Professional Practices

1. Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership

Having just completed my Bachelor’s in Media Communication, I decided to push on to earn my Master’s. Not only did I know that I was already low on enthusiasm as I was tired from the previous journey, but I knew I needed this to achieve a personal dream. I wanted to be a good example of it’s never too late to get that degree - so my daughter could see, you can have a family and an education. This month was about getting the importance of self-discipline and understanding that I was only going to get out of this program what I put into it. We did our first research paper (which I quickly learned, I still had a lot to learn in that aspect) and made a timeline for our journey with our personal goals incorporated.

2. Defining Client Needs

In this course, we did a reflection of previous work and dove right into client research. By learning what directly goes into defining the client, their needs, and the ultimate goal - the design created can be crafted to speak directly to that market. Here I learned about mind mapping, something completely new to me. I thought, “I don’t work this way” and initially fought the process but soon realized the more I mind mapped, the more ideas that came from it. And sketching, which I personally don’t sketch (or should say, I didn’t) - I drew. Learning the process of quick sketch and rough thought on paper, makes the creative flow easier to get out.

3. Brand Development

Here we continued to develope previous coursework and grew our skills in critque and review processes with workshops discussing our logo creations. Being able to see everyone’s skillset and thought process, helped me to impliment new techniques and learn to take criticism and better my work. I strengthened my ability to do vector work and color theory. Making sure that the direction I was going was appropriate for the city client. Vision boards were crafted to reflect the different viarables of the city (geography, tradition, and culture) and at first, my boards were too cluttered and after refinement and guidance from the instructor and classmates, I was able to develope boards that more clearly reflected the client.

4. Effective Copywriting

I was ecxited to be entering this class. I enjoy writing and determining the story. We were given the opportunity to choose a non-profit organization to create testimonial ads for a campaign to drive recognition to the cause. In order to determine the message, personas were created. Even though these were based on a ton of research, they were completely fun to create. It was like creating a character for a story. By doing this you remove personal bias and create something for the market your are trying to reach. This was one of my favorite classes.

5. Design Research

Professor Argo, taught us about writing narratively. A process that I completely love. His feedback for learning how to give an object/place/thing, a voice is one of the most valuable things I learned. Researching the city to learn on how it may speak and then convey it in a message that didn’t read as a “do this, see that” touristy statement - is a very skilled techinique that I feel I accomplished pretty well with help from him and classmates.

6. Organizational Structures

Keeping on task with writing narratively, we were asked to keep a story journal. This process allowed us to think and write in a way that presented our everyday tasks and environments, in a more descriptive way. We were able to further or storyboard creations into dymanic boards. This was a great accomplishment, as I hadn’t worked in motion in a few years. I was able to flex my AfterEffects muscle and create something that spoke to Marrakech. This reignited my love of AfterEffects. We also created a cinemagraph - I wasn’t too happy with mine, but it still spoke to the message I was trying to create.

7. Design Strategies and Motivation

Here we were tasked with our home city project. I quickly learned that just saying something without rationale, was not going to cut it. I enjoyed exploring my city and conducting research to determine what was needed to help my city grow. Here I created my first survey to see how the locals viewed their town and to learn about city definciencies and unique qualities. I was able to create a problem statement, and the beginning of a design brief. Photo documentation was a large part of the research and I loved every minute of that. The data collected from the initial survey was pivitol into determing the problem statement I crafted.

8. Design Integration

With the forward progession of the city assignment, the next step was to determine a solution statement that would follow up the problem statement. With this new research and data, a vision board, dynamic board and design brief were completed. I am most proud of the creativity I put forth in all the assets for this project. The dynamic board pushed me to set a high bar for my physical assets. Voice and tone are also an extremely skill I learned, as it set the stage for everything I was able to create. The media matrix was completed and determined that I was going to make a neon sign, pole banner, and vinyl decal. I also created an Instagram story and Youtube spot.

9. Multi-Platform Delivery

While I was initially disappointed in learning that we were not going to be doing anything with web design or web layout, I was able to still create assets that would work on social media outlets. We further refined logos to represent the brand of the city and then creation of the assets we chose the previous month. Critiques from the professor guided the final outcomes which were of high quality and are all things I am most proud of.

10. Measuring Design Effectiveness

This month was a hard one to swallow. We released our assets out to the world and by creating a survey. I was sure that I would receive positive feedback. While I did receive more positive than negative - some of the negative really got to me. I was able to take to some of the helpful feedback to heart and make minor tweaks to assets. For the most part, I just learned how to get thick skin. Further analysis was done with the collected data to complete the research paper.

11. Thesis Presentation

This course was almost maddening - I, for the life of me, could not determine what innovation was when it came time to develope my arguement for the DLO’s. I had felt like previous instructors explained it differently and just couldn’t digest the way it was being explained now. With that aside, I did complete a nice thesis site. This began with several options that were created for layouts of each of the DLO pages. Then they were workshoped and discussed and ultimately the best ones were used for the layout of the site. Another confusion came into play when were asked to create a portfolio page - this is because all year whenever Behance would appear in our directions, we were told to ignore it - that they were no longer doing that. Then in this month, asked to use it. If had implemented this all along, I am sure the final product of the portfolio page would have been of higher quality. Then we were told we would receive panel feedback from our thesis site and it would come in the first or second week of the last class. That did not happen. My self accomplishments did outweigh the negative, so for that I am proud.

12. Professional Practices

This final month explored ethics, copywrite policies, and the designer’s responsibilities. Discussions and classmates interpretations were given and further elevated the understanding of each. I will take this understanding into my career and better follow the guidelines set forth by the AIGA. Reflection was given to the creation of the experience map. I was excited for this project and had looked forward to this last bit of creative outlet.

Here is my experience map, highlighting my ups and down and the actions I took to complete my journey.

Presentation of Design Solution: Mastery Reflection

Overview: With our time in the MDMFA program coming to its conclusion, we were tasked with creating our Thesis Presentation Site. Picking projects that best represent each of the four DLO’s during our time in this program has been a challenge.  Connecting, Synthesizing, and Transforming: Expert connections were made between the instructional materials and the solution. The project was developed, synthesized, and advanced into entirely new forms, elevating the entire project considerably. Solving Problems: Project documentation demonstrates that multiple approaches were considered. Less acceptable approaches were rejected, with evidence of reason that is accurate, persuasive, and highly compelling. Innovative Thinking: Created a unique solution, without drawing from existing ideas or examples, that exceeds the project expectations by crossing and extending known boundaries. Acquiring Competencies: Created a new, unique and improved solution while meeting the design criteria and following the principles learned from the tutorial, and at an expert level of technical skill. I guess I didn’t fully understand what meant because each time a live session was posted, and the meanings were reiterated again - the meanings became more clear. Multiple layouts were generated for possibilities of display of this information and ultimately we were asked to choose the best layout to move forward with for our presentation.

Wrapping up our last week, a new portfolio page was added either to our professional portfolio site or by the creation of a new Behance page. The process of understanding, review, and refining were the biggest tasks this month.

First takeaway: We have been told along the way of this journey, that this program relies heavily on self-motivation and peer reviews. Giving and receiving critiques and helpful suggestions to elevate each others work played an important role in this class. Suggestions needed to be supported by rationale and cited accordingly. Opinions are not warranted. Wanting to see my peers succeed, I tried really hard this month to dig deeper and give helpful suggestions. I am not the best at critiquing grammar or syntax, so I fell short in those areas of peer review but the layout and argument for support were stronger areas of focus.  I come to really appreciate the peer reviews I would receive. They gave me a deeper insight into things I worked through too quickly and ways for improvement. I would just scratch the surface in my own work and peers would urge me to dig deeper and give stronger supported arguments.

Second takeaway: Organization is crucial! First and foremost, it is very important to gather all of the projects and screengrabs of the process of the projects into one folder and to make another folder that contains all of the written rationales that went with those projects. To have all of those things in one place makes it so much easier to build the site. Having to stop and hunt for things takes up too much precious time and considering the amount of work that was required this month - time management is imperative.

Gathering all of my projects proved to be a challenge. I had a strong idea of how I wanted to portray my process but getting that to match up on the thesis site was quite difficult. Out of the four DLO pages, the most successful ended up being the Solving Problem pages. I was able to clearly go through identifying the problem and then was able to show my process for solutions.

Third Takeaway: All about presentation - telling a story to keep the viewers' interest. We learned about the CAST process from Stories that Move Mountains. C: Content, A: Audience, S: Story, T: Tell (Sykes, Malik, West, 2012). While I found this process, or book for that matter, to be useful, I thought it was a strange process to use for this sort of presentation. Telling a story for a Thesis that is unpersonal and of a formal manner, is rather difficult. I thought a presentation of this manner would be less about a story but more about the process and I guess that’s where I failed. I’m still not quite sure I found the proper way to tell my story of problem-solving in an interesting manner.

Reference:

Sykes, M., Malik, N., & West, M. D. (2012). Stories that Move Mountains: Storytelling and Visual Design for Persuasive. Retrieved from https://ce.safaribooksonline.com/book/communications/presentations/9781118423998

Month 10: Measuring Design Effectiveness

The processes learned this month have given me some new skills to put in my toolkit. I have acquired the competencies needed to formulate questionnaires and surveys to gain insight on needed data for future projects. After spending months to build a brand that is meant to represent a city, we were tasked to gather the needed information to affirm our solution. I found out quickly, just as Collins (2010) stated, that probably “the most important part of the questionnaire is the introduction.” Even though I thought I stated clearly that this was only a project for school and not affiliated with the actual city branding, respondents were still confused about the purpose and confused the proposed branding with actual city branding that is taking place now in the Midtown area.

The questionnaires were dispersed on several city group social media pages to gain the attention of the selected target audience. The quantitative and qualitative data gathered reflected the affirmation needed to show that I was heading in the right direction with my branding solutions. According to Barrett (2017), “before launching or rebranding, it’s important to plan, conduct research, and gather data from your target market.” With all of this collected data, analyzing it to confirm or dispute your solutions so that you can improve or maintain your strategy, you can then move forward. Barrett (2017) also states, “Marketing surveys help you take control of your brand strategy, delivering actionable data that helps you craft smarter messaging and select the channels that speak to your target personas. That data can also inform future marketing campaigns, steer demand generation initiatives, and help you develop a brand voice that resonates.” This data is invaluable, you can keep it and use it to help you in future initiatives that you may make in regards to that particular campaign. 

Wrapping up the results of the questionnaire, it was confirmed that the branding initiative would be met with acceptance and respondents found it appealing. While there are still those few who don’t like change or want the city to grow any more than it already has, there are more who are looking to take Plant City into the future while still holding onto its true characteristics of remaining simply kind and timeless. Residents appreciate the nostalgia that is offered here and wants to share its rich history and courtesies with others.

I will use these competencies in the future. Knowing the correct ways to curate the questions needed to specifically gain the answers needed by the prospective target audience is invaluable. Using these techniques to present answers to clients will be beneficial for their messaging and gives you the reputation of being knowledgable in this area of expertise.

References

Barrett, J. (2017, August 17). Focusing Your Brand Strategy with Marketing Surveys. Retrieved from https://www.getfeedback.com/blog/brand-positioning-marketing-surveys/

Collins, H. (2010). Creative Research: Questionnaires. AVA Publishing. Retrieved from https://ce.safaribooksonline.com/book/design/9782940439676

Multi-Platform Delivery

Overview

This month was a continuation of the previous two months courses. After working through all the information previously gathered for our design brief, we were tasked with creating an official mark for our chosen city. Things were changed up a bit with asset delivery - in previous courses, three of the assets were chosen by the instructor and we were to choose one additional to supplement the brand. After some confusion of what exactly this course would entail (mostly because of the name of the course), it was decided that we could choose the assets we wanted to explore and thought would most benefit the initial roll-out of the brand. Then, lastly, creating the brand guide for our city. I was unsure as to how this class would be different from previous courses, but realize there were many opportunities for continued growth as a designer and ways to improve my problem-solving skills. I kind of jumped ahead with some of my previous work from the previous course, making a logo or mark and designing my brief in more of the brand style guide way then I should have - so I felt stuck when it came time to move forward with the creation of the guide because I didn’t know how to make it sound any more like the brand than I already had. My thought process has always been quick and I skip a lot of the initial steps needed when it comes time to defend my choices. I have this mentality because of my history of working in news for so long - very tight and fast deadlines with super quick decision making. It has been a hard time trying to slow down and do things by the book so to speak. It is an important step that I really need to focus on.

Connecting, Synthesizing, and Transforming

After researching viable avenues for brand roll-out, I selected assets that would garner attention quickly and be easy to recognize by the intended audience. Neon signage, lighted pole banners, car decals/stickers, Instagram stories, and Youtube introduction were created to leverage high impact and create the needed buzz to generate enthusiasm from the younger generation to take part in city events. The city pole banners will be placed throughout the Historic Downtown District, neon signage will illuminate businesses along the Historic District. This will bring back more of the retro feel and appeal to the younger generation. A social media campaign will be strategically done to target the teens on high impact channels and ads will be placed on channels that those in the age range 30-50 visit as well. When done correctly, all of this activity will increase positivity with the teens and give the Downtown District additional revenue.

Pole Banners

City Pole Banners: The advantages of being inexpensive compared to all other forms of advertising coupled with the high quality and durability available within the price range makes advertising banners and flags a cost-effective solution for both short term as well as long term use. (Cattie, 2014)

Neon Signage

Neon Signage: “Neon signs are and have been a popular business promotion medium for decades now. They are inexpensive and can be used for various purposes such as for directing a location, as business banners, an event banner, for promoting products, etc.” (Admin, 2015)

Car Decals/Stickers

Bumper Sticker/Decal: “You have a large number of creative possibilities for sticker design, and those with unique shapes are sure to stand out from the competition. They are also excellent choices for you to give out as small promotional items to your customers.” (B2CPrint, n.d.)

Social Media Assets

Social Media Campaign: Ability to form a following. “The more people that are talking about you on social media, the more valuable and authoritative your brand will seem to new users.” (DeMers, 2014)

Plant City Band Handbook link is below

https://issuu.com/hayleyhines/docs/hhines_pc_guide

Problem Solving

Plant City’s younger population has the problem that they are not being viewed as a source of revenue when it comes to Historic Downtown Plant City. Our Solution should deliver a way for the local businesses to work together in a way that markets the great historic nostalgia to this audience in a considerate and appropriate way. By producing a brand identity that focuses on the nostalgia of Historic Downtown Plant City, we will create remarkable experiences that generate a sense of understanding needed for the younger population to want to visit that area. The key here was to find a way to gain the attention of the younger generation. Their attention is diverted in many directions and their need for understanding our city is low on their radar. By leveraging interesting, attention-getting assets - they will be intrigued and want to see what is going on downtown. The first step is getting their attention and getting them downtown. The social media spots will gain their attention, the neon signs will provide cool retro backdrops for their social media posts and used in combination to spread the word of a revitalized downtown area.

Innovative Thinking

Innovation is realized by targeting the specific group of people who are generally ignored here in the city. The intention of gaining their understanding and thus gaining their patronage to the downtown area garners the thought of an ignored revenue for possible income - gives the local businesses new traffic and gives that targeted audience a sense of appreciation and understanding. Also being careful to use language that speaks to the entire audience that is still respectful but gives off the Southern charm Plant City is known for - is used to bridge the gap between the generations.

Acquiring Competencies & Reflection

As stated briefly in the overview - I sometimes get in my own way. It’s not that I take shortcuts but sometimes I skip steps to get to the end product. Rarely have I ever had the time to spend to come up with a solution for something. I lived under constant quick turn-a-round times, deadlines daily, and solutions needed to just be made without having to defend myself. I understand why research is needed and done and why reasoning is so important - because if I am ever asked the dreaded question, “Why?” - I will be able to confidently say why with support. Not just because I thought it was the right solution. Knowing these steps and this process is an integral part of design. This is what sets true masters apart from the ever-growing flock.

References:

Admin. (2017, April 06). Uses and Benefits of Neon Signs. Retrieved from http://www.contractil.com/uses-and-benefits-of-neon-signs/

Cattie, M. (2014, December 29). Advantages of Advertising Banners and Flags. Retrieved from https://www.aboutflags.com/blog/advantages-advertising-banners-flags/

DeMers, J. (2015, September 20). The Top 10 Benefits Of Social Media Marketing. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysonde               mers/2014/08/11/the-top-10-benefits-of-social-media-marketing/#38d66ef51f80

The Benefits of Using Stickers in Advertising Campaigns. (2016, September 01). Retrieved from https://www.b2cprint.com/the-benefits-of-using-stickers-in-advertising-campaigns/

This is the static board offering the aesthetics and characteristics of the brand.

Here is my final dynamic board offering motion to the brand’s voice.

This the completed design brief - a complete look at the messaging for the Historic Downtown Plant City area.

Mastery Journal Design Integration

Reflection of this month’s materials and learning outcomes:

The previous month we created a problem statement for our city and this month we did further reflection on the process and had to come up with three solution statements that could possibly work to solve the problem. The research that went into that was really interesting. According to J. Cowan of When Nostalgia Works - And When It Doesn’t, “Researchers concluded that nostalgia serves as a "meaning-providing resource" by rooting individuals in a wider community and cultural context. It doesn't just make us feel happy about the past; nostalgia actually makes us less fearful about the future.” This means that in order for this identity to take hold and solidify history as a way to connect – it should make the audience feel comfortable and excited about where they came from, so much so that they will want to continue with the experience in their future. By selecting a solution that contains this type of marketing, I can appeal to the younger generation and maintain the values the city already upholds.

Voice and tone were our next topics to discover. I wanted to remain true to Plant City’s Southern charm and simple kindness it exudes. Making the language in my marketing pieces reflect that tone, is one way I plan to execute that. We completed a voice and tone chart that gave us direction when it came time to start planning for marketing assets. “...Successful communication is made up of three parts: the words you use, your tone of voice and your body language. Take into consideration the fact that your customers are unable to see your body language through their computer or mobile screen and it’s fair to say that tone of voice is the major contributor when writing content (Davies, 2015). So this means, I want Plant City’s voice to be clear in its hospitality and generosity - its Southern slang and welcoming tone. We further explored voice and tone through existing brands which helped solidify the need to do it properly.

We then got to get creative and create a static board and dynamic board for our city. The purpose of this is to introduce the city’s message with voice and tone and aesthetics. The dynamic board gave the first glimpse of our message in movement.

Finally, we created the final design brief. This is the beginning of a style guide. It lays out all the specifics of demographics, media analysis, asset usage (through a media matrix in which we explored), voice and tone, empathy map, and tied it all together in a way that represents the brand. I found this project and the dynamic board to be my favourite so far.

Connecting/Synthesizing/Transforming — What research did you conduct and utilize to arrive at the design decisions you present. How did you connect the research to your design work? What information did you synthesize and pull from the research and how did you transform the information into what you've presented this month?

All of the community research done has provided specific areas in need of improvement.  The main issue is that the young adults residing in Plant City don’t feel like they are catered to or offered many opportunities to be seen as a consumer. Plant City has several ways it can increase its attention to young adults to make them a great asset for additional revenue. The Historic Downtown area offers many businesses that cater to the nostalgic feel and they don’t utilize this as much as they should. There is an opportunity to market this in a retro way that will bring the younger generation into that area and by doing this they will gain appreciation for the history of Plant City. I selected assets that will maintain the values of the city but will also appeal to this audience. I created a dynamic board that is upbeat and shows Plant City in a charming light that offers activities that this audience can also take part in.

Problem Solving — What design problem were you solving? What design problem does the medium you designed for solve according to the industry? How did you solve the problem? Restate your design problem to help explain this section.

By using the 4 W’s the following design problem statement was created:

Plant City’s younger population has the problem that they are not being viewed as a source of revenue when it comes to Historic Downtown Plant City. Our Solution should deliver a way for the local businesses to work together in a way that markets the great historic nostalgia to this audience in a considerate and appropriate way. By targeting the younger generation and introducing them to common things of Plant CIty’s past in a fun and nostalgic way - it opens communication that was previously not there between them and the downtown district area.

Innovative Thinking — How does your work compare to others in the industry? How did you approach the subject of innovation? How is your work innovative?

Others are relying on digital media outlets and social media outlets to strengthen the bonds of the younger generation to their community, thinking that is the only way to reach them. But there is another way, not just by speaking their digital language but involving them in activities that speak to the side of curiosity and wonderment of things past. Finding the things that spark interest and have a feeling of old is new - is the way to reach them. Getting the businesses downtown to work together to put on events that are specifically catered to this audience will make them feel like they are an integral part of the community.

Acquiring Competencies — What did you learn overall throughout this process? Any new software? Techniques? Skills? Explain.

First and foremost, I learned the importance of time management. This month was rough - life just kept happening (things always happen in 3′s). None the less, I learned that by charting you can find a cohesive way to determine specifics when formulating a design strategy. Much research was done over the past months to create this framework for a solution and how this solution would be implemented. I did get reacquainted with After Effects this month, it’s been a while and I found out I sure did miss it!

I have been wanting to learn about how to analyse data to create solutions and this month, together with previous coursework, has finally given me the insight I have been looking for. I now understand the process, where to start and what to look for. I will use all of this to better my design understanding in the future. When asked to do a branding package - I now know now how to go about finding the appropriate solutions for the company.

reference:

Davies, T. (2015). The Importance Of Tone Of Voice And Why You Should Get It Right | Pixus. [online] Pixus. Available at: https://www.pixus.uk/blog/the-importance-of-tone-of-voice-and-why-you-should-get-it-right/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2019].

Cowan, J. (2016). When Nostalgia Works-And When It Doesn’t. Canadian Business, 89(15/16), 6. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=119722915&site=ehost-live

We had to take photos of the areas we were researching and these are located in Historic Downtown Plant City. Captions state information about each location.

We had to make a Google map of the areas of interest. I had chosen Keel and Curley Winery/Two Henry’s Brewing Company and Dinosaur World as larea 1. The Downtown Historic District, Strawberry Festival Grounds, and Parksdaleas area 2. Finally Grace Manor, Farmers Market, and Dr. Hal and Lynn Park as area 3. I ended up just going with Downtown Historic Plant City alone.

Design Strategies & Motivation

Connecting/Synthesizing/Transforming: This month we were given the design problem of branding a city that is local to us - one that is not well-known and could benefit from new exposure. We were tasked with gathering data on at least three locations around us and then narrow it down to one and move forward with that chosen location. Firstly, in order to gather information - I drove around town, walked around town and took pics, stopped a couple people I saw at these locations and had a general discussion about the area (off the record) and then created an online survey which I posted to my personal Facebook feed, the local Plant City Facebook feed, the city commissioners’ Facebook Feed, and The Word of Mouth Plant City Facebook Feed. It gathered responses of 52 people, whom all were local and freely gave their opinions on their wants and needs for the city. Then I set up two phone interviews; one with Devony Chanel, the local social media manager for Sincerely Plant City and the other was Nate Kilton, the Commissioner of Plant City. The information gathered from those two interviews mostly addressed the changes or lack of changes or reasons why there are no changes to this area. The most useful information came from the survey and visiting each location. From this data, I concluded that there is a lack of attention given to the youth of the city. There are plenty of shops that give a community feel but don’t target this particular audience. “For a business to maintain productivity and stay ahead of the curve, a SWOT analysis is necessary. It forces leaders to take a look at the bigger picture, plan for the future, and determine what the company’s competitive advantage is” (Status Guides, 2019). The advantage here is its history. The history of the town and the nostalgia that goes with it is worth a fortune but goes unnoticed by the youth. They don’t understand how it is or could be relevant to them. This leads me to the design problem.

Problem Solving: We had to go through this data and create a Problem Statement. Using one of Devos’s formats for a Problem Statement - I chose the 4 W’s.  “Our (who) has the problem that (what) when (where). Our solution should deliver (why)” (Devos, n.d.). Thus my statement: Plant City’s younger population has the problem that they are not being viewed as a source of revenue when it comes to Historic Downtown Plant City. Our Solution should deliver a way for the local businesses to work together in a way that markets the great historic nostalgia to this audience in a considerate and appropriate way. The Downtown area already offers events for local residents such as food truck rally’s, car/bike shows, vintage/craft fairs and once a year holds the Strawberry Festival. Unfortunately, the shops close early and are closed on Sundays. While looking at the big picture of the Downtown area as a whole, I noticed they don’t really work together. Each, while offering distinctly different goods, could benefit if they combined their efforts to create a unique experience geared to the younger population.

Innovative Thinking: While other small cities have the same feeling when it comes to their Downtown areas, they don’t utilize the area as a whole. Meaning working together to create one general meaning for that area. Here, that meaning would be an experience - an overall feeling of days long ago and what it meant to part of that small town community, the events that happened then like sock hops and soda/candy socials. If the youth that lives here now could experience the nostalgia, not just see it - they would gain a greater understanding of how wonderful it is to still have access to that kind of community living. They would want to go there and spend time there and spend money there. It’s an innovative way of thinking because each shop alone gives a sense of the history that is here but if combined, an experience of the history would be monumental. We had to create Empathy Maps and by doing this I realised that “Drawing empathy maps reveals previously overlooked parts of the customer experience and helps find gaps in the current offering and future roadmaps” (Tiwari, 2018). It pointed out the gaps - the Downtown City as a whole is missing out on a whole market. To appeal to that market a campaign would begin with a rollout of a social media campaign using silent movies to deliver the message. Nostalgic vintage posters would be put up all over town, stickers are given out at Middle Schools, High Schools, Fast Food Joints, all the shops and eateries Downtown. Then a sock hop, soda/candy social for tweens and teens of Plant City offered in MacCall Park (the centre square of Downtown Plant City). The Whistle Stop could offer 5¢ cherry smashes (a soda fountain drink), the Kandy Shoppe could offer their speciality candies, the music store could provide the music for the dance. If they offered this once a month, just like they offer their other once a month events like the car/bike show, food truck rally, and craft/vintage fairs - they younger population would feel like they matter too and gain an appreciation for the history of the town.

Acquiring Competencies: This month has proved that researching before beginning to try to create anything is very important. You have to have a foundation to build on and you can only have a strong foundation by laying the footwork needed to gather data relevant to the problem. To do this we gather the data, do interviews and surveys, break it down, create SWOTs and Empathy Maps, Personas and stories. Then, once you have that, you have to create a problem statement. With that, you can determine what design solution you will present. I learned how to do research that was appropriate for the project. I learned to break down that data into useful pieces to help accomplish the end goal.

Reflection: One of the problems I had this month was in being both the proverbial client and the creative. It was said in the Lynda.com video we watched that "Creative briefs are valuable because they create a common language between you and your client... They summarize the client’s expectations.” But in this case, we were both parties. So can you create a common language when the only language being spoken is your own? Evaluating the situation, creating the problem, then creating the solution for the said problem - is a bit taxing and to me, proves to be unproductive. I didn’t quite understand how creating the problem and then solving the problem, relates to real world tactics. I have yet to be both the client and designer in a real-world situation. Finding a problem was rather difficult, too many factors go into determining if its something that we even have control over when relating to an entire city. I can’t say that I found this class really helpful other than in learning new research techniques and ways to gather data. But just creating a problem so that I can solve it - seems kind of biased (understanding we did research to rule out bias), I just don’t know how to word it better.

All of that being said, while reflecting - I have noticed that I am able to do the critical thinking needed to proceed in a productive matter. I am able to complete relevant research and analyze the data. I am able to synthesize the findings to determine an actionable solution. I am proud that I have been able to figure things out on my own and with help from classmates - though it is frustrating not knowing an answer right away, it teaches patience and practice are best solutions for immediate gain. I have learned to tackle one task at a time and evaluate its effectiveness. I know going forward that this kind of my self-awareness of my capabilities will only help me to keep pushing forward when answers aren’t easy to find or right in front of my face. I can do much more than I thought I could.

References:

Devos, J. (n.d.). Design Problem Statements – What They Are and How to Frame Them. [online] Toptal Design Blog. Available at: https://www.toptal.com/designers/product-design/design-problem-statement [Accessed 25 Feb. 2019].

Tiwari, P. (2018). Customer Experience Mapping: Empathy Maps - Interactions. [online] Interactions. Available at: https://www.interactions.com/blog/customer-care/customer-empathy-maps/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2019].

Status Guides. (2019). 10 Benefits and Limitations of SWOT Analysis You Should Know About - Status Guides. [online] Available at: https://status.net/articles/swot-analysis-process-benefits-limitations/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2019].

This month we had to capture data about our chosen city for our upcoming thesis project that we will be working on throughout the next few months - I created this survey to collect data from my local FB friends and shared on local city pages as well as give two phone interviews to influential people in the city that could offer insight into what I am trying to achieve.

Acquiring Competencies

This month, I reacquainted myself with After Effects - it’s been over a decade that I have made a motion graphic but have plenty of experience in editing video pieces together. While I am feeling better about that relationship - the process I am most proud with is the journaling, finding the narrative. I have gotten good at spinning the words into meaningful prose. I will use this in future endeavours and keep the narrative in the forefront of all I do.

Innovative Thinking

Other branding that has been done, has shown the luxuries that one can experience in the places they stay, souks they can shop, eateries to explore, camel adventures, but seldom does it show the less chaotic side, the stillness that can be found while wandering the gardens, walking barefoot in the dunes, or reflecting in the squares water features. Using simple imagery, where the static narrates the movements – a story of complete awareness can be told.

Problem Solving

The city of Marrakech is a well-known travel destination for gardens, squares, souks, tombs and temples but it holds a dark side that many tourists are afraid of – scammers and pick-pockets (O'Malley, 2018). Much of the video that is used for promotional purposes contains the places that tourists should avoid altogether if they don’t want that to happen. So, the problem is working around what some highlight and finding places that speak to the goal of this project. By using imagery of the dunes, some of the markets

Connecting/Synthesizing/Transforming

Knowing there are apps accessible to everyone that make cinemagraphs – it is a cost effective way to share these moments not only by the city but by the visitors themselves. They can download any of the following for free to achieve this effect; MaskArt, Fotodanz, and Blink, while Flixel is an app that you have to pay for but offers better quality (Creado, 2017). With this in mind, travelers that pay for tour guides and destination getaways – can be given a card with a QR code that they scan to receive information about the place they are visiting and instructions on how to share their experience. While the purpose of a trip like this is to unplug, once the visitor has had a moment to digest the surroundings – it is certain they will take video or photos, and if given a clear purpose for the photos, then the hope is that they would be more meaningful.

A couple of the journal posts from this month. It was a fun process to see what kind of picture I could paint with words.