What If - OUGD102

Brief:

We where asked to collected information about Leeds. The information we collected had to be a minimum of 100 things when these where collected it became a starting point for the brief "What If".


The Brief was a group effort and after being put into our arranged groups decided on our topics of collection we decided to focus on litter as it seemed the most apparent and easy to obtain further research.


I had afew days off and when i returned the group had decided to move on from focusing on litter as a general problem in Leeds City Center and move the problem to Leeds Festival.


This created abit of tension with the group as i didn't really agree that is was a good path to go down when the litter in the city center was so accessible. Regardless of the fact we carried on and we had a problem ready for the brief to start.

Problem:

Due to the increase in people attending Leeds Festival there has been an increase in litter during the festival.

The first thing i decided to do was try and incorporate any ideas i had from the previous litter problem which was ready before we decided to change the problem. From talking with the group we had split into separate parts of the problem, all tackling a section each.

Moving away from the group i had a time think about how i could make collecting litter less of a task and more or a natural thing to do. 

I created a sheet ready to brain storm ways of making this work:

• Posters showing how to bin litter
• Making it almost impossible to litter
• Biodegradable items
• Incentives
• Shock tactics, info-graphics showing the amount of litter
• Join in music
• iPhone App

After thinking it through i had come up with more reason why not to participate in trying to resolve a problem about litter with anything which appears to be litter. For example posters, pulled down, blown off teared up becomes litter. Incentives like freebies would be a good if not expensive way to encourage people to help. So i decided to look further into the iPhone app idea. 

Research:

My research comprised of questionnaires, older ideas and peoples opinions. The problem i faced was that i had not ever been to a festival and with the Leeds fest being a few months ago from the project starting i had no way of obtaining any primary research. 

This problem was quite a large factor when it came to considering that the brief was supposed to live. Regardless i tried to salvage it and find people who had been to the previous leeds fest and ask them questions.

Questionare:

1. Did you consider Leeds Festival Clean?
2. Did you think litter was an issue?
3. Was there anything to make you want to clean up?
4. Would free items encourage you and friends to tidy up?
5. Do you own a smartphone?

With the fact Leeds fest is a fast paced and fun event i didn't want to overload the questionnaire with hard thought provoking questions.  

I set out to the facebook group for Leeds Fest and i sent out a group message to all members to please reply. I received 22 replies but decided to use 20 for sakes of keeping statistics easy. The replies came from 9 females and 11 males. Each Answer added to 5% of the statistics.

1. 25% No 75% Yes
2. 10% No 90% Yes
3. 100% No 0% Yes
4. 15% No 85% Yes
5. 10% No 90% Yes

The above statistics clearly showed that the litter is a problem at the festival and it seems that nothing seemed to be done about it.

The last question in the series was to help me justify if a mobile app would indeed benefit anyone. If the majority of people didn't have a smart phone readily available to download the app being created it would be wasted.

Regroup:

Coming back together with the group they told me how incentives for collecting litter was going to be a main way of them following throughout this brief. Now not wanting to conform to everything and have abit of a different take on things to show abit of diversity into our project, I decided to keep with the idea of pursuing the iPhone app.

Everyone liked the idea if not finding it abit eccentric but still the design sheets came next.

Research:

Looking through the internet i came across an video game advert which claimed to use smart phones to advertise its new upcoming game.

Fable 3 King Maker

The iPhone app allows users to "drop" flags wherever they are in the world and claim territory against the apposing team "Royals v Rebels". This was a huge success with over 1,000,000 people taking part around the world. This not only helped me come to terms that an iPhone app very well could work but that people are there to use it.

I moved onto developing ideas for what could be on the iPhone app and developed an icon for the event:

The Idea Matures:

Throughout research and looking closely at the existing Fable app i imagined if the "players" of Leeds Fest where broke down into even groups for example- Red, Green, Blue and Yellow. The users can check statistics and see which group is currently winning in the collection of rubbish. By adding a competitive streak to the collection of litter i feel it would push people to want to see there team conquer the festival. 

The app could contain a live map of the site giving guidance to where places are, parking areas, drinking tents and gigs. The app could also include up to date news feed making sure festival goers are always in the know of giveaways and potential money making events.

This was presented to the group and again appeared to go against what the rest of my group had decided to go for with them making T-shirts and other giveaway material i felt it didn't quite create a resolution for the problem of litter.

I took on board a comment of "how will you know when litter has passed the bins?". A quick creative thought of bin stations throughout the festival would allow a simple inferred beam to be broken when rubbish enters inside and adds to the total. This would meet the already suggested need for more bins at the festival but also add abit of authority to the mix making sure the app is shown as a fair game.

A fellow group member calculated the cost of the cleanup phase of the festival to be of a MASSIVE expense. Im not sure how much this would cost to create but i know an iPhone app is very cheap to create and have on the market. If the free giveaways given to winners of the clean up app would only add up to a third of what it costs to do a full regular clean up the festival would save a lot of money already. 

Iphone App Sheets:

I created a quick liner version of the iPhone and made a sheet of them to work on so i could structure the iphone app idea more clearly:

This sheet shows you a breakdown of what the app would consist of starting from top left:

1. App Loading Screen

2. Main Menu

3. Live Map

4. Live News

5.Group Breakdown

6. Statistical View

7. Bar Code Scanner for Rubbish Input

8. Leeds Fest Store

1. App Loading Screen:

this would be a simple logo with slight motion to ensure fast loading and quick retrieval of data.

2. Main Menu:

this section is the home screen. Choose from the different categories within the app.

3. Live Map:

this will allow you to see which group is cleaning up which areas and your own personal score. Also gives you notifications of what is happening is different places.

4. Live News:

This will be up to date and always have new information for everyone to join in with and keep in the know.

5. Group Breakdown:

A quick show of how your group is doing and a quick show of the rest of the groups progress.

6. Statistical View:

For those really wanting to see it in a clear way this allows for a bar graph with the team colour to show in comparison to their own.

7. Bar Code Scanner for Rubbish Input:

This would let individuals put their own rubbish into one of the designated bins and scan their own personal barcode to add PP ( Personal Points ) to the account and allow them spend points in the Store. 

8. Leeds Fest Store:

This is Leeds Fest very own store where people can spend their collected points from rubbish on merchandise. Example would be that 50 items is equivalent to one T-shirt. The option to confirm buying the item would appear and ask for a shipping address the collection of 50 items by a clean up team would cost more than postage to someones address therefore again saving money and not allowing people to throw these items on the floor adding rubbish !

Mockup:

I created a design sheet to try show how the information for these apps should be received. I created this in both illustrator for the individual screen and Photoshop to bring them all together.

The above would be a nice way to show the app to the class and as a large poster.

Final App Logo:

This is my final version of the logo. Using existing logos such as the Apple Game Center i felt people would get a fun and game like feeling off the colours used. The contrast of colours from the background tot he logo is a great way to bring attention to it and make people quickly identify it.

Final Poster:

This was the final way of showing the app making it a long poster i felt it was the best way to showcase all the capabilities of what i had thought up.

Conclusion:

I enjoyed this project and found it fun working with others, I did however dislike how the group had changed ideas after i returned to college as i still feel focusing the project on the general rubbish of leeds would have been a better and more in depth way to show our work with things we produce being able to be used in public as a live item.

I dont think i would like to have to focus on Leeds Festival again as it doesn't really interest me but i think if this outcome was to be produced it would be a great way to try solve the problem of litter at a festival.

If i could come and do this project again i believe i would keep upto date on the blog alot more than i have a its slacked and i have probably missed some important information or development out which is a shame for myself.