Experience Design
Background
As a child, I grew up listening to people in power—politicians, radio hosts, and educators—who told me that people living in poverty were not trying hard enough, had poor work ethic, made bad decisions, or were simply choosing to live off of government support. These were the reasons for people being poor. It was at the fault of the impoverished person.
I have witnessed first-hand how living in poverty is making the best of a bad situation at every turn. No one in influential media seemed to share that sentiment, and the public avoidance of the topic created a sense of shame and isolation for impoverished people.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
I spent time reading academic papers, books, articles, and studies that delved into the facts and realities of poverty. Both its history and modern presence have deep nuance. No one person’s pov-erty looks like another’s. The way poverty impacts a person can be dependent upon location, family status, medical history, race, gender, sexuality and other demographics.
One of the most recent and comprehensive books I had read was Poverty, by America written by Matthew Desmond, a sociology professor at Princeston Uni-versity. This book provided real-life examples, simple statistics, and comprehensive views about why the stereotypes I always heard as a child were inaccurate and over-simplified the reality of poverty for millions of Americans. I wished that these concepts were made easy and accessible for more people.
Pulling from the abundance of resources, a digital board was created with affinity diagrams, simplifying the information into four categories: Introduction, Intersectionality, Affected Areas of Life, & Unquantifiables. These tell a story on their own, functioning as a strong base that I pulled from along my journey with this project.
Expanding beyond this, I documented the modern statistics of Cincinnati’s poverty and their connection to the available tax-funded programs. The more I read about the city, the more I understood that my experience in poverty was far different. Rural poverty is less documented. Rural areas also have fewer organizations to educate and assist with the population’s understanding of poverty.
PRIMARY RESEARCH
After documenting information and equipping myself with knowledge about poverty, I wanted to understand what locals did and did not know about this topic. I contacted a café that is community-centered to set up a table for a day and have interviews and conversations with their customers and gauge comprehension. This was both unsuccessful and crucial to my journey. When people recognized what my project was about, they avoided eye contact, walked the long way around the table to the other side of the café, or disengaged with the space altogether to take their orders to-go. Not a single person wanted to talk about poverty. The stigma was too great to even begin a discussion.
Despite this bump in the road, I discussed my project with a professor and local civic design researcher, DJ Trischler. He told me, “don’t underestimate the power of informing.” So, that’s exactly what I set out to do.
I reached out to peers of mine from Goshen, OH to request an informal interview for the project and what they might envision a project about poverty to be like or accomplish. Their point of view was valuable to me because they had also grown up under the poverty line. One of these participants told me:
"There are countless misconceptions that stem from assumptions about our work ethic. There’s a story behind every person living in poverty, and many times it’s a generational cycle.”
He had told me that if he could envision a project to call attention to poverty, he hoped it would be “direct, impactful, and whole.”
With these discussions in mind, I moved forward with a stronger understanding of what content should be included in this project. The content was vast and comprehensive. I began to imagine this might take the format of a book.
EXPLORATION
Developing a brand that resonated with my audience was key. I conducted a series of user tests, asking participants to select which moodboard they felt would best reflect a brand focused on education that speaks in a firm but sensitive and sympathetic nature. Most participants selected the bottom right option, referencing brands that achieve similar feats like non-profits they engaged with. I also discovered through this re-search that infographics and broken up information made the topic more digestiable and less intimidating.
Parallel prototypes using different color applications, type, and visuals allowed me to zero-in on a direction that felt the most cohesive with the project’s mission.
ChaNGING DIRECTION
The more research I conducted, the more I felt that my audience and living space for this project should be closer to home. In fact, I had little practical knowledge about living in poverty in an urban area. I had only lived in cities for about two years of my life, but I had extensive experience in rural areas. In an effort to stay true to an experience I could accurately represent, I began to think about how to spread the message I had in mind in Goshen, Ohio.
As I further explored how information might be delivered to my audience, participants expressed that a book felt daunting and dense. Parsing the information into pieces was accessible and more approachable. This caused me to rethink my project’s mode and application. Recalling that people had compared the “vibe” and communication style of my project to that of a non-profit, I reapproached the project from a new lense. A non-profit could integrate with a community and partner with trusted places like the local library and café to draw curious locals in to learn in a supportive, non-judgemental space.
This brand needs to be adaptable to allow for updates to statistics as time and outcomes change. I began to imagine how the brand might exist in the world as a non-profit. I recounted discussions about color palettes during user testing to create a new look for the brand.
NON-PROFIT BRANDING
It was important that—while this brand would have a clear message in relation to politics and their effect on poverty—the brand did not feel political. The brand should feel trustworthy, educational, and serious but hopeful. It should feel community-focused. The tone should be conversational and confident.
After an exploration of logos, I developed a couple of sets of how type, image and/or graphics, and color worked to-gether to become a brand that could live in social media and print. After critiques from peers and educators, I combined the two to create a co-hesive brand that I moved forward with.
PROTOTYPING
With a new direction, it felt appropriate that an infograohic be used to replace the book. It could display the most important information and make it easily digestable. It could also live conveniently in community spaces. Thus, prototyping consisted of exploring options for what this infographic might look like. I began to imagine 3D experiences, but I quickly realized that a larger display may not fit well in smaller spaces like the local café. I pivoted to a smaller one-sided poster that would be easy for installation and storage.
The prototyping stage was an opportunity for me to test text sizes and which graphic treatments best fit the context of how this infographic would live. I also refined my messaging and writing style for the brand during this stage.
Final BRAND
The brand includes a few hand-drawn elements that each signify a pillar of the brand goals.
Our Star-Burst of Inspiration
Prosperus aims to inspire local residents with literature and facts from our book club readings. This symbol is found with historical quotes and new perspectives, as well as suggested readings from our book club.
Our Ripple of Impact
Prosperus aims to impact local residents through community events, network building, and donations. This symbol is found with information about oppor-tunities to engage with us as a volunteer or as an event attendee.
Our Point of Improvement
Prosperus aims to make clear what modern statistics of poverty look like across the nation and locally. This symbol is found with ways viewers can support their neighbors and peers through community action, voting, and mutual aid.
The handwritten typeface is exclusively used when the brand is connecting with viewers and locals on a personal level such as inviting them to events, start-ing conversation, and introducing local stories about people or organizations that embody the spirit of the Prosperus brand.
REFLECTION
Keeping an open mind and being willing to step back, reflect, and pivot according to feedback is a crucial step in every design process. Not every project will look the same at the end as I imagined in the beginning, and that is not only okay—it’s great. It means I trusted the design & research process which in turn led to something fruitful. Designing with the viewer’s experience in mind will always produce the best quality and function. I keep iterating. I keep designing. I keep striving for that thoughtful, impactful, and best solution.