Homeless Social Awareness campaign

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PROJECT 2
Designing to Help Others Speak
AMANDA KERN
THE ROLE OF GRAPHIC DESIGN IN SOCIAL AWARENESS
PROFESSOR WILLIAM CONRAD
MAY 25, 2010

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROJECT OBJECTIVES ...................................................3
DESIGN BRIEF .......................................................... 4-14
RESEARCH.............................................................. 15-17
IMAGERY................................................................ 18-23
POTENTIAL ADVERTISING VEHICLES ..........................24
ROUGHS & BRAINSTORMING .....................................25
TYPOGRAPHY & COLOR ...............................................26
NEW STAND/BILLBOARD ADS .............................. 27-31
TRANSIT ADS......................................................... 32-34
FINAL THOUGHTS ........................................................35

AMANDA KERN | PROJECT 2 | THE ROLE OF GRAPHIC DESIGN IN SOCIAL AWARENESS | PROFESSOR WILLIAM CONRAD | MAY 25, 2010

PROJECT 2 OBJECTIVES
Objective
For this project, you will develop a design construct for an existing non-profit meeting. If you would like to record your meetings, get advanced approval from
organization of your choosing. As with Design Project 1, your final presentation your contact.
should reflect a substantial design output. In the case of this project, however,
the medium, the tenor, and the specific subject matter should serve to benefit the As with Design Project 1, your topic must be thoroughly researched before you
organization for which you are designing. begin any serious design work. Subject matter that focuses on divisive issues must
include research on the opposing viewpoint as well as the viewpoint to which
Design Brief you adhere. You must fully understand the scope of the issue before you can hope
Due at the end of Unit 4 in PDF format. The design brief should include the to address it in an informed fashion. Research should also include examples (in
following components: visual and written form) of past design work done for the same cause. Download
• introduction visuals as you run across them, and save URLs in a file for future reference. This
• research methodology research should be compiled neatly in a project binder for your own reference.
• target audience
• geographic scope (regional, national, etc) Other areas of process include written brainstorming, thumbnail sketches, and
• a description of the strategy computer developed roughs. Word association brainstorming with a pen and paper
• objectives that defined your design decisions. is an excellent way to discover unique solutions. Once you have completed your
Although word count is not an accurate factor in determining your brief’s degree of research, write down any key words from your research, and begin writing other
thoroughness, 1,000 words is a reasonable estimate. words that are in any way associated. Such an exercise may help facilitate your
creative explorations. Thumbnails should show evidence of extensive exploration.
Research Component
You should begin this part of the project as soon as possible. The non-profit Design Component
organization you choose to produce work for should be notified in the first few Your final solutions can be in any format, provided the format is appropriate to
weeks of the course, and by Unit 5 all but the most specific design issues should the subject matter. If print work is a component of the project, the work should
be determined. The objective is to create design work that the organization be comped in a professional manner. There will most likely be budget restrictions
could actually use. A first meeting/conversation should take place within the in this project since many non-profits have very low operating budgets. You must
first three weeks of class, and correspondence should continue as often as take this into account, but you must also prove that your adherence to these
necessary. Investigating production, paper choice and printing costs should also be possible restrictions does not curb your creative output. You do not need a big
addressed. Please keep minutes of each meeting, and keep these minutes in your budget to be creative! The objective is to communicate the desired message to
project binder for reference. It is extremely important to keep notes of each the desired target audience in as effective a fashion as possible.


DESIGN BRIEF
Introduction
For this project I have elected to work with the Coalition for the Homeless of
Central Florida. After working with them last December with the Help-Portrait
photography project I have felt more compelled to help those in need. I have
learned that the homeless population is diverse and seems to be growing
since the economic decline in recent years. Through my work I hope to create
awareness about homelessness and also help cause action that will get others to
want to help those in need.

Research
I began by researching through the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida
web site to learn more about the organization. In doing so I learned the following
information about the organization:

• founded in 1987
• largest provider of homeless services in central Florida
• helps 600 people daily by providing shelter and support
• provides services to nearly 200 children w/ the average age of 6.
• An estimated 300,000 meals are served annually
• he goals is to promote self-sufficiency through counselling, job
t
training, and educational programs.
• operates two campuses Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida
• a big key to success is through volunteers and donations http://www.centralfloridahomeless.org/
• An estimated 300,000 meals are served annually
• he goals is to promote self-sufficiency through counselling, job
t
training, and educational programs.


DESIGN BRIEF
Additional Research
I researched the homeless extensively across the coalition for the homeless of
central Florida web site but I also found the national and NY web site useful in
finding relevant information that could be helpful as I approach the project.

• SA Today estimated 1.6 million people to use transitional shelters
U
or emergency shelters. 1/3 are members of households with
children.
• .5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, are likely to
3
experience homelessness in a given year
(National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2007)
• % of the U.S. population experiencing homelessness each year,
1

38% (October) to 39% (February) of them being children (Urban
Institute 2000) Coalition for the Homeless (national)
• ationally 30% of requests by homeless people and 38% of requests
n http://www.nationalhomeless.org/
by homeless families went unmet in 2002.
• ationally 41% of homeless population are single men, 41%
n
are families with children, 13% are single women, and 5% are
unaccompanied minors.
• ationally 23% are considered mentally ill, 32% are substance
n

abusers, 22% are employed, and 10% are veterans
• n 2003, children under the age of 18 accounted for 39% of the
I
homeless population; 42% of these children were under the age of
five (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2004)

Coalition for the Homeless (NY)
http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/


DESIGN BRIEF
Learning more about the homeless
The definition of homelessness has changed and the Coalition for the Homeless has
used the definition outlined within the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance
Act of 1987:

The term “homeless” or “homeless individual or homeless person” includes: (1) an
individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and (2) an
individual who has a primary nighttime residence that is (a) a supervised publicly
or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations
(including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the
mentally ill); (b) an institution that provide a temporary resident for individuals
intended to be institutionalized; or (c) a public or private place not designed for, or
ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodations for human beings.

Vision of the Coalition for the Homeless
To pursue the prevention of homelessness, to ensure appropriate homeless services
are made reasonably available to each resident of Orlando, and to be provided in a
cooperative and collaborative spirit.

Mission of the Coalition for the Homeless
To foster an environment where homelessness is minimized and to provide
appropriate services to return people to self-sufficiency. © 2010 Photography copyright LJ


DESIGN BRIEF
Additional Statistics
I found this additional information useful:

• n a given night, an estimated 672,000 people experience
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homelessness. This means 22 out of every 10,000 people are homeless
in America.
• 2% of those 672,000 are unsheltered (meaning they live on the streets
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or in other forms of shelter not meant for human habitation), while 58%
are living in shelters or transitional housing.
• 7% of the homeless are people in family units, while 63% are
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individual adults.
• he most common makeup of a homeless family is a mother with one
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or two children. This certainly goes against the image of homelessness
most perceive; we’ve noticed that people typically picture the homeless
as a single male standing on the street corner, not a single mom with
kids in tow.
• hose meeting the federal definition for chronic homelessness make up
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just 18% of the entire homeless population.
• 8 out of 10 homeless persons are in urban or mostly urban areas.

© 2010 Photography copyright LJ


DESIGN BRIEF
Myths about the homeless
I found it compelling to learn about myths about the homeless found on the Coalition
for the homeless’ blog.

1. They are all men. For many, the word “homeless” conjures up images of
scraggly men standing on street corners holding cardboard signs. Today, that
image is simply not reality: the face of homelessness is changing. In fact, the
fastest growing segments of the homeless population are women and families
with children.
2. They are all lazy. A sad reality facing many homeless individuals and families
is that even if they work, their income cannot sustain them. As a matter of fact,
the majority of Coalition clients are working or actively looking for work, and yet
remain homeless. In Orlando, service industry employment accounts for 40% of
jobs, with resulting wages of $8 per hour with limited benefits. The average rent
for a two-bedroom apartment in Orlando requires an hourly wage of nearly $18.00
(according to our most recent statistics) – making it almost impossible for a
couple to afford, even with both working 40 hours per week at $8 per hour.
3. Homelessness is a single issue. Many believe that the homeless “just need
to get a job” to fix their situation. If only addressing the needs of the homeless
was this easy! Instead, the many serious contributors to homelessness make
obtaining and keeping employment difficult for many homeless men and women.
Contributors to homelessness can include low wages, lack of affordable rental © 2010 Photography copyright LJ
housing, job loss or underemployment (meaning work hours were cut or someone
was forced to accept a job lower than their earning potential), domestic violence,
substance abuse, and mental health issues.


DESIGN BRIEF
Myths about the homeless (continued)
4. They are all from someplace else. Eighty-three percent of the homeless
individuals interviewed for the 2009 Point In Time Count (conducted by the
Homeless Services Network of Central Florida) had lived in the area for one year
or longer, showing that many started out as typical Central Florida residents. The
Coalition served nearly 4,200 individuals and 490 families last year, the majority
of whom were living in the Central Florida area when they became homeless.
5. Build it and they will come. Constructing a new facility does not “attract” new
homeless people to an area. They are already here in Central Florida, as proven
by the 2009 Point In Time Count’s estimation that nearly 10,000 people would
experience homelessness in our region over the course of one year. Providing
services responds to a need that already exists.
6. Ignore the problem and it will go away.The number of homeless families with
children increased dramatically last year, according to the 2009 Point In
Time Count. At the end of the 2008-2009 school year, 4,206 homeless children had
attended schools in the Central Florida region, compared with 2,700 the
year before.
7. Homelessness will be eliminated by adopting a 10 year plan. The Central
Florida Commission on Homelessness has made strides by adopting their ten
year plan to end homelessness in our area, but creating a vision for service
infrastructure will not automatically eliminate homelessness. A ten year plan only
puts into place the infrastructure to deliver services to homeless people. It does © 2010 Photography copyright LJ
not end homelessness.


DESIGN BRIEF
Myths about the homeless (continued)
8 . Services provided are a hand-out. – Many homeless individuals need a
hand up, not a hand-out. By providing job training, educational opportunities,
mental health counseling, and life skills like budgeting and savings, the
Coalition is working to ensure that services provide the tools clients need for
self-sufficiency.
9. t is a lifestyle choice. In the 2009 Point In Time Count, 84% of those
I
interviewed listed issues such as employment, housing, disabilities, family
problems, forced relocation, natural disasters, and recent immigration as
the cause of their current state of homelessness. These individuals did not
choose to be homeless and are trying desperately to return to self-sufficiency.
10. It will never happen to me. Homelessness can happen to anyone.



DESIGN BRIEF
Facts about homeless children
There are more homeless children than most realize. I found the following
information regarding homeless children to be moving.

• 9,886 children are estimated to be homeless in Florida. 20, 952
4
kids under six are homeless. 23,404 kids K-8 are homeless. 5,530
kids grade 9-12 are homeless.
• .5 MILLION = the number of children in America who go to sleep
1
without a home each year
• in 50 = an American child’s chances of experiencing
1
homelessness in their lifetime
• in 29 children in Florida do not know where they will get their
1
next meal.
• omeless children are twice as likely as other children to repeat
H
a grade in school, to be expelled or suspended, or to drop out of
high school. At the end of high school, few homeless students are
proficient in reading and math – and their estimated graduation
rate is below 25%.
• lorida to ranks 43rd out of the 50 states in child homelessness
F
(with 50 being the worst)



DESIGN BRIEF
Stategy, Objectives & Target Audience
I had the opportunity to speak with Director of Communications and
Community Relations for the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida,
Muffet Robinson and we were able to establish a list design needs. Many
needs are evolving or longer term. The primary audience of the below listed
collateral would be those who would potentially volunteer or donate to the
organization. Often times these print collateral are provided at presentations
or events where help could be solicited. Though there is not an immediate
need to redesign the print collateral it was a consideration to redesign
something existing for potential future use.

• quarterly newsletter is designed for the organization. The
A
Current Winter 2010 Newsletter Current Flyer for supply needs
most recent one has been designed and printed for this quarter.
Though newletters could be designed for future quarters content
is not prepared to create future newsletters. A new and improved
newsletter could be presented for potential use for future use.
• lyers and brochures. Both are used to to promote programs and
F
solicit volunteers and donations.
• nnual Report. The Annual report is not slated to be created
A
until the fall and data is not available. Potentially it could be
redesigned with last years content for a new design for the
coming year.

Annual report 2009 Annual report 2009


DESIGN BRIEF
We also discussed potential events that could use exposure through design.
Most big events have passed but we discussed events that help the coalition
earn support and I researched additional events that could be of interest to
design perhaps a poster series to help an event gain exposure.

• mpty bowls happens in the fall and in the past has been done
E
with the 2nd harvest food bank. This year it will be pursued only
by the coalition. The event demonstrates community support for
those who fill their bowls at soup kitchens and shelters each day
in Central Florida. Lunch will consist of soup, salad and bread.
Additionally, every guest in attendance will receive a unique
handcrafted bowl created by local school children, area potters,
or ceramic artists who donated their time and talents to the fight
against hunger.
• earts of Gold occurs in the spring. It just recently was held. It is
H
another fundraiser for the organization.
• elp-Portrait occurs in December and is a way for residents to
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receive photography which they typically wouldn’t receive.


DESIGN BRIEF
We also discussed the potential for a mass media campaign that could be
used to promote the organization. With powerful messaging and imagery
awareness about the coalition could be made to help gain attention and
solicit help for the organization. Ideas would be designed to present for
potential use. Due to the fact that the organization is non-profit advertising
donations would be requested. Potential ideas could be:

• illboards
B
• agazine & Newspaper ads
M
• irect mail to solicit donations & volunteering
D
• osters that act solicit help. If distributed like propaganda
P
around the city area it could create enough awareness to help
the organization.
• Donation/volunteer advertising at local supermarkets.



RESEARCH
Inspiring examples
I researched other advertising campaigns and found these quite inspiring.
This campaign evolved around the concept that once a person becomes
homeless it’s that much harder for them to escape homelessness because
they’re already stuck underground.


RESEARCH
Inspiring examples
Advertising to help homeless has been done many times before and has
been approached across a variety of advertising vehicles. I was intrigued
by the advertisement to the right. It was intended to confront child
homelessness and referred to the child being stuck beneath ground. I found
it to be very haunting but in a way that grabbed my attention.

The trash advertisement to the right confronts how your trash may be
someone else’s food. Sounds sad and gross, but it’s very true. The sidewalk
bench is very similar where it confronts how many call that bench home.


RESEARCH
Inspiring examples
Some advertising has been done so simplistically, yet it works. We all
identify with homeless writing on cardboard so seeing it we almost
instantly relate. Some places have done newspaper campaigns mixed with
street campaigns to push to collect clothes donations. As simple as they
are the messaging and approach are quite memorable.


IMAGERY
Photography inspiration
For a few years now I have followed a photographer, LJ, in flickr. His
homeless and elderly photography is so impactful, moving, and inspiring.
The strong contrast in his imagery and the emotion they evoke remind me
of some of the depression era photography. Seeing his imagery they make
such a strong impact that you connect with the person and feel almost as
though you can relate to their struggles in life. Being a photography I hope
to build a concentration of homeless photography. However, given the
time constraints of this project I realize I will be limited in how much work
could be produced especially considering the safety and privacy concerns
involved in photographing homeless. I have been in contact with LJ and
he has granted permission for me to use his photography in projects for
my academic work, with the understanding that if there is any commercial
interest or interest by the coalition that his photography not be used with
out his prior consent.

Regardless of if LJ’s photography is approved or used, my hopes are
to create impactful pieces that show the potential of such moving
photography. If my own photography ends up limited due to the time
constraints it will show the potential to pursue more homeless photography
at a later date if needed.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16536699@N07/


IMAGERY
Photography inspiration

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16536699@N07/


IMAGERY
My homeless photography experience
Though I realized I wouldn’t be able to create a full body of my own
homeless photography with the limited timeframe I did take a trip out
one afternoon/evening in search of homeless that would allow me to
photograph them for my project. Part of the challenges in homeless
photography is ensuring my own safety so I ensured I was accompanied
by my husband who is a deputy. Though he wasn’t on duty and never once
represented himself in a law enforcement capacity it was very helpful to
have his company. Every homeless person he confronted first to get the
permission for me to take their photo and use in my portfolio for the work
I was doing for the Coalition for the homeless. Every homeless person I
encountered was friendly and all agreed to let me take their photo.

The first person I encountered was a middle aged man who referred to
himself as “Saigon”. He wore army fatigues and a U.S. Army shirt and
proudly showed me his dog tags. He told my husband he served in Vietnam
and then later said Desert Storm. He said he’d rather be in Saigon than in
Orlando. He was waiting beside a white dumpster with his backpack in the
90 degree Florida heat telling me how ready he was to leave Orlando and
how he was waiting for his ride out of Orlando. He said he was headed to “I’d rather be in Saigon than Orlando.”
he Ocala national forrest where life would be better.

All of the photos I have made image adjustments to but I’ve elected
to reserve overtly adding textures or darkening the photos until the
need arises in the project. I think adding texture and darkened looks
could increase the impact but due to the lighting some may not look as
appropriate overtly darkened because I don’t want the photos to look fake
or overly edited in photoshop.


IMAGERY
We drove closer to downtown and ran into a couple more homeless. This
guy was sitting right outside of a popular downtown pizza restaurant. He
appeared to be having a conversation with himself when we first walked
up to him. He gladly agreed to allow me to take his photo. Like all the
homeless I photographed he was quick to smile but when I asked him to
let me take his photo with out a grin I was totally captured by his eyes.
Look back now the struggles the homeless face are easily seen in their
expressions which certainly speak through their eyes.

Looking back I had wished I would have asked him to remove his hat, but
now it’s all hindsight. Ironically he was sporting this UCF hat and informed
me that he moved to Orlando many years ago from Ohio to go to school but
said it didn’t work out. I didnt ask any more details. After sharing this photo
in twitter and facebook I’ve since learned that at Valencia where I teach
the homeless are able to enroll in classes at no cost and they’re eligible
for scholarships due to their need. Next time around I’ll be armed with
information to help them see the opportunities they could have.

“I moved to Orlando to go to school.”


IMAGERY
This man was the first one to come up to us to confront us for some spare
change before we were ever able to asking him if I could take his photo.
Because we weren’t sure how many homeless we’d encounter we possibly
might help them out if they let me take their photo by giving each person a
dollar. When we got to this guy we didn’t have spare change or one dollar
bills. My husband only had a $5 bill remaining. But when I saw how big this
guy smiled for me I told him to go ahead and give him $5. I have never seen
someone so happy. He graciously thanked us and then walked away with a
pep in his step as if we made his day.

“Excuse me, can you spare some change?”


IMAGERY
As the afternoon went on it began to rain. After dinner we drove back
home and passed the OBT (Orange Blossom Trail) area which is a known
low income, higher crime, and area where several homeless seem to pass
through. As we passed through the area we happened to see this homeless
man, who called himself Bill, sitting outside of a gas station with his bag.
Once he agreed to allow me to take his photo I greeted him. He was such
a kind man and he was the only one who didn’t ask for spare change. At
first he was wearing a hat and after remembering the hat the previous
homeless man was wearing earlier in the afternoon I asked if he’d remove
his hat. He told me I could take as many pictures of him as I wanted. As he
removed his hat he was a bit concerned at how dirty and sweaty he was
and he said “Ma’am, you’ll have to excuse me, I’m homeless.”

“ You’ll have to excuse me, I’m homeless.”


ADVERTISING VEHICLES
A Few potential ideas...
As I was photographing the homeless I noticed a few potential advertising
vehicles that I encountered while I was downtown. Obviously billboards
would gain a lot of attention. I also found a huge banner along a building
that might be interesting. There were also street banners on most light
posts downtown. These could all be interesting approaches, however, due
to the budget it’s likely we’d have to illicit either donations or some type
of support to make such an impact happen. Because I think it’s worthy of
spreading the word to help create awareness and help the coalition for
the homeless I intend on proposing a few ideas that include the use of
advertising to create such awareness to promote the organization.


ROUGHS & BRAINSTORMING
Building ideas
I found myself brainstorming ways to help the homeless through
advertising. I thought a lot about how much we all try to help third world
countries but how we have so many on our own streets who need our help.
With that I came to the conclusion that a “react” theme would be worth
exploring. I jotted down several ideas for taglines and more.


TYPOGRAPHY & COLOR
Exploring type possibilities
I’ve explored a few typographic possibilities for this assignment for the GOTHAM
primary fonts that could be used to grab attention. In this case these fonts
may be used to create a strong bold impact. I felt bold sans serif fonts to be HEADLINE ONE
the most ideal to make the strongest impact.
LEAGUE GOTHIC
Exploring color possibilities HELVETICA NEUE CONDENSED
I’ve elected to keep colors consistent with the current colors in the coalition
branding. I plan to bring in black, white and grey to help create an impact. HELVETICA NEUE CONDENSED
Blue will be used to help draw attention. I may consider bringing in a bold
yellow or red very minimally to draw attention.
CHALET
FUTURA CONDENSED


NEWS STAND & BILLBOARD ADS
Helping the homeless
I’ve elected to create a city wide ad that would be incorporated across
news stands. It could also be used as smaller format billboards around the
city. I focused the campaign around the concept of our hopes to get others
to “react” to help the homeless. Rather than helping so many others in
other countries that need help I pushed for a campaign to help “our own”.
The first one I focused on how homeless constantly ask for spare change,
however, I think we all realize spare change isn’t enough to help them.


I found the strongest ads to have a strong black and white contrast. I
learned that many homeless didn’t plan to be homeless so I thought that’d
be an appropriate tagline. The campaign can easily be transferred to a
billboard or building banner advertisement.


I found the prayer image to be so moving and relevant to homeless so I felt
a tagline communicating that all the prayers in the world aren’t enough to
help the homeless. More must be done. People must react to help them.


As moving as the images were I found the grey images to be problematic
with type so I did the most with the limitations. If I had a bit more time I
might rethink a variation of the campaign for the grey images to improve
legibility. For this image I felt it important to point out how homeless don’t
choose to be homeless.


I added texture to some images such as this one. I found the tagline coming
from the words of the homeless man I met to be ideal for this project.


TRANSIT ADS
I felt transit ads to be an ideal place to help create awareness about
helping the homeless. The bus transit ads can be found throughout Orlando
and would reach a large audience. I chose to use mostly my imagery for the
transit ads and played off the words that were said to me directly for the
taglines.


TRANSIT ADS
I did use this one image of LJ’s for this transit ad. I felt it to be very
impactful and similar in style.


TRANSIT ADS


FINAL THOUGHTS
Opinions on helping the homeless
I think this project has a lot of potential for a continued connection with the
coalition. I realize that time was limited and if I had additional time I would
go back and spend more time building a strong collection of homeless
photography because to me that’s what really speaks to me in this project.
It’s not about numbers, statistics, or boring facts. It’s about the people. It’s
about their experiences. And I think having more time to build a connection
would lead to more impactful work.

I think one big challenge with this project has been the delay in
communication which put me behind schedule. The organization had most
of it’s print collateral recently redesigned so based on their timelines I
was limited and felt the advertising ideas would better compliment my
portfolio. Though I’m sure a redesign of some print collateral may help the
organization, due to their limited resources it may not be as beneficial.

This project has been an eye opening experience that with more time
I see a great deal of potential for growth of creative ideas to help the
organization. Personally I think this building of such a strong impact would
take more than days or weeks but rather months or longer of establishing
goals and creating awareness to help the homeless.


Homeless Social Awareness campaign

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