#design project proposal

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Design Project Proposal

ME-YOU-WE-US

A Design Proposal for a Comprehensive Teacher’s Kit Used to Educate & Engage Children & Parents in Sex Ed

View/read the report above or download the PDF!

[kristathelion]

EDM Cover Art

Taking a look at cover art images selected from compiled lists by Rolling Stone Magazine, Do Androids Dance, and Vibe Magazine; regarding the top EDM Albums + Cover Art.  They can visually inform me in regards to what styles are popular and trending in the current market.

Read the articles here:

Rolling Stone Magazine

Do Androids Dance

Vibe Magazine

CreativeBloq (does not necessarily pertain to dance music but includes the "best album art of 2012" and some are Electronic pieces)

DJZ - Most important EDM Albums  

The next link isn't of cover art but is a cool tumblr I found that showcases art (drawings, paintings, etc.) that fans have made about EDM artists and songs.

FuckyeahEDMart

[kristathelion]

Image Inspiration

These are images/styles I am using as initial inspiration pieces for the direction Toraveto will go towards.  The first bunch contains a series of flyers/posters from modern day EDM events.  The second series is of the graphic style I want to emulate; taking on a very modern, clean, and flat approach.  Lastly I included a few of the old school rave flyers for visual reference.

Words that I have used to describe the visual style I'm going towards:

Modern

Geometric

Bright

Clean

Typographic

Flat, 2-D

Bold

Minimal

Further research and brainstorming will help to inform this decision, as I look at current design trends and what is most appropriate for my target audience.

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Click the above link to access a digital copy of my Design Project Proposal.  

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Click the above link to view the slides from my presentation for the Toraveto project.

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Proposed Design Project

Last week, I was having trouble narrowing down my target audience and figuring out an application that would work for each. Do I want to create an app? Am I trying to speak to parents? Do I want kids to see this information only? What about educators?

After speaking with Maria and getting a quick critique on my direction and thoughts, I have decided to go with creating a Teacher's Kit. However, it won't be like a typical one that is only targeted towards teachers, but it will take kids into consideration by providing activities for the teacher to lead them in, following a timeline that will make sure everything essential in the curriculum gets covered. The teacher might be aware of the background of most of the children in the classroom (do they have same-sex parents? what's their socioeconomic status like?) and they can base their lessons on that, while still covering all the basics.

The kit will also target parents, as it will come with some sort of information for parents (maybe a website with backup information to prepare them for questions their kids might ask because of what they learned in class, etc). Looking at this from a larger perspective, having a system like this implemented that orchestrates and incorporates play for kids, while also instructing teachers on dividing up limited time, can assure that what needs to be covered is actually covered, minus the awkwardness that comes with talking about sex for most! (Though the focus is not just on sex, I need to make sure that's clear).

Next step: coming up with more specific audience profiles, and reviewing what "kits" are already out there (I did some online research and found that a lot of them were graphic and intimidating - I want to try to avoid that in my approach).

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Audience Profile: Big Picture

Target audience

Children (ages 6 – 10, grades 1 – 5)

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/10/08/flash-points-in-the-sex-ed-curricula-across-canada/

Teachers (30 – 50)

Parents

Nuclear (1 mother, 1 father)

Single Parent (1 mother or 1 father)

Divorced

Stay-at-Home Dad

Homosexual (2 mothers or 2 fathers)

I placed Children first because they are the ones that most of the primary research should be conducted on and which the final application of the design will impact – after all, it is their education that needs to be advanced and whose concerns are to be addressed, so if that information is not relayed effectively to them, the essential goal will fail.

It is important for the design application to be easy for the Teachers to understand, use, and implement in their classrooms. It is important to take into consideration the average age of elementary school teachers in the design production.

In addition to Children and Teachers, the final design needs to incorporate/engage Parents as well in some way, either actively or by simply informing them more clearly of what their child will be learning away from home.

Children (ages 6 – 10, grades 1 – 5)

Where does the audience get most of their information? At this age, it would more likely be from TV, the internet (if they have access to a computer or other personal electronic device), and other people (like their friends, family members, or a stranger, depending on their experiences). A lot of this information may not be reliable and something dangerous could be taken in and accepted as a norm or standard after the child gets older. The goal is to provide children with a strong foundation of knowledge and tools to help them adjust and be prepared as they grow older.

Does the audience have a vested interest in the topic? Puberty usually starts between the ages of 8 and 13 in girls and ages 9 and 15 in boys (KidsHealth). Although the target age group may not have a particular interest in the topic, the curiosity will be there and their bodies will be starting to change.

Sex, Sexual Orientation, Religion, Value System, Political Affiliation? It will be important to keep in mind that these children come from varying backgrounds and have families that hold different beliefs and value systems. Therefore, the final design must remain inclusive, open, and non-judgemental or biased.

Where do they live? The GTA.

Socio-Economic Background? Upper, Middle, Lower.

Who would be an authoritative source in the eyes of this audience? Parents and teachers.

Teachers (30 – 50)

Does the audience have a vested interest in the topic? Most schools are simply provided with documents that the teachers are required to go over and then select a few things to go over in the short amount of time allowed for sexual health education in the classroom. Creating something that eases this process and allows for them to cover all important points in class would be beneficial and time saving.

Sex, Sexual Orientation, Religion, Value System, Political Affiliation? It will be important to keep in mind that these teachers come from varying backgrounds and have families that hold different beliefs and value systems. Therefore, what they teach must be free from personal bias or influence (as much as possible).

Where do they live? The GTA.

Socio-Economic Background? Middle, Lower.

Who would be an authoritative source in the eyes of this audience? Government and School Board.

What is their level of education? Post-secondary, minimum.

Do they have kids? Are they married or single? Mix – they could even be homosexual or part of a family unit that strays from the typical and ideal nuclear one.

Can they personally do anything to change this issue? What? Yes, definitely. Their attitude and what they choose to share in the classroom and in the teacher’s lounge, as well as in meetings, can advance the education and great a more open dialogue about the issue.

Are they openly antagonistic or supportive of this issue? Studies show that most teachers are in support of a new and revised curriculum. So, for the purpose of this project, teachers will be considered supportive.

Parents (Nuclear, Single Parent, Divorced, Stay-at-Home Dad, LGBT)

Does the audience have a vested interest in the topic? Studies have shown that over 85% of Canadian parents agreed with the statement “Sexual health education should be provided in the schools” (Ophea). This suggests that they have an interest and do care, since it affects their lives directly through their children.

Sex, Sexual Orientation, Religion, Value System, Political Affiliation? Completely varied.

Where do they live? The GTA.

Socio-Economic Background? Upper, Middle, Lower.

Who would be an authoritative source in the eyes of this audience? Government and School Board… and themselves? They might feel as if it is their responsibility to teach their children, not others’.

What is their level of education? High school and above.

Do they have kids? Are they married or single? Mix – they could even be homosexual or part of a family unit that strays from the typical and ideal nuclear one.

Can they personally do anything to change this issue? What? Yes, they can participate or be informed about what is happening in the schools, and help their children by being there to answer questions and be prepared and open.

Are they openly antagonistic or supportive of this issue? There have been many groups against the revised curriculum, so for this purpose, parents will be considered as both supportive as well as antagonistic. It seems to be more important to focus on the more antagonistic ones in order to help them change their minds or adapt (show them why it’s better and why it’s okay).

[kristathelion]

CRITIQUE/FEEDBACK - 10/29/13

After critique from class, the direction that will be taken ties in both the city-wide festival as well as the secret location event/rave party.  This allows for the planning of a festival that people can attend to learn about rave culture, as well as partake in events across the city (probably the Downtown core).  At the end of it will be a party where the location will be undisclosed until the night of.  I will have to plan out how this will be designed and executed, in conjunction with the festival.  Everything should tie in together well towards a unified vision of celebrating rave culture.  

Things that I need to look into and consider for next class:

Existing initiatives (look into many examples of them, how successful were they?  What can I do different?)

What types of media will be addressed/used?  How will this all play out?

What are potential deliverables?

Think about a look and feel I want to generate for this project

What other (primary and secondary) research might I need to do?