SHAWN SCHINAULT
MFA GRAPHIC DESIGN THESIS
Š2018 Shawn Schinault All rights reserved. MOBSAY MFA Graphic Design Thesis Process Book Academy of Art University San Francisco, California For more work by Shawn Schinault please visit schinault.com
Contact shawn@schinault.com
SHAWN SCHINAULT
MFA GRAPHIC DESIGN THESIS
TABLE OF CONTENTS THESIS DEVELOPMENT 07 Introduction
09
Early Research
15 Solution
17
Concept Development
23
User Testing
VISUAL SYSTEM
29
System Guidelines
DELIVERABLE
45
B.A.R.K. Box
53
Website & Report Card
61
Marketing Materials
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not. Theodor Seuss Geisel The Lorax
5
MOBSAY
THE IDEA…
How to challenge partisan politics in order to get individuals engaged in their communities and politics?
That is what ultimately became the early driving question behind the research into my thesis project topic. Early on in my topic research the idea of making our communities better was a reoccurring theme. Whether it was going to be a system for identifying/shaming people who don't pick up their dog's poop in the name of community betterment or challenging local politicians on their promises, finding ways to improve our neighborhoods and communities through design was the mission. As the same time I was developing a growing frustration with the increasing growing and obvious partisan politics divide. It was a direction that I thought could be interesting to research from a design perspective.
Now the question was how to address that locally though design? Early on the idea was how do we connect constituents with politicians and once connected how do we kept the politicians honest to their promises? At that point in time there were national level resources but nothing clear and easy to access on the local level. Based on my research at the time there was a need for a local level checks and balances tool. A “big brother” for the people if you will. The idea became to create a report card system to track your politician and their promises. Along with that would be a set of tools designed to inspire interaction between constituent and politician that skewed on the fun side to help keep it a lighter balance to the “big brother” report card.
7
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
It was solid idea that fulfilled a need… until the 2016 election cycle started to take shape. It very quickly became one of the most polarizing and contentious election cycles to date and a whole new sets of tools started to emerge to help fill the same void I was looking at. Very quickly I was seeing my idea turn from relevant to redundant almost overnight. Another round of user testing exposed a new need that was an unexplored companion to the current problem. There was now a newly energized base of individuals that wanted to take action on national and local community issues but were unsure of where to start. This was a void my project could help fill through design. My toolkit could become a activism starter kit with tools and resources designed to empower an individual to take their first steps with confidence. The report card could be less big brother and more of a reference tool for an informed conversation starter with neighbors and politicians. The 2016 election cycle produced many things, including overwhelmingly negative vibes around politics. Individuals were charged and fired up in a way that had not seen for a long time. As tensions begun to soar across the political landscape I took to the idea of “positive activism” which would become the underlying theme behind the overall project.
Going through ideas for the next step I decided that the cornerstone of the project would be “knowledge is power”. Give people the information and tools they need to feel empowered and from there they can take the next steps with informed confidence.
Thesis Process Book
8
THESIS CONCEPT: INITIAL RESEARCH Early research initially looked at partisan politics and how disconnected were we becoming as a community because of it.
THOUGHTS AT THE TIME I feel like after research and class discussion my insights are holding very true. There is a need for political disclosure, dialogue and access, now I just need to distill this all down into a design formatted solution. Easy, right?
Presentation slides from GR810
9
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
THESIS CONCEPT: EARLY INSIGHTS Reviewing raw data and taking readings into consideration there are three insights that stand out to me that have a relevant connection to my thesis development.
WE # ARE 1
WE # 1 ARE
INSIGHT #1 Political polarization is a deeply entrenched concept, rooted in our human nature of taking a team sports or triballike absolute mentality of belonging and establishing self identity. I am looking at the following examples of conflict that parallels in nature political polarization: Sports fans, Religion, High School Cliques, Greek life, Fanboys, PC vs. MAC, iPhone vs. Android, Marvel vs. DC, East Coast vs. West Coast, Gamers: Playstation/ Xbox/Nintendo, automobile brands, name brand labels, status symbols‌ we as a society across numerous cultural and social groups find endless ways to divide ourselves into conflict. It is very much part of our human nature.
POLITICAL POLARIZATION is a deeply entrenched concept, rooted in our human nature of taking a team sports or tribal-like absolute mentality of belonging and establishing self identity.
In the Democratic political system, where a basic principle is voice of the people, there is a complete lack of oversight and accountability for ones actions/representation to the constituents.
INSIGHT #2 In the Democratic political system, where a basic principle is voice of the people, there is a complete lack of oversight and accountability for ones actions/representation to the constituents.
INSIGHT #3 If political polarization is truly here to stay as many suggest then we need a system of guidelines and methods for allow interaction and combined ideals across the two main sides that also allow for smaller party participation.
Communication between voter and politician can go a long way toward establishing a system of checks and balances. By being in touch with their constituents a politician may have a better idea of what is expected of them by the voters. This dialogue could lead to a better balance between serving political party agendas and the true needs of the people.
Early topic survey results
11
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
SURVEY SAYS… EARLY RESEARCH Q1 WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME YOU REACHED OUT TO A POLITICIAN AND WHY? 2010; contacted Mayor’s office for participation in shopping center event. When I was 19, to get an internship. 5 years ago to sign a petition against GMOs, I think. I have never reached out to a politician. Grade school. Class assignment. Never. 2005 - City council regarding a proposed liquor store near our home. Not sure if this counts, but I testified in front of the liquor board requesting alcohol at one of the Save the Coconut events. In terms of a local or state politician, I have never reached out to them. I can’t remember exactly. I know it was when I was in my 20’s and it was to protect animals/regarding animal rights/ Anti-cruelty measures. A year ago, concerned about recent changes with local police department. Q2 WHEN YOU LAST COMMUNICATED WITH A POLITICIAN WHAT WAS THE MEDIUM YOU USED AND WHY? 2015; email and phone calls to City Council and U.S. Congress reps. When I interned for one, at their office. Email. It was the easiest. N/A Postal service only thing available on grade school. Never Email letter - made sure it would get on record and I could copy the whole city council and mayor, About 4 years ago or so. My last communication was with Dean Heller regarding the Wild Horses and the BLM. I used a email. By email.
Q3 WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BEST EXPERIENCE TALKING WITH A POLITICIAN (EMAIL, TWITTER, PHONE, MOVEON PETITION) AND WHY WAS IT THE BEST FOR YOU?
Never
Phone calls to talk; emails to confirm plans. It’s rare to speak directly to the politician in my experience; generally, you plan with their team and you need a relationship with someone on their team.
I think making my opinion known would be enough to satisfy me.
I feel in person is the best, because all responses otherwise are answered by their staffers not themselves.
Q5 EXPLAIN WHAT YOU FEEL LIKE IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE METHOD TO COMMUNICATE WITH SOMEONE YOU DO NOT HAVE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP?
They responded with a form letter via email. Never. Speaking before the city council at a board meeting - it was difficult to get on the agenda but I had a very effective voice.
The former. Making my opinion known is enough to satisfy me, I don’t need an ongoing dialogue.
Currently it is not satisfying, I think media conversations would be great! Open dialogue
Again, generally, you plan with the politician’s team and you need a relationship with someone on the team to make it happen.
None. I either get no response at all, or generic responses with a stamped signature. I never feel that it is genuine.
I feel that either Facebook or LinkedIn are good forms these days if you are trying to connect with someone that’s not in your same area. Other than that, if you can get a face-to-face, those are always the best ways to communicate and start building relationships. Also, finding a common interest with them is important.
Never had a good experience.
Text messaging.
Q4 IS MAKING YOUR VIEW, OPINION OR DESIRE KNOWN WITH A POLITICAL FIGURE ENOUGH TO SATISFY YOU (I.E. AN EMAIL OR MOVEON PETITION) OR WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE MORE OF AN OPEN DIALOGUE WITH THEM (SOCIAL MEDIA CONVERSATIONS, I.E. TWITTER)?
Through e-mail or a professional site such as LinkedIn
In person…you can easily convey emotion that doesn’t translate well in an email or letter.
Seeing them actually do what you ask is satisfying I would say petition is best, because it could sway them by majority. I guess a real time conversation via twitter would be nice but I’m not on twitter Would be most comfortable in a private forum Up to this point I’ve relied mostly on public opinion surveys. Given the options I’d prefer online options as opposed to social media. I’d prefer a system where politicians worried less about up to the minute public image control and more about doing their job.
Phone call. Never. Speaking to them face to face if they have and will give you time. I absolutely think a face-to-face or telephone call is the best method since you can very easily convey your emotional message. I believe the most effective outcome would be from face to face old fashion conversation. Unfortunately that doesn’t happen, so I think the most efficient method in today’s world would unfortunately be email. I would have to go with email or phone communication. You know that the person is being reached.
12
"None. I either get no response at all, or generic responses with a stamped signature. I never feel that it is genuine."
“Is this news to you? It’s shocking that all of these idiots can slip that stuff past us and no one gives a shit to stop them… it would be depressing if I actually thought it would make any difference at all.”
early research quotes
13
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
Clearly I was on the right path and tapping into something where there was a need. Now I just needed to adapt the idea into a project that filled a unique need in the quickly evolving political landscape.
14
THE SOLUTION
To create a program where an individual can have quick access to basic statistics on their local community, to be able to compare that information with other areas and create “report cards� for their community. With this in hand they can feel confident and empowered to take their first steps into positive activism. Add to this a tool kit filled with accessible and practical resources to continue their steps forward to keep their momentum going.
15
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
16
THESIS DEVELOPMENT Initial concepts
17
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
THESIS TITLE:
KEYWORDS:
For the title the consensus was to keep it short and sweet. Research feedback comments were to focus on something like an organization or TV show. So with that in mind I narrowed it down to:
PARLEY. I was really drawn to the idea of connecting the meaning of conversation between enemies or two sides at odds with each other into my project meaning. So if I could not use it for in the title then I wanted it as part of the keywords.
1. MOB 2. BEHEARD 3. GROUPTHINK I tried to find a usable fit for parley since the word initially tested strong. Looking at the French root of the word, I really liked Parlez and Palaver as possible names. Unfortunately Parlez was already in use for a gay dating app which took it out of the running since it would not be unique. Palaver didn’t have the easily recognizable connection to parley I wanted. One focus group participant mentioned they thought of palette first.
BRIDGE. Creating a tool between and connecting two sides was the objective. RELATIONSHIP. Once a bridge is established, building relationships to create a better community for everybody was the long term goal of the project.
I settled on MOB as the initial project title. While that served my initial purpose it would morph as the project did in reaction to the changing political landscape brought on by the 2016 election cycle. As the project become more about individuals having a say, the name changed for the better to MOBSAY in order to reflect the new direction.
18
LOGO CONCEPT: INTIAL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
LOGO CONCEPT: DIGITAL ROUGHS & REFINEMENTS
21
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
FINAL LOGO
22
USER TESTING: INTRODUCTIONS
MEET WENDY
MEET JOHN
BACKGROUND: PRIMARY USER
BACKGROUND: SECONDARY USER
Liberal, outspoken with moderate restraint. Considers herself a child of the 90’s and embraces viewpoints that follow that. Not shy to express her thoughts about politics, “dumb facts” and the impact she believes them to have on the nation and community.
Conservative and spiritual. Not shy about his beliefs but keeps most thoughts to himself.
• 40 year old female • Married • College Graduate • 1 child (preschool)
Her first priority is her family. Wendy wants what is best for her family without compromise. Has a moderately strong interest in politics, says her interest grew much stronger over the 2016 election cycle and as her child approaches school age. She has never been one to engage in political marches or events but that view is changing with motherhood and current events. Her first venture into activism came with the recent national Women’s March movement. She was very intrigued /energized by the event and is now looking at other ways to be more civic minded and involved in the community. These reasons are why I was very interested in having her as a test user for my thesis project. She is in many ways the text book representation of the audience MobSay is envisioned for.
• 31 year old male • Divorced • College Graduate • 1 child (preschool)
Outdoors man, big fan of public lands and outdoor spaces. Believes in a minimalistic approach to government. Proactive when the occasion fits but overall takes more of a “happy go lucky” approach. Stays hands off on most topics despite having strong opinions on many community topics. His interest in community issues is what drew me to him as a test user for my project.
MEET JULIE
• 46 year old female • Single • College Graduate • 1 dog SECONDARY USER Middle ground when it comes to politics. Leans liberal more often but also conservative on many subjects as well. Interested in politics, never one to get involved on a local level because she does “not know where to start.”
23
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
Documented testing through notes taken during user exploration, walk-though and afterwards in Q&A style format. Discussed first impressions, intuitive nature, guided flow vs. free form exploration, interest based on first impression, viability of concept and design consistency.
24
USER TESTING: PRIMARY USER
Website showcased on a desktop computer. First allowed user to explore on her own through the InVision prototype. After that presented the more guided PDF presentation that displays the prototype in a linear fashion. Allowing user to first explore on their own was a key element of the testing. I observed and documented how she interacted with the site. Taking note of where her interest was first taken, where she clicked and the order followed. Once she was satisfied with free-form exploration I presented her the PDF which simulates the site through it’s linear page order. This is more rigid and guided by nature of it’s design. After viewing the PDF we went back and she looked through the site again, now with a bit more per-determined bias from the PDF presentation. This gave a nice comparison between user intuition and assumed designed user flow. Part of the site design was a free-from explore at your own pace mentality. Nice to now have feedback on where the user’s mind goes. To maintain comfort level documentation was made by notes and photography during the process.
25
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
26
USER TESTING: SECONDARY USER
John’s biggest comment was “why so much?” He liked the concept but found there to be too much content that was not unique, content that could be found elsewhere. Events, calendar, resources… all had no lack of other sources. He liked the concept behind having a information fact card and a starter box kit but thought it was lost among too many other non-essential pieces.
27
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
Juliet was good in that she took great interest in the idea of the Report Card and having a start place for a resource she could take on the go. She saw several reiterations of the report card from sketch to final product and helped guide the card into a more intuitive format.
USER TESTING: TAKEAWAYS
• Loves concept. Enjoys the idea of having a resource to feel empowered and to be engaged on a local level. • Finds design aesthetic pleasing and suited to the concept. • Did not initially pick up on concept behind color palette but once discussed understood and really likes the underlying concept of bipartisan neutral palette. On second look when going over it together it was a often mentioned piece. • Free form exploration design was a bit tough on her at first. There was a sense of where do I go, what am I suppose to be doing. While she agrees there is not a need for hand holding there is a need for a more targeted directive from the get go. Perhaps a bit of a primer as part of the opening slide show. • Report Card needs clarification in process along with explanation. Proposed solutions is a slider that has a few slides to explain the process on the main report card page.
28
29
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
VISUAL IDENTITY Guidelines & Applications
30
LOGO
Organic and a bit free form, welcoming, with a sense of cheeky in the spirit of the inclusive nature of the project. Primary full color logo uses demonstrated colors, maintaining a non-partisan feeling. Grey-scale logo preferred to pure black and white as it will suggests a mixing of messages. With photography and dark backgrounds use solid version with knockout.
31
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
LOGO SPACING/USAGE
In order to ensure the logo retains it’s voice it is crucial to position it with an adequate amount of space to create a sense of “air” around it at all times. A minimum clear space as determined by the height of the letter M will allow the logo to have it’s say..
Do not rotate/skew, change colors or proportions of logo at any time.
32
COLORS PRIMARY
primary red
33
election blue
parley purple
C 15
C 93
C 74
M 100
M 56
M 94
Y 100
Y 27
Y 6
K 5
K 7
K 0
R 199
R 5
R 101
G 33
G 101
G 57
B 39
B 41
B 4142
#C82127
#05658D
#65398E
Pantone 711 C
Pantone 7706 C
Pantone 7679 C
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
COLORS SECONDARY
C 0
C 1
C 73
C 51
C 35
M 91
M 73
Y 96
Y 76
M 22 Y 0
M 13 Y 0
M 78 Y 5
K 0
K 0
K 0
K 0
K 0
R 239
R 242
R 33
R 114
R 171
G 59
G 105
G 159
G 184
G 88
B 40
B 71
B 218
B 229
B 155
#Ef3b28
#F26947
#219Fda
#72B8e5
#Ab589b
C 8
C 60
C 100
M 5
M 50 Y 50
M 83 Y 45
C 44
K 0
K 52
R 30
R 0
G 48
G 38
B 64
B 61
#646565
#00263D
Y 7 K 0 R 232 G 233 B 230 #E7e1e6
M 72 Y 0 K 0 R 151 G 98 B 169 #9762A9
34
TYPOGRAPHY
Oswald Oswald is the primary header and identifier typeface in the MobSay design arsenal. Standing tall and proud with a hint of quirk, it is the font of choice for header and headline purposes. A sans serif, it stands apart from the logo type while striking a balance in feeling. If you need to call attention to something, let Oswald shout it out.
Oswald Regular
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890(@$%!&?>) Oswald Bold
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890(@$%!&?>) Oswald Light ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890(@$%!&?>)
35
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
TYPOGRAPHY
Merriweather Merriweather is the wing man to Oswald. It’s an attractive font with a welcoming nature that makes for a nice companion to Oswald’s tall boldness. Sturdy with open forms, it reads nice both in print and on-screen. Merriweather Bold and Merriweather Regular, used respectively, are a nice solution for sub-heads and body copy.
Merriweather Regular ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890(@$%!&?>) Merriweather Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890(@$%!&?>) Merriweather Black ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890(@$%!&?>) Merriweather Italic ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUV WXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890(@$%!&?>)
36
TYPOGRAPHY
Lato Lato is the crowd pleasing back-up plan and web friendly alternative. Always eager to please. Lato is a charming sanserif typeface that borders on being a serif and we are okay with that, we do not judge.
Lato Regular ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890(@$%!&?>) Lato Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890(@$%!&?>) Lato Italic ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890(@$%!&?>) Lato Black ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890(@$%!&?>)
37
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
what’s in the box ?
ILLUSTRATIONS
Loose, organic, cheeky and bold are the key factors at play in MobSay’s illustration style. Since politics are the primary focus of MobSay, it is very important to maintain a playful air with the illustration style while avoiding being cartoonish. Simple forms with simple color combinations are the signature illustration style of MobSay.
38
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photojournalism. Emotional, raw and real. There should be a sense of emotion over polish. An idea that the viewer can be part of the group and not a staged publicity image. A sense of cheeky is okay, humor is powerful tool that individuals can easily relate to. Imagery content should want to motivate an individual into action, not slow one down. Natural colors and imperfections are okay as they add to the sense of being real and authentic.
39
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
PHOTOGRAPHY
A different approach using color overlays that is great for both more polished glam shots and less polished images for individuals of interest. Just as MobSay’s focus will be broad and vary so often will the quality of images available. Taking this approach will help level the playing field for image quality as well as give some recognizable meaning at a quick glance to the political nature of the subject.
40
PHOTOGRAPHY
Another approach will be the combination of photography and illustration in playful and interactive ways. Showcasing the idea of the empowered individual and political world coming together in new ways. 41
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
42
43
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
DELIVERABLES
THE NUTS & BOLTS OF MOBSAY
44
DELIVERABLE: B.A.R.K. BOX
What’s in the box? The B.A.R.K. (Basic Action Response Kit) Box evolved from being a themed concept piece in it’s early days to a functional and fully practical item today. My first concept when developing the project was to create a “roadside emergency kit” themed political activity tool kit. It was to have included items such as “roadside flare”(flashlight), bandana, a DIY shirt, army men style MobSay activist figurines, yard signs, activism manual and similar items all housed in a branded car trunk emergency kit box. Fun idea but not necessarily something that people needed. User feedback showed me that a true activism starter kit was of far more practical value to people in today’s political charged environment. Finding a way to match that need to the “positive activism” theme became the focus of the box.
Above: early concept mock up. 45
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
Opposite page: final box
BARK BOX CONTENTS
BARK BOX CONTENTS
BARK BOX CONTENTS
DELIVERABLE: WEBSITE & REPORT CARD
53
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
REPORT CARD: CREATION PROCESS
The Report Card is another project cornerstone. A resource tool for an individual to collect facts and figures on their local communities, compare facts with other areas and create an actionable print out for informed conversations.
55
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
REPORT CARD: RESULTS
Easy to read and share fact sheets with actionable data. The initial online view includes resource links to help give ideas on what the next steps could be.
57
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
REPORT CARD: PRINT VERSION
DELIVERABLE: MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Self-contained marketing campaign kit in a tube. Includes posters, recruitment cards, stickers, recruiter uniform with a T-shirt and card holder lanyard as well as drink coasters for leaving in a coffee shop or bar.
61
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
63
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
64
65
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
WHAT’S NEXT?
67
MOBSAY Thesis Process Book
This project represents 2 and half years of research, revisions, changes in direction, redirection, more research and a lot of blood, sweat and tears. With that said I know I have just scratched the surface of what this idea could become. My research, the people I’ve met along the way and the feedback from my user testing has shown me there is a very feasible potential for a product like this. PROtest, the maker of the inflatable protest sign, is very interested in where this idea could go. They’ve already expressed interest in helping me develop the BARK Box into a full fledged product if I am ever interested. Speaking briefly with Aaron Draplin last summer when he was in town, he was into the idea when I told him I wanted to include a custom edition Field Notes memo book with the box. He said he would be more than happy to help make that a reality if I choose to go that far. Hearing this support from organizations and individuals I greatly respect and admire is incredibly uplifting and energizing.
There are certainly some logistics to work out but nothing that is unrealistic. The BARK Box kit itself is easy enough to replicate on a mass production scale. Some challenges would be creating it at a production cost and scale where the end user cost would be attractive. PROtest was able to secure various grants and private backing to help cover production expenses and has offered to share tips on how to do so for my project when the time comes. The logistics of the website and the back end database for the report card would be a large step toward making this a reality. It is something that falls outside of my current skill set but not impossible to create. It will require the right partner with the right resources to devote to make it a reality. Fortunately if the reaction from my small test user base and the individuals I’ve already spoken to is any indication of interest than it’s not a matter of if but when.
SHAWN SCHINAULT
MFA GRAPHIC DESIGN THESIS SCHINAULT.COM