Voting is Sexy Voting is Sexy Voting is Sexy Voting is Sexy Voting is Sexy Voting is Sexy Voting is Sexy Voting is Sexy Voting is Sexy Voting is Sexy Voting is Sexy Voting is Sexy Voting is Sexy A campus-wide campaign to make voting irresistible.
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the project
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my role: a writer
my role: a photographer
my role: a designer
takeaways
What is
Voting is Sexy? In Fall 2018, a collection of photographers, designers, writers, illustrators, performers, videographers, social media curators, political nerds, and artists from the Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design came together in collaborative class setting to rally around the midterm season to encourage voter registration and voter turnout on our college campus, the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor. This creative, passionate team believed in the power of voting to stimulate excitement, engagement, and participate in our community and beyond. Throughout our time creating together, we created a campaign including various pop up events, informational video skits, graphic posters, installations, and multiple social media presences. We all worked together to educate, entertain, inspire, and motivate our peers to not only cast their ballot on November 6th, but start a practice of civil engagement and awareness.
Contents ¡ 2
17 strangers with little in common except, their love of voting.
Before the semester was over they broke the rules, bared their souls, and touched their community in a way they never dreamed possible. What is This? ¡ 4
My Role: a writer
I did not consider myself a snappy, quick-witted writer at the beginning on this project. However, from the demands of strict deadlines and the need for short, sassy language for our social media platforms, a talent for editorial writing skills was revealed, developed, and refined. I wrote short phrases and headlines for our website, Instagram posts, tweets, and posters.
“Yes, of course it’s sexy ” My Roles · 6
Don’t get left out in the cold. Register to vote.
Make your mother proud. Register. My Roles ¡ 8
My Role: a photographer
My Roles · 10
My Roles · 12
My Role: a designer
What does a voter look like?
“After starting the day with the Voting is Sexy team (Party to the Polls on the Duderstadt lawn), I'll head to my polling place, Northside School. I plan to bring my ballot notes (I'm researching using annarborvotes.org and ballotready.org) and a book or a podcast and a snack. I'm gearing up for long lines!”
Stephanie Rowden Stamps Associate Professor
“I live in Chicago, so I want to make sure my vote counts on Chicago issues! I can’t make it all the way back home, so voting by mail works perfectly and is pretty simple!”
Katie Lacroix Stamps Student
“I decided to vote absentee in my hometown for this election, which is actually my first time voting. Over fall break I went to my city clerk’s office and filled out the ballot and turned it in there. It’s nice knowing my vote counted where I’m from and I won’t have to wait in a long line on Election Day.”
Ryan Sowulewski Stamps Student
“I plan to go to my regular poll on Tuesday evening after classes. It's a church in my neighborhood. My wife and I will vote together. We feel it is a good ritual to share our commitment to express our values as citizens of our community, state, and country. It's that simple. We're eager and proud to do it. It's important to us.”
Bill Burgard Stamps Lecturer II
“Weather permitting I’ll be riding my bike over to the elementary school that’s 5 blocks from me in Farmington Hills, around 10am since I don’t teach until 2pm. I haven’t always voted in the Midterms. But this year I’m motivated to get out for the governor’s race, Proposal 2, and the UM Regents. Those are big motivators for me and I’ve been encouraging others.”
Melanie Manos Lecturer II, Stamps School
This project I individually designed and executed. I wanted to give a human face to the ‘voting’ spirit we had been boasting about all semester long. We thought voting was sexy, not because it’s sexual, but because it makes you a lively, active, vivacious, knowledgeable participant of your community, and that’s sexy. Pictured is Stamps faculty, staff, and student voters who are empowered, confident, and ready to vote. I asked them what their plan to vote was- where, when, with whom, and perhaps most importantly, why? “I’m voting because I want to prove to everyone and myself that my vote DOES matter and I have a choice. No one could hear me before, so I’m making my voice very clear now.”
Cassie Hoisington Stamps Student
“I’ll be voting in person in Ypsilanti, Michigan at thePolo Fields Country Club. I’ll be voting early in the morning in Ypsilanti at the Polo Fields Country Club. Voting has always been important to me because my mother used to be voting clerk volunteer, so the moment I turned 18 she always encouraged me to vote. Now, I continue the tradition and make sure my daughters are registered and able to vote too.”
Brian Banks Stamps Diversity & Inclusion Advisor
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(Sexy) Voter Education
This batch of short, simple facts about voting were created with the intent for posting on social media, days before Election Day. I did research on commonly mistaken or unknown information about voting in the effort to remove simple barriers that would stop our peers from getting to the polls. All were posted on Instagram and Twitter to inform our audience in light-hearted, easily digestible way.
Capturing Voters Attention: Stamps and Social Media We began the semester by designing an installation in Stamps on the second floor bulletin wall. It is an area with lots of foot traffic and able to catch many eyes. After a week of sketching and collaborating, we landed on a design that incorporated my idea of speech bubbles, but simplified due to printing and budget restrictions. I translated that same idea into a variation for our social media to more directly engage our audience to prompt them to consider what else is voting, besides sexy.
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Now, What? Takeaways from the Experience Engagement
Design
·the project grew and evolved through learning and observation
·Design thinking can change & challenge previously held stigmas
·Making our peers be excited and care about voting was not an east feat, but it was worth it
·Design has a positive impact on society, and I’m interested in how I can apply this to my life post-grad
·Voter engagement & participation doesn’t only matter during presidential elections, local government needs more voices
·My understanding of the creative process and it’s connection to problem solving developed
·It was sometimes difficult to get students to register, but once we did, they are registered for a life time. It felt great to start their process in being a voter ·Civic engagement is multifaceted. This was a midterm. Off years will pose a struggle to keep awareness & participation as high ·Our non-partisan approach worked surprising well. People are able to align with the theme of voter participation and community engagement just as they are able to align with partisan issues ·We made intentional, mindful decisions based on behavioral science to make the work the most engaging possible
·This posed an opportunity to further investigate the roles and responsibilities of designers our communities ·The extent that I can be creative and expressive with design while working with strict limitation ·Due to our tight timeline, I will never dismiss the irreplaceable value of critiques and feedback
Myself 路Working on this team required me to step outside of my comfort zone and I have grown as person because of it 路This collaborative experience taught me vital things like ideal communication, flexible thinking skills, and compromise 路Having my peers and instructors near pushed me to learn new skills and expand my creative practice
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VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE
Voting is Sexy 2018 Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design