Innovate. Design. Lead.

Taylor Miller's Visual Diary. Design Leadership. Georgetown University. Spring 2019.

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No Easy Fix for Wicked Problems

As I move forward in my career, the main thing that I would like to carry forward is that wicked problems can be unfixable. For my project, I originally wanted to tackle gentrification but that was too broad of a subject so I had to find a way to focus in on one part of the issue. Gentrification is definitely a wicked problem, and it is too big for just me to fix, but I can work on fixing one part of the problem. For my final project, I chose to tackle enhancing communication in DC’s gentrified communities. I chose this subject because one thing that I’ve noticed from living in DC is that residents are blaming each other for gentrification and displacement, when really it is so much bigger than residents but it is lawmakers and large corporations that are contributing to this issue. 

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AAUW Salary Negotiation Workshops

AAUW is working to close the gender pay gap, which is a wicked problem. They are providing an amazing solution with their salary negotiation workshops. AAUW offers two salary negotiation workshops: AAUW Start Smart, for women who are just getting into the workforce, and AAUW Work Smart, for women already in the workforce. These workshops aim to help women learn how to confidently negotiate their salary throughout their careers, and though it is not the complete solution to pay inequity it is helping to lead women in the right direction. 

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Don’t Mute DC

If you've stayed current on different things happening in DC then you should’ve heard about the #DontMuteDC protests. To give a quick summary, someone who lives in new condos across from the MetroPCS on 7th and Florida Ave NW called and complained to T-Mobile that the Go-Go music that this location plays is loud and obnoxious, which resulted in T-Mobile telling them to get rid of the music. This store has been playing the Go-Go music out loud since the 90s, and this sudden issue shows how gentrification is affecting the city. Gentrification is a wicked problem, and luckily residents in this area are not willing to go down without a fight. A petition on change.org has gotten over 80,000 signatures in support of the store being able to continue playing their music. Also there have been peaceful protests in front of the store and up U-Street, where local residents are playing Go-Go music out loud and gathering large crowds. T-Mobile has since apologized and said that the store can continue to play their music as long as they find a happy medium with residents.

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Bill and Melinda Gates

Bill and Melinda Gates practice responsibility in design leadership. They are true philanthropists and through their foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, they work to reduce inequity in the world. Through this foundation they work for global health, global development, global growth and opportunity, and global policy and advocacy. Bill and Melinda Gates use their wealth to try to break down societal barriers. Their work influences me as a design leader, to give back when I have to opportunity to do so. 

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TOMS

The TOMS brand is currently practicing responsibility in design leadership. TOMS takes the “one for one” approach, and for every pair of shoes they sell, they give a pair to someone in need. TOMS shoes are also environmentally responsible and are made from natural hemp, organic cotton and recycled polyester. TOMS shoe boxes are also environmentally responsible because they are made from 80% recycled post-consumer waste and printed with soy ink. TOMS influences me to be a design leader because they push my environmental consciousness, their doings make me more mindful of how wasteful I am being. 

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Gentrification

Gentrification is a sweeping issue in most major cities, but I am experiencing it first hand living in the Washington, DC area. I first came to DC in 2013 to attend Howard University, and I quickly became familiar with the area surrounding campus. At this time, the area wasn't built up that much, and it was mostly black. By the time I graduated in 2017, we began to see the area change tremendously as we saw more and more white people moving into the area. Now it’s not a bad thing that the area is becoming more diverse, the bad part is what happens because of this diversification. Gentrification leads to community displacement, as lower income families will have to move to different areas to be able to afford their rent. After graduating from Howard, I knew I wanted to stay in the DC area and finding an apartment was impossible because of gentrification and how much it has made living costs rise in the area. Gentrification is a problematic stake in the ground because though it is great to build up an area and provide them with things they didn’t have before, it is not okay to raise costs in this area so much that its natural inhabitants can no longer afford to live there.

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Pepsi Rebranding

When Pepsi rebranded themselves with Kendall Jenner as their spokesperson, the resulting commercial is a perfect example when placing a stake in the ground can be problematic. This commercial showed protestors facing an opposing line of police officers, and Kendall Jenner walks through the crowd and gives an officer a Pepsi as a token of peace and following this exchange everyone else becomes relaxed and happy. This commercial was extremely blind to what actually happens at many recent protests, where protesters are treated roughly, tear-gassed, and possibly arrested. Though I understand that Pepsi was trying to place a stake in the ground in support of both protestors and police officers in hopes to bridge some of the gap, but they definitely missed the mark with this commercial. 

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NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice

NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice is a lobbying organization founded by Catholic Sisters with efforts to advocate for social equality. I currently work for this organization, and they've made strides to putting a stake in the ground in regards to being open to all and fully inclusive. With taking these strides NETWORK decided to include their open to all language on everything that they produce and send out to their supporters, whether it's something physical or digital. This language includes a statement saying that NETWORK is open to all, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. I feel like this is important and stood out to me because being that this is a Catholic organization, it may be seen as surprising that they would take a stand affirming members of the LGBTQ+ community. I feel that this stake was important to make because this allows them to make it known that they are fully open and inclusive, and that they are affirming and supportive of all people. 

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Spelman College

Spelman College, a historically black women’s college in Atlanta, Georgia, has recently placed a stake in the ground when deciding to begin admitting transwomen. Prior to this decision, Spelman would only admit “natural born” women, who were assigned the female gender at birth. Spelman saw a public need for this change, and made a decision that reflects their inclusivity and affirmation of the LGBTQ+ community. This stake in the ground stood out to me because Spelman is one of the first women's colleges to make this step toward’s equality for transgender women. 

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Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter is an organization that operates within cultural parameters. This organization aims to campaign against violence and systemic racism towards black people. This is an organization that should always honor their cultural parameters because they are advocating for a marginalized group. I also believe that they can work outside of their cultural parameters because they are making strides towards equality for all races. 

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Aunt Flow

Aunt Flow is an organization whose mission is to make sure that everyone has access to menstrual products. They have their own brand of pads and tampons, and for every 10 they sell they provide 1 to a woman in need. This organization works within cultural parameters. The cultural parameters around this organization is that is aimed towards women, and these parameters should always be honored. This organization aims to make sure that no woman goes without, and that everyone has easy access to feminine products because they are a necessity not a luxury.

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Costs and Budgets

Costs and budgets are tangible parameters that are extremely important to stay in line with. Though these parameters aren’t constant, I feel that in some cases they definitely can and should be. Budgets can make or break a project, and making sure that the costs of everything are within the set budget can be frustrating but it is necessary. 

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Time

Time is a parameter that can be used to your advantage and is completely necessary. Time is a tangible parameter and is very necessary to keep projects on track and make sure they are completed on time. Though time can be extended, or shortened, if necessary but it still gives a nice frame and sets expectations. I think time is one of the most necessary parameters because it not only sets expectation, but it also can be easily adjusted to make sure that users needs are met.

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PillPack

PillPack is a service created by Amazon that delivers pre-sorted medicine to their customers. This is very helpful for people who take multiple pills, multiple times per day, because the packs are sorted with the day of the week and times they should be taking the medicine. This company is an amazing solution for anyone who may not have transportation to get to and from the pharmacy because now their medicine will be delivered directly to their homes. Many older people may not have the ability to go pick up their medicine, and have a hard time sorting out their pills by day and time. When my aunt had a stroke, her daughter and granddaughter were both responsible for sorting out her medicine weekly, and she had so many different pills that she took at different times of the day, so this service would have been very helpful for them at that time because it comes prepackaged. 

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Social Inequality

Social inequality is a wicked problem because there seems to be no solution for this issue. Every time it seems that we are getting close to finding a solution, there’s always a set back or the inequity finds a way to reinvent itself. Social inequality effects people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and more because it effects their access to jobs, housing, healthcare, and more. 

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Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing is an abstract design tool that I am interested in. I recently just got promoted to Digital Communications Specialist at my job, so digital marketing is something that I will now be working closely with. I’m interested in learning how exactly I will measure if I am successful in my marketing tactics for my organization, and what tools I will be using to measure my success.

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Google Analytics

In my previous post, the abstract tool that I was interested in was Digital Marketing. There are so many tangible tools related to Digital Marketing, one of the most popular being Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a web analytics tool created by Google to measure website traffic. I will be closely using this tool in my new position, and I also consider it an innovative solution-specific material. Google Analytics offers users a web analytics service that provides statistics and basic analytical tools for search engine optimization, and they provide this service for free to all users with a google account.