SVR
Strategies for Visual Research Madelene King KIN10307102 BA Design for Graphic Communication
BRIEF
1. Brief
16. Existing presences on the street
The aim of this brief is to be able to develop appropriate solutions for markets, users, environments an specific contexts, even those far outside the realm of my own experience and knowledge as a designer.
2. Scoping my street
17. Design in the 1970’s
3. Scoping my street
18. Experimenting with identities
4. Scoping my stree
19. Experimenting with identities
5. Defining the problem
20. Proposed Outcome #3
6. Proposed Outcomes #1
21. How to infiltrate a wider audience
7. Proposed Outcomes #1
22. Why do/should people go there?
8. Refining the brief
23. How to organise a lot of information?
9. What’s the problem with WAC?
24. Proposed Outcome #4
10. Who could be affected?
25. Proposed Outcome #4
11. Proposed Outcomes #2
26. Proposed Outcome #4
12. In conversation with the WAC
27. Wayfinding
13. What needs to be done?
28. Is it what they wanted?
14. Similar examples of rebranding
29. How is all comes together
15. Similar examples of rebranding
30. Does it appeal to the audience?/Conclusion
This unit will help me develop numerous practical, visual, research methods common to industry practice that I am expected to utilise as I explore and produce design outcomes that address a chosen social issue. These come under the following headings: Discover, Deliver, Develop, Delve, Define, and Determine Impact. The Problem Based Learning group is a method used to help deal with the reallife, ill-defined and unstructed problems that I’ll experience in the deisgn industry.
Discover
Scoping my street Photo Documentation Quantitive Data
Crimes reported in general area
315
Baylis Road, Lambeth London SE1 7AX The statistics that I managed to find generally referred to Lambeth as a whole and weren’t particularly alarming in comparison with national averages. I needed to find out more about what was going on specifically on my street. Observed Problems: Rubbish build up Anti-social behaviour Unkept green areas Alcoholism Homelessness No parking Noise Pollution No sense of community Roadworks Don’t see anyone from my block of flats
Listen to my street
Road Accidents
Road Accidents
221
221
Residents of Lambeth
245,327
People claiming benefits Homeless
17%
1,059
Average Electricity Consumption
3,221
Kilowatts
Statistics gathered from Neighbourhood Statistics Metropolitan Police
Discover
Scoping my street Mind Map Clustering
Food Soup Runs Christian Centre Controlled Drinking Zone Dispersal Zone
Waterloo Food Festival Ten Feet Away Festival
Community Forum
Discover
Scoping my street Quantitative Survey
I wanted to know why people were coming to the area, so asked passers by what their reasons were for being on the street. Even though this was only a small sample of the hundreds of people who walk the street per day, it showed some interesting results considering how many places to go and facilities there are on the street. The largest percentage of people were either just walking past on their journey or on their way to the station.
Residents
8
6
Going for a meal/ drinks
Out of
15
Facilities on street: Waterloo Station Waterloo Underground Imax Old Vic Young Vic Restaurants Bars Cafes Doctors Surgery Primary School Residential Areas Supermarkets Retail Shops
11
Just passing through
50
5
people Shopping
Going to catch a train
2
3
Evening Entertainment
Other
Define
Develop
Defining the problem Writing the brief
ISSUE Residents and visitors to the area do not know what facilities are available to them and therefore pass by without engaging with the local businesses CLIENT Local Businesses Lambeth Council MESSAGE Residents and business can help each other out and fulfil each others needs There is a lot for visitors to do here
AUDIENCE Residents and visitors of the street POSSIBLE FORMAT Undecided DESIGNERS ROLE Social Facilitator/Instigator BRIEF To bridge the gap between the different businesses and communities on the street by facilitating social integration and interaction using a communal platform.
Deliver
Develop Define
Proposed Outcomes #1 Exhibit
My proposed outcome #1 was a website which features the local businesses and events that exist on Baylis Road. They are categorised so people can easily search for what they need. It would have a personals section so people can post one-off jobs they need doing, and would allow people to message one another if they could help. FEEDBACK from PBL Group + Looks neat + Good use of colour - As I had not conducted delve research at this point there was little consideration of type and attention to detail - How will visitors to the area know about it? Only useful to those at home with internet
Deliver
Develop Define
Proposed Outcomes #1
Exhibit
In my final feedback session with Waterloo Action Centre, in which I spoke to Liz, I showed her the progress of my pdf to date and she had this to say about this proposed outcome:
“I love that, you need more people down there really. They’re always saying we don’t get enough through because people aren’t aware it’s there. Gosh, do you know, you ought to pitch that to the council, that is such a good idea, we get people in here asking ‘Where’s the libray?’ , because of course it says library above or ‘Where’s christian aid?’, or ‘I’ve got an appointment with the job shop and I don’t know where that is.”
In response to the feedback I recieved I produced another outcome, this time more aimed at people who are just passing through the area. It is an interactive board that would be situated in cases positioned along the street or in the poster window of bus stops for example. It would be more useful for people who just found themselves having a spare half an hour or so in the area and nothing in particular to do. FEEDBACK + It addresses the issue of people not being able to access a website + Residents could use it too - It needs a lot of developing - Trying to cover too many bases, include too many things
Define
Develop Define
Refining the brief Rinse Lather Repeat Conversation Cards
Having decided I was trying to cover too many bases with my previous outcomes I needed to refine my brief, have a clearer message, and come up with a more practical solution.
ISSUE Residents of the area do not know what facilities are available to them and therefore miss out on social interaction causing a lack of community spirit
I kept with the idea of raising awareness of the facilities on the street but decided to just focus on one place in particular. Going back to my discover research made me take a closer look at what facilities in particular existed on the street.
CLIENT Waterloo Action Centre
Focussing my attention on one business gave me more potential to work with a particular client and allow for a deeper level of research and understanding before proposing an outcome.
AUDIENCE Residents and locals
Waterloo Action Centre is situated midway along Baylis Road and offers a lot of services and activities but it lacks presence on the street. Only 3 of the 8 neighbours I asked had heard of it.
DESIGNERS ROLE Social Facilitator/Instigator
MESSAGE The centre has so much to offer and would be an ideal place for people to come together as a community
POSSIBLE FORMAT Flyers, posters, website
BRIEF To raise awareness of the centre and what it has to offer, therefore facilitating social integration and interaction in the community, as well as increasing charitable donations to the centre.
“I’ve seen it, but no I’ve never been in. What do they even do there?” Alison, Flat 5 Reeves House
Delve
What’s the problem with WAC? What it offers Troubleshooting
-Constructed in 1893 as a public library -Survived the Second World War -By the 1960s it was closed down and vacated. -1971 two local charities got together to consider the needs and lack of services in the Waterloo area. Offer help and advice on: -Welfare benefits -Debt -Housing Waterloo Legal Advice Service is a free service that provides legal advice every week on a Thursday evening. It has been running for over 30 years and is made possible by the solicitors and lawyers involved giving their time free of charge. WAC Gallery is managed by Waterloo Action Centre and accpets bookings for exhibitions Activites: -Sixty Plus -Out and About Club -Churches -London School of Samba -Fencing (Morley Blade) -Life Drawing -Line Dancing -London School of Samba -Pilates -Rock & Roll, Jive -Zumba Video by Jack Thurston on WAC life
This is what the website, leaflet and noticeboard look like currently: - They don’t have posters or any publicity outside of the centre in surrounding areas - Only have adverts in the window and noticeboard which looks messy and hard to read, all printed on differents sizes, shapes, types of paper, no uniformity or consistency - Website is hard to navigate and menus change from page to page, information isn’t clearly layed out. - It has a distinctive building and entrance is unique but no exterior presence other than a hanging sign - Leaflets are outdated, use of clipart, hard to read
Discover
Who could be affected? Sketch Stakeholders
Inventive ways to get people to go into the action centre.
Residents of Lambeth Residents of Baylis Road Families Couples Children Young Adults OAP’s
Waterloo Action Centre volunteers Members of the activity classes Activity leaders Religious groups that practice there International Communities Bangladeshi Group Solicitors and Lawyers
Passers by Visitors to the area Businessmen Lambeth council
Deliver
Develop Define
Proposed Outcomes #2 Exhibit Physical Prototyping
These poster outcomes were a way of having publicity for the centre out in the surrounding area. They were aimed at passers by and visitors of centre to make them aware of some of the activities that go on, but they may never have known about. As well as this I redesigned a leaflet for the centre using their existing logo but improving upon the layout and format of the design. It could be easily dropped through resident’s letterboxes or picked up from the centre. It could also be placed in other institutions where they display information leaflets and pamphlets.
FEEDBACK from PBL Group + It’s good that these outcomes would be seen in the area without having to step inside the centre itself - Don’t give enough information - Don’t have a strong visual identity
Delve
In conversation with the WAC Qualitative Interview
At this point to further my research and project I needed to speak to the people who were actually involved and who the project would affect. The people I spoke to at the centre were very friendly and happy to answer my questions I spoke to Liz, a receptionist who has worked at the centre for 7 years, and Jenny who is a founder of the centre. I wanted to know more about the centre in general but in particular:
“Grew organically from people just doing what they naturally do, wanting to help and bringing the skills they already had.”
“We were born out of the austerity period so you did have to do things cheaply and that’s a tradition we try to keep running”
“That’s where it’s difficult in terms of branding because we want to make it the sort of place that is welcoming whoever you are as long as you live in Lambeth”
“It doesn’t need to be focussed, we just have to say our doors are open to everybody. and it’s this two-way thing of giving and taking a bit away with you. That’s a core principle of the place.”
As a charity and service what values did they have? I wanted to know this so that I could start working on ideas for a visual identity. Is there a particular audience that they focus on attracting? What improvements would they like to make? What is standing in the way?
Listen to the Conversations
“I definitely think raising awareness of the centre would be beneficial for it. I think if the council really realised what we did and the value people put on it once they come then they would be much happier to fund us.”
“We get sponsored, we got some from Comic Relief, get donations and get a little bit of funding from the council, but it’s very low.”
Define
Associate a place with a particular value
What needs to be done?
Aims and action plan How a rebrand would help the centre
Differentiate from other institutions
Revive a pre-existing but outdated place image Waterloo Action Centre is a perfect location to encourage social integration and bridge the gap between the residents and communitites on the street. Individually, the previous outcomes were unlikely to have the desired effect of raising the profile of the centre. To produce a more convincing outcome, that will have the best possible chance of having an impact, there needs to be a more complete, holistic overhaul of Waterloo Action Centre’s visual identity. It needs to meet a new audience by making it accessible to new users as well as exisiting ones. The aim is to create a visual identity for the centre that can be applied to all informative paraphernalia for the activities and events that the centre holds. This can also be used on social media platforms as a means to infiltrate new audiences and expand their current client base.
Raise awareness of the company
Gain more donations to further the work of the centre
Highlight changes in the character or activities of an area
Attract more members/ visitors/clients
Facilitate social integration between residents and communities
Delve
Discover
Similar examples of Rebranding Concurrent Activities
Examples of rebranding within a communal institution JW3, previously JCC is a Jewish Community Centre that aims to transform the Jewish landscape in London by helping to create a vibrant, diverse and proud community, inspired by and engaged in Jewish arts, culture and community. Its clean and minimalistic style is down to Pentagram’s John Rushworth. Similarly to Waterloo Action Centre they open their doors for events, activities, classes and courses that: -Increase the quality, variety and volume of conversation in the community and beyond. -Reflect the diversity of the community. -Bring all people together, wherever (or whether) they place themselves on the religious spectrum and are open and accessible to the widest range of people.
Haregate Community Centre is an example of rebranding on a smaller scale, far more like that of the Waterloo Action Centre.
Delve
Discover
Similar examples of Rebranding Concurrent Activities
When conducting research into concurrent activities I have tried to focus on examples where I am able to draw parallels with the Waterloo Action Centre. Institutions with a wide audience range include galleries, museums, and community centres.
YMCA As the organisation grew over the years and became more diverse its identity and message were obscured with research revealing that, similarly to Waterloo Action Centre, most people were not aware of the depth of the organisation’s role in society. This led to a widespread awareness campaign and recrafted image.
National Music Centre, Canada This is a innovative way of creating a brand identity that can adapt to many different formats and colour schemes yet still be consistent and recognisable whatever theme it takes on.
Rebrand 100
Delve
Discover
Existing presences on the street Photo Documention
I scoped the street for existing fonts and indentities in the area surrounding Waterloo Action Centre so that I could decide on the best way to make the centre stand out and attract attention.
A lot of the signs on the street have been left to get a bit rough around the edges and have a handmade element to them even though they have been inspired by digital fonts.
To make Waterloo Action Centre stand out amongst these I think it needs to have a more contemporary feel that contrasts nicely with the historic building. As it is distinctive already it just needs something to draw the eye.
Fonts In Use
Delve
Discover
Design in the 1970’s
When it came to the intial stages of designing the identity I wanted it to be contemporary, but also somehow reference the centre’s history. As it was founded in the 1970’s my first move was research examples of design from that era, and in particular the fonts that were used. There were many that are still popular and used heavily today but others were rather more decorative and distinctive of the time. I came across this image of a ration book used in the 1940’s during the Second World War and remembere how Jenny had mentioned that centre was born out of the austerity period. The library building had survived the war and gone on to play an important role in the community. The font used on the ration book was Gill Sans, a rounded, sans serif font that is fairly adaptable. I thought he use of this font in the logo would be a subtle yet relevant reflection of the past and a nod to what the centre had been through.
Define
Develop
Experimenting with Identities Sketch Designing an identity
Initial sketches for logos Perhaps too obvious and cliche
Key Values Give and take Grew Organically People coming together Support Diversity
Really like the mosaic they have mounted outside. Thought the pieces represented many different people coming together to form a bigger picture
Values I gathered from the chat with the people who work at the centre
Pattern created can be altered in terms of colour, shape and angle to form interesting shapes and motifs that mirror WAC’s diversity of programs and audiÂences.
Wanted to create a pattern to use for the identity that somehow emulated the same idea as the mosaic
Develop Define
Deliver
“I come from a whole different background where this is really really key, really important because branding is just massive and how you can get that recognition. And the shapes are really nice as well, yes the hands are representative of the give and take relationship we have with the people that come in.,”
Proposed Outcomes #3 Exhibit Feedback
On my return to the centre I met with Kerry, who has worked as administrator there for many years. I presented her with my different logo ideas for the centre and she chose which she thought would be most most fitting and have the best effect.
“I think people need to remember the name so I like that. So I really like that one because I think it’s nicely patterned and I like the way you’ve got that bit there. Though actually the other bits are really nice. That bit is really good and bold could that be somehow used alongside there, another bit. Because I like the colours, I like the way you’ve make it look tactile.”
“We’re still in the 1970’s. You’ve got to come from a corporate background to realise that this is really key because everyone else here doesn’t, the definition of people here is ‘Oh you don’t need that, just write up a note and put it in the window’, and it’s like, no you can’t do that. I do think it is important to have something that really makes people remeber you without having to say your name even, just to have the brain recognition in their head. So I definitely think it would be a great idea, yeah really good.”
Listen to the Conversation
“I think anything with the name is good, but I think we’d all have disagreements, I don’t really like the abbreviation. Though I guess that’s quite neat with the writing underneath it.”
“I think that grabs you the most. I think the most important thing is that all of it’s written out cause that’s really key because people actually don’t know who we are. They walk past us a hundred times a day, year in year out and don’t know who we are.”
“We might be able to borrow something from you and just do some colour things even if we just put something in the window”
Delve
Discover
How to infiltrate a wider audience? Self Ethnography
Audience As the centre has a large range of people it caters to I tried to define it, just slightly, so that I could work out how to reach people that would be potentially interested in taking part -Residents of Lambeth -People who want to contribute to society -Want to get involved and meet new people -Give back to the community -Looking for a more active role in society -Looking for a friendly welcoming atmosphere Other examples of other places with a wide audience range include galleries, museums, and community centres. This is why when conducting research into concurrent activities I have tried to focus on examples of the above as it is easier to draw parallels with the Waterloo Action Centre.
I have lived on the street for nearly 2 years now and had not noticed the Waterloo Action Centre until my mum suggested I go to a Pilates ssession there. Even when people are familiar with the building it does not mean they have awareness about what goes on inside. I found myself in a few of the categories on the left so took myself as example and thought about all the touch points I have in my day to day routine. This would give me an idea of the type of locations I could to position the publicity for the Waterloo Action Centre in the surrounding areas.
-Underground adverts -Bus Stops -Adverts in newspapers/magazines -Online adverts -Social media platforms: -Twitter -Facebook -Instagram Many awarenss campaigns use these as a fast way of reaching large numbers of people by relying on the users desire to share info with followers -Word of mouth -Friends and peers influence -Email -Post -Shop fronts -Visual Merchandising -University -Supermarkets -Leaflets on shop counters -Noticeboards
Delve
Develop Define
Why do/should people go there? Generation of additional content Co-design
I wanted to get quotes from the actual users of the centre so they had some input into what content went into the publicity materials. I wanted to know their own personal reasons for going to the centre and why they think other people should join. The audience may be able to relate to what they have said if they see a particular quote on the publicity material. It would also make for a more convincing outcome if the user can potentially see the centre benefitting them.
Delve
Discover
How to organise a lot of information?
Exisiting Websites Concurrent Activities
Navigation tools Colour Coding Icons Drop-down Menus Sub Categories Calendars Article Thumbnails Rolling Pages
GlaxoSmithKline
Brighton Festival 2014 Mount Sinai GlaxoSmithKline AIGA AFMU
Determine
Deliver
Proposed Outcomes #4 Exhibit Publicity Material
Listen to the Conversation
“Yes it is more accessible. That would help, if people knew it was a vibrant place with lots going on people would be more keen to get involved. But I think that looks fanatastic. I really like the mosaic. Do you know, I would have gone for the other one but I really like that. You’ve done such a great job of it, amazing, amazing. you could put in here volunteers, we always need them because there’s hardly any of us.”
“That’s such a good idea becasue then you can say pick up a blue one or a green one or a pink one. Oh i like this, this is so much clearer, I like this size as well. It probably needs to say what type of advice it covers, oh it says it over here, that needs to be really clear if we were to go with this as a thing, because people may come for something like consumer advice and we don’t cover that. Do you know this is so much easier to read than the other one and I don’t quite know why because it says all the same stuff.” “That was the idea when I began with the colour coding. You begin to have some sort of recognition for it. But outside obviously, like you say, if these go up everywhere once people start to see this and you would start to think ‘That’s from so and so..” We could transfer something like this, maybe a different size onto nearly every activity we have here. You see we’ve got Tai Chi there, if we had something like this on every piece of publicity material to do with WAC I think it would make it much more recognisable. “
Determine
Deliver
Proposed Outcomes #4 Exhibit Feedback Website
Listen to the Conversation
On the idea of a mosaic representing people coming together: “That a really nice analysis of it yeah that’s clever.”
“Oh I love that. Yeah so the Tai Chi person would have access to the bookings. So the activity leader, whoever it is, could go on and see who’s booked into their class because the paid ones are slightly different from the drop in ones.”
Determine
Deliver
Proposed Outcomes #4 Exhibit Feedback Exterior Presence
“I didn’t expect anything so usable to come out of this. Do you know what I mean? I didn’t expect it to come out as something that you absolutely could use if you wanted to and you could couldn’t you? It’s just great.”
On the suggestion of having a twitter, and other social media accounts: “Yes that would be particularly good for people who are joining. The classes at the weekend and evening crowd might use it. I’m sure the tutors would like that.” “God you’ve done a lot of work on that it’s really impressive. I think this is very successful.” “It’s a shame about all this. I hate this, I cannot tell you how much I hate this. We’ve got space elsewhere.”
When designing the exterior I wanted it to look distinctive but stay in keeping with the presences on the street. I didn’t want it to get overshadowed by Cubana, a colourful, vibrant, restaurant/bar right next door. I think the splash of colour on the front wall and hanging sign in contrast to the red brick make the centre stand out in it’s own right, without being garish or look as if it is trying to compete with Cubana.
“Yes, yes exactly. It gives a more unified look to it instead of having a leaflet here and a leaflet there and not know where it’s coming from, because if you were stood outside you still may not know that this leaflet was coming from this building whereas if you had the branding outside and branding on every item, this mosaic is quite instantly recognisable so people would be able to associate it with here.” Listen to the Conversation
Develop
Discover
Wayfinding
Innovative Examples Concurrent Activities
Caixa Forum
When I spoke to Kerry she took me on a little tour around the building itself. Joined by linking corridors, they have a number of rooms where the activites take place, which are also available for hire. She commented on how people sometimes get lost, especially if they are new, so in addition to the publicity for the centre I want to apply the identity to potential wayfinding ideas. This would extend the Centre’s exterior presence throughout the building so that it doesn’t just stop when you come through the door. Galleries, Museums, and community centres were a good source of existing inspiration. Similarly to Waterloo Action Centre they are geared toward a wide audience and have to be able to easily show how to navigate to a particular destination.
Endeavor Hills Shopping Centre As the activites change hour to hour in the centre I would just have signs to the particular rooms, relying on the fact that visitors would know which room their activity was allocated to. This info would be on the website.
Things I can consider: Going straight on to the wall Use of arrows Hanging Perspex Stickers Different Levels Mounted on wall Interchangeable Signage
The National Centre for Craft and Design
QV MElbourne Parking Garage
Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft
Zeum
Deliver
Develop
Is it what they wanted?
Tailoring and Improving Finalised version of Outcome #4
There were a few suggestions of tweaks made in my feedback meeting with Liz, so to make it as successful as possibe as an outcome I went ahead and did them. Kerry mentioned that sometimes people got lost, especially new members as they have a lot of different rooms and passages. I then compiled all of my final outcome into a small book of guidlelines for the identity featuring font, colours, and placing the identity in various contexts.
Define
Develop
How it all comes together User Journey Mapping
Can be seen in surrounding areas e.g Bus stops, Billboards
Website
Signage
Take part in an activity Meet new people Use of Posters
If interested may research online and book onto an activity
Use of Leaflets
Can be posted to residents of Lambeth or picked up from the centre
Increase in charitable donations and funding allowing Waterloo Action Centre to continue its work
Social integration Stronger sense of community spirit
Building now has a visual presence on the street
Raised awareness of the centre and what it has to offer More people take part in activities
AMAZING! Post positive feedback on social media platforms
Spreads positive feedback through word of mouth
Conclusion
Determine
Does it appeal to the audience? Usability Testing
Now that I had the Waterloo Action Centre’s seal of approval I wanted to see if it was something that residents of Baylis Road would take notice of.
Charlotte Lambert, 23 Resident of Baylis Road
“This is definitely very eyecatching, you could spot it from so far away. That burst of colour, I would notice that if it were on the actual building as well because I walk past there everyday, twice! So I would immediately know that it was advertising for that. Oh they do so much here I didn’t even know, I’ve been meaning to do a fitness type class or something for a while, this would be ideal. Might meet some new people. Yeah the website and everything ties in really well and the twitter would reach younger audiences like myself. It’s very consistent throughout, like with the colours and patterns so I think the website would be easy to use, it’s got a clean simple layout, not too fussy.”
conclusion I found this project a challenge from the start. It was difficult to find issues on the street that could be solved with practical design based solutions, and on a relatively short time scale in comparison to a real live scheme. Producing numerous different outcomes before really doing much in depth research seemed backward and alien at first, but turned out to be a worthwhile task as it forced me to think quickly about finding a solution, even it wasn’t the most ideal or well suited one at the time. I actually really enjoyed getting involved with Waterloo Action Centre and getting their input as my project unravelled. They showed a genuine interest in what I was working on and were keen to help in any way possible, and looked forward to seeing the results each time I went away. I am naturally more of a reserved person so having to gather feedback from a range of different sources made me come out of my shell and I gained more confidence as I progressed. Getting feedback from the relevant audiences and clients was also really useful when it came to defining which direction the project needed to go in. Some of the research methods used, including feedback from stakeholders, are definitely ones I now know to use in future projects whatever aspect of design the brief demands. User Journey Mapping was a useful tool as it uncovered where there might be gaps in the outcome or an outlet I hadn’t previously thought about. I think this project was generally a success, I came up with a brand identity that fit in with the key values of the centre and used many formats to reach different members of their widespread audience. I would have liked to have been more innovative with my leaflet and website designs but it was important to me that I kept things simple and easily accessible for the exisitng members of the Action Centre, as they have a large group of older users.
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