Forward by Brian Culmo

A senior graphic design capstone project Brian Culmo â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;15 | Champlain College

TABLE OF CONTENTS OVERVIEW 7 - Mission Statement 9 - Project Overview 11 - What is an Ultra Endurance event?

PERSPECTIVES 13 - Psychology 35 - Sociology 43 - Physiology 48 - Research Reflection

ANALYSIS 51 - Tone 57 - Tone Reflection 59- Target Audience 65 - Consequences

VISUAL IDENTITY 71 - Branding 81 - The Name 89 - Color 95 - Typography 101 - Imagery 113- Branding Reflection

OUTCOMES 115- Media Outcomes 123- Media Outcomes Reflection 125 - Works Cited

MISSION STATEMENT

Forward is a project that engages users in content and information regarding ultra endurance events. Forward exposes young adults to alternative ways to push their own ideas of the impossible through ultra endurance challenges.

PROJECT OVERVIEW Forward is a project that motivates, encourages, and promotes ultra endurance events. Coming from a perspective independent of corporations, sponsors and events, Forward is able to present the events from a personal perspective with goals of motivation and self reflection. The media outcomes in the project will focus on shedding light on the many different types of events that exist. The media will share with a broader audience the types of extreme events that very few people do. By being exposed to these events, the audience will gain awareness, interest and possibly motivation to push their own limits. The project draws upon knowledge from a wide range of academic areas to build contextual understanding. Psychology, sociology and physiology are three main areas that apply to the development of the projects outcomes. Tone is incredibly important to this project as it defines how the audience receives the often-daunting information. By looking at other media examples and analyzing their effectiveness in achieving the goals of this project, it can be determined what would be the best approach for tonality in writing and visual communication. Not everyone is an ultra endurance athlete, so it is important to look deeply into the target audience, and other related audiences and to analyze how they will receive the information presented. By understanding these audiences, specific communication strategies can be made to most effectively reach each audience.

EXAMPLES OF (ULTRA) ENDURANCE EVENTS - Trail Running (less than marathon)

- Fell Racing (Rounds, or mountain route challenges)

- Cross Country running

- Rogaines (short/med)

- Spartan Races (sprint, super,

- Rogaines (long, like 24hrs)

Beast and ultrabeast) - The Death Race

- Skyrunning (short, long and ultra distance)

- Tough Mudder

- Mountaineering

- Ultramarathons

- Fastpacking

(road/ easier trail) - Ultramarathons (mountain/ high elevation races) - Cycling, Road (Tour de France) - Cycling (for everyone else) - Cyclocross - Alleycat bike races - Road races (half-marathon or less) - Marathons - Race Walking - Mountain Running Races - Vertical Kilometer (>1000m vertical gain, <5k distance) - Fell Racing (organized races)

- FKT (fastest known time) attempts - Mountain biking (ultra distance/time races) - Team Relays (ex: Ragnar relays/ Reach the beach/ 100on100) - Barkley Marathons Triathalons (half ironman or less) - Ironman Triathalons - Ultra Triathalons (double, triple quadruple, quintuple Ironmans etc) - Adventure racing (single day) - Adventure racing (multiday/ stage race)

WHAT IS AN ULTRA ENDURANCE EVENT? Endurance refers to any type of physical activity in which a sustained level of physical exertion is necessary. Cardiovascular effort is often involved. Common types of endurance activity include running, cycling, hiking and many more. Ultra endurance refers to activities that are sustained for a substantial length of time. By definition, in running an ultra, or ultramarathon refers to any race that is of a distance greater than a marathon (26.2miles). Ultra endurance events can refer to running, hiking, biking, climbing, triathlons, adventure races, orienteering and obstacle races. This concept of ultra is used a little more broadly in the scope of this project. For this project, ultra means anything of exceeding length. It could mean a longer distance, but more specifically it refers to the perceived difficulty. Different people could define an ultra endurance event differently. They are anything that seems out of reach, something “impossible,” or something that seems inconceivable to complete. This project is not as much concerned about getting caught up in specific details of race distances and definitions, but expanding the way people define their limits. For the purpose of much of this writing an event labeled as “ultra endurance” refers to something that most people deem extremely difficult, and of excessive length (taking 4 or more hours to complete). An ultra endurance event is something where people do not and should not feel comfortable attempting the first time. This uncomforable feeling is natural and encouraged in Forward.

PSYCHOLOGY

To the audience: Understanding your own motivations is key to completing any tough challenge. Internal motivations and a strong sense of self help in developing the necessary mindset to push yourself to the limits and achieve things you previously thought impossible. By viewing yourself in the right mindset, and understanding your own motivation anything is possible.

IDENTITY

“IF LIFE WERE A BOOK AND I WERE THE AUTHOR, HOW WOULD I WANT THE STORY TO GO?” -Amy Purdy, 2011

Ultra endurance challenges are an extreme platform for cultivating and analyzing personal identity. Training and competing for a difficult race forces anyone to analyze their own identity. Many times the effort of setting goals, training and racing has a profound change on how people view themselves. This concept was eloquently put by Henry David Thoreau; “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” Personal change in physical, emotional and self-evaluative ways are all possible through sport participation. Modern sport “appears to be particularly efficient in creating,

Psychology

maintaining and augmenting concerns about selfhood. Sport is a competitive world in which self evaluations are mandatory” (Schmitt & Leonard, 1986, p.1093). This particular idea is especially applicable to endurance sports, as personal goal setting and evaluation is necessary to be successful. People are capable of learning so much about themselves through endurance sports in particular because of the mental and emotional training necessary to accomplish such a task.

EVENTS AS A WAY OF ANALYZING THE POST SELF: A particular part of the identity which is being affected by sport participation is the post self. The post self is the way we see our identity interpreted in the future. It is what we think our legacy and immortality will be. It is not about how we see ourselves now, but how other people will see us in the future. Cultivation of our post self is a contributing factor in the decisions we make for ourselves regarding sport participation and performance. “The post self requires that one’s acts be recognized and remembered. Individuals have to feel like their acts were worth doing” (Schmitt & Leonard, 1986, p.1096). Many ultra endurance athletes get constantly bombarded with questions and concerns from people regarding why they do such events, and athletes need to have a mental, even if it isn’t verbally articulated, reason why a certain event is worth doing. The cultivation of the post self is a major motivator for participation in ultra endurance events. Because many ultra endurance challenges are so difficult, they are seen as a way for people to build up their post self identity. Completing an epic challenge that most others cannot do is an excellent way to make yourself stand out from others.

A race has the ability for someone to change the way they look at themselves and how they look at the world. The tougher the race, the stronger the impact on a person’s identity. “An inverse correlation links how miserable you feel in the race, and how great you feel after it. When you break through the other side of hell and finish an event that did not seem possible, that stopped you in your tracks over and over, something happens. You feel accomplished, incredibly proud of yourself and in some ways, a different person” (De Sena & Connell, 2014, p.18). A race has the potential to change the way you look at the world and how you fit into it. Accomplishing difficult tasks opens up the mind to new possibilities, and previous interpretations of perceived limits are capable of being broken down.

EXPANDING YOUR COMFORT ZONE AND CHANGING YOUR FRAME OF REFERENCE: Difficult endurance challenges have a way of changing the way we perceive any other challenge moving forward. Any challenge we face in our lives is compared to challenges we have faced before. This understanding of things is called a frame of reference, and is capable of being adapted and changed. “Challenging yourself to accomplish more than you know you can is never stupid—it helps show what you are capable of. It creates a new frame of reference, one you can draw upon in the face of other things that are perceived as being tough in your life. It shows you possibilities you didn’t know existed” (De Sena & Connell, 2014, p.19). Once we realize the potential for physical, mental and emotional growth through changing our frame of reference, tough challenges become enticing as opposed to daunting. “Confronting insane obstacles is the best way to rewire a human brain after years or even decades of coddling, predictability and excuses” (De Sena & Connell, 2014, p.11). People are often afraid to leave their comfort zone, or a place Psychology

they feel they can achieve success, but those times when we leave our comfort zone behind and emerge on the other side are the most rewarding experiences and those experiences do the most to change our sense of identity. So much of American sports in particular are built on the idea of success. Most events are set up for people to succeed regardless. When failure is a distinct possibility, when we are our weakest, that is what gives us strength and those experiences are the ones that have the most impact in changing the way we view our potentials and ourselves. “It’s good to get out of your comfort zone now and again–if only to experience some true humility” (Medinger). Getting beaten and broken, defeated by a race is often as much a powerful experience for identity development than an easy, successful event. In order to benefit greatest from a race it is necessary to take a risk and do something where failure is an immediate and real possibility. Dakota Jones describes this idea of “falling off the edge” in a race like Hardrock 100, where runners cover 100 miles in the high altitude, exposed San Juan mountains in Colorado while gaining over 30,000ft in elevation. “Just the act of running 100 miles is treading an edge–between safety and vulnerability; strength and weakness; sometimes even life and death–and the drop gets a lot bigger when that 100 miles is in a big mountain range like Colorado’s San Juans. Hardrock is awesome because it’s such a terrible thing to do to yourself ” ( Jones, 2014). If you never approach or find the point in which you fail, you will never know the true limits of your body and your motivations. We need to be prepared to suffer for a greater reward later. “’You need to suffer’ doesn’t mean ‘you have to be miserable. It means you have to challenge your expectations and leave your comfort zone” (De Sena & Connell, 2014, p.18). The constant pursuit of a challenge can be an exciting part of a person’s identity. The ability to constantly expand ones ideas and to never be complacent in the interpretation of ones identity is a positive characteristic in today’s society.

Our identities are not static; they can and should be developed and pushed to new heights. People consciously expanding their sense of identity though ultra endurance events are seeing the rewards in many areas of their lives. Building on past experiences allows us to continue to develop and expand our sense of comfort. It soon becomes possible to achieve things that have never seemed possible. “As we become more skilled and experienced, our comfort zone expands.” (Williams, 2009). This tiered development of ideas of impossibility is demonstrated in the lines of the logomark for Forward. As we complete one challenge, all of a sudden the next big goal comes into sight. If we acknowledge that our ideas of impossibility can change and adapt as we challenge ourselves to do more, an exciting world of possibilities awaits. Scott Jurek, champion ultramarathon runner, says, “Running in the ultra is a vehicle to discovering that the impossible is possible, that the sky is the limit, and if you can believe that, I think its an amazing gift to explore life. Life is about believing that the impossible is possible” (Montaz-Rosset, 2012). Our imagination and aspirations can set us on incredible journeys and help us discover things we would previously only dream of. All it takes is the willingness to let go of your comfort zone and challenge what you can and can’t do. “Our imaginations can be used as tools for breaking through borders, because in our minds, we can do anything, and we can be anything. It’s believing in those dreams and facing our fears head on that allows us to live our lives beyond our limits“(Purdy, 2011). Potential for success and achievement for anybody, regardless of where you are physically is possible. Its not about living up to a set of standards put forth by society, but defining the parameters in which you want to be defined. The evolution of our identity builds upon past experiences and can only grow as we challenge ourselves more. “It’s not about breaking down borders, but about pushing off of them and seeing what amazing places they might bring us” (Purdy, 2011).

Psychology

EXPERIENCES VS MATERIAL THINGS Ultraendurance events are important tools to help shape ideas of our identity. Encouraging people to participate in more events has a much stronger impact on changing peoples ideas of themselves than promoting any product or material purchase. “Evidence from a variety of sources suggests that people derive more enjoyment from discretionary experiential purchases than from discretionary material purchases” (Van Boven & Gilovich, 2003, p.1199). Experiences are the way people define who they are. “Experiences can provide a higher hedonic value (compared to material purchases) because they contribute so much more to the construction of the self than material possessions” (Van Boven & Gilovich, 2003, p.1200). Experiences, more than things shape peoples perception of themselves. Evidence suggests, “Experiences make people happier because they are more open to positive reinterpretations, are a more meaningful part of one’s identity and contribute more to successful social relationships” (Van Boven & Gilovich, 2003, p.1193). Experiences are important because they can be assigned importance and meaning by individuals before and especially after an event. “Previous experiences exist only as mental representations, as one forgets incidental annoyances and distractions that detract from online enjoyment, these mental representations can be sharpened, leveled, embellished and reconfigured to create a much rosier retrospective view than the event enjoyed originally” (Van Boven & Gilovich, 2003, p.1200). People only remember what they want to remember from difficult experiences. The brain has a way of forgetting the incredibly difficult parts of a tough challenge, and only remembers the accomplished feeling at the end. This selective analyzing of events is what brings people back time and time again to continue to make themselves suffer through tough challenges. People will consciously seek out challenging experiences to build a positive post self image. People want to be remembered

as people who enjoyed experiences compared to objects. “Because there is a positive stereotype associated with “experiential” people, the acquisition of experiences may lead people to view themselves in a favorable light. Furthermore, experiences may contribute more favorably to one’s identity because they satisfy intrinsic goals relating to personal growth more than material possessions do and are therefore more self actualizing” (Van Boven & Gilovich, 2003, p.1200). Experiences then become important things for all people to accomplish in their lives. Having meaningful experiences allows us to take control of our identity, as opposed to being defined by consumerism, trends and corporations. Through experiences people are able to adapt and morph the importance of an event to better fit into their interpretations of their identity.

Psychology

MOTIVATION “EVERY RACE YOU DO, EVERY STEP YOU TAKE IS A JOURNEY, AND ONCE YOU GET GOING, NOTHING CAN STOP YOU” -Bill Rodgers

Motivation is a key process to consider for Forward. The entire project is based around the concept of motivation to do difficult athletic events. Analyzing sport motivation helps us look at how people motivate on a general level. “Many people believe that sport can serve as a model of the goals we should strive for and the means we should use in trying to achieve those goals” (Coakley, 2001, p. 24). With major goals come major motivations, so looking at ultra endurance athletes and how motivation works for them is an effective tool in harnessing the power of motivation in all aspects of life. Everyone is motivated differently, but analyzing the different types of motivation and how they affect goal setting, performance and personal development helps define the best strategies for motivating the target audience to achieve new possibilities.

INTRINSIC/INTERNAL MOTIVATION Intrinsic motivation is motivation that is internally driven. Intrinsic motivation is doing things based on how it will make an individual feel about themselves. It is not based on prizes or external rewards, but an internal feeling of an accomplishment. Boosted concepts of the post self can be included in this type of motivation, although some goals of the post self maybe extrinsic in nature. Most motivation for ultra endurance events is based on intrinsic motivation. People must convince themselves that it is a good idea to participate in an event before any outward or external measures are had. Inspiration and appreciation are all internal measures of motivation. People can find intrinsic motivation in many ways. Inspiration, curiosity, and intrigue are all ways to jump start motivation on a personal level. “Chasing curiosity can lead us down a dangerous, challenging, and frightening path. It can also lead us to have the greatest experiences of our lives” (The north face: curiosity, 2014). There are a lot of different resources available for curious athletes to find out more about doing tougher challenges. Books, websites, publications, social media, clubs, events and corporations all give interested athletes content in which they could find out more about ultra endurance races, events and challenges. The content and the way in which the content is presented has an incredible impact on the way people interact with the information. Many ultra endurance events can be intimidating. The scale, difficulty and enormity of some challenges is extremely difficult to convey in any written or visual way. Some outlets do better than others in conveying a message. According to Zoologist Bernd Heinrich, “It is the power of visualization that enables us to reach out into the future ,whether our goal is to bring down a mammoth, write a book, or set a new record time in a race” (Stracher, p.69). This visualization is a key step in motivation for any difficult

Psychology

challenge. It is critical to analyze how people interact with content that motivates athletic participation in ultra endurance events. The audience members are all individuals, with independent backgrounds, upbringing, and athletic achievements. Everyone has a unique way of processing information, called our habitus. Our habitus is based on our collected experiences and our upbringing. The way we analyze information is affected drastically by our habitus. To see how content can be interpreted differently based on habitus we can look at an example. A story about a 100 mile running race would be taken with intrigue and interest from most people. But intrigue and interest can have ranging meaning. For someone who has competed in ultramarathons before, possibly someone who may have run 100 miles, this informnation is processable. They can effectively interpret the information and interact in a constructive way. His or her habitus is coming from a much different place than someone who feels intimidated to go running even a few miles. To those type of people, they become engulfed in the idea of the impossibility of running 100 miles. This fundamental disconnect from the beginning due to their past experiences is what causes them to not interpret the information on any level deeper than awe. To connect back to the discussion of identity, part of our habitus is our frame of reference. People are able to adapt and expand their frame of reference when they achieve difficult tasks. When you accomplish one thing, the next impossible challenge suddenly becomes closer to reach. The reason these previously impossible challenges seems easier and more attainable is based on this idea of the evolving habitus. As our experiences grow and define us, our habitus adapts as well. Our successful or failed experiences give us new context while interpreting information on the subject in the future. Through exposure and awareness it is also possible to adapt and grow our habitus without actually participating in sports. The

more we know and understand about a subject, the less likely we are to be fooled into feeling one thing or another when exposed to media outlets. Looking at a particular piece of information with a higher contextual understanding will result in a person using their habitus, which includes knowledge of the subject from other places, to fit the particular idea within a framework of understanding. Because the act of an ultra endurance challenge is so difficult to comprehend, it is unlikely that any single media piece will have any lasting or genuine impact on the audience. It takes repeated and prolonged exposure to the ideas and information regarding ultra endurance events to begin to have any sort of basic knowledge necessary to even think about participating in such events. It takes a certain type of person to interact with information regarding ultra endurance events and to actually act on their ideas and motivations. Intrinsic motivation works best at each personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own pace. People need to be able to find the information on their own, when they want, not when it is being fed to them. Because the information regarding ultra endurance events can be so intimidating, it is very easy to overwhelm, and put off the information presented as being crazy and disconnected from reality. Elective interaction with information regarding ultra endurance events best suits efficiency and the capabilities of the information to motivate. Elective interaction works best in web based applications, and could also work in printed media as well, like books or publications. Often times media involving ultra endurance events is about placing a small seed which given the right host, and personal time, could turn into a desire, an intrigue or possibly an action to move towards creating a goal. Time is an important factor when considering how people interact with ultra endurance information. Because the training required for such events is so long and the journey so difficult, it is not possible to motivate someone off the coach to go run an

Psychology

ultramarathon. It requires planting small ideas into people’s brains. These small ideas can be shaped by an individual’s habitus. Most people will take these ideas of intrigue and interest and discount them, because their habitus has been shaped for them to think that they aren’t athletic, they aren’t a runner or whatever other excuse. The people who are able to take this idea of intrigue and interest a step further have a habitus that is open to new challenges, one that has enough experience athletically, or experience in expanding ideas of the impossible. Targeting specifics regarding race preparation and training is a way to alienate many people. It is not advantageous to assert that everyone should be running ultramarathons. Only a small number of people would benefit from too detailed information; those who are already involved in the sport. Sparking interest may mean overwhelming many others, but it is most important that the information presented be genuine and representative. There is a difference in selective representation and assumption based stereotypes. Many major media outlets and corporations seek to represent ultra endurance events in which every person, regardless of their habitus, will have interest in a similar way; often resulting in misrepresentation, and sensationalized coverage, which only overwhelms the uneducated, and just frustrates those involved. The best strategy is to communicate on a smaller scale, focusing on genuine stories and on a personal scale. Too much mainstream media gets caught up in the bigger picture, and the extrinsic rewards and motivations, while the majority of the racers involved are participating with almost exclusively intrinsic motivation. Most people who compete in ultra endurance races are not there to win a cash prize, or to please their sponsor. They are there for themselves, to prove a fundamental trait to themselves. The feeling of achievement at the end is the biggest reward most people get. Finishing is often the biggest goal above all else.

Every single person who takes on a monumental challenge is worth listening to. Their stories of motivation, overcoming of obstacles, and perseverance are just as interesting and more relatable than the stories of the ultra elite. This embracing of every single competitor is shown wonderfully at Hardrock 100. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The people who really push the edge are the ones trying desperately to keep up with Kilian [ Jornet], but behind them hike legions of fit, prepared runners who are eating enough, staying hydrated, wearing the correct mountain gear, and basically ensuring themselves anonymity. In a race renowned the world over for its objective danger and wild stories of close calls, the people who have everything under control and hardly falter a step are wont to pass unnoticed. These are the people who deserve the most respect precisely because they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t run along the edge, who stay well away from the possibility of disaster and execute with professional aplomb. They are strong and safe, and all too often overlookedâ&#x20AC;? ( Jones, 2014). These racers at Hardrock are not in it for the fame and fortune, but for a deep personal reason. The same deep personal reasons any other ultra competitor would need to complete a similar journey themselves. So hearing from the common folk is a way to better get in tune with the habitus of those who might be interacting with the media coverage of the race. Only those who have gone through the process of competing, training and motivating oneself for an ultraendurance event are capable of understanding the necessary steps to motivate people who are just starting the journey into the ultra-endurance world.

EXTRINSIC/INSTRUMENTAL MOTIVATION Extrinsic motivation is motivation based on external rewards, recognition and consequences beyond internal gains. Ultra endurance events are not inherently extrinsically rewarding.

Psychology

Most participants work extremely hard and train for years for events with no chance of getting any prize beyond a t-shirt and a finishers medal. The small extrinsic rewards from finishing a race are not coveted for their inherent value, but their assigned value, which is actually attached to intrinsic value. The finisher’s medal is less about the physical object, but what it represents: the hard training, the dedication, the suffering. The amplification of the post self could be considered an extrinsic reward, but it is internally based. We like to improve the way we think other people think about us. Whether or not people actually think differently about us is irrelevant to the development of the post self. Many times race competitors can get caught up in time and place, and personal records. Improving based on arbitrary time standards is something that racers all too often strive for. The importance of time vs. finishing diminishes as the distance increases. As the challenge gets tougher, people are more often happier just to finish, and time concerns disappear. “Through the strange abstraction of the quantified record… a record becomes a psychological presence in the mind of everyone involved in the event” (Schmitt & Leonard, 1986, p.1095). People often chase personal records, past records, and other arbitrary reference marks. The importance and meaning assigned to these time goals is completely internal with the hope that others will appreciate what someone does more, because of a faster time. The longer the distance or the tougher the challenge, the more intrinsic motivation becomes. Extrinsic values of finishing place and time are removed in favor of finishing. Everyone feels accomplished at the finish line of an extremely difficult race. There is also success and accomplishment in simply trying, or training at a high level. Because of the difficulty in accurately communicating the difficulties of a tough ultra endurance feat to others, extrinsic rewards of peer amazement is limited. No matter how much you explain about a race and how hard it was, and no matter how much

people say they are impressed and proud of your accomplishments, others will never understand. Because ultra endurance racers will constantly deal with the issue of not being able to fully convey the challenges they face, they must live with the fact that their sense of accomplishment will have to remain internal at some level. Ultra endurance racers have to be prepared to have their deeply personal stories of perseverance fall on ears incapable of fully understanding. Recent studies have shown that instrumental consequences actually hinder the effectiveness of intrinsic motivation. A study by professors at Yale and Swathmore College for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests, “Efforts should be made to structure activities so that instrumental consequences do not become motives. Helping people focus on the meaning and impact of their work, rather than on, say, the financial returns it will bring, may be the best way to improve not only the quality of their work but also — counterintuitive though it may seem — their financial success” (Wrzesniewski & Schwartz, 2014). “Rendering an activity more attractive by emphasizing both internal and instrumental motives to engage in it is completely understandable, but it may have the unintended effect of weakening the internal motives so essential to success” (Wrzesniewski & Schwartz, 2014). Because intrinsic motivation is so key to success in ultra endurance events, it is important to note this impact of extrinsic value. Ultra endurance events are already involved in limiting extrinsic factors, and you see happier participants because of it. Shorter races and other sports are more focused on results and times, and you see the motivation of these participants to be much lower on average as soon as you take away the competitive extrinsic rewards of team racing (high school, college) and performance goals. People simply don’t need high amounts of intrinsic motivation to compete in most sports. Ultra endurance events are a completely different story.

Psychology

So much intrinsic motivation is needed for anyone to compete in an ultra endurance event. People need to come to terms with how they motivate themselves. They need to look inwardly and analyze what gets them to keep pushing. People need to ignore those around them, possibly criticizing their decisions, and motivate themselves based on purely personal reasons. This intense reflection helps strengthen the motivation process, and allows for great things to happen. Extrinsic motivation can have a place in ultra endurance events, but people must first conquer their internal motivations before even considering instrumental consequences. Ultra endurance athletes set another great example in how to execute and become successful in the goals they set for themselves. “Lock and Latham (1990) suggested that, “people’s goal representations are the efficient causes of behavior and that people’s performance will be maximized when they set specific, difficult goals that have high valence and they understand what behaviors will lead to the goals and feel competent to do those behaviors” (Gagne & Deci, 2005, p.341). Creating difficult goals, with specific measures of success (example: finish an Ironman Triathlon) is something that happens all the time in the ultra endurance community. People are constantly setting short term, long term and extremely long term goals. They are also prepared to make steps towards those goals. They are committed to training, learning and preparing for things, which they currently can’t do. Many goals of ultra endurance athletes are lofty and beyond the immediate reach of the individual, but they are often connected to previous achievements, which make people believe they could go further.

DESIRE INFLUENCES PERCEPTION It has been proven by psychologists that desire influences perception. This concept applies directly to ultra endurance events. The challenges necessary to overcome in an ultra endurance race are extremely hard to perceive beforehand. People often have no clue how hard things will actually get. Even if they experienced these challenges before, people tend to forget the toughest parts. Despite people not being able to understand the challenges ahead, desire and motivation allows people to accept and become motivated by tough challenges. According to the new research [by New York University], “we view things we want as being physically closer to us than they actually are. This bias exists to encourage us to pursue things that we want by making them appear close. When we see a goal as being close to us (literally within our reach), it motivates us to keep on going to successfully attain it” (Balcetis & Dunning, 2006). Setting a goal to complete a race that seems impossible automatically makes that goal seem more attainable, whether or not it actually is in reality. Our desires to do bigger and better things allow us to ignore some of the potential challenges, and to get excited for things that should normally be considered awful or painful. By manipulating desire, it is possible to manipulate possibilities. Across these studies, converging evidence suggests “that participants’ desires, hopes, fears, or wishful thinking led them to perceive a representation of the visual environment they desired” (Balcetis & Dunning, 2006, p.620). A challenge is only as difficult as the difficulty we assign to it. Regardless of how people visualize and perceive difficulty, the event itself will throw in new, unforeseen challenges. Instead of trying to get people to perceive the

Psychology

actual challenge of a race, it is more advantageous to get them to want to do the race. Once someone is motivated through desire, their own internal motivations and preparations will allow them to adequately attempt these challenges. It is not necessary to hold peoples hands throughout the entire motivational process. An over involvement will result in people losing a desire to push themselves. Desire needs to come first before any other contextual understanding of an event is had, as the sense of desire will affect the individual’s habitus and alter the way they interpret information about the event moving forward. A root feeling of desire will make any subsequent communications have a different impact on the audience, as it will allow them to perceive challenges as easier to attain, less daunting and less intimidating. This type of thinking regarding the influences on our perception based on our individual habitus should not be something communicated to the audience. “For people to reach their motivational goals, it is imperative that they remain unaware of the distortions they place on their thinking. If they knew that they believed some pleasant thought merely because they wanted to believe it, they would also know, at least in part, how illegitimate that thought was” (Balcetis & Dunning, 2006, p.623). People need to be naïve to how their habitus affects their motivation, and interpretation of information. “People fail to recognize such self-serving biases if those processes remain outside of conscious awareness, monitoring or control” (Balcetis & Dunning, 2006, p.623). People need all the motivation they can get, and self-serving biases are acceptable and almost necessary to complete such extreme feats. Everyone has to be a little bit tricky with their own brain in terms of motivation to compete extreme races. It is often about tricking yourself into believing that something is possible, whether it actually is or not. Because these challenges are so hard and difficult to motivate for, this exaggerated sense of motivation is the only way in which people will ever get themselves to compete in ultra endurance

events. Without using these motivational tricks, people will be stuck in the ordinary, and will only achieve ordinary feats, which will never, push and evolve the self. In order to push ourselves to achieve daring and impossible tasks, we must push the way we motivate and look at ourselves, in new and daring ways.

Psychology

GRIT “GRIT IS LIVING LIFE LIKE IT’S A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT” -Angela Lee Duckworth

Another necessary trait for any ultra endurance competitor is grit. Grit doesn’t just apply to the suffering in the race itself, but how one motivates themselves. “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint” (Duckworth, 2013). Ultra endurance athletes need grit to achieve their long-term goals. This perseverance is useful in tackling all of life’s obstacles, and the ability to think and motivate yourself with grit makes success possible in so many ways for people; from education to professionalism and of course athletics. Grit isn’t about being talented, but a desire to work hard for a long time on a specific goal. Little research has been done in how to create grittier people, and the subject will have to be looked into more by psychologists before we can determine how to create grit in people. In the meantime, we must do our best to guess at ways in which we can build this mindset of grittiness in people, a mindset so involved in training, motivating and competing in ultra endurance challenges. 33

Psychology

SOCIOLOGY

To the audience; The community of ultra endurance events is a vibrant and strong one. The people involved are incredibly inspiring and can help anyone achieve their goals through support, encouragement and companionship. Associating yourself with others who push their limits will help you achieve great things in your own life.

On top of analyzing individuals through psychology, it is important to analyze how groups of people affect ultra endurance participation and motivation through the lens of sociology. Leading designers and educators agree that designers must “Look at our culture and our communities not just to see how to make money, but to see how we can weave a stronger thread into the fabric of our society” (Heller, Weaving of design and community, 2003, p. 96). Looking at the community of ultra endurance athletes gives us key insights in how people can fit into the community, and how people perceive the community.

SPORT AS A PART OF SOCIETY Sport in general is an important part of society as a whole. Most sport sociologists including Coakley (2001), “agree that sport is a microcosm of society—that it mirrors values, structure, and dynamics of the society in which it exists” (p.20). Sport is a social group, which can and should be analyzed and critiqued. One theoretical perspective in which we can analyze is functionalism. Functionalism is based on the idea that all actions and s tructures of a social system have a purpose in maintaining the system through pattern maintenance, tension management, integration, goal attainment, and adaptation (Coakley). A functionalist would argue that systems that are put in place in sport function to maintain one of the above goals. Coakley (2001) states, “A functionalist approach also emphasizes how sport serves to bring people together and provide them with feelings of group unity, a sense of social identification and a source of personal identity” (p.22). It is important to realize the impact of sport in our society. It affects how society is structured and how people view the world and themselves. Policy changes and adaptations to the world of sport have potential to have legitimate and real impacts on the

Sociology

psychology of people involved in the social community of sport. An example of this effect is seen in how the United States treats competitive sports. “In the United States, sport is organized so that successful outcomes are heavily emphasized, and success is generally defined in terms of scores and win-loss records“ (Coakley, 2001, p.23). People are then married to the idea of success only coming with a win, a good time or other measures of definable success. These measures of success are only things that the community has placed value on, and individuals choose to assign personal meaning to. According to Brohm (1978), “Satisfaction is experienced only if the contest is won, if a record is set or a personal goal achieved, and if the body performs the way it has been trained to perform. When this happens sport becomes a “prison of measured time” and alienates athletes from their own bodies” (Coakley, 2001, p.28). It is important then to train people to measure success and happiness in sport through other measures. The ultra endurance community does a better job than most sport communities in fostering definitions of success beyond winning or a fast time. Personal growth, the pursuit of a goal, and self-defined measures of success are common in ultra endurance. These more holistic goals function to allow people to be in better sync with their own bodies. They are able to feel happy and are motivated to push their own limits, even when a team victory or a “win” isn’t in the cards.

THE SOCIAL COMMUNITY OF ULTRA ENDURANCE EVENTS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON MOTIVATION The specific community of ultra endurance athletes is an interesting and vibrant one. The people involved are incredibly inspiring, welcoming and encouraging. People understand how difficult it is to complete an ultra endurance event, so often times races are

not about suffering to beat each other, but helping each other get through it. In amny ways, competing for extended hours at a time is a crazy thing to do, so people are light hearted and happy to involve others and interact. There is a shared understanding that happens when ultra endurance athletes come together at a race, which doesn’t happen in any other context. Only those who are experienced in ultra endurance events can truly appreciate the commitment, the sacrifice and grit necessary to do such crazy challenges. Because it is such a small community, most of the time ultra endurance athletes feel isolated and disconnected from people that can relate to their struggles. “Normal” society often sees people competing in ultra endurance events as crazy or insane, but those who are also training for an extreme goal understand that craziness, and when you can interact with people like yourself, a strong sense of belonging is had. Attending an ultra endurance event has an infectious positivism and is extremely welcoming. Everyone is incredibly grateful for any help or encouragement as they complete their personal challenge. Watching as others complete their long journey is incredibly inspiring and a great motivator for anyone to get out and do a little more, to push their limits or to reach for a tough goal. The strong sense of community functions to implant perspectives in members involved. Shibutani (1955) states, “Common perspectives—common cultures—emerge through participation in common communication channels. It is through social participation that perspectives shared in a group are internalized”(Schmitt & Leonard, 1986, p.1094). Through interaction in the ultra endurance community it is possible to adapt some of the intense motivation, the strong desires for pushing the limits of the body, and the grit possessed by members of the community. The internalization of these perspectives is another way in which people can shape and develop their habitus in a way that will allow them to be more receptive to information regarding ultra endurance races.

Sociology

The ability to see motivation and desire like participants of ultra endurance athletes is to interact and involve yourself socially with them. It is necessary to share their perspectives on motivation and grit in order to embark on a similar journey yourself. The community of ultra endurance athletes is not concerned with comparing themselves with the outside world. People new to the community or outsiders will constantly try to connect what ultra endurance athletes accomplish to normal feats, but this does nothing but limit the motivation, and inspiration of those involved. Shibutani states, within social worlds, “A person who is on his way measures his progress by comparing himself with his predecessors, not with outsiders” (Schmitt & Leonard, 1986, p.1094). It is important for people starting off on the journey of competing in ultra endurance events to compare their effort with other people within the social world of ultra endurance. It is often too easy to compare ultra endurance training to normal cardio training. This comparison will only yield the result that whatever sort of training you are doing is far and above the norm. This will only breed complacency. Complacency is the opposite of grit and is not advantageous to ultra endurance training. People think they are complimenting ultra endurance athletes when they compare achievements to “normal” tasks, but this creates the completely wrong mindset in the trainee and is counter-productive to the delicate and crucial internal motivation mechanisms. Ultra endurance athletes are much better off comparing themselves to others in their community, as opposed to letting outsiders compare ultra endurance training to anything else. Motivation is higher if a person identifies with a certain group of people. If a goal helps the person identify with others in this group, then this goal will have a stronger impact on the individual. According to Kelman (1958) “A person’s attitude-related behavior can either be complaint and short lived or can be enduringly influenced by others if the person identifies with the others, or the

behavior is congruent with the person’s values” (Gagne & Deci, 2005, p.343). People who want to associate with the community of ultra endurance athletes will have a better chance of setting meaningful goals and following through with these goals. Part of the reason for this is the addition of an extrinsic motivation. If people are now being motivated by their inclusion in a group, and their perceived place within that group, that would be considered an extrinsic motivator. This added motivator only helps people internalize their own personal motivations. “According to Ellemers, de Gilder, and Haslam (2004), strong identification with a group facilitates their motivation in accord with the group’s goals and in turn facilitates a groups performance” (Gagne & Deci, 2005, p.344). It has been shown that inclusion in a group of like-minded ultra endurance athletes is advantageous for someone to gain motivation, new perspectives, and desires. It could be encouraged for people to seek out people training and competing in similar races as your goal. Involving yourself and interacting with these people can be done in a variety of ways; it can be through organized clubs, social media, attending races or volunteering at races, or just finding a like-minded training partner. The sociological and psychological benefits can be huge by involving yourself in the ultra-endurance community.

Sociology

PHYSIOLOGY

To the audience: Our bodies are capable of great things we would never think possible. Through proper physical and mental training and preparation you are capable of doing great things beyond what you could have ever thought possible. The human body is made to be on the move, and utilizing these basic inherited capabilities is a great way to find your personal limits both physically and emotionally.

Physical considerations must be made when thinking about completing tough challenges. Our bodies do have a physical ability to achieve or not achieve certain tasks. However, through training and preparation it is possible to expand what each individual can accomplish. The Forward project is not concerned as much with getting people physically ready to compete in ultra endurance events, but the importance of adequate and substantial training is something that needs to be considered. Scientists have been busy proving through neuroscience and research that human brains are capable of allowing us to achieve great tasks. Through careful research, scientists are able to learn more about the brain and how it works with motivation and risk taking. The more we know about how our brain works in relation to adventure and physical challenges, the better we can prepare and motivate others to accomplish such great tasks in the future. The capacity for adventure and risk taking are an inherent human quality. Neurologists have been able to pinpoint areas in the brain, which contribute to adventurous activity and a yearning for more. “Humans are hardwired for adventure. Taking risks ignites the brain’s arousal and pleasure mechanisms, offering a dopamine response similar to drugs. So we push farther, faster” (Hart). Not everyone possesses the necessary neurological makeup to breed adventurous thoughts and actions. Some people are simply less inclined to take risks and push the envelope based on their biology. “According to neuroscientist Russell Poldrack of the UCLA Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center “There are three major emotional ingredients to risk taking, he explains, all driven by individual brain chemistry. One is desire for adventure (“sensation seeking”), in what’s known as the reward pathway of the brain, the mysterious mechanisms where happiness juices flow; high-risk takers may simply get a bigger bang than other people, leading them to seek more intense experiences. Another is a relative disregard for harm, meaning, basically, that they’re not

Physiology

as afraid of negative consequences as regular folks. The third is impulsivity, or acting on your desires without fully thinking them through” (Williams, 2009). The physiological makeup of the brain affects the way every human motivates themselves and each individual will have to use their own set of neurological functions to achieve what they want. There is not a universal answer as to how to motivate and inspire people to do more based on the individualized and widely ranging neurological and physiological structures we all possess. Biology isn’t the only answer for motivation and physical success; personal decisions, views of identity, behavior, and community involvement also have the ability to affect how people take risks and push their bodies. Humans have a unique set of physiological traits, which sets them up for success in ultra endurance challenges. Humans are biologically made to run. Our relatively long limbs and high endurance capabilities allow humans to run for distances and times much longer than other predators, which gave them an evolutionary advantage. Our biological capability to run is a fundamental part of what makes us human. Evolutionarily our capacity for certain thoughts of adventure and risk taking were also advantageous to our survival. “As our species evolved, communities with risk takers might have done better at things like warding off attackers,” says Thomas Crowley, a psychologist at the University of Colorado Denver. “Risk taking was important for the species and the individual” (Williams, 2009). Taking risks and moving beyond our comfort zone was an important part of human survival. We are also hardwired to be resilient. Humans are physiologically capable of a lot of tough things. In the modern era humans are not generally subject to intense situations of survival that our evolutionary predecessors were forced to overcome. Our instincts and capability to survive tough challenges allows us to go beyond the comfort of modern amenities and reach a state of survival. Most people will never experience these primal levels, but for

those who do, the psychological and sociological rewards are great. Campbell (2014) says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our capacity for suffering might rival our desire for adventureâ&#x20AC;? (Hart). Often times physical challenges start off as a way to use our capacity to motivate ourselves to achieve great things, eventually challenges become so difficult it becomes an exercise in utilizing the human capacity to survive tough physical and emotional situations. Desire and motivation can only bring people so far; eventually determination, physical resilience and grit will have to be employed to achieve extremely difficult goals.

Physiology

REFLECTION: RESEARCH I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just speak generally about the application of the research. I know the power of media on motivation, because I have experienced it first hand. All of the psychological processes described in this book are things that I have personally gone through. The process of becoming critical and thinking about my own motivations and how media affects those ideas has been an enjoyable and challenging process. I have spent many a run in the past 8 months thinking hard about the issues presented in the research. I have had many discussions on the issues with many of my active friends while on runs, bike rides or hikes.

Reflection

I started formulating ideas on the subject while in New Zealand; studying abroad in the spring semester. I was able to see things from a much different lens while there. Being removed from my comfort zone made me be really self reflective. I looked into myself and tried to get down to what was important to me and why. These reflections were the beginning of this project. I was able to analyze how I did things, and how other people did things differently. I realized that it is possible to change and adapt ideas of your personal limits, not just in simple athletic achievements, but in how you think. Throughout my time in New Zealand and over the summer I continued to have useful thoughts and conversations on the subject with anyone who was interested. Ever since the semester started and ever since it has been about refining those ideas, and bringing them together in an efficient manner. It has been tough to take a lot of ideas and context on the subject and narrow it down into a manageable process. It has been encouraging however to finally write down these ideas which have been lingering in my brain for months. The culminating research component came together and I feel like the research presented represents well the thinking I have done. Now that the research phase is complete, I completely intend to continue to think, and reflect on the subject. Ultra-running is a big part of who I am. I look forward to being able to think freely again without structure or a final goal. Having those critical discussions and thought will only help me develop further as an athlete, thinker and design professional.

TONE

The tone of the writing and visual representation of Forward is extremely important. The tone affects how the outcomes are interpreted, received and used. Through the process of interacting with a wide range of media examples regarding coverage of ultra endurance athletes and events I have been able to establish what works and what doesn’t work in terms of creating a genuine account which motivates and inspires without intimidating and sensationalizing. Media coverage of sport is very important to the individual and communities involved in sport. “Accounts of the sport act in the mass media—including its content and the personages who generate it—are an integral part of sport. The media do not merely report sport acts. They are sport to millions of Americans. The social world of sport is a particularly public world” (Schmitt & Leonard, 1986, p.1091). People have opinions of any sport act based on their media consumption and information they have received from the media about the sport. It is then possible to affect drastically how people perceive limits and personal possibilities within sport with affective communication strategies and a tone, which facilitates motivation and action. According to Snyder and Spreitzer, “Sports and television have become so inextricably linked that it is difficult to separate the two in the mind of many passive consumers of corporate sport” (Schmitt & Leonard, 1986, p.1092). Indirect media coverage of sports, and ultra endurance sports specifically do a great job of involving people who are not direct participants. Ultra endurance sports have a much smaller amount of media coverage and it is much harder for the audience to find. Only people who actively search out information will find anything. The general public is largely unaware of most ultra endurance events. This lack of exposure often causes people to interact with the limited information they do find in an inadequate and non-contextual way. A deeper more involved understanding is possible though multiple interactions with multiple media sources ranging from online articles, to youtube videos, to books to documentaries.

Tone

Because ultra endurance athletes, who are often the authors of media regarding the sport, come from a widely ranging background in experience, the perspective and the tone of the writing/ visuals can change drastically. Habitus affects the way people interpret information, as well as how they convey information regarding their experiences. While interpreting a piece of information it is important to consider the authors perspective and habitus and how it would affect they way they portray the subject. Mainstream media coverage of ultra endurance sports is highly sensationalized and often not authentic. One of the few examples of mainstream media coverage of ultra endurance events is the annual Ironman World Championships special on national TV. It spends the entire time highlighting the spectacle and sensationalizing the difficulty. Having a voice over reiterates the same statements of “perseverance”, “challenge” and “inspiration” only beats home a simple idea, and the race is about far more than a simple idea. The coverage often never intrigues the audience to take a step further, and to possibly think about their own lives. Affective media coverage of ultra endurance events should be introspective, allowing people to look inward at their own lives and motivations. Mainstream media with a wide target market has a goal of having a small impact on a wide range of people. Casting too large a net causes these types of media to loose focus and for too many it feels overwhelming. People need to be in a specific frame of mind in order to affectively interact with media coverage regarding ultra endurance events. Most people are not in a physical condition to consider or even think about ever considering ultra endurance events. People need to be willing to open up their minds. They need to be able to adjust their frame of reference to allow them to connect their previous accomplishments to the ones being covered. Scalability of skills and events is what allows people to relate to epic events. Those who have done any hiking or trail running are

better set up to relate to information about mountain ultra marathons. Those who bike for fitness can relate to the difficulty of the Tour de France. Once the ability to relate is achieved, media has the potential to involve people further and to get more out of the information. Relatability isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the only goal in the tone of information regarding ultra endurance events. People need to be able to become intrigued. A small sense of desire and intrigue is a positive outcome for any interaction with information. Because desire is the first step in effectively achieving any goal in endurance, it is important that the tone of the information is such that shows such events and athletes in a positive light. Not everyone is going to get a desire to go compete immediately after interacting with information, and that is fine. Desire takes a while to be built up, and every individual cultivates desire differently. Intrigue is a good first step in cultivating desire. It is also easier to achieve intrigue in an audience, regardless of their background, if a piece of information has the sole goal of creating intrigue. It is possible to affect a wider target market beyond people who would be able to relate and use the information in their own lives. Interest is easier to create than introspective thought. While much of the media in Forward will be primarily targeted to intrigue the audience in order to be applicable to a wider range of people, it is necessary that it is deep enough and layered with levels of information to allow people to interact with it in an introspective level if they so choose A piece needs to communicate the subtle interesting nature of an event or athlete without alienating the audience in absurdity or sensationalism. People need to be able to take interest in the piece without having to involve themselves further. A simple goal of intrigue with no further involvement is a possible and completely successful goal of any information interpretation from the audience.

Tone

It needs to be possible for people to interact with the media in Forward on deeper levels. The media needs to allow people to interact further and become more involved though introspective reflection. Then finally it needs to allow people with the desire to do so, to move forward in finding more information that is relevant and interesting. Media needs to encourage active participation, further involvement and encourage realistic goals. Media communication has the power to affect the way people think about their limits. The media often shapes current opinions and ideas of personal impossibilities. “The media perpetuate perspectives within sport; publicize, relate and evaluate sport acts; and document accomplishments of sport participants” (Schmitt & Leonard, 1986, p.1092). Participation and involvement in ultra endurance events are greatly affected by the media coverage of events and athletes. If we are looking to change any sort of fundamental feeling or idea regarding ultra endurance sports, affective and tonally on target communication must be used. Design is capable of affecting these small or sometimes big changes in perception and perspective. David Sterling believes design can change the world, “It may not be huge, all at once, sweeping change, but over time it can chip away with one idea at a time. We never underestimate the power of human beings—much less designers” (Heller, Not for Profit, 2003, p.56). Forward has a goal of chipping away at simple ideas of intrigue and desire. Hopefully, certain people can take information further and Forward becomes a catalyst for more self-reflection, development and growth.

REFLECTION: TONE In order to analyze tone and decide the best tone for the project I had to immerse myself in the media coverage of ultra endurance events. This is something I have already been doing for quite some time for pleasure. There are so many books, videos, articles and other sources to get information about ultra endurance sports. I really enjoy hearing engaging, genuine and real stories from athletes. It is incredibly inspirational for me to read about others doing great things. When reading some books I just get so excited to just go out and run. This is part of the reason why I read such books. Once I found some information, I just wanted to keep digging deeper. Once you immerse yourself in finding out more about these types of events, new horizons come into view. I have been able to find a wide range of media and have taken the things I like from certain types of media, and have seen what doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work. I will continue to read and view more media regarding the subject, and the process of learning more about ultra endurance community is definitely not going to end at the conclusion of this project.

TARGET AUDIENCE

GENERAL: - People who have some basic knowledge of running, and physical fitness. - People who are already physically active 2-5 days a week - Could be involved in casual, serious, competitive or recreational activities - People who know other people competing in â&#x20AC;&#x153;intenseâ&#x20AC;?, athletic feats

Target Audience

SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHICS: Primary Target: - Young adults age 18-25

- Finishing high school to college to post grad - No longer associated with organized team sports - Starting off with individual fitness - Shifting of physical goals from competitive/team based to personal/fitness based - People with or without a group around them to encourage exercise

Secondary Target:

- Young adults age 18-25 - People who are mostly inactive, but are aware of the importance of exercise - Exercise casually 1-2 times a week - Likes exercise only if its â&#x20AC;&#x153;funâ&#x20AC;? - Interested in alternative running events (mud runs, triathalons, color runs etc) - Exercises for the reward afterward - Fun is primary goal, fitness is secondary goal

Tertiary target:

- Middle aged adults - Exercise 2-4 days a week - Looking for motivation do stay fit - Understands the health benefits of exercise, but is struggling to find motivation to stay active - Health and general fitness is a goal

ABOUT THE TARGET MARKET(S) The target audience for Forward is young adults in late high school early college. They are people who are already active, and are transitioning away from team sports and into more personal fitness. This target is an important age range where people develop ideas of identity. Transitioning to college, teenagers feel the need to define what they are good at, and what they don’t want to do anymore. In high school, it is encouraged that anybody can do anything, and this sentiment is shown in sport participation. People try things new and achieve goals they didn’t know existed. Once teenager’s transition out of this phase they seem to limit themselves. They have a desire to define what they are good at, and more importantly, what they aren’t good at. These self-limitations are completely perceived, but are hard to change. It is important to get people to expand the idea of their own limits before they put themselves in a box, which they could remain in their entire life. Once someone labels himself or herself as “un-athletic” or “not a runner” that perspective of identity is much harder to change. It is possible to change these ideas about your identity later in life, but it is much more difficult, as these ideas get cemented in over time and perpetuated. The best way to have people not limit their ideas and capabilities is to reach them at an age where they define these limits. It is not so much about defining ever-broader limits, but showcasing an important idea; that our limits we set for ourselves are adaptable and could be expanded. Once an individual is armed with the knowledge that they can expand and adapt their own perspectives of limits, it is then possible to have these people execute change in their own life, on a timetable they see fit. It is about giving people the knowledge and confidence that they have the power to take control over their ideas of self and possibilities more than giving them immediate change.

Target Audience

The project is capable of being appreciated at different levels by varying audiences. The information presented will have a higher chance at being relatable and directly applicable to those who are already endurance sport athletes and people with a sense of their own intrinsic motivations. Older people are fully capable of interacting with the information presented in Forward in a meaningful way. People who are already on the journey of competing in ultra endurance challenges will be able to interact with the information in Forward in a way that solidifies their own motivations. People who are less active, or further removed from the ultra endurance scene will still be able to get intrigue and interest out of the information presented. This model of multiple levels of audience interaction is something that happens in all forms of communication. Just because a specific audience is targeted doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean that the information cannot be appreciated and effective to a wider audience. Another important audience to consider are the people who are already very involved in the ultra endurance community. These people often know a lot of information already, and are familiar with the community. it is important to make the information in Forward accurate to interest this group of people. they can easily tell if something isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t authentic. Forward has a challenge in presenting information to this group of people to get them engaged and have them learn something new. regardless how much you know or how much you have accomplished or experienced, it is still possible to learn more and to further develop your own ideas on a subject. The hope is that people who are involved in the ultra endurance community already will be happy with how their communuty is represented to others.

CONSEQUENCES

POSITIVE CONSEQUENCES Forward will hopefully open people’s minds up to new possibilities in endurance. It will allow people to think more broadly about their own capabilities and how they can strive to achieve more in their own lives. Ideally it would give some people a jump-start in a journey in which they push to achieve some of the great challenges highlighted in the project. A positive outcome that can occur with every reader is that they learned a little about a type of athletic accomplishment that has little coverage. Hopefully people will appreciate and understand a little bit more about the ultra endurance community.

NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES Drastically increased participation and exponential growth are not goals of the project, and would be considered a negative outcome if it happened. Drastically increased participation or even awareness would threaten the very core of some events. Ultra Endurance challenges are often special to people becauseof their underground nature. Greatly affecting awareness and partition threatens to change the very nature of these events. The goal of the project is not for the ultra endurance events to become mainstream and for them to be major corporate extravaganza’s. It’s about having people join the ultra community, not to change the ultra community. This type of exponential growth is currently being seen in obstacle racing in the US. With exceedingly high participation growth and the new support of corporate sponsorship and national TV coverage, races like Spartan Race and Ironman Triathalons are changing the very social structure based on media coverage. Spartan race is an example of how media coverage outgrew the

Consequences

scale and mentality of the event. The values and ideals of Spartan Race are often lost on competitors as it tried to target too large an audience, and the communication wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t effective. By keeping things small and with the understanding that only a select few will take any sort of action after interacting with the information, Forward is able to inform people without fundamentally changing the ultra endurance community. It is possible that the communication affects the way people think about these events in an inaccurate way, and in turn causes people to prepare and train for these challenges in a way that will not breed success. If Forward makes the events seem too easy or is too encouraging to the audience than people will push too far too quick and find themselves getting hurt or putting unnecessary strains on race organizers as they need to compensate for underprepared racers. It is important to keep the vibrant ultra endurance community intact, and it can be done by not giving all the answers to every question in one place. People will need to take personal initiative to learn more and to develop their own motivation and preparation. One negative impact would be the ignorance or a false sense of confidence. You cannot transform yourself by reading a website. Forward acknowledges the process to self-fulfillment in ultra endurance sports and respects the process. By fitting into the process as opposed to overhauling it, the project allows for the continuation of traditions amongst the community and allows the audience to actively and personally pursue their own integration into the community. Another negative consequence could be dismissal of the information. People could easily not relate to the information presented. If a concept is so far out of reach from a persons understanding, they dismiss as being out of the realm of their possibilities, and in turn disconnect and disengage with the content. Hopefully Forward does a good job at scaling the really difficult challenges with other challenges that could be more relatable.

It is somewhat acceptable for certain people in the audience to dismiss the information presented, but it is not ok for them to dismiss and underappreciate people they know who are working towards ultra endurance goals. All too often people will dismiss their friend training for a crazy challenge as crazy, or insane. This is a way for people who do not understand the challenge with the associated motivation and preparation involved to try and compensate for their misunderstanding. It would be a goal of the project to have people become more appreciative, encouraging and understanding of people who are preparing for an ultra endurance event. It is almost a given that the audience will not understand what it is like to compete in the challenges highlighted. No one other than the people who actually did it themselves will ever know the struggles. This lack of understanding is acceptable. Nothing will ever do a justice to the challenges some people overcome. Trying to paint a comprehensive picture and claiming it as such would only do a disservice to those who compete. Forward acknowledges that its coverage is not complete. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make any claims to give every audience member full comprehension. This missing piece of the puzzle or the vague statements could make people excited to learn more for themselves. The only way to learn more is to experience it yourself, which would be a positive consequence if it happened. The problem is if people mistake the intentional edited stories as being completely accurate. Details are left out, as no communication other than direct experience would ever be able to convey the complex ideas of how someone feels at the end of one of these tough challenges. It is important the audience understands that the details are something that they will just have to find out for themselves. Once a person experiences the same struggles, they too will understand how impossible it is to convey the achieving of the (almost) impossible.

Consequences

BRANDING

THE LOGO The logomark of Forward is an evolving and growing representation of the project. The name is stated directly with a bold sans-serif in all caps. The lines growing above and below the text is a representation of developing and expanding ideas of physical possibilities.

LOGO-EXPLANATION Forward is all about expanding ideas of the impossible. It is about moving forward in a pursuit of physical success, whatever level that may be. The project is about moving forward or thinking with bigger goals in mind. The text needed to be direct in its statement. The bold, all caps sans-serif is a declaration of intention and is forthcoming. Cultivating and changing personal ideas of the impossible requires direct attention and intention, so the bold stately treatment of the text in the logo is necessary. The typeface for the logo is an adapted version of Merriweather Sans. The wordmark was printed out and redrawn to give the letters a more human feel. The subtle difference makes the mark more inviting and warm, compared to the cold disconnected nature of most sans-serif fonts. The typeface alterations are very subtle and most people will never even notice the customization, but the slight change in cleanliness to something a little less refined is felt with an overall impression.

“MY PREVIOUS CEILING BECAME MY NEW FLOOR” –Alberto Salazar in 14 Minutes.

The lines above and below the wordmark represent the growth and expansion of ideas and physical accomplishments. The lines represent a growth in ideology and perspective. Everyone starts at a baseline, which is represented with the horizontal line. As exposure and success in physical pursuits are had, new possibilities become apparent. Once you do one thing, a new challenge comes into sight. Soon challenges that were not on your radar are seemingly possible. Building a base knowledge of physical challenges and races gives people the chance to expand and grow their own ideas of the impossible. The peaks and points represented in the lines would seem much larger and more daunting without the middle steps. The lines go both upward and downward. The reason to have both orientations is to show two sides of growth. Outward and physical achievements are represented by the upward lines.

Branding

Internal and inward ideologies of reflection and identity are represented with the downward lines. The project is about both outward physical success as well as development in reflecting inward about the process. The lines can also visually link to the look of topographical lines on maps. The lines can look like mountain ranges and valleys. Many races and challenges take place in the mountains and the map aesthetic plays to the ideas of self exploration and searching for a goal. The peaks are just as interesting and important as the valleys. One mountain doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t become visible until you scale the one before it. There is always that next mountain to conquer; that next challenge to overcome. The allure of summiting a peak is the same allure of pushing your body. We want to reach new heights; we just need to set forth a route to get there. The logo does not have one singular version. The adaptability and evolving nature of the logo has to do with the personal nature of the project. Everyone has different views of physical possibilities, and different perspectives yield different internal beliefs. What might seem easy for one person might seem completely impossible to someone else. By having different versions of the logo it shows that different perspectives are all welcome and can benefit from the project. The evolving logo also communicates the fact that perspectives and opinions about physical impossibilities are capable of being changed. It is possible to grow and adapt your own ideas. Everyone has their own process of motivating themselves, training and measuring success, so it did not feel right to represent everyone in a singular mark. While the lines on the top and the bottom change, the wordmark stays the same. This is because despite where you are in the process, both physically and mentally, you should be going in a direction; Forward. Forward is the one call to action that unites all people on this journey of finding out what they are capable of.

LOGO-PROCESS I started with a direct mark in a bold font. I knew from the beginning I wanted a powerful direct statement with the text. I also knew I wanted to incorporate the line work of expanding and growing forms. I experimented with the lines building off the letterforms, and also inside the letterforms. These ended up just creating a texture and communicated as more stripes or topographical maps, and less of personal expansion and growth. With the versions that were confined to a box, it felt way too closed and limited. It didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t speak to outward and inward growth and development. They felt too static and authoritative. When I started drawing the lines above and below the box, expanding outward, then it started communicating the values I wanted. I then ditched the vertical lines of the box, which again felt too limiting. Now the wordmark is free to visually support eye movement both left and right. The horizontal lines create a corridor with negative space in which the wordmark sits. This space can be seen as a path to take, a road to travel to achieve your goals and find new goals. I then played with customizing the letters used. I started with Merriweather Sans, and redrew the letters, embracing the slight imperfections and variations. It took quite a few tries and versions to determine the correct kerning of the letters. I originally had the letters too tight, and too big. The letters seemed to dominate the forms of the logo and not interact with it the best way. After getting critique from Suzanne it was clear that the letters needed to be further apart, thus giving a lighter, less threating feel to the logo. I think the final version is a nice balance of the letters and the forms.

THE NAME

FORWARD Forward. It is the direction we all should be going. It is the way we need to look at our sense of self and our abilities. It’s not about what you can do now, but what you think you can do moving forward. It implies movement, which is key to the project. It also speaks to action, intention and purpose, which are more key values to the project.

NAMING PROCESS-REFLECTION After initially having an idea to name the project 2:48, it became clear that the name 2:48 would not work. The reason I liked the name to begin with is its deeply personal meaning. It is a time of day in which my watch alarm goes off. I originally set the alarm to wake up from a nap to go kayaking in March when I was a senior in high school. Every day for the past four years it is a time that is a constant reminder to stay active and adventurous. I wanted this project to be a similar reminder to people to stay active and push their limits. But 2:48 just doesn’t work. The name is too abstract. It is meaningless to everyone, and requires too much explanation to get to the point. It is a personal story about me, and this project is about more people than me. The name doesn’t communicate anything to people immediately, and it requires a lot of context to be understood. I was not completely on board with the name at any point. It was the first thing I thought of, but I struggled to make it fit to what I needed it too. Then I talked with Cinse and Suzanne, and they immediately rejected the name. They hated it and it didn’t work for them. I understood where they were coming from, and I think it was good to get a firm negative reaction so I could move on.

NAMING PROCESS-REFLECTION Continued After moving away from 2:48, I had to do a lengthy brainstorm to come up with a new name. I just got a sheet of paper and started writing down all the keywords associated with my project. I tried combining and altering words to create something unique. After a lot of thinking and with some help from Stef I was able to realize the name didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to say everything about my project, and it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to be super unique. The name is only one piece of communication among many. I started to think more simply, and the name forward came to mind. It was something that was written down much earlier as part of a bigger phrase, but it started to have potential when I though deeper about it as a standalone word. The levels of meaning and communications of the word as highlighted above increased the more I thought about it. Without time to go back and forth with a name, it was time to go right to designing the logo and aesthetic.

COLOR

FOREST GREEN C: 84% M: 15% Y: 78% K: 2%

R:0 G:153 B:102

PASSION RED C: 34% M: 98% Y: 96% K: 53%

R:102 G:0 B:0

ADDITIVE BROWN C: 63% M: 73% Y: 65% K: 80%

R:34 G:17 B:19

TRAIL BROWN C: 46% M: 60% Y: 81% K: 39%

R:102 G:76 B:49

100%

85%

70%

55%

40%

25%

10%

FOREST GREEN

It represents nature, most often a place of internal reflection and outward challenges. The concepts of inward evaluation and outward challenge are something that my brand needs to communicate. The green color chosen is not too harsh or bold. It could be used in combination with other colors to create an evaluative tone.

PASSION RED

It represents energy, commitment, and of course, passion. There is vitality to the color red. Excitement and energy are huge aspects of the project and the red color demonstrated that. Red is intense and forthcoming, and my project needs a direct embodiment of life and intention.

ADDITIVE BROWN

This color was created when I mixed the green and the red. Because the two colors are often going to be mixed in application it was important to include the combined result of the color. This inclusion represents how people must combine ideas of reflection and self-evaluation with physical challenges and outward achievements. For a more formalistic reason the dark brown color is useful in rendering the logo in front of white backgrounds. The color is not black, which can often be perceived as cold or inhuman, so the brown gives slight warmth to the treatment of the logo. This color can be used in different percentages to create lighter shades.

TRAIL BROWN

This is a secondary color used in applications with photographic elements. The color represents the raw nature of the process of challenging oneself. The process is not a neat one, and the color speaks to the dirty nature of pushing the limits.

COLOR USAGE Very rarely will the colors be seen as flat color. Apart from the logo treatment in Additive brown, the other colors will never be printed as solely color. The colors will be used to build duotone images and the combining colors are the things that will be represented in final outcomes. The logo will be treated in either white (knocked out of an image) or in additive brown, in varying percentages depending on how the logo fits into the hierarchy of the design.The green and red can be used in lower percentages to overlay on top of images to create interesting tones.

COLOR USAGE-EXPLANATION This project is not about a singular solution. The project is trying to get people to think about a complicated process, and one, which every individual tackles in a different way. The colors are not needed to create a strict brand aesthetic, like that of a business, but rather something that can subtly link all aspects of communication together. The colors when combined in duotone imagery create interesting and unexpected results. The project is all about creating unique and meaningful experiences by combining psychological and physical achievements similar to the way the colors combine.

TYPOGRAPHY

MERRIW E AT H E R (MODIF I E D)

S ANS

HEADERS

ADOBE CASLON PRO

ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789.!&? SUBHEADS MERRIWEATHER SANS BOLD ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789.!&? Body copy Adobe Caslon Regular

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789.!&?

Typography

ADOBE CASLON PRO HEADERS AND BODY COPY Comprehension of difficult ideas are goals of my project so I wanted to include a typeface which is known for legibility. Outcomes of this project include long form writing and storytelling though printed words, so it was essential to have a typeface which was proven to work for readability for something as long as a book. The serif typeface also communicates a certain tradition and heritage. Forward is intended to educate young adults on a heritage that exists, that they may not be aware of, and a classic serif typeface like Caslon shines in this regard. The intricacies of the letterform and the carefully crafted serifs show a certain attention to detail and an appreciation to the process of making the letters is there, especially at the larger header size. The process of appreciating details and unsung skillful preparation is something that the project aims to do. The traditional nature of a serif font might seem outdated for the target audience of young adults, but the ideas and events Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m trying to expose people to are nothing new. If anything I am trying to bring people back to a certain way of thinking which was more prominent in the past. This project is not concerned with modern trends and having people do whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s popular, but rather have people be introspective and gain motivations in internal and traditional ways. The typography is laid out in body copy as justified paragraphs because of its layout for long form writing. Visually justified text works better to fill up a page when there are large amounts of text used.

M ERRIW E AT H E R ( M ODIFIE D)

S AN S

HEADERS

ADOBE CASLON PRO

ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789.!&? SUBHEADS MERRIWEATHER SANS BOLD ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789.!&? Body copy Adobe Caslon Regular

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789.!&?

Typography

MERRIWEATHER SANS SUBHEADS AND WORDMARK (MODIFIED) Merriweather Sans was chosen as a contrasting sans-serif typeface to balance the design that includes the use of a serif typeface for a lot of applications. The sans-serif typeface gives the designs flexibility and adaptability. Merriweather Sans is good for navigation, and organizing of information. It is good for situations where it is better to be more direct to the audience. Merriweather Sans was also chosen for its accessibility, as it is a Google font, which is available for free. If a final outcome is a web component, than it will be helpful to have a typeface that is reliable and affordable. The reasoning behind the treatment of the text in the logomark has been previously explained. See the Section about the logo development for more detail.

IMAGERY

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Imagery

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EXTERNAL IMAGE EXAMPLES There are a bunch of resources online which capture the photographic style I wish to include in my project. A few examples are shown here. Pictures that show emotional faces, regardless of how “pretty” or “happy” someone may be are the most interesting. Perfect composition can be sacrificed a little if it means capturing a very raw moment. Pictures during and after a race that show the little moments of struggle and the joys of getting through something are the types of images I want to include in the project. The post race portrait can say so much, and that moment of finishing an immense challenge is so intriguing when it is captured in an image. A picture of a person at the back of the pack is just as interesting as someone who won the race, this project wants to tell everyone’s stories, and show the faces of everyone invloved, whether they are elite, or more average.

IMAGES SOURCES Russ Campbell, Bryon Powell/irunfar.com, John Watson/The Radavist, Matt Trappe

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Imagery

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PERSONAL IMAGE EXAMPLES Throughout my own adventures and challenges I have taken/been in quite a few pictures which represent the essence of this project. Each of these images has a quite extensive story to go along with them. I really like how much depth simply showing a singular image and then telling the accompanying story can achieve. Pictures can be awkward or candid. An uncomfortable shot of an uncomfortable situation is a great way to convey how a person deals with a physical and mental struggle. I plan on taking more pictures as I continue to adventure and hopefully capture some more personal and trying moments from some inspiring people.

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Imagery

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EMBOSSING I plan to incorporate embossing in some way or another in this project. Embossing is traditionally communicated as elegant and stately, but through experimental usage I hope to have it mean new things. Embossing is about leaving an impression into the page. It can be a subtle imprint that is constant, and becomes part of the paper, not just sitting on top, but ingrained into the essence of the paper. Motivation and determination to train for and complete an ultra endurance event requires the same impression into a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brain. The physical and mental goals need to become part of who you are, and the goals will affect everything about you moving forward. Embossing is usually used on white paper. I plan to use embossing of my logo or some accompanying imagery on printed pages, in conjunction with other elements. This layering of printing and embossing will create a subtle impression that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t speak elegance as much as impression. I am still not completely sure how this element of the project will finally manifest itself, but I plan on experimenting with it in the near future.

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TEXTURE/IMAGES The use of nature textures in duotone imagery will be a major component of the branding for Forward. The images will be of natural landscapes, without too much variation in content within the image to remain abstract. The images will be built as duotone with the brand colors of forest green and passion red. The result is a rich mix of colors and a certain depth not possible with grayscale imagery.

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TEXTURE/IMAGES EXPLANATION There’s grit in nature. The little things we don’t always notice have beauty in them. The things that make our life difficult when experiencing the outdoors are the things that capture the challenges so well. The filtered look of the duotone is a metaphor for the filters in which we remember experiences, especially those of great challenge and physical struggle. We tend to texturize and distort reality of the small details that are a part of our challenge. Something as simple as a natural texture can bring us back to a moment of weakness and doubt. There’s ambiguity to this type of imagery that is allowed, as it will be pair with communication that is more explicit and direct in nature. This imagery is meant to set forth a certain mood of challenge, serenity and focus, while the rest of the communication techniques will bring in more contexts and develop the stories in a more complete way.

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REFLECTION: AFTER BRANDING CRITIQUE I had a good critique in class and it was helpful to get feedback on where to take my branding and areas to stay away from. I was happy to have the name forward be well received. Suzanne suggested making the tracking on the wordmark bigger to give the word more space and less weight. I was happy to follow that advice and I think the end result is better because of it. It was very good to here about areas that I should avoid pursuing. Mike and Coby were concerned with the elegant and fancy communication of embossing, so it was useful to know that if I plan on using embossing, I will do it in a more experimental and different way, careful to remove it from the elegant style that is so typical of the technique. My strategy for experimenting with embossing is outlined above. I also learned that my line graphic element doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work when it is used as a downward pulling graphic. It feels too depressing and it weights the design down, visually and contextually dragging the viewer down, which is the exact opposite of what my project is intended to do. I learned that my mark works well with the upward and downward lines together, and just the upward lines, but the downward lines by themselves do not communicate the right message to my audience.

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MEDIA OUTCOMES

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WEBSITE The website will showcase ultra endurance events. It will have a section for each race/ challenge. It will give basic information about the type of event, give a quick snapshot about the event and the people who compete. The information will be curated to only showcase some interesting races; it is not a database for all events. Races and types of races will include, but are not limited to: ultramarathons (running), adventure races, fell racing, orienteering races, FKTs (fastest known time) attempts, bikepacking races, cycling grand tours, and obstacle races. The website is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all the events, or even a place to research your next race. It is intended as a platform for people to see other things that are out there. Alternative racing events have been growing exponentially, especially in the United States, and there are a lot of other types of interesting ways to push the envelope, which people are unaware of. The small snapshots of information about each race are intended to intrigue, and inform. There will be a way for people who are interested to learn more through links to more information and media regarding each specific event. By interacting with each part of the website, it will allow the viewer at the end to have a broader sense as to what is possible, and have a more contextual understanding of the challenges that exist. There wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be a specific call to action or a direct inquiry at the end of the site. Each individual will interact with the site differently and different feelings and perceptions are expected and encouraged by the time someone had viewed the site.

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“CLEAR YOUR MIND OF CAN’T” -Samuel Johnson

PRINTED PIECES The website will need a way in gaining attention. It is necessary to create printed pieces which drive viewers to the website which is the main channel of communication for Forward. Printed pieces can be distributed at endurance events, where the personal connection to active members of the community can have the most impact. The communication in the printed piece will have to target specific markets to get them to visit the same sight.

FOR MORE EXPERIENCED ATHLETES: The communication will focus on the benefits of expanding the types of events out there. It will encourage people to think about how their current skill set can allow them to do new and exciting challenges that they may not have heard of. For this group it is just as much about getting people to expand their ideas of possibility in variation as much as difficulty. For example, at road marathon, racers at the pre race expo would be open to presentations of ideas about other rugged endurance challenges requiring mountain skills, or other different skill sets. Presenting the information in an intriguing way that encourages further research is the best method in reaching those already most active.

FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE TARGET MARKET This market doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what they are capable of. The communication must encourage exploration and effort in trying. It is important to be positive and to not alienate them in this crucial phase. The communication pieces must therefore not get into

Media Outcomes

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specifics regarding training, racing and the immense difficulty. Numbers and distances are a good way to draw people in as it is proven that Americans especially are motivated by numbers, but it is important to not get caught up in stats. Highlighting the ideas of personal exploration and self-fulfillment are key for this market. The printed piece can show how people can be physically active and push the limits on their own terms, separate from a team or organized group. Individual habits of fitness can be bred through encouraging big goals.

FOR THE MINIMALLY/ NON ACTIVE Not everyone is going to be receptive to the information presented to a point were they feel they can apply it to their own lives. It would still be a positive interaction if people in this audience can come away from the communication having been intrigued, and interested on an entertainment level. It would also be nice to see people in this audience come away being a little more appreciative and understanding of the people who they might know who compete in these ultra endurance events. Knowing the struggles that someone might go through in a tough ultra endurance challenge is helpful in interacting and encouraging with that individual. Giving people who are not as fit context into the commitment of the people involved in ultra endurance will help them see others differently. It is also a hope that some of the ideas presented in the information be scalable to anybodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. Quotes of positive encouragement that can apply to anybody, regardless of where they are at physically are particularly useful forms of communication to this audience. Regardless of where somebody is physically and motivationally, it is always possible to get him or her to think about doing more.

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POSTER / MAPS SERIES There will be a series of hand printed posters to accompany the website and printed piece. I will create a series of 2-3 posters using drypoint, monoprinting and linoleum block printing. The posters will show a course map with elevation contour lines. The maps will be of popular races or events like the Bob Graham Round, Nolanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 14, Hardrock 100, Ultra trail mount Blanc, or Godzone. The maps will help people appreciate and understand the sense of scale of these events. Hopefully some of the enormity and challenge will come across. The scale of the pieces will be large to allow detail and to impress with size. Maps will also visually connect back to the visual identity of the logo. The contour lines of the map and any other information will be a part of the drypoint print. I will highlight the actual race route using a monoprint of a different color than the background. I will carve the logo for Forward in linoleum and print that as another layer in a spot on each poster. The maps will be an immediate media piece in which people can engage in and explore deeper, but also appreciate on a quick simpler level. The maps, and how people will interact with them, will represent on a smaller scale the same idea of multiple levels of interactivity involved in the entire project. Some people will be engaged with the maps and want to dig in further, looking at every detail, like the people who may be inspired to do more research on their own. It can also be appreciated with a quick glance, as that is all some viewers will do. The piece has positive outcomes for

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SCALE The Forward project is small in scale intentionally. The larger the scale of the project, the more it will affect the community and the individual involved in ultra endurance sports. Forward has the goal of informing people of and reporting the current status of the ultra endurance community in an authentic way. It is not intended to shape the future of the events it shows. The small distribution and reach of the project actually plays to the advantage of the social communication system it is apart of. Unforeseen interpretations of the information presented in Forward could threaten to undermine the unique character of the events. By keeping the scale small and the goals of the outcomes simple it will limit the negative consequences of the media affecting the social community.

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REFLECTION: CHOOSING MEDIA OUTCOMES It was very difficult choosing the best way to present information as part of this project. It was even harder trying to decide what information to present. There are a lot of ideas I could convey as part of this project. The process of motivation, training and racing in ultra endurance events is an immensely long one. I knew I was incapable of having any impact on the whole process so I had to decide which part of the process I wanted to focus on. After talking with Mike it became clear that I could just focus on one small piece of communication. I then decided that I would have the most success in informing people simply about the races that exist. Although I have contextual thinking involving the entire motivational process, I am just focusing on one thing in the end. I am operating on the concept that you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do something youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never heard of. Through research it became clear that most people would do absolutely nothing with my information, and that is discouraging, but not the end. I just need to focus on presenting a small part of the picture in the most authentic form possible.

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WORKS CITED

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