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Mastery Journal Reflection

The focus of this course was to assess the efficacy of the Little Mexico community logo. To evaluate the design, the wider context of the community must be understood (Best, 2006.) The inherent and unalterable problem the Little Mexico District faces is that the majority of its residents and business owners are not of Mexican descent. Large populations of Latinos who reside in Bowling Green are from more diverse backgrounds than many realize including El Salvadorian, Guatemalan, Honduran, Mexican, and other Central Americans (Reyes, 2010.) The logo must meet the community’s goals, including the popularly known name of the district, and refrain from alienating those not of Mexican descent. 

The survey utilized qualitative and qualitative data. Qualitative can help determine if the design could be improved to better conform to the location's image or communicate more efficiently with the target audience (Best, 2006). Some of the qualitative responses were anticipated, such as the fact that over 50% of the respondents said that "cheerful" described the logo. As a designer, using bright orange color schemes would naturally lead to a cheerful aesthetic in this design's context. However, some responses were unanticipated, such as one respondent describing the logo as "boring." Notwithstanding, while the data must be measured, a single observation that is outside of the overall pattern could be considered an outlier. 

See the survey results below:

The survey indicated that 85.71% of the respondents believe the logo personifies Latino culture. Over 50% of the respondents selected "family-friendly" as a descriptive word for the logo. 85.71% of the respondents agreed that the logo would help attract new business to the area. Further, when the respondents were asked if they would be comfortable with this logo representing their community, 85.71% of respondents entered a rating of 7-10 out of 10. These results indicate a general favorability of the logo. 

Through the process of interpreting the data, many insights were gained including the community’s belief that the was vibrant and fresh. Should the chance to conduct an additional survey on this logo be presented, the audience could be asked to select a favorite for multiple options such as color scheme options.  

The process results prove the logo reads as positive and family friendly. By conducting the survey, critical information on the efficacy of the logo was gained. The survey responses indicate a general favorability of the logo. Further, excellent experience on the process of collecting data and visualizing the results was gained.  

References

Best, K. (October 31, 2006) Design Management. Publisher: AVA Publishing. Retrieved from: https://ce.safaribooksonline.com/book/design/9782940439782/firstchapter#X2ludGVybmFsX1BGVmlldz94bWxpZD05NzgyOTQwNDM5NzgyJTJGMTcyJl9faW1hZ2VwYWdlcmVzb2x1dGlvbj0xMDAwJnF1ZXJ5PQ== 

Reyes, C. (May, 2012) Hispanic Outreach in Bowling Green, KY: Defining the Needs of the Hispanic Community. Publisher: Western Kentucky University TopScholar. Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/ &httpsredir=1&article=1371&context=stu_hon_these 

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Connecting/Synthesizing/Transforming  

Research conducted suggested that a relevant approach would be critical to the brand because it will identify and differentiates Little Mexico from other communities (Airey, 2014.) The illustration style used in the creation of the logo is hand-drawn to mimic Mexican artisan techniques found handcrafted forms in Latino art. The circle motif utilizes hand-drawn elements that draw on folk art of Mexican traditional still used in contemporary art (Whiley, n.d..) The circles also have a paint texture style that will continue the hand-drawn imperfection style that adds personality to the design. Decorative intricate details are a common motif in Latino design (Whiley, n.d.)  

The use of organic typography in the logo and media assets employ the hand-letting style that is known for adding personality to Mexican design (Whiley, n.d.) Additionally, the organic type style is distinct and will be easy to separate from the serif and san-serif type used in nearby communities and businesses (Airey, 2014.) Not only will this type style be recognizable, but it will also resonate with the users in the area because of hand-lettering’s friendly aspect appealing to the sense of family-friendliness in the community.  

Little Mexico Logo

Problem Solving  

At the beginning of the process, it was discovered that although the area is known as “Little Mexico,“ it actually possesses an extremely diverse population of users from many Latin countries. The predominant group in the area is actually El Salvadorian followed closely by Guatemalan, Honduran, and Mexican (Reyes, 2012.) This knowledge led to the careful consideration of the use of imagery, colors, and adjectives. For example, this knowledge helped lead the brand away from the traditional green and red of common Mexican design to a more ethnically neutral color scheme of orange and teal.

Innovative Thinking  

The conventional choice for the design would have included the red and green colors traditionally seen as Mexican. However, as mentioned previously, large populations of the Latinos who reside in Bowling Green are from more diverse backgrounds than many realize including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.

To be more inclusive, an alternative color scheme was employed. The bright orange color theme is representative of both the bold color see in modern Latino design and is future positive and optimistic. The orange scheme is also cheerful which is an excellent choice for a family-friendly community.

Color Pallete 

Acquiring Competencies

Research indicated that using social media is an excellent tactic because Latino spend 22.5% more time per month than the average United States Consumer (Nielsen.) The decision to use social media lead to acquiring competencies in targeting non-English speaker on Facebook and Instagram. It was discovered that 5,400 Spanish speakers in Bowling Green can be reached per month. This highly specific targeting would allow for add to be written in the consumers' native language.  

Social Media Example

Reflection

This project allowed for the exploration of a culture different from my own. Extensive research was done to understand the design style and to confirm the design and writing was culturally sensitive. For example, many articles were read on the use of the word Hispanic vs. Latino before Latino was chosen.

Overall, the research and design process for the Little Mexico District has been a joy. The work has been added to my portfolio and I am considering contacting my local Chamber of Commerce to determine the possibility of implementing this brand to the area.

References

Airey, D. (August 20, 2014) Logo Design Love, Annotated and Expanded Edition, Second Edition. Publisher: Peachpit Press. Retrieved from: https://ce.safaribooksonline.com/book/branding/9780133812589 

Nielsen (September 14, 2015) U.S. Hispanics Are Super Mobile, Super Consumers. Retrieved from: https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2015/us-hispanics-are-super-mobile-super-consumers.html

Reyes, C. (May, 2012) Hispanic Outreach in Bowling Green, KY: Defining the Needs of the Hispanic Community. Publisher: Western Kentucky University TopScholar. Retreivedfrom: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/ &httpsredir=1&article=1371&context=stu_hon_these

Whiley, E. (n.d.) Graphic design from around the world: Mexican design. Retrieved from: https://www.canva.com/learn/mexican-design/

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The Little Mexico District is a prime location for positive urban development and holds great potential for accelerated economic opportunity. By relying on the Latino business presence currently established, the branding will capture the value of cultural economics (Aubitz, 2009.) Centrally located near downtown and walking distance from Western Kentucky University, the Little Mexico District hosts a unique and singular Latin American focus that will allow the area to capitalize on the intrinsic value that has been established although not currently celebrated nor advertised to the greater Bowling Green, KY area.

The Little Mexico District has an easy to define value proposition within the greater city of Bowling Green. Encompassed in several small city blocks, the Little Mexico District is home to several Mexican restaurants, Mexican grocery stores, and minority and locally owned small businesses.

Connecting/Synthesizing/Transforming

At the beginning of the process, it was discovered that although the area is known as “Little Mexico," it actually possesses an extremely diverse population of users from many Latin countries. The predominant group in the area is actually El Salvadorian (Reyes, 2012.) This knowledge leads and will continue to lead to careful consideration of the use of imagery, colors, and adjectives. For example, this knowledge helped lead the brand away from the traditional green and red of common Mexican design to a more ethnically neutral color scheme of orange and teal.

Problem Solving

To determine the problem, the primary researched gained from man-on-the-street interviews conducted on Saturday, January 19, 2019, was combined with research gained from reviewing the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce website and the Bowling Green Downtown District website. The man-on-the-street interviews indicated a large Latino population who takes pride in working hard and taking care of their families. An on-foot survey of the area showed many minority and locally owned businesses that employ many Latinos and many women. However, The Bowling Green Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce website and the Bowling Green Downtown District website do not promote nor mention the Little Mexico District. The lack of local participation in the Little Mexico District’s promotion and advocacy means the unique value proposition of minority-owned businesses and Latin culture aren’t promoted or celebrated internally or externally, leaving this area largely ignored.

To solve the problem, the brand, must focus on differentiation and address the community assets that distinguish the Little Mexico District from other communities (Brookes, 2016.) An example of utilizing the differentiation unique areas hold is the Slate Belt Region branding (see figure 1) for their four unique communities in an effort to unite them while maintaining the individuality of Bangor, Pen Argyl, Portland and Wind Gap (Imagevolution, n.d..) The design problem’s approach reflects the aspects of the community that already exists which will allow the branding for the Little Mexico District to harness the value of cultural economics while reflecting the current atmosphere in the area.

Innovative Thinking

In opposition to the traditional approach of red and green color schemes for Mexican or Latin design, the vision board takes a modern approach to brand the Little Mexico district. Because of its modernity, it will appeal to a broader audience while still capturing the Latin influence of the area. Further, the color scheme is more ethnically neutral color rather than specific to the Mexican flag.

Intricate details are reprehensive of Latin design and traditional artisan crafts or folk art that utilize hand drawn elements and add a personal touch (Whiley, n.d..) However, the use of artisan details with bright colors allows for a traditional meets modern approach.  

Acquiring Competencies

Translating the static vision board into a dynamic vision board allow the cultural flavor of the brand to flourish. A new technique was tried which included bright family-friendly orange overlays mixed with moving Latin textile patterns allow the imagery to mix Latin tradition with modern family life. This mixes the area's traditional values with a family-friendly and future focus. Further, bright family-friendly colored overlays are paired with moving artisan textiles to communicate the brand’s future-forward and Latin folk-art features.  The Dynamic Vision Board can be seen here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK4MCXqqssQ

Reflections

The project’s three strongest takeaways include:

Understand the Socioeconomic Situation: Taking the socioeconomic information in concert with the man-on-the-street interviews performed, a fully developed picture of the area and its values can be formed. The primary and secondary data indicated a community that is hard-working and generally well received by Bowling Green’s citizens at large despite the misconception that the Caucasian people dislike Latinos. However, the body language observed in the interviews revealed as suspension and distrust of being ”questioned”  by a stranger.

Combine Tradition and Modernity Through Mixed-Visuals: Intricate details are reprehensive of Latin design and traditional artisan crafts or folk art that utilize hand drawn elements and add a personal touch (Whiley, n.d..) The use of artisan details with bright colors allows for a traditional meets modern approach for the brand.  

Understand User Pains and Gains Before the Production of Visuals: Creating an empathy map in the developmental stages of the brand helped set manageable goals for the brand that will speak to the greatest audience (Brown, 2018.) The empathy map created for the Little Mexico District highlights pressure points that need to be considered or combated such as job-security and the industrial style of the area.

Overall, the research conducted over the last two months will allow for a highly targeted and goal oriented brand design. The data collection and synthesis process have offered incredible insight into the Little Mexico District and how to communicate with the target audience. Moving forward, marketing communications can be refined for maximum impact. 

References Aubitz, C. (Febuary, 2009) Branding Your Borough. Retrieved from: https://icma.org/sites/ default/files/1873_.pdf

Brooks, R. (August 17, 2016) The 10 Commandments of Branding a Community. Published on LinkedIn. Retrieved from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-commandments- branding-community-roger-brooks/

Brown, J. (June 27, 2018) Empathy Mapping: A Guide to Getting Inside a User’s Head. Retrieved from: https://www.uxbooth.com/articles/empathy-mapping-a-guide-to- getting-inside-a-users-head/

Gibbons, S. (January 14, 2018) Empathy Mapping: The First Step in Design Thinking. Retrieved from: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/empathy-mapping/ 

Reyes, C. (May, 2012) Hispanic Outreach in Bowling Green, KY: Defining the Needs of the Hispanic Community. Publisher: Western Kentucky University TopScholar. Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/ &httpsredir=1&article=1371&context=stu_hon_these

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Mastery Reflection: Month 11

This was by far the most intense month of the entire MDMFA program! The class was instructed to collect all of the projects that we’ve done over the past 10 months and choose the most appropriate ones to fit inside of our Masters Thesis Presentation.

While choosing which projects to use for each topic was a task in itself, the real struggle was finding all of my old work! I guess I’m pretty notorious for not being the most organized person to ever use a computer so my folders were strung out among many sections, local and on the cloud. I did find everything I needed, nonetheless.

We were tasked to read the book Stories that Move Mountains by Martin Sykes, A. Nicklas Malik and Mark D. West. In this book, the ideas presented mainly consisted of how to improve a presentation. The major takeaway from this was that the old bullet point style of presentation really doesn’t work in today’s society.

Another takeaway from this book was the fact that the heavy use of visual storytelling is far and wide an important part of gaining an audience’s attention. Great visual storytelling will really go a long way in conveying an idea of a presentation - far better than a simple presentation with heavy bodies of text could every do.

It was nice learning about the CAST model in the book. It’s the chosen model used by the authors to use to create presentations. CAST, which is an abbreviation for Content, Audience, Story, and Tell, is a model that allows a presenter to follow its steps in a way that more clearly conveys the message being presented to an audience.

You can find my final thesis presentation from this month’s class at https://ttcox3.wixsite.com/thesis-presentation/.

References

Sykes, M., Malik, N., West, M., (2012). Stories that Move Mountains: Storytelling and Visual Design for Persuasive Presentations.

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Little Mexico District Video Pitch

The Little Mexico District is a prime location for positive urban development and holds great potential for accelerated economic opportunity.

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Month 10 Mastery Journal Entry

The "Imagine No Guns" advertisement was first created as a school project targeted for a non-profit of my choice. I went with the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence because the topic of gun control has been a hot one for the last few years. The idea to go with John F. Kennedy as the face of the ad was an easy decision. Of the last century, arguably no other assassination has had such a profound effect on the history of the United States than JFK's. The big bold title catches the reader's attention, sending the eyes moving down towards the large image of a half age-progressed face of John F. Kennedy. The idea here is that JFK would have most likely lived to old age, into the 70s, 80s, and 90s, had he not been horribly killed by someone with a gun. Following the image is the body text, which lets the reader know just what the purpose of the advertisement is. This is followed by a call to action that lets the reader know just where to go to learn more.

The images above show the questions and responses gathered during the target audience research. The goal was to gather as much information as possible to help understand just who is affected by the ad in various ways

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Month 9 Mastery Reflection

This month saw the creation of a web animation for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. The animation is based off of a print ad that was created early on in the Media Design Master of Fine Arts degree program at Full Sail. This was a wonderful opportunity to move away from the web design and coding projects that I had been working on for the first part of the revision phase of our program and instead focus on graphic and animation design. It was a joy to work on.

I started out by creating a mockup using my iPad Pro and the app Procreate. This allowed me to sketch a timeline of the animation. The next step was to lay out each frame of the animation and allocate the amount of time each graphic is shown on the view during the animation’s playtime. 

The size chosen was a standard web ad size of 300px by 600px. This will allow the animation to be resized as needed on a variety of web site designs and layouts.