3 Iterations in process

From the sketches in the previous blog post, I took these 3 ideas and began to work it up in InDesign as possible approaches. They would be displayed on poster, card insert, etc.






The iteration with the diagrammatic direction path was favoured most by my classmates. So the rest of the class day was to make further iterations of it. I began by making the imagery more simpler and iconic (icon=simple). Instructor said I should focus on imagery because of the risks of mistranslations through words (eg: people with little English skills). Also, the simpler, the easier it is to grasp. Below were some sketches of this simplification:

Ideas on poster design (though applicable to other print stuff)

Sketches for Deliverables

Met up with my mentor on Tuesday morning. He gave me a couple of ideas, for example, card inserts into magazines that people of the 18-20's year old age group might read. 'Course, everybody has different interests like fashion, sports, video games, etc. Also, the idea of taking 'feedback to where they play' which is appealing to the audience of the free services + stuff you can get from the library and meanwhile, giving your feedback there. Example: a poster showing off all the stuff you get free from the library (DVD's, book, magazines, video games) which will entice the viewer to visiting the library and give feedback there while they're at it. Just a atop-off-the head thought.

Below: Various ideas. Most of them you guys have seen in class already and wrote your feedback on it.

Few Sketch Ideas

I talked to librarian Marilyn last week Thursday and she expressed that the 18-20+ is the way to go because there isn't enough info from them that the library knows about. Wherareas the seniors group, there is some information about them. Not to mention that there are community centres, etc. that have seniors groups and subgroups. So I am going to focus on the 18-20+ group (I personally think i will be more fun designing for them). Below are a couple of pages on ideas for that audience.



Anyways, I need to focus more on encouraging that audience group to get feedback, since my ideas above were not so strong on that area. Provide an incentive? The instructor says that such an providing an incentive is not as bad an idea as I think, because my goal is to find a way to get the audience to provide feedback. Free coffee if you fill out the survey, anyone?

Tech Survey

Youtube video of answering a computer survey via video. Perhaps boring to watch for the average viewer, but it brings possibilities to my ideas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCsjTLNxh4Y

Sketch Ideas for 18-20s

Assuming I take the route of designing a promotional campaign (like Nelson suggested in last week's presentation critique), here's some ideas:

Interactive Survey stand at Granville Island Public Market

So I was at the Public Market on Monday buying apples to make my mini apple pies, when this caught my eye:




It's a survey thing. Incentive: win a free basket of food. The interface and aesthetics is dry and ugly, but the placement is good. It's in a open space area nearby the food court. Quite noticeable and as such, I saw more people providing feedback there than I've ever seen at the VPL, which is zilch. I filled out the survey. No instructions that I can remember and it took me awhile to get used to the system. For example, I didn't know how to go back one step to correct a mistake and so, I had to figure that out on my own. Nonetheless, the placement is eye-catching.

Questions included things like: how often do you visit the island, how much do you intend to spend, how ofte do you visit the island, what is your annual income, age, gender, what do you do at the market, do you intend visit other places like the Net Loft after the market, do you come to the island because of the...(prices, variety, convienence, etc), what is your occupation, etc etc etc. And they said it was a 5 minute survey. Simple multiple choice.

Priorities of the Day & Responses from Presentation Critique

After getting critiques & feedback from the research presentation I gave out last week (Oct 2), here are the things I need to consider:

- developing a promotional campaign thing to entice the audience into providing more feedback to the library rather than simply improving the current feedback system the library has in place (because redoing their survey forms sounds like an InDesign layout job)

- if it is a system, don't get too bogged down with it. Remember the design of the product (whatever that will be)

- doing a post-it note thingy isn't so bad. Also, if aiming at 18-20 something audience, exploring applications such as Facebook, MySpace, etc is good because the audience frequent those areas a lot. Things like a banner ad on those sites.

I have been making notes in my sketchbook of the weekly tasks that I need to get done before the following class. It's just a to-do list. After talking with the instructor today, here's what I gotta to:

- talk to librarians of which audience group (senior pr 18-20s) that they need to hear from most...OR...decide which group would interest me most. Like which group I would like to learn most from, etc.

More Sketchy Ideas...for Seniors group

These are from last week Wednesday (Oct 1). More sketch ideas from my sketchbook. Possible feedback options for the senior audience.

sketches

Don't know if you can see the details well but these were my first sketches. Possible ideas of what the deliverable might look like.




Don't know if you can see the details well.

examples of existing VPL surveys

Example of survey form they use at the library. English and Chinese translation. Also, they have suggested purchase forms where you can suggest an order of a specific title. Plenty of restrictions though.

They are also currently holding the Vision for 2015 thing. Basically, you write on a sticky note of what you want in a library in 2015. Lots of requests for coffee shops.

Week 4: Searching For A New Direction

Where does time go? Anyway...

Sept 18
Kensington branch @ 5:20pm:
Hopped over to Kensington after class to hopefully see Yukiko, but she wasn't in. Marilyn told me to come in by Tuesday when she should be in. Said I could send an email.

Sept 23
Kensington branch @ around 12pm:
Went over to Kensington branch. Yukiko was busy and in a hurry to check things over at the new Kensington location. So I was told by Marilyn to send an email. So I sent one later on:

Hello!

This is Cindy, whom I met with you today early afternoon. Two weeks ago, I spoke to Yukiko about audience feedback for the library. My goal is to conceptualize a communication tool/strategy for libraries to use when getting feedback from their patrons (not that it will be
implemented in real life).

Yukiko told me that I could look into the age 18 to early 20s group of people because that is the demograph that libraries in general hear the least feedback from. My question is, is there also another demograph that I can look into? A demograph that provides the second least amount of feedback OR a demograph that the library would also welcome feedback from, besides young adults. It doesn't have to be limited by age group, just any kind of people.

I am not collecting personal data from these demographs on behalf of the library. It is to inform me what kind of a project/solution that I can create based on the research answers I get.

Marilyn replied back to me a few hours later:

Hi Cindy
In answer to your question, i am sending you a link to the library's Working Together project which has tried to identify groups that may be underserved by the library. http://www.librariesincommunities.ca/ If you read the Toolkit, there are groups that the library feels it underserves. This group ranges from First Nations to Vietnamese to low-income to sex-trade workers. So for your project you would be able to choose yourself a group from this website to focus one since there are so many possibilities. I know that this leaves this pretty open to you but then allows you to choose one group.

I hope this helps you.

Britannia branch @ around 1:30pm:
After I sent my email out to Marilyn and before she replied back, I talked with Wendy, the manager of the branch. Remembering some lovely instructor advice, I brought my digital camera along to sound record the interview. Too bad it mysteriously stopped recording after the first 3 minutes. When I realized what happened, I promptly hit record but since the interview was coming to a close, I had only the last 18 seconds of it. I'd like to upload it but Wendy wouldn't want this recording to go public. So here's a paraphrased version:

What demographic do you like to hear feedback from the most in general?
- Everyone in general. We have the 2015 survey and a online survey put up recently so you can get an idea of the questions asked. The public library caters to everyone. Of course, there are groups that don't walk into the library. We'd like to hear from them. We have Outreach services that does that. They look into fields untouched.
What are those fields?
-People like the disabled, aboriginals, etc. This [Britannia] community has a large first nations population which we would like to know more from so the library can be made more accessible to them or cater to their needs.
So aboriginal people is what the library would like to hear more from?
-Yes.

Sept 24
Firehall branch @ 4:30pm:
Talked to Noni Mildenberger who works at the Info desk. Once again, I sound recorded. I made sure to upload the Wendy sound file onto my computer and then delete all the files in my digital camera so I can have space for the interview. But not 1 minute into the interview, my camera stopped recording because its memory card was full. What? I just erased everything on that card, didn't I? How could you be full already? The Wendy interview was 3 minutes long with pictures on the memory card and this Noni interview was even 1 minute long before the card says it's full? At least I'll learn to not trust digital cameras next time.

Anyway, I will upload the sound file in a minute.