is eligible? I’ve already registered to vote. Okay. But, and if you weren’t, if you had to do it now, would you know where to go? Ah, I mean, I would go look on the Internet. Okay. I would Google it. Okay. How do you choose who, whom to vote for? Based on their policy. Okay. Do you identify with a party? The Democratic Party. Okay. Um, why them, if I may ask? I think, overall, I tend to agree more with the decisions and policies of the Democratic Party. I mean, not 100 percent everything, but definitely the vast majority of the democratic policies are ones that I ascribe to. Okay. Um, what is the most important measure, to you, on the ballot, ballot, for this election? Ah, I mean, probably anything concerning women’s health care. Okay. Can you describe the American political system for me? The American political system?

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Yeah. Ah, well, like, what do you mean? Just like broad characteristics? Or, just generally, if you would to have to explain to someone how the political decision making, in the United States, happens, what would you tell them? I mean, I would say that our system is based on a three part system of checks and balances—the legislative, judicial and electoral. Um huh. And, ah, we have a singular president. And we have two main voting parties, the Democratic and the Republican. Um huh. Ah, but it’s a voting based, ah, system, with Electoral College. Right, right. Um, I would say in theory, that it’s a great system. But in reality, it is not as fair, balanced or transparent as it was once dreamt of being. Okay. Um, what words or images come to mind when you think of politics? Power, money, control, people. Um huh. Okay. Could you see yourself running for public office? No.

Why not? Because, sometimes I think you can do more as an independent person than I think you can within the structure of politics. And it’s just not the lifestyle I would ever seek out. I wouldn’t ever want that, much critical attention. Okay. Well, what do you think are good qualities in a politician? I think open-mindedness, honesty. I think decency, compassion, empathy. I think a strong will. Un-huh. Bravery. Okay. Ah, well, what issues or what topics do you see, generally, important in politics? In general? Yeah. Ah, the economy. Okay. Health care. I would say trade, foreign policy. Um, and then I would say, obviously, like, war and defense. Um huh.

Okay. Ah, well, have you ever thought of how us politics might evolve in the next 10 or 20 years? Um, I mean, I haven’t really thought about it. It’s hard to say. It kind of seems like, ah, politics, or our government, changes in a very slow, incremental pace. So, I’m not sure, like in the grand scheme of things, how much, like, happens in ten years versus in fifty years. Right, right. Well, do you think politics affect your future? Yeah! For sure. I mean, I don’t think you can be a citizen of any country and not have politics affect you. Right. Ah, how do you think it will affect your future? I think it will affect the way, ah, well, I think it will me as an individual. I think, you know, health care and my rights as a woman a going to affected, hopefully in a positive way. I think it will affect, ah, my life in regards to income, jobs, benefits, buying a home, starting a family, having a 401k. I mean, I think, everything, in some way, is affected by the government.

And global communication.

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Right, right. Um, well, how do politics affect your life right now? Ah, well, you know, I’ve taken out loans. So, the way that government handles student loans is, obviously, affecting my life. Ah, I mean, everything from my rent to the cost of gas to private education. Ah, you know, I take birth control, and that is covered by my health insurance. Right, right. I’m pro-life. So, you know, all of those things affect my personal life. Okay. Gender in politics. What would you guess that the gender distribution is, in politics? I would say the majority of women are democratic vs. republican. Um huh. Well, how many, or, as a percentage, how many members are women and how many are men, in congress? Oh my gosh. What would you guess? I don’t know. But I mean, I’m sure it’s something disgusting like 90/10 or 80/20.

Um, it’s, 17 percent are women. So, 80/20 is very close. Um, so, do you think gender equality is important in politics. Absolutely. Why? Because, I think, you will never be able to understand the life experiences of someone—of a life you’ve never lived. And I don’t think, I mean not just to be stuck on women’s rights or our health and body issues, but I just don’t, I know how decisions can be made regarding to a specific gender if those decisions are not being made by equal representation of both genders. Men or women. Like what if 83% or whatever percent of women versus men would make decisions on what men thought. I think these decision should me made equally because there’s a difference in thought, feeling, nature, communication. Right, right. I mean, as alike as we are we are also vastly different and unique. And those differences need to be recognized and embraced by the us government as it represents its people. For sure. For sure. Well, do you think society would be different if congress had equal representation of both genders. I think it would in ways and it wouldn’t in others. I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be different in some ways.

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“Is our politics suited to, you know, to the female spirit?” —Kim Rooney, Interviewee

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What are the ways you think society would be different?

Okay. Um, what would be some pros and cons of having a female president?

Well, I just wonder if income distribution would be different and I wonder if the way we handle all our soldiers and defense, I wonder the way we handle the big business or small business for that matter, I mean it would be different view point on anything. There would be a different vantage point. I mean, I don’t know, it’s I mean, it’s not to say that everything is totally fucked right now. I think, you know, the same way every other occupation should have equal voice from both men and women, so should government.

Um I think that’s hard to say, it would entirely depend on the woman and her policies and what party she’s representing. You know. Sarah Palin is not a woman I would ever vote for. So to me it’s not like a woman goes on a ballot and I’m automatically voting for her. It really depends on what she’s gonna do and what kind of person she is. And then in that regards, I think, again it would entirely ref lect what how female president affects us government and the United States of America. I mean, if it’s, you know, radical republican going in I think that would probably hurt the country in many ways but, I mean, at the same time it might open eyes it might change minds and it would probably draw some amount of criticism.

Right, right, right. Well, do you think the us will have a female president someday? I sure hope so. Ah, do you think it’s possible? Absolutely. Ah, when, when do you think it would happen? Is it far in our future, in the immediate future? I mean I hope, I certainly hope in my lifetime I’ll see it, I hope within the next five elections we see it.

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Right, would you say that it’s more about the party than the gender? I think it would be a ref lection of the party. You know, like if democratic female president was voted I think criticism would be on her as an individual as she represents the party and the same goes for the Republican Party. I think they will always be connected because this party got behind this candidate but I think especially that a female president would be held up to a standard that a male president would not be.

“Lobbyists, Lots of money, Corruption. Kind of a lot of BS. Not many positive connotations come to mind when I think about our political system.” —Morgan Sterns, Interviewee

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“We have a whole bunch of men deciding on women’s rights and that seems weird. So, it would obviously be better to have more women in politics and congress.” —Kristen Libero, Interviewee

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Right. Well, um, let’s talk about your personal political activity. Would you consider yourself to be active in politics?

Okay. Um, let’s see where was I here? Um, so, what doubts do you have about becoming more involved?

I mean I vote and I watch the debates and I keep up to it at a degree but I wouldn’t say I’m particularly active.

I think it is obviously a general skepticism that most people feel. At the end of the day, I don’t know how different any one president could be from any other because of the system that they work in. And I think, you know, it would just be frustrating and I think it would be disheartening to a degree. It could also be an amazing thing but I think also, you know, we just kind of come to feel like I don’t know what one election can do, how much change is even possible. And I think that keeps me, and keeps people from really getting involved and trying to get behind anything.

What, what would it take for a person to be active, like what kinds of actions would they do, and then they would be active? I mean I don’t know, there are degrees of someone being qualified as an active participant in politics. I think, voting is obviously important. I don’t know, I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily the most important thing. I mean, it might be the most important thing but also for someone the only thing they can do so they do what they can. And you know I don’t know, I think it needs to become significant enough in the individual’s life to change and action. Right. Right. I think for me, I grew up in a family where there was political awareness and it was something that was engraved for me to be aware of and to be involved in. And I don’t I think as I get older I can see the impact of political decisions in my life and the way our government affects real things and not just some abstract thing. You know. But for me, what would actually get me go into a campaign office and start doing something and really involve myself? I don’t know. I would have to be really inspired by something.

Right, right. Well, would you feel comfortable publicly expressing your political affiliation? I think I do, sort of to a degree. But I think I have, you know, friends like that in Facebook and I don’t only wanna hear their political rants and I think because people do have a right of an opinion and I wouldn’t be afraid of saying and expressing that I am a democrat and I have moderate liberal political opinions, and I would stand by, you know, Barack Obama and someone I support.

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At the same time the same thing I feel about religion and politics is that like people have their right to a thought and opinion and to believe and it’s not my right or my place to instigate an argument or to tell someone they’re wrong or they’re not doing something correct because they don’t have the same opinion I do. Right. Right. It’s like, I always try to avoid political argument or talking about politics around someone I know that they don’t have the same opinion as me. It’s not because I don’t feel like I couldn’t argue my point or that it isn’t more important. But it’s, it’s just like, you know what I mean, people have a right to an opinion, even if I think that opinion is wrong. Right, right, right. For sure. For sure. Well, um, what forms of political activity do you find interesting? Even if you don’t participate yourself, do you consider some of the following examples interesting: donating money, voting, participating in party activities, demonstrations or public hearings? Um, I think obviously voting. I think donating makes a difference. I think, well I don’t know about demonstrations. I’m not really sure what they’re effect is. Also, I think participating on campaigning is definitely interesting.

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Okay. So, on a scale, one to ten, how important do you think it is that women participate in politics? Ten. Do you think it’s more important for women to be active in politics than for men? Yes. At this point in our lives, yes. If this is a perfect world and was fifty fifty and everything was equal then I would think it was equally important for men and women but in this particular political debate, in this particular country, in this particular time it is more important for women to start getting involved than it is for men Right, right. Um, well, how do you think we could engage women to participate in politics? It is the age of question how do you get someone to care about something they don’t currently care about. Right, right. I think you have to reach someone at the individual level. You know, it needs to become a personal thing versus an abstract thing. It needs to be like “you, Aino, like your life is being affected in this way.”

You know, there is a reason individual to you and your life and you needs why you need to be involved. Now, I don’t know how you do that on a grand scale. And it needs to be made as easy as possible because people are lazy and they wanna take baby steps.

I understand they do need more and more but at the same time you kind of feel like what amount is even enough or it just becomes tiring to me. You know, by the time of the election, you just feel like fed up with politics, and it becomes exhausting.

Some people might say that this is very important to me, I’m gonna work in a phone booth, I’m gonna donate money, and I’m going to deal with all this stuff. But usually it’s like, you know, they want to know a small way they can become involved, and that small bill becomes more significant. I think it affects people’s lives so much more than they realize, and I think everybody has something that they’re passionate about, and you would need to find out what that is.

Right. Right. Well, would you rather donate money to a party or to a cause?

Right. Well, do you donate money for political causes or super pacs? I’ve donated money for Barack Obama before, and it’s kind of the same thing, like I believe in him so I donate money or I donate money for Planned Parenthood and some other stuff but it’s the same thing: I want to do something to help and then I end up getting on a bunch of email chains and it’s like this never ending thing when you give an inch and they take a mile. Like, you just want to do something small and they just want more more more more.

Probably a cause. Why is that? Because a political party has a lot of mouths to feed. And it has a lot of people to make happy, and sometimes they can only do so much. Whereas if I’m donating to a specific cause or an organization I might know exactly where my money is going and what it is being used for. Okay. Well, would you like to know more, in detail, how the moneys that was donated are used? Like if I donated money? Un-huh. Would you like to later have information, how the donations were used? Like what percentage was used for what, and stuff like that? Yeah. That would be interesting. Um, on a scale, one to ten, how important to you find corporate responsibility? Ten.

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Okay. Um, would you like to receive more information on how different companies carry their social responsibility?

Okay. Ah, well, would you be willing to change your consumer behavior to support a cause you find important?

I mean, it is probably findable if you wanted to and at the same time it would be, like, where is this information coming from, how truthful is it, and would it all just be the same. I mean definitely yes but with some sense of skepticism.

I would be willing to. But, I don’t think I have to this point and it would need to be like made clear how to do so.

Okay. So, sort of “reserved yes?” Yeah. Okay. So, I have a few more questions but we’re almost done. Would you buy a product of service that is publicly supporting a cause you consider important? Yes. Would you buy a product of service that is publicly supporting a cause that is indifferent to you? Yes. Ah, would you be willing to pay more for the product you’re purchasing to support a cause you consider important? It depends on the way they support whatever I’m supporting. Now, if it’s just like “ hey, we support this thing,” then it’s like okay, great. But it the money I’m giving for this product is then going to this thing that I’m supporting and I know that paying greater price for the same thing is in a real way also supporting something else, then I would.

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Okay. So you would be willing to, for instance, try a new brand or something like that? Yeah. Ah, do you read product labeling? I do. Um, do you have a smart phone. I do. Would you be willing to, in-store, while shopping, would you be willing to scan products to get more information about corporate social responsibility? I mean, I would be willing to. But, I wouldn’t be likely to. Okay. Unless there is something, like, horrific happening. I don’t know if I’d be like “oh, I wanna know what this company is doing.” You know what I mean? Yeah. Okay. Well, thank you, Mary. This was super helpful.

“personally, I am hoping for a complete destruction of our whole government aND To start a whole new system.” —Maggie Anderson, Interviewee

G 19 1

CREATE After researching the audience, it was time to start creating what my research findings were clearly pointing to—something to take that purchasing power and turn it into political power. Project X Xptional needed its public face—a brand was about to be born. The process was dynamic. The first version was called Affectus, as in affect us as a group of people and affect the us. Also “affectus” is an old Latin word for “ be affected.” This seemed like a good place to start. However, later in the process, after testing the brand and seeing the reactions of my target audience as well as other people, the brand found its final name and form: X X. It was a big “aha-moment.” The process had started to slow down. For some reason, enthusiasm of people testing and working on the Affectus brand was quieting down. Suddenly it became obvious: Affectus is not the right name for the brand and the look and feel that was created was not appropriate for what Project X Xptional was after. Affectus was too generic. It did not provoke enough feelings and it did not claim ownership of the gender it represented. Humancentered design has shown that talking with people and testing your designs will give you the right answers.

G 19 3

AF F EC T U

Deliver Long before Project X Xptional brand was created, the deliverables were being tested. Affectus was taking its first steps in a form of wire frames. The testing started with making a working comp of the iPhone application and showing it to women just to see how the interface works and what is the user experience like. This phase was very enlightening. We found out that we need to add a few “ back ” buttons, information about the organization and a section to change profile settings. The menu was too confusing, only three main categories were really needed. Some feedback was more philosophical, like “why would I use this?” or “is all this info relevant to my life?” Some testers were concerned about their privacy, “would my personal info be used for spam or sold to companies?” And some were simply concerned how they could ever find this application if I didn’t tell them about it. Many features were changed along the way, and some—like “politics101” or the scanner—were removed completely from the final version to simplify the interface and keep the goals more clear. Some functions simply proved to be “noise” that distracted the user form the actual message.

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