ALL POSTS

This is definitely the largest project I’ve attempted to tackle at one time. I started off thinking I had a pretty good idea of what it would involve, but the more I worked with the material, the more I realized how much I wanted to add to make it feel like a cohesive whole. While working on deliverables, I found it useful to actually map out entry points as well to connect things. I wanted each deliverable I designed to have a purpose. Part of handing off a system like this

One of my deliverables for this project is a series of social media posts that could be deployed by a school to encourage students to use their food share (food pantry). I’m the first to admit that I am NOT a social media person. I’m what they’re calling a geriatric millennial. (No, I don’t know who came up with this term, I’m going to go ahead and blame Gen X). Like, I am so awkward and out of touch with this kind of thing that I am constantly googling slang terms so I know

So I started the event materials deliverable just thinking, oh, I just need a few things. What objects would be appropriate for COMMN to provide for college events? There are the obvious–tent, table, tablecloth–maybe a banner or some signage. Maybe they could give out free apples or something? But the more I dove in, the more I realized that there are so many things that can be designed! Bags, shirts, stickers, brochures, event protein bars. (Why couldn’t COMMN partner with

One of the quickest ways to get information out to people is through in person events. Many colleges have fairs, picnics, and event days, so one of my deliverables had to be an event kit. To be effective, it has to be eye catching, welcoming, and provide something that students want. Branded Tent The branded tent does double duty. It draws attention and provides important affirmations like “you should eat something” and “Food is for everyone,” and protects volunteers from su

This is the last round of the table logo. After playing a bit more with the logos, I decided to shift gears and work with the table design. It’s an interesting shape and surprisingly unique as logos go. I like the idea of the table–it reminds me of a shared table and community meals, which is just the kind of vibe we’re going for with COMMN. The brand is all about breaking down barriers and mutual support, and the table is a perfect symbol for that. A round of sketches worki

This week, I worked on refining the type and color of my visual system. Although I felt the color scheme I originally chose was effective, I found that it was way too similar to a previous project I had worked on last year. I don’t want to fall into a trap where all of my work looks identical, and that would definitely be an issue for brands too! I also simplified my colors, removing the gradients, and limiting to six colors plus black and white. Two of those colors are more

For the logo process, I always start with some keywords. In this case, I considered what COMMN is all about. The goal is to connect college students with food resources, but also to reduce stigma and build a sense of community. I created several mind maps around these ideas, focusing on ideas that felt like they could be translated visually. Part of a mind map for the logo keyword brainstorm The next step is sketching. I looked at the name COMMN, and considered how the letter

For this session, I set up three flows—Onboarding, Finding Food Resources, and Finding Recipes. I created post-it notes in several colors—yellow for screens, blue for information, and pink for actions. For the onboarding flow I also used green for customizable options. The sessions lasted about an hour. I did them separately instead of as a group due to scheduling conflicts, but I actually think it worked better this way—I feel like I got a clearer idea of what they really th

The visual system doesn’t happen in a vacuum, it gets developed over many iterations and experiments with color, type, layout and texture. The process starts with research. After reading over my notes from the research process, I identified the type of look and feel I was going for. Actionable keywords were chosen, and a series of moodboards were developed. Find out more about this process here . The system doesn’t start as a list of swatches and typefaces on a page, it gets

This round was the first of the user flows. I started by re-reading my user journey . There are a couple of actions in this story that are suitable for a flow. I landed on the utilization of the app to find food on and off campus using two different views­­—online and offline. I also looked at my initial product spec and the list of proposed features. Next, I started drawing with a pencil, and writing out each action and connecting it with arrows. This was actually really

After discovering the name for my project was already taken by a similar sounding organization, I set about searching for a new idea. This was really difficult, especially since my old name, Resourceful, seemed to work so well for the brand. A mind map of various words relating to the topic. Core words are in purple, interesting words are in yellow. I started by creating multiple mind maps, free wrote, and read through all of last year’s research notes on the topic to get ins

This round, I started off by rounding out the creative brief I worked out last semester into a Materials Matrix. This is basically a document that lists a brief description of the overall idea, a list of what will be made for each deliverable, a description of the components of each, and the number of screens or pages of each item. I still need to nail down exactly what I will do for the app and website, but I’m almost there with this. Next was the User Journey. I chose the p

I started work developing the keywords last semester during the research process. I was reading a lot of papers and articles about food insecurity and learning about the barriers to access. I recognized that there was a need for privacy for those dealing with internalized stigma, but also a need to make existing resources more visible and community oriented in order to fight that stigma. We need to reframe food support as community empowerment rather that charity. And that st

I was browsing Reddit last fall around the time I was trying to decide on a thesis topic, and I came across this question. This is just one example, but a quick reddit search of foodbank will pull up dozens of these posts. There seems to be a few concerns: Shame / Not wanting to take food from someone less fortunate / do I really need it? Worry about someone judging them, and so on. When I got looking more closely at the materials many food banks are using to market their re