We are Rosedale

The Project
When a member of the Rosedale Community is asked, "Where do you live?", most of the residents wouldn't respond with "Rosedale". Usually those who can't answer are renting their home, and are highly nomadic. They aren't willing to devote enough time to get to know their surrounding community. We are making it easier by highlighting places where one can learn, play, eat, worship, and be healthy in Rosedale. This project is about getting to know the community of Rosedale, and its many usable resources. Any new member of the community will easily be able to discover and explore the city of Rosedale with a new sense of community pride.

The Challenge
Rosedale isn't well known, even to some of its current residents, and we want to put it on the map. We then came up with this question: how can graphic design help give Rosedale distinct boundaries and a greater sense of community pride?

The Solution
Our solution is a campaign that begins with an informational booklet, the booklet will be directly sent to new & current residents of the community through the mail. The second and third part of the campaign are street banners and window clings that are meant to educate residents & the commuters of Rosedale alike.








If you would like to see our project page you can click the link below!
Design Ignites Change Website.

Researching Stress

I realized today that in the large subject of stress, that I need to research and delegate points within this subject matter that will keep me interested in the long run for my degree project. I started on WebMD today, and I took a stress test for myself. The interactive aspect of it was really nice, and felt personal to me. The interface was cold and boxy however, and seemed default. I took it regardless and my results were not surprising.


Why is it that at the age of 21 I am almost busting out out of the high stress range? I was told that I need to either exercise or seek therapy. How is this based on me? What If I can't exercise due to a physical condition, or what If I can't afford to seek therapy? Why can't I have a specified plan for my lifestyle? You try, and see what you get.

Rosedale: A place to learn, play, eat, worship, and be healthy.

Yesterday, Lance and I were about to go on a stencil run during class. We realized however, that our stenciling has long surpassed its potential, and that we needed to develop this idea further. We saw ourselves at a stand still. Thanks Tyler for kicking us into gear, because it got us to really think about how we could further our "We_____Rosedale" campaign/logo. We took some inspiration for the eat.shop. books that are scattered around Kansas City as well.

We now know what people will write in the blank, and we can then take this and apply it to all of the practical things you can do in Rosedale like play, learn, shop, eat, worship, be healthy, read etc.. We had originally been inserting words like love, laugh, and are into the blank, which are too poetic to really denote a specific location in Rosedale. From this thought (thanks Chris) we decided to come up with a way to map out all of the places you can play in Rosedale, all of the places you can learn in Rosedale, etc. This way we can answer our design question of "how can we give Rosedale distinct boundaries and a new sense of community pride?". We would physically give the user a map of Rosedale to give some perspective as to where they are, and we would give a new sense of community pride if all of these places had window clings to further reinforce the spot on the map. Here is an example of what Lance and I have come up with so far...

This would be potentially be the front of a post-card or sign, or maybe banner. We aren't sure of the application this will take on yet. The back of this potential application would have the map of all of the places within Rosedale that you can do that certain activity in. So for example you "learn" at all of the different schools in Rosedale.

Thoughts on My Senior Degree Project

I have always tackled design problems that are safe, and that are easily discussed. I have noticed in my past that I don’t like confrontation, and I don’t like telling people what they don’t want to hear. I would like for my senior degree project to involve an issue that is easily swept under the rug or not talked about. Pushing myself to be more involved with a serious issue would let me grow as an individual and as a designer. So, I have been looking for problems to confront that are involved with our physical, and mental health.

I have thought about tackling the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, and by taking a health class this year I have come to realize what a widespread problem this is. std prevention, education, and awareness seems to be something I would be uncomfortable with, but I want the challenge. It is especially a problem within my age group, and within the area in which I live if you were too look at the statistics. I am thinking that I could partner up with a local health clinic, or a hospital close by. I can’t cure anything, but I can help to prevent these things with the correct means of awareness and education. I also could help the ones who are affected by std’s, and could give them the educational information and confidence that they need to stay healthy. I could also be able to look at schools, because the average age for kids to start having sex is 12-13 years. This brings up the issue of sex education within schools, and some schools don’t even offer sex education.

Another issue that I have looked at is the problem of stress. Everyone deals with stress on a daily basis, but there are different levels of stress that are considered healthy. I want to look at different ways of coping with this, because stress isn’t going to go away. We can’t ignore it, but we can find means in which to cope. There are a plethora of things in life that we stress about, constantly, such as; academic, personal, social, time, financial concerns, the future, our job, etc. All of these things can lead up to a very un-happy you. I would like to look more into why we stress so much about all of these things, how we can deal with it, or how we can eventually change it for the better. This issue can also lead into the issue of on-line social networking, and the need for an on-line presence. Some find solice in existing in a fantasy on-line world, and this can cause major disconnects and stress within the real-world. I think that as a graphic designer we can be designing for an on-line participatory environment, but what if that tends to someone’s stress, or need to be only present in an on-line space?

On a different note, my father has chewed tobacco for over thirty years, and we haven’t seemed to be able to get through to him that he shouldn’t be doing it. I do realize that the anti-smoking and anti-tobacco campaigning has been going on for awhile, and everyone is really aware of the side effects. I am wondering if there are other ways to deal with this issue, that are more individual based. I want to look at chewing tobacco, cigarettes, cigars, pipes, etc. I want not to tell someone that they will die if they smoke, but give them constructive advice on how to quit effectively and efficiently.

I also want to look at the issue of weight management, which is an increasingly growing problem. It is a problem for all age groups. I believe that when you are young, and taught how to eat healthy and act healthy you will be fit for life. The things that we retain, like information, knowledge, activities are the things that will benefit us in the long run. A good amount of weight management stressors are highly related to the environment in which someone lives or grows
up in.

I could also look at the amount of crime within our area, and give the information needed to better protect yourself. Awareness of your surroundings, although I wouldn’t want to stamp Kansas City with crime spots. I would just like to promote strategies in which you can defend or protect yourself from an attack. I would also like to specifically research ways in which women can cope with rape, or potential strategies you can learn to deter your predator while in the act.
So...these are just a few issues that aren’t something I would usually tackle, and I think that any of these issues will educate me just as much as it will educate the ones that are affected by the final design.

Rosedale: Prototype Development

During class today Lance and I executed some more ideas for our stenciling prototype. With this concept we really looked at getting people involved, or participatory means to connect with people. So, we did an ad-lib sort of approach, and we want the people of Rosedale to "fill in the blank". Mind you, this is all spray chalk and does go away with water. This message is fleeting, but hopefully someone will be able to see it before it washes away. There might be some meaning there too...hmm.

So, I filled in the blank on this one. :) The words or phrases could range from; love, work in, care about, live in, adore, support, help, know, travel, shop, play in, etc...


Also...the other night Lance and I met with Angel Dew who is the curator of the 42nd Street Mural in Rosedale. Lance also tested our third prototype, Ralph the Rosedalian. Here is what happened, via Lance's blog.

Mo and I met with Angel Dew, who is the creative mind behind Rosedale's 42nd Street Mural Project, this past Wednesday (10/13). Mo and I felt that she was a great person to get in contact with for our project about addressing Rosedale's distinct boundaries and community pride issue. Angel lives in Rosedale, and is an active supporter for gaining help for her community. She worked with schools in the Rosedale community and also the got some funding to start the project. About halfway through the project, the funding was pulled and the mural was unfinished. Still today, there are open canvas's ready to be filled. She said spaces are available for any artists, however, it's all volunteer based and artists have to provide their own paint as well as get their mural approved by Wendy Wilson.

After presenting our ideas and prototypes to Angel, we could tell she was excited. She was a great source as far as helping us improve our efforts of effective prototyping. She thinks we should attack multiple banners off Rainbow Blvd, to create a higher impact for drivers coming from both directions. With the fire hydrants, she agrees that it's a great way to easily create a sense of place. Again, I think multiple installations of this would be effective. And finally, most of her excitement came from the idea of guerilla stenciling engaging and interactive messages. We're going to stencil "We _______ Rosedale." and fill in some blanks as well as leave some blank with pieces of chalk nearby. We want to know what the Rosedale community thinks.

Angel strongly pushed the idea of gaining help from KU MED. They are the biggest influence in the area, and she said are most likely the ones able to help fund and support the surrounding community. Angel also gave us some other resourceful people to get in contact with from KU MED, the Community Outreach Program, the Latino Medical Association, the Kansas City Arts Center, and the Kansas City Star. Angel also said she would help us with some stenciling action. She's really excited and wants to be involved, which is AWESOME!

RALPH THE ROSEDALIAN
At 12:30am Thursday morning, Ralph the Rosedalian was brought to life. Located right off 43rd Street across from Frank Rushton Elementary, Ralph stands with his eyes wide open, and his bow tie straight, saying "Hello!" to Rosedale and passing commuters. I followed up around noon that day and Ralph was still intact greeting me as I went to take his picture. More feedback to come on how Ralph interacts with his community.

Rosedale: Prototype Trials So Far...

So this first prototype was based off of our sketch of a stencil. I went to KU Med and stenciled a sidewalk that had moderate traffic. The stencil just says "Where do you live?". We would have the website or something linking it to Rosedale in the future, but for now we just wanted to see how it worked in the environment. I also used spray chalk, so nothing about it is illegal in my opinion :)


This billboard prototype was so much fun. Lance and I had no idea how we were going to get it up and over the old billboard. Where there is a will there is a way I guess. We just wanted to see if drivers actually looked at the billboards, and the only source of feedback we could get was a honk. We came up with some pretty interesting results.


These are the initial prototypes we came up with before class, and they informed our prototypes that went out into the environment. We thought of stenciling house numbers on curves, and asking "Do you know where you live" on the billboard. The bag prototype would be the banners that would be made into bags to be re-claimed.

Moxie Sozo Presentation

I was very fortunate to get an awesome design firm to present in class. I visited Moxie Sozo over our AIGA spring break trip, and I fell in love. This firm has some really amazing people working for it, including some of our very own. After further ado, I would like to present you with Moxie Sozo...

This is what greets you on their website. We believe in ideas. We believe in intelligent research and strategic thinking. We beleive in stimlating the intellect and stirring the soul. We beleive in creating extraordinary brands.
Moxie Sozo is a Design Firm and ad agency located in boulder, Colorado that was founded in 1999. they consider themselves a small boutique agency, and they believe in creating great work for a select number of clients.
They specialize in branding, print, packaging and digital media. Moxie Sozo is also the first certified Zero waste, 100% carbon neutral, 100% renewable-energy powered, design and advertising firm in the world.
This info-graphic reveals the way in which they work. The color fields are a good indicator of how they narrow down their ideas and process to one final solution. They develop original and creative solutions that can involve an ad campaign, re-designed marketing collateral, a new website, or even a company re-branding. Regardless of the job, their process is the same.
Eat Pastry is a company that came to Moxie Sozo in hopes for a look that was different from all of the other eco-friendly products out there. Moxie took it too an art deco, hand illustrated approach.

Moxie Sozo also specializes in helping starter businesses get off their feet with new websites. Some of the companies do sometimes not succeed, but some flourish. This one, unfortunately didn't have a sufficient enough budget to stay in business. Non the less Moxie gave them an awesome site.

The Hurricane Project was done in response to Hurricane Katrina, and was initiated by Moxie Sozo. It goes to show how involved and self-less they are. It is a great idea that was executed beautifully, and was successful.

The Haiti Poster Project is also a response to a world changing disaster, the earthquake in Haiti. The idea is pretty much the same as the Hurricane Project. World-renown designers create posters for Haiti and sell them. All of the money earned goes to the Red Cross, and directly to Haiti.

Rosedale: Prototypes

These are my sketches for Lance and I's three ideas, or you could call them prototypes. I basical have some visual representations of what were thinking of doing.



Here is what we did in class today. We took these as templates and basically drew all over them, it was a good way to keep our ideas contained within these directions.

Rosedale: Brainstorming

Lance and I have done a lot of brainstorming for this project. We always go back to our question which is "how can graphic design help give the Rosedale district distinct boundaries and a greater sense of community pride?". We have focused a lot on the banners, because it seems to be the one thing that everyone goes to first. Every member of the Rosedale community has either hinted at or told us that they need new banners, or would at least like to see them. It is hard to really bridge away from this solution since it is wanted so badly from the community members. Lance and I have thought about the banners, and maybe making them participatory.

Maybe the kids draw the artwork? What if someone were to ask them to draw their vision of Rosedale, and that gets printed on the banners? They would then feel directly apart of the community, and they would have a semi-permanent mark within it. They would be proud, and would want to show it off to their family and friends.

What if the old banners were re-claimed and turned into handbags that are sold at a local market to promote grocery shopping? Or maybe the bags are sold at the church's to promote library usage, because it is good for holding educational material?

We also thought about points of positive interest within Rosedale being accentuated. For example, the fire hydrants are a positive thing. They could be painted by the kids, and this would be subtle, but powerful if you were to come across one.

The idea of stenciling seems very appealing as well, being it is affective and affordable. It also won't damage the surfaces if chalk or natural materials are used. The stencils could sustain many uses as well. These could say many different things such as factual information, or emotional snippets. For example, "the Rosedale farmer's market is from 12-3 on Sundays at the health center" or "visit us at www.rosedale.org for more information".

Lance and I have contacted Angel Dew who was the coordinator for the 42nd Street mural, and she believes strongly in the arts within Rosedale. She mentioned her want for a youth art center behind the mural, and this was of interest to both Lance and I. Although it might be better to consider for a degree project, we are going to keep this in mind.

The directional signs that are used in Rosedale could also be altered to give a sense of distinction. For example all of the signs that are in Rosedale could be a different color compared to Kansas Cities. This would be a simple change, but it could be just enough to mark Rosedale.

Lance and I also talked heavily about taking an old photograph of Rosedale and painting parts of it around the city. It would fit together like a puzzle, and could go on display in the park or something. Although, this idea was highly revolved around us and not necessarily the members of the community. We see this as a problem.

I will say that it is difficult to try and rule out the banners for the sake of good brainstorming, because we know that Rosedalians want new banners pretty badly. So, we are trying to brainstorm deeper into the idea of banners. How can the banners stem across other systems, and help out the community in a dual fashion?

The Urban Forest Project

Lance and I are looking at the banners in Rosedale as one possible source for creating a higher sense of community pride. We were directed to this website by Tyler. It is basically an organization, this one specific to San Fransisco, that specializes in re-using old billboards. They make them into bags, t-shirts, etc. It is really very cool. Check it out!

Visual Advocacy: Today's Class Discussion

"What are your guys thought on doing presentations and having guests in related to how we were dressed?" -Tyler Galloway

The whole process has been so informal. We went to there space, and they weren't dressed up. If it were the first time we had encountered them, then I would have dressed differently. We are not friends, but we are acquainted. -Abby

I will come in a suit and tie everyday then for extra credit. -Tom

It remains important to think about the situation we are in, and the context. Everyday citizen kind of thing, and meeting them in their environment are good points. -Tyler

So what did you guys think about these readings?

Abby loves Shephard Fairy. He has a screw it attitude, and he is almost selfish in his convictions. He has points that he wants to show, he does it his way. Sarcasm is good. He owns up to his mistakes. All of the stuff I criticize I am totally guilty of.


Micah is on the same lines. He feeds off of a reaction or an emotion.

Comfortable with his own contradictions.

Isn't there a huge contradiction in values. You hate people that work for the tv, but you end of working for them? If you don't value them, then don't do those things or things that relate to them. Tom thinks that he is a hypocrite. Why does he say that its okay to be a hypocrite? Tyler says that he recognizes this. Tom says why?


Sean thinks that he is really smart. He designed Saks Fifth Avenue in a constructivist style that contradicts the fact that he thinks advertising makes people insecure.

Tom believes he is using the other systems to show his values. If you don't agree with the system that you use to get across your own views, don't use it. Make your own system.

We have one example in Fairy. How his way is stirring our own thoughts, and how we would handle our situations. That is where this discussion is valuable. If you have certain values you would try really hard to appease them. It lets you get to know who you are in comparison to this person/example.

If his value revolves around the idea of using other systems to impose his own ideas then why can't he use it. If it encompasses his values, then he can use it. We aren't sure if fairy has values, Tyler thinks that he is an opportunist. He will jump on whatever is going to further his agenda. We don't know, and we don't think that he knows.

Giant, the word itself, is becoming what it is becoming. People read into it what they read into it. I personally think is has a metaphoric meaning in the fact that he doesn't fall into line. He steps above, like a giant could do, in order to captivate his creative/artistic need.

The Constructivist forms were born through a certain set of values. The most authentic sense of the word style. A certain belief how the tools and processes you should use. Just because you like something doesn't make it a value. It bothers Tyler that he plucked out the style, as a cultural commentary. Intentionally being an ass by using these shapes to sell stuff on saks fifth. This constructivist style represents people who developed this style out of high struggle and values. They were innovative and should be respected. Fairy shouldn't just take this so lightly for a commercial sense, and shouldn't just use it as a veneer. We shouldn't do what is convenient for us, and divorce it from its original intent.

El Lizzitzky 1919

Most people are desensitized to these things. Professionals should be knowledgeable, and should know the connotations of a certain style or movement. We should always have a reason for everything we do. Why is the type in a straight line? Why did we organize the letter forms this way?

What is the difference in effect when you go bottom up vs. top down? Couldn't it be quite effective and you have a multi-billion dollar project like Pepsi co. Maybe its more effective down up because it speaks more to an individual vs. the collective group. The top down has filters that we have to go through, but the bottom up has no filters. You are a citizen, but you also need to be a graphic designer.

graphic design is either facilitating the solution or it is the solution. We could come up with something that is guerrilla, or is almost grass roots. What if they have already tried and there are all these red flags. Why not directly just do it without asking permission if we know it needs to be done to benefit the community.

Guerrilla Advertising vs. Graphic Design. The overall strategy, the detailed plan to implement the goal is different. The goal is the same in that you have a message that you want to spread.

Companies can say that they are green just to get in good with the public. There is no say as to whether they are actually engaging in green practices.

Should money or budget be considered in your design? Truth cost pricing is more relevant to certain situations and certain people. True cost pricing: The materials cost x amount of dollars, the machinery cost this, the labor costs this much, and it costs it this much to ship it, and were also going to considered if this leaf blower is annoying vs not annoying. Basing cost on the safeness of the workplace, quality of life for our laborers. All of those things make the price go up. This article goes over truth cost pricing more...

Ultimate goal is to make things that are safer and more environmentally friendly. Make the healthy choice the better choice. For example paper should be extremely expensive since trees are being cut down. It isn't easy in the design world, since we have to send things out so quickly.

Buy nothing day, and tv turn off week. Direct Action. Poster hangers are called snipers, hanging posters illegally around a city.