Advocacy work

I'm looking at this project with one goal in mind and that is $67,000 to put in a sidewalk for one block (still waiting for the exact figures to come back from the city). This is a huge amount of money but I think by looking at three types of people I might be able to get a grass roots movement going.

First of all I've developed an icon system for the project which will hopefully begin to get recognized. It's the blue, white and orange girl, boy and mother and stroller.

There are two areas of strategy:

1. getting the word out on the ground

2. getting the word out on the web

Here's the strategy for getting the word out on the ground.

User awareness: children and parents who use the path

For these people I'm going to make a box and try to get it in Applemart where they can write on cards and leave comments on 'the lack of sidewalks on 42nd street'. The box will have on it

Participant awareness: locals who want to advocate

For these people I'll make small people icons and have people stick them in the yard, starting with a few on 42nd street to get that awareness going.

Supporter awareness: drivers and business owners

Here I want to make a big boy and place him on the side of the road on a post. Spray more kids on the road too.

Here are the postcards ready to print:

And here is a revamped website. I've included the icons in the background and I've gotten another comment!

visit website

New business card set

That was a good crit, much more focused. Thanks Kidwell! Everyone spoke up a lot more and the input was meaty. As a result this idea came out for the business card: why not completely take everything off the front, show off the pattern and make a set of three of them, three different houses, three different die cuts. What a genius idea and how great they look!

Mine revisions

Two sided folding business card

Envelope

Letterhead

Backside of letterhead

Receipt

Vehicle graphics

Website mainpage

Tshirt

Thrive revised!

Some revisions to the tool shed include a new search bar, only two links up top (my tools and all tools), the borrow feature now integrated into each tool rather than its own page and a pop-up confirmation message that you are now free to borrow the tool you selected.

Some new revisions to the plot section of thrive are a less confusing beginning interface. Each plot with people in it obviously means that plot is taken (there's no need to write 'taken' in it as well), the grass is more green a less radioactive and I've included a signifier when you claim a plot to let you know that that plot is yours. In addition I will be adding in vegetable photos to the plot planner.

Guerilla advocacy!

I got some ideas from talking to people but you get more done faster if you get out there and get on with it. I chose the corner of Mission Road and 42nd St. When we got there, there was a mother and father crossing the four lane traffic way with their stroller and baby and small boy too. They were just going their own pace and practically held up 5 or 6 cars while they crossed. There's no crossing for them at all so I got to work, put up my boy-sign and sprayed some kids and mother and strollers in the road. Some cars drove over them. We talked to a few drivers. They were pretty supportive of what we were doing. Here's the website linked to the boy.

Red, white and blue... freedom! 
(to get around easily on Mission Road!)

Reflections on prototyping

No sidewalks is an issue of injustice. There are people out there who have not the means to transport themselves around in an expensive SUV. Even kids are discriminated against: the bus won't pick them up in safety because they live within a mile of the school. Just so happens that the mile stretch they walk to school has no sidewalk and half of that mile is on four lanes of fast moving traffic. What's up with that? Surely that should make you want to get out there and advocate on behalf of the people of that area by means that, woops, might be illegal? We could wait for a hundred years for the city to come around to let us put a sign on the side of the road. Who cares if we go out there now and do it? Who cares if you spray stuff on the road? Who cares if you put a sign up in the wrong place? Who cares? Is anyone caring for the people who have to walk that stretch where there is no sidewalk? Who's standing up for them?

MINE artifacts

Here are a few designed artifacts for the MINE brand:

Business cards

Envelope

Receipt notepaper

Letterhead

Website main page; blog and live streaming of community needs

Rosedale prototypes

This is a presentation of three prototypes, looking at how design can help provide a sidewalk for the top of Mission Road in Rosedale, KC.
Rosedale design prototypes - research

Phase 2 presentation

This is the second presentation out of three for the community branding process. This stage looks at the branding kit of parts; color palette, logo mark, fonts, pattern and image/illustration style.

Design Systems - Phase 2

The Plot revisions

Now the plot looks a little more garden like and less like a row of boxes. Although the functionality is here some further refinement will be required.