Creating a Project Rational
For studio brief 4 we have to produce printed advertisements for our website- some to include an interactive/augmented/digital element to them. In order to do this first a project rational should be written to clearly outline the problem and necessary requirements.
For the rational many considerations must be taken into account including purpose, audience, tone of voice, formats, distribution and placement etc.
So here's mine: Rough outlines followed by formally written rational. (Coming soon)
Purpose: What is it doing?
To inform and raise awareness about bumble bees and bee conservation. The key idea however is to inspire action and promote individual conservation efforts and ideas.
Audience: Who is it for?
Young families and nature lovers, also new audiences who aren't already nature lovers and conservation supporters. Rough ages- 18-35.
Message: What is it saying?
Bees need your help! The key message is that bees as a species are in trouble and simple, small individual efforts can make a difference.
Tone of Voice: How is it being said?
A two pronged approach is required for the tone of voice. Firstly a formal and informative tone must be used to convey serious facts and problems and secondly a friendly and positive tone must be used to show people that although things are bad there are measure that can be taken to help.
Format: How is it being presented?
I've had a few thoughts about this. There are the obvious printed formats such as posters and leaflets, however I want to add a digital and interactive twist to these formats. Leaflets and business cards will contain seeds so they can be planted, some leaflets will be folded into 'eco boxes' so they can be buried or filled with soil to grow more wildflowers. Also large posters, certain seed filed leaflets and billboards will have a digital element; when a phone is held up to them flowers are revealed so people can see what the area would look like with wildflowers. Also bees on the posters will fly out and buzz around.
Materials: What's it made of?
For the seed filled printed adverts a rough recycled or handmade paper will be used so that seeds can be embedded within them, for the rest the materials will be a nicer, potentially matt stock. If they could contain some texture to reflect the handmade paper then it would tie them nicely together however whether this would be tactical for printing and display is yet to be tested.
Budget: How much will it cost?
Honestly, I don't know about this one. I'll update it when I've spent all I need to spend on the project. However if this was in the real world then I know it would cost a lot to produce handmade paper on mass and distribute the printed media across the country and billboards won't be cheap so… a lot?
Placement/Distribution: Where will it be?
Like with the tone of voice I envision a two pronged method of distribution. While it makes sense to place posters and billboards and leaflets in areas of nature (parks, walking routes etc) to target the nature enthusiasts who may already be educated on the subject I also want to encourage new people who may be unaware of the issue and target areas of the country where wild flowers are barely seen. This is why I would also want to advertise in city centres, the interactive 'if flowers were here' would work best in an environment where there are no flowers already.
Must dos and must nots
DO- encourage people to take individual action in bee conservation, supply the tools needed as well as the information needed for at home conservation, encourage people to go to the website (a page must be added/QR code leading to page to show people how to plant the flowers)
DONT- Push all focus with interaction onto flowers and forget the bees, be over the top with tone of voice, come across as patronising, make it difficult for people to understand/want to interact.
Time Frame: When is it going down?
The most appropriate time frames to follow will be dictated by planting seasons (March-May and August-October) so that when people get their hands on eco boxes or seed filled cards and leaflets they can plant them straight away instead of having to wait and then losing enthusiasm for the project or forgetting completely.
Uses of Augmented Design
What is the Potential of Interactivity with Print?
Whether digital or physical interactivity the possibilities are endless when it comes to augmented design. There are the simple designs such as the afro hair poster or complex digital installations like the bus stop camera used by pepsi max. As long as the advert is engaging and makes people want to interact with it then it doesn't matter how big or small the concept or complicatedness of the design is.
Can Augmented Design Draw People to your Website?
Yes and no, I mean, there's a huge consideration to be made on the overall effectiveness of advertising as a whole and how much it actually contributes to drawing people in and making sales. But the none essay answer to this is yes, it may not draw people directly to your website but it will make people think about the website, it will make the advert stand out in memory and stand out against the none interactive or engaging competition. If we were to choose between an augmented printed advert and a regular printed one then I guarantee audiences will always be more drawn towards the augmented one.
Is it all a bit Gimmicky? Or, are there Opportunities?
No, by any means I wouldn't call it gimmicky. Things that can be considered flash in the pan ideas can go on to make huge impacts on the advertising market. Facebook and Youtube are both strong examples of how websites created for fun have become almost essential tools for advertisers, I think this will be the case with augmented design also. Advertisers always need to find a new way of drawing people in and making a memorable impact and as stated in the previous answer when an member of the public is show an interactive or augmented advert against a regular one, the augmented one will always be the most memorable and will stand out the greatest.
What Kind of Interactivity Will be Effective for my Campaign?
Because the aim of my website is to raise awareness and motivate people towards the cause of bumble bee conservation I think the strongest route to go down will be the conservation style posters. So there's a shock value I need to address, but I would like to couple that with a positive twist, an interactive poster displaying what life would be like with bees and without bees is probably my best bet. Everything looks dark and depressing until you interact with it, physically do something to the image and suddenly because of your intervention the world can be positive and bright again. I also think producing something physical will engage audiences also, seed paper is something that could be printed on but also provide the tools for people to begin home conservation efforts straight away and begin making a difference.
Uses of Augmented Design
What is the Potential of Interactivity with Print?
Whether digital or physical interactivity the possibilities are endless when it comes to augmented design. There are the simple designs such as the afro hair poster or complex digital installations like the bus stop camera used by pepsi max. As long as the advert is engaging and makes people want to interact with it then it doesn't matter how big or small the concept or complicatedness of the design is.
Can Augmented Design Draw People to your Website?
Yes and no, I mean, there's a huge consideration to be made on the overall effectiveness of advertising as a whole and how much it actually contributes to drawing people in and making sales. But the none essay answer to this is yes, it may not draw people directly to your website but it will make people think about the website, it will make the advert stand out in memory and stand out against the none interactive or engaging competition. If we were to choose between an augmented printed advert and a regular printed one then I guarantee audiences will always be more drawn towards the augmented one.
Is it all a bit Gimmicky? Or, are there Opportunities?
No, by any means I wouldn't call it gimmicky. Things that can be considered flash in the pan ideas can go on to make huge impacts on the advertising market. Facebook and Youtube are both strong examples of how websites created for fun have become almost essential tools for advertisers, I think this will be the case with augmented design also. Advertisers always need to find a new way of drawing people in and making a memorable impact and as stated in the previous answer when an member of the public is show an interactive or augmented advert against a regular one, the augmented one will always be the most memorable and will stand out the greatest.
What Kind of Interactivity Will be Effective for my Campaign?
Because the aim of my website is to raise awareness and motivate people towards the cause of bumble bee conservation I think the strongest route to go down will be the conservation style posters. So there's a shock value I need to address, but I would like to couple that with a positive twist, an interactive poster displaying what life would be like with bees and without bees is probably my best bet. Everything looks dark and depressing until you interact with it, physically do something to the image and suddenly because of your intervention the world can be positive and bright again. I also think producing something physical will engage audiences also, seed paper is something that could be printed on but also provide the tools for people to begin home conservation efforts straight away and begin making a difference.
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