CREATION CARE

CLIENT: PLNU Office of Sustainability

TARGET MARKET: PLNU Students and campus community

CATEGORY: Social Impact Campaign

TYPEFACES: Futura

PHOTOGRAPHY: Robert Hyatt via Oregon Live, Getty Images

DELIVERABLES: Visual communications installation and Instagram page

DESIGN CHALLENGE

Using Design Thinking’s human-centered design approaches and methods, create a visual communication installation focusing on a chosen global warming topic. Think about how we might inform, create awareness, and engage hearts and minds. Include ways people can take action. Your solution must be: Feasible (practical, technical, material); Viable (financial considerations and budget); and Desirable (based on audience, their needs, attitudes, opinions).

CREATIVE SOLUTION

To build an authentic connection with the audience, the first step was to identify a story that could express my personal experience with the chosen topic of wildfires. This created a desire that fueled the message behind the  interactive design. The goal was to bond, connect, and inspire based off of Katharine Hayhoe’s book, Saving Us. The installation includes a three-dimensional map displaying the location of fires actively burning across the west coast. This allowed the audience to quickly identify how this problem directly affects their life.

The installation included a large QR code that leads to an Instagram account with slides to learn more information about climate change and how to have a climate conversation. The result was spreading awareness about a topic that affects our lives everyday, and encouraging the audience to take action, first by simply starting the conversation. The design was feasible as it was conceptualized and executed within a matter of four weeks. It was viable as it cost less than $20 to produce.