November 29, 2011

INSIST. Final Documentation / Statement



INSIST. is an organization created to help people in the community understand that they have the right to insist on a receipt no matter where they spend their hard earned money. We believe that they should ask for their receipt to avoid the financial hardships that are possible without paper documentation of payment such as evictions, and duplicated payements. We have created the Receipt Keeper a portable storage device that contains an index file that will allow the owner to better manage their receipts on the go and also remind them to insist on their receipt. The Insist campaign is aimed at business as well as the customers. We believe that  businesses want to operate at a high level of professionalism and using Insist they can help do that by training their employees their importance of giving receipts to each and every customer. To advertise Insist we have created a logo that shows a receipt being torn off. The logo also forms the shape of an exclamation mark suggesting the importance of insisting on a receipt. The red and black colors represent regained financial security. Our bus ad will be shown on bus routes near partnering business informing them about the function of the receipt keeper, what comes with it and where they can pick it up. The pick up locations will be one of each of the three different types of pick up locations: Community Centers, Churches, and Community Banks. The box itself is an organizer containing an index and t-shirt. The T-Shirt is a special gift from the sponsor U.S. Bank. That people can wear with a sense of pride that will also spread the message. To reach the businesses we will be sending out a mailer that will appeal to the businesses sense of professionalism, teaching them the importance of keeping receipts. Inside the mailer will be a sticker that will be placed in the widow of the businesses to remind the customer to ask for a receipt  and remind the employee to remind the customer to get their receipt. 

INSIST Presentation


The Problem:

People within the community are failing to insist on their receipts
Due to lack of education, apathy, or pride
This is resulting in unnecessary consequences to those who may be already financially unstable
Evictions, Property repossessions, Double payments

The Solution: 

Insist is an organization who wants to:

Empower the public to insist on their receipt
Give them an container in which to keep and organize their receipts
Insist on a higher level of mutual respect and professionalism between the customer and the employee

Branding:

Our logo represents a receipt being torn off.
The logo takes the form of an exclamation mark suggesting the importance of insisting on receipts.
The colors, from red to black, implies regained financial security.

Audience: 

The financially unstable and the business owners/employees
Insist targets each party with a universal message of the importance of receipts 
as well as a more tailored message to both the customer and the employee.

Bus Advertisement:
The bus advertisement will be displayed on the buses with routes near partnering businesses.
The ad will inform the viewer of the importance of insisting on a receipt.
It will also tell them about the function of the Receipt Keeper, what comes with it, and where to pick it up.
The ad will also reflect the three different community locations closest to that particular bus route for ease of picking up.

Location: 

The Receipt Keeper will be available for pick up at locations in the neighborhood:
Locations like:

Community Centers, Churches, Community Banks.
These are locations we believe to be easily accessible by bus, bike, or foot.

Receipt Keeper:

The receipt keeper is an organizer with an index for three different receipt categories that people can name themselves
The box includes information about the importance of keeping and organizing receipts on the inside

T-Shirt:

As a special gift from the sponsor U.S. Bank the receipt keeper comes with a free shirt.
Having this shirt to wear can give people a sense of pride and empowerment in asking for their receipts, as well as spread the message to others

Mailer:

Inform the the business of the importance of keeping receipts
Appeal to their sense of professionalism
Be polite in reminding the customers

Sticker:

Placed in the window of the business
Reminds the customer to ask for their receipt
Reminds the employee to remind the customer to get their receipt

November 21, 2011

History of Motion Graphics Response


The History of Motion Graphics Response:

First of all fascinating video. It really helped explain where graphic design and motion graphics interacted on the same plane and where they were divided from animation. At times I wish we could bridge that gap more often as designers but they would also take us away from the opportunity to work with someone as dedicated to their art as we are our own to possibly fantastic results. Showing objects portraying themselves rather than characters really felt like a possibility still defined as neutral ground. I had no idea that motion design had gone back so far. So far that I don't think even those people creating it had any idea to what genre of materials that they were creating and shaping for the future. Its incredible and so exciting to see where things have changed in the last one hundred years. Let alone in the last 15 years. The technology is reaching the point where the mind is the limit rather than the machine. This really inspires me to push into motion now more than ever. Thanks for sharing.

November 20, 2011

Narrative Project Goals

Project V 

I would like to revisit my Stein animation so that I can repair that weak link in my semester. I believe that know what I learned in the rest of semester will allow me to return to it with a fresh set of eyes and really make some improvements. I plan on replacing the way the text moves together with something more representational of the poem itself. The original was way too repetitive in movement and in way the two poems behaved. The music will be adjusted now that I know how to use SoundBooth better. I plan on making the movements and timing more meaningful. I would get more selective in this description of changes but honestly the entire video needs a major overhaul. I want to be able to walk away from this project with another portfolio piece that I'm not embarrassed to include.

Changes:


  • Reworking the way the text moves together and comes out to be reveled and read in different ways to better represent Steins work.
  • Replace the blocky movement and current timing of text movement. I plan on making better use of Illustrator to create interesting and individual objects that will move independently on one another.
  • I want to edit and or replace the music with something more meaningful that I know how to use Soundbooth.
  • I will also be removing and replacing the background which had no working conceptual meaning. 

November 18, 2011

Pot Pie Process Sketches and Storyboards

Final Storyboard
In this final storyboard I was able to narrow the scope down even further. Allowing me to show the start and the finished product basically but eluding to the middle process of baking. Using smoke I was able to elude to the pie being baked instead of showing it.

Second Complete Storyboard
In this storyboard my video was still coming up too long. 
I had to many frames of content and had to then decide on a way to show all of these events happening by eluding to them rather than showing them literally. 


First Complete Storyboard
In this round I realized that I needed to shorten the scope of my spot.
I also decided that I wanted to pursue the idea of a from the kitchen to the table concept. 

Brain Storming initial concepts. 



Pot Pie Final Logo Spot



While creating this video I learned about how a logo spot can be even more difficult to create than a long video due to how much meaning you have to try and portray in such a short amount of time. I had to revise several story boards and shorten them time after time because I wasn't used to drawing frames for such a window of time. I also learned the importance of a sound mark and how it can enhance meaning within that limited amount of time. Someone else who had overheard me working on the video said that they liked the chime and asked what commercial it was for. There is definitely an association that we have with those sound marks even if its almost on a subconscious level now that were so used to hearing them.

The challenge that I had to resolve was to portray Taylor Pruitt's Pot Pie branding guide in a way that complimented it rather than clash with it. I wanted to re-enforce her concept of comfort, elegant, rustic, and nostalgic using a sound mark that could resemble something you would hear around the home. It could be a child playing with a xylophone toy or the wind chimes outside the kitchen window. Something that could make you think of those good times and how you could have same feeling if you sat down to eat at Pot Pie.

Taylor's Pot Pie branding used woodgrain as a background so I decided to incorporate it directly into my spot by using two shades of wood grain for the rolling pin. Her colors were warm and welcoming so I decided to take her orange and red and use that to color my type against the yellow / white pie crust. To seal the deal my background is a traditional picnic or holiday home table cloth which also allows for a nice contrast between the pie and background. By using fades I was able to keep a traditional and simplistic feel to the clip, I found that if I tried to over complicate the transitions the message could become misconstrued. By using the fade between the pie and the pie in the tin with the final mark is also a representation of the pie cooking in the oven explaining how it could have shown up in the tin on a table without having to use more time to explain it. I wanted to exhibit the process of how your potpie would come fromt he kitchen to the table bringing with it that nostalgic feel of home cooking.

Taylor's Brand Guide:


November 14, 2011

Insist. Round One.


"Our campaign/organization, INSIST. consist of a system of four components. A box for the user too put receipts into with information on the inside slip describing the importance of insisting on and keeping receipts. A vacuum-packed t-shirt with a graphic portraying the complicated and stressful nature of receipt management (the t-shirt will be placed in the receipt box). A bus ad would advertise the main message and the route specific pickup locations for the receipt box. A mailer would go out to the businesses giving them information on the importance of giving receipts and assuming professionalism in doing so. The mailer would include stickers to place at the place of purchase and in the store window, reminding people to give/ask for their receipts."

What Sketches (and Prototypes) Are and Are Not. Reading Responce

This was an article I really needed to read. I tend to have a hard time knowing when to stop and allow a sketch to be a sketch instead of investing too much time into it. This helped a lot in terms of putting things in perspective. I think this will help me a lot in terms of managing the early stages of my projects better. The Design Funnel is a really nice chart to have as well. Especially in terms of UI this whole article was really interesting. I know I have a hard time not pushing my sketches too far and find myself trying to develop them rather than explore further. So much of design is learning self-control and patience.

November 10, 2011

Interesting article about the future of interaction design




"As it happens, designing Future Interfaces For The Future used to be my line of work. I had the opportunity to design with real working prototypes, not green screens and After Effects, so there certainly are some interactions in the video which I'm a little skeptical of, given that I've actually tried them and the animators presumably haven't. But that's not my problem with the video.
My problem is the opposite, really — this vision, from an interaction perspective, is not visionary. It's a timid increment from the status quo, and the status quo, from an interaction perspective, is actually rather terrible.
This matters, because visions matter. Visions give people a direction and inspire people to act, and a group of inspired people is the most powerful force in the world. If you're a young person setting off to realize a vision, or an old person setting off to fund one, I really want it to be something worthwhile. Something that genuinely improves how we interact.
This little rant isn't going to lay out any grand vision or anything. I just hope to suggest some places to look."
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

November 7, 2011

INSIST - Channels


  • Bus Ad - Bus Stops and maybe the sides of buses.
  • Packet w/ Insert - Distribution centers prior to being picked up. Then in the home.
  • T-Shirt - On customers and/or employees.
    These would be in the box which is different for customers and employees.
  • Stickers - In store window signage and Point of Sale.


* Employees shirt and in store signage would be in one package just for the business.

Updated Communication Model

Updated Communication Model for our group consisting of Michael Armstrong, Anika Ruf, and myself.