Critical Reflections of Design Project A

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I believe great design can change the world. It can persuade and motivate the community to act in the interest of others. With this belief in mind, I chose to structure my Design Project A around a brief created for the 2010/11 Royal Society of Art’s Student Design Awards entitled Giving and Getting. At its core, the brief asks the student to design something that will help an existing charity increase its fundraising abilities. It states, “Make it easier for people to give, or make it easier for charities to ask – or both.” Obviously, the solution could come in many shapes and sizes.

Choosing the charity for my project was simple. The Blue Cross is a notable animal welfare organization operating in Great Britain. Helping animals has always been a cause that I have personally supported and having just gained part-time employment at one of the charity’s facilities, I knew I would be able to access the resources needed to conduct quality research to help make the project a success.

To kick off my research, I began reading informational publications produced by The Blue Cross. I brushed up on its history and took stock of its services and evident communication methods. I then organized these notes into a research map, a process that helped me digest the mountain of information and uncover further questions to direct my research. From there, I continued my secondary research by looking into other animal welfare organizations operating in Britain as well as the theory behind classic charity marketing tactics including identity and positioning.

With all of this information stuffed into my brain, I prepared to conduct my first stage of primary research – an interview with a member of The Blue Cross’ communications staff. My conversation revealed that though a significant charity, The Blue Cross is neither the largest nor the most recognizable animal welfare organization in the country. The charity is aware that its current branding does not assist in making its purpose and services clear and they are beginning discussions on how to make the brand more appealing to a wider audience. I was also given a key piece of past research the company conducted – The Blue Cross Supporter Donor Profile – which outlines who typically gives to the organization, how and why. It showed that the majority of current donors are female – which is typical of most charities. Those leaving large cash donations are typically older (age 65 to 74) and those leaving repeated smaller donations are typically middle aged (age 35 to 44).

To further my primary research, I tested the conclusions of the Supporter Donor Profile on a small sample set of friends. Those who I surveyed fell within the age range that was found gave least to the charity. I slowly revealed The Blue Cross’ current logo to the participants, asking them which associations they made with the symbol, color, name and tagline. The majority did not realize that the organization assisted animals until the tagline, “Britain’s Pet Charity”, was disclosed.

At this point, the purpose of my project was beginning to take shape. I had as a topic an animal charity that many people did not recognize because of its wide array of services supported only by a generic name and branding. Renaming the charity completely was an option however, its existing title does have communication benefits. With over 50 years of history built into it and an automatic association with one of the most well known charities operating today – The Red Cross – I decided that keeping its current name would be best and that my design challenge was to inject meaning into it visually.

With guidance from tutors and classmates, I proposed to meet the original design brief by developing a practical and visually appealing brand identity for The Blue Cross. By giving the charity these necessary communication tools, it would be able to create more awareness of its services and therefore entice the public to give. Though the overall branding would need to appeal to a general public audience, I also proposed to develop an advertisement campaign that would germinate with an audience the organization wasn’t currently reaching effectively – young adults age 18 to 34.

With my project proposal nailed down, I dove into sketching and concept development. I began exploring typography and color options and illustrating a new animal-related symbol for the logo that still incorporated the cross. For the advertisement campaign, inspiration came early on when I began investigating an idea that was brought up during the survey process. The cross symbol could also be interpreted as a plus sign. I began illustrating pictograms in several different styles and composing them into equations. The equations could visually communicate a service The Blue Cross offers or a call to action for the community.

Throughout the concept development process, I sought input from lecturers, classmates, friends and coworkers. My university colleagues were able to provide excellent advice to strengthen the overall design, while my friends could provide insight into how the target audience would react to the advertisement campaign. The views of my coworkers were equally as important because, as employees of The Blue Cross, they would ultimately be relied upon to implement and support the new brand platform. These collective opinions helped me to narrow down the options and I was able to settle on a logo using the cross sign as a plaster on an animal paw, a monochromatic blue color palette, and a whimsical, simple and inviting set of pictograms for the equations. I also designed a system by which the color palette and illustrations could be used to categorize communications detailing different aspects of the charity, such as adoption services, volunteering, pet care, etc.

Conclusions

When I reflect back on the finished product, I am reminded of the challenges and surprises I faced while developing my work. Before this project, I had rarely ever illustrated so expanding upon my skills and style was a challenge, but also a rewarding learning process. It was also difficult to not let my own subjective design ideas overwhelm the overall design and alienate certain audiences. Creating many options and ideas and taking input from others allowed me to find common ground between the two and create something that would appeal to both me and the target audience.

What I found most surprising during my project was all the different aspects that have to be considered while developing a brand platform. An effective visual identity has to be relevant, versatile and practical enough to be applied in all the applications an organization needs to communicate within. In addition to this, it has to be eye catching and beautiful. Reaching a solution that successfully ticks both of these boxes is no easy task. Luckily, and this is perhaps the greatest lesson I learned from this module, employing a thorough and complete research process from the inset of the project can help to reveal a clever, effective and informed design solution.

Bibliography

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