June 27, 2011

News: Across Europe, Irking Drivers Is Urban Policy

New York Times: June 27, 2011
Across Europe, Irking Drivers Is Urban Policy
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/science/earth/27traffic.html

I think in order to courage residents to use mass transit, there must be a "good" transit service at first. I mean accurate time table, clean environment, various routes, and fare fee. It's more likely to happen in the metropolis. Same situation, if the government want people to ride a bicycle or walk on the pedestrian, there should be safe and nice bicycle lanes and pedestrians at first.

I don't know if it's possible in NYC. Residents complain about the subway traffic and environment all the time. Some people even it will only get worse, considering tax: the amount of money invested in public transportation each year in Europe compared to the US.

Case study: World Health Day 2008

Case study:
World Health Day 2008 "Protecting health from climate change" http://www.who.int/world-health-day/previous/2008/en/index.html

World Health Day is on April 7, and every year WHO selects different agendas to focus. In 2008, the theme is "Protecting health from climate change."

The health impacts of climate change will be difficult to reverse in a few years or decades. Yet, many of these possible impacts can be avoided or controlled. There are established steps in health and related sectors to reduce the exposure to and the effect of changing climate. For example, controlling disease vectors, reducing pollution from transport, and efficient land use and water management are well-known and tested measures that can help.The goals of the campaign are list below:
  • Raise awareness and public understanding of the global and locally relevant health consequences of climate change.
  • Advocate for interdisciplinary and intersectoral partnerships from the local to international level that seek to improve health through rapid deployment of mitigation strategies to stabilize climate change and development of proactive adaptation programmes to minimize health impacts.
  • Generate effective actions by local communities, organizations, health systems and governments to reduce the impact of climate change on health through urgent application of mitigation and adaptation techniques.
  • Demonstrate the health community’s role in facing the challenges globally and in regions, countries and communities.
  • Spark commitment and action among governments, international organizations, donors, civil society, businesses and communities (especially among young people) to anchor health at the heart of the climate change agenda.
The campaign focused on children who live under the threat of severe climate change.



WHO - World Health Day 2008 - PSA



WHO - PSA Health and Climate Change - Breathe


Campaign materials
http://www.who.int/world-health-day/previous/2008/toolkit/en/index.html

I still feel like the campaign is to raise people's awareness, but I don't know it affected people or not. Like I said before, I would like to create something that you can actually see people's attitude is changing by it. I think I need to work with non-profit organizations or MTA because I think Design should work with policy to reach the goal. For example, Clean Air Campaign works with Georgia Department of Transportation to promote "Commuter Refunds." If design get more involved into the program, maybe more and more people will be willing to take transit. And we can examine the statistics before and after design gets involved.

My proposal is to create a campaign for improve air quality by taking mass transit in NYC. I found out that NYC government has a campaign called GreeNYC. I am thinking that maybe I can work with them. 
Or United Nation for World Health Day only?

Here is a list of events on World Health Day, 2008.
http://www.who.int/world-health-day/previous/2008/activities/events/en/index.html

Statement so far

The reason why I am interested in this topic not only because more and more people care about the environment and pay attention to sustainability, but also my mother and brother have respiratory system disease and suffer from air pollution. My brother is very sensitive about the particles in the polluted air. In the worst case, he has to wear a mask while in outdoor. The air pollution can affect people's life especially elders and children. I believe design can change our society and in order to improve our living environment, my goal is to test how far can design go to affect people's behavior. 

Due to that L.A. is the worst air polluted city in the United States, I looked at a report of health effects of air pollution published by the South Coast Air Quality Management District in California. Ambient air pollution is a major public health concern. Excess death and increases in illness associated with high air pollution levels have been documented in several episodes as early as 1930 in Meuse, Belgium; 1948 in Donora Pennsylvania (20 residents died and 14,000 residents have been sicken), and 1952 in London.

Although levels of pollutants that occurred during these acute episodes are now unlikely in the United States, ambient air pollution continues to be linked to increases in respiratory illness and death rates. The attachment is the brief table that shows the health effects of some of the common pollutants found in our air and examples of some of the sources of these pollutants. The other table is the combined effects of estimates daily mean particulate pollution. As we can see, the air pollution can cause cancer, respiratory, lung, eye, skin illness.

Here are some facts about smog and health:
  • A 1989 study funded by AQMD and conducted by Dr. Jane Hall of Cal State Fullerton found that meeting federal clean air standards for ozone and fine particulates in the South Coast region would provide $9.4 billion in health-related benefits each year. The study found that 98% of the four-county basin's population of 13 million is exposed to unhealthful air, with children especially vulnerable. In addition, 1,600 people die prematurely as a result of exposure to air pollution, according to the study.
  • In 1991, as a follow up to the study, Hall looked at how air quality impacts minority communities. The study showed that minorities as a whole were shown to be exposed more often to poor air quality since they tend to live in more polluted air where housing is affordable. African-Americans and Hispanics generally breathe the worst air, partly because they tend to work in outdoor occupations. 
  • In 1987, Drs. Russell Sherwin and Valda Richters of USC examined the health of 152 young people, between the ages of 15 and 25, who died suddenly from accidents or homicide. In lung autopsies of over 100 of the subjects, slight lung airspace inflammation was found in 75% of the group, with severe damage in 27%. In addition, all of the youths examined had some degree of airway inflammation, while 39% had severe illness in the bronchial glands and 29% had severe illness in their bronchial linings. Combined, about 54% of the youths examined had at least one site of severe illness. While no evidence has been found to deter-ine the levels of smoking or other contributing factors that could have affected their health, these youths appear to have provided the first positive proof of health damage from long-term exposure to poor air quality.
In order to narrow down the concentration, I decided to focus on the traffic and create a campaign for mass transportation. As we can see in the previous chart, cars and trucks are common examples of sources. Here are my stages below:
 
Create a campaign to encourage the public to use mass transportation, especially people who are used to drive cars. Media including prints, website, and video (animation) are considered.
  • The benefits of taking mass transportation. Focus on the optimistic aspect (Infographics)
  • How green can you be? Interactive calculator
  • light-hearted design
  • story telling
  • Teach people what to do
  • Example: CITGO Fueling Good. http://www.fuelinggood.com/ This program is about giving thousands of gallons of gas to charitable organizations in our 27-state area. They promote them self as a positive image to the communities. The warm and positive design (colors, graphics, and typefaces ) make the viewers feel like they are doing something good. I like the video focusing on the good things beyond gas.
There are some non-profit organizations about clean air all over the world. Their goal is to raise people's awareness, and furthermore, to take action. People can donate or join the events. I feel like these non-profit organizations provide a lot of information to the public, but they don't get "graphic design" involved into their campaign. Although they do have logos, the whole campaigns are lack of the visual corporate identity.


Case study 1: Clean Air Campaign in Atlanta, Georgia. http://www.cleanaircampaign.org/
Their tag line of the Clean Air Campaign is less traffic, cleaner air. For individuals, it's a way to save money, and beneficially in many aspects. I like the idea of calculator, you actually can "see" how much money you saved. I would like to take the idea and go further like how much energy you save or how green can you be. The video is very realistic. There's no fancy design in it, and I think it's a little bit weak to convince people to take action.


Case study 2: Clean Air Network in Hong Kong.  http://www.hongkongcan.org/eng/

The organization held several events on the street to raise people's awareness, but I didn't see design in posters, stage background, or prints. They don't have a "consistent" visual identity in the campaign, so people can receive the information immediately. The first two TV commercials has completely different styles. The different events also have different design style. It's hard for the audience to perceive the organization as a whole.
In the TV commercials, it's interesting to see they make fun of our life without clean air. They tell you the truth and impact but they don't teach you how to improve the air quality. I would like to know how to take action.
Their recent campaigns are Clean Air Auction and Air Mazing Race. Although the target audience is different, I still feel like there should be some consistency in design. I like the simplicity and cleanness composition in Clean Air Auction. Here is the artists' interview: http://www.youtube.com/user/CleanAirNetwork#p/c/8F64125CB4DB16C1

I like it's fun and friendly design, especially the first three. The white clouds imply the change of life style is making air cleaner and healthier. The following four posters use images, but I think the images didn't correspond with the tag line very well.

They also interviewed individuals who take the transit as their radio ad.

And at last I am also curious about how design affects people's behavior. How do I know the design is working? How many people are changing their thinking and behavior? I still have to figure out how to analyze all the result.


Reference

Case study: CITGO Fueling Good

Case study:
CITGO Fueling Good. http://www.fuelinggood.com/

This is the example of the kind of Design with light-hearted and relaxing elements.
This program is about giving thousands of gallons of gas to charitable organizations in our 27-state area. They promote them self as a positive image to the communities. The warm and positive design (colors, graphics, and typefaces ) make the viewers feel like they are doing something good. I like the video focusing on the good things beyond gas.
  • Infographics based
  • Warm and Friendly design elements
  • Interactive naviation


How Far Can A Gallon of Gas Go?




CITGO Heating Oil

Case study: Clean Air Campaign in Atlanta, Georgia

Case study:
Clean Air Campaign in Atlanta, Georgia. http://www.cleanaircampaign.org/


Their tag line of the Clean Air Campaign is "less traffic, cleaner air." For individuals, it's a way to save money, and beneficially in many aspects. I like the idea of calculator, you actually can "see" how much money you saved. I would like to take the idea and go further like how much energy you save or how green can you be. The video is very realistic. There's no fancy design in it, and I think it's a little bit weak to convince people to take action.

Case study: Clean Air Network in Hong Kong

Case study:
Clean Air Network. http://www.hongkongcan.org/eng/

The organization held several events on the street to raise people's awareness, but I didn't see design in posters, stage background, or prints. They don't have a "consistent" visual identity in the campaign, so people can receive the information immediately. The first two TV commercials has completely different styles. The different events also have different design style. It's hard for the audience to perceive the organization as a whole.

Daniel Wu Infomercial for "Fresh Air." 



Breathing not allowed.



In the TV commercials, it's interesting to see they make fun of our life without clean air. They tell you the truth and impact but they don't teach you how to improve the air quality. I would like to know how to take action.


Their recent campaigns are Clean Air Auction and Air Mazing Race. Although the target audience is different, I still feel like there should be some consistency in design. I like the simplicity and cleanness composition in Clean Air Auction. Here is the artists' interview: http://www.youtube.com/user/CleanAirNetwork#p/c/8F64125CB4DB16C1

Case study: Clean Air New York Posters

Case study :
Clean Air New York Posters
 
I found there was an AD for new york transit. Here are posters.
I like it's fun and friendly design, especially the first three. The white clouds imply the change of life style is making air cleaner and healthier. The following four posters use images, but I think the images didn't correspond with the tag line very well.
 






 
I like it's fun and friendly design, and it also interview individuals who take the transit as their radio ad. 

June 20, 2011

Smog

So I think I should narrow my topic to specific area I want to discover:

1. The "impact" of smog to human health instead of the cause.
http://are.berkeley.edu/courses/EEP101/spring03/AllThatSmog/extern.html

2. What benefits can we have if smog is reduced?

3. Compare NYC to Honolulu, Hawaii
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30476335/ns/us_news-environment/t/report-lists-worst-best-cities-air-quality/

4. A campaign for New York City (focusing on transportation and and consumer products, including paint, hairspray, charcoal starter fluid, chemical solvents, and even plastic popcorn packaging.)
http://environment.about.com/od/smogfaq/f/smog_faq_five.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/26026/Environmental_Problems/smog_-_solutions.html



What interests me in the topic?
Back in Taiwan, I used to ride a scooter as my transportation to everywhere. It's important to wear a "mask" while I'm riding it because of the pollution. Otherwise my face will become black and the particles will cause some respiratory system problems. It's genetic that half of my family suffer from these kind of problem. I believe there are thousands of people suffer from the air pollution especially elders and children. The living condition will get worse if we do nothing about it. I hope that via design we can have influence on people and make improvement.


Interactive:
http://www.smogcity.com/
Architecture
http://inhabitat.com/anti-smog-architecture-a-catalyst-for-cleaner-air-in-paris/
Clean Air Act
http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/peg/

June 13, 2011

Health Condition

I found some reference on the EPA website.

Climate Change-Health and Environment Effects
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/effects/health.html#ref

Severe climate change can cause heart problems, asthma, skin problems, and "vector-borne" diseases include malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and encephalitis.

Air pollution index
http://www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/

Smog-Who does it hurt?
http://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=smog.page1#3

Scientists have found that about one out of every three people in the United States is at a higher risk of experiencing ozone-related health effects. Ozone can irritate the respiratory system, reduce lung function, and aggravate asthma.

What have others been doing?

Kaufman, Leslie. 2011. Preparing For A Warm Future. New York Times (May 26).
http://www.startribune.com/business/122687269.html

It is reported that in the end of the century, Chicago will be as hot as if you are in the south of American. Chicago city government already set up plans to prevent severe damages caused by extreane weather.
Public alleys are being repaved with materials that are permeable to water. The white oak, the state tree of Illinois, has been banned from planting lists, and swamp oaks and sweet gum trees from the South have been given new priority.

Navarro, Mireya. 2011. New York City Rule to Ban Dirtiest Oils at Buildings. New York Times (April 21).
http://tinyurl.com/6za726d

The new rule, announced by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg as part of an update to his environmental agenda, known as PlaNYC, affects about 10,000 buildings that burn the dirtiest types of heating oil: No. 6, the cheapest oil pumped into aging boilers; and No. 4, another heavy oil that is only slightly less noxious.

In a report released on Thursday (April 21), the city’s health department said air pollution from the fine particles emitted by the dirty-oil buildings, as well as other sources in the city, caused more than 3,000 deaths, 2,000 hospital admissions for lung and heart conditions and about 6,000 emergency room visits for asthma annually.

PlaNYC 2030
http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/html/home/home.shtml
Video: http://youtu.be/nh4fVjw-os0

Kaufman, Leslie. 2011. Preparing For A Warm Future. New York Times (May 26).
Reuters Global Energy and Climate Summit. June 13-19, 2011.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/13/idUS15048+13-Jun-2011+HUG20110613

Texas Campaign for the Environment

The Story of Stuff

June 7, 2011

Case study 1 Wait&Date

Speaking of "communication equals remembering not knowing," the key is how to make people remember what they see? It should unique enough to stand out. Then I think of my questions.

How to make people to take action regarding climate change?
Can info graphic be fun and lighthearted instead of serious to attract people?

When we talk about weather, we have specific images or symbols in our mind based on our past experience. What if I change this design to relaxing atmosphere (but the message and purpose are the same) and encourage people to participate? Can design change people's behavior? Here is the example.

Pre-reading material:
The art of design research (and why it matters)
http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/05/the-art-of-design-research-and-why-it-matters/239561/


Wait&Date
Designers: Yi-Chen Chiang, Jiao-Rong Lu & Erin Hover
Target audience: General public who is waiting.

Purpose:
People are constantly waiting in lines. Especially in New York City. Whether one is waiting to withdraw money, for coffee, to check out at the supermarket, for a subway train or for an elevator, people do not usually relish those precious moments that could be spent doing something else. Many people consider waiting a negative and boring experience, but can it be turned into a positive stimulating experience through visual communication? They turned into an experimental project that encourages people to interact and converse with one another in any given location including bars, subway and laundromat.

Components:
Jiao-Rong Lu http://jiaoronglu.com/filter/Publication-Design#1325312/WAIT-DATE
Yi-Chen Chiang http://cargocollective.com/yichenchiang#1387777/wait-date
Erin Hover http://www.erinhover.com/#1309719/wait-date

June 5, 2011

Information architect

Information anxiety 2 ch 1, 2 & 3

Information anxiety
According to Nathan Shedroff, there are 4 main forms of anxiety.
1. The frustration with the inabiity to keep up with the amount of data present in our life. What makes this worse is that the data is not just passive, but actively inserting itself into out environment, out attentions.
2. The frustration with the quality. We need "insight" info, the most precious form rather than quantity.
3. The guilit not being better informed, of not being able to keep up with the amount of data masquerading as information.
4. There is a dangerous hubris that develops for "knowing things first."


The process of understanding
Data→Information→Knowledge→Wisdom

A fact or data itself make no sense without a frame of reference. It can be understood only when it relate to an idea. The job of architects is to make these info understandable to the audience through the experience they knew. They can be classified by location, alphabet, time, category or hierarchy. Once they are classified differently, we perceive different knowledge each time. How people perceive the info depends on the frame of design.

Communication equals remembering not knowing
It makes me think that during my research, I should test my prototype to the public and collect the response about how much they remember enough to take action...

Intergration
Can this thesis be used in different interface?
For example, cars are equipted with GPS. Moreover passengers can be tracked down by police and medical help if there's an accident. Can my thesis be provided by another industry?

June 4, 2011

There's always a question

I remembered that my teacher training professor told me that a good way to start a thesis is to find a problem and try to solve it. At first, do observations, and try to find a pattern or discuss "why." Then you have your questions to solve.

In my case, I want to deal with the climate information design due to the severe condition in recent years.

What I observed:
1. Information design appeared in all kind of media, including newspaper, magazine, television, ads, and Internet.
2. Their function is to deliver a message, a statistic, or a truth.
3. They may be treated as a secondary element supporting the designer's main idea.
4. There are millions of ways to make info graphics. Not all of them are able to communicate. A single info graphic is abstracted and can be perceived differently.
5. People perceive symbols and relate to something else based on their past experience and culture.
6. Information tends to be a one way trip, not getting feedback.

What I want to convey:
1. My audience is the general public.
2. Make information accessible and easy to understand.
3. Make info graphic itself interesting enough to have people's attention?
4. Raise people's awareness of environment and take action in real life.

The result:
What can I do in my thesis are:
1. How to make info graphics meaningful, understandable, and interesting?
2. Using different media to discuss the possibility and efficiency of communication.
3. Can information design trigger people's interest and take action? How?
4. Real devices to have people to interact.

Information Anxiety 2 ch.5 & 6

Ch.5 The structure of conversation
Ch.6 Talk is deep

Although these chapters are talking about how to brand a online website or store, I still found it somewhat useful for my thesis. Dealing with information, it's about simplification and clarification. A good information design should not conclude all information on the plate all at once. The key is to give your audience the "teaser." And then to interest them to go further.

The book mentioned that X generation can handle multitasks at the same time. They developed the skills of quick scanning the information on television, and Internet. It is the efficiency not the aesthetics that matters. For me, I still think the simplified info should be both useful and beautiful to seduce audience to view the interface at some point. Designers have the power to direct the info to the direction they wanna pursue the audience as if the conversation is a way to have some body's mind across.

The author talks about the most efficient way to communicate is to have a conversation "face to face." You can get the response immediately and make adjustment according to your partner. The same idea for my thesis is to trigger people to think and act. I don't want my audience to be passive receivers. I want them to interact. How can I make them to act? I've been thinking about despite all the information I give them, it's time for them to give some feedback.

I have 2 ideas so far:
1. Connect my information design to social network. People can have their voice back.
2. Create a real advice to interact with people.Or can it be used combined with other industry?
For example, a friend of mine created a project to reduce metro card waste by collecting them with a real robot machine. They wrote a programme to use sensor to detect metro card. Once you put the metro card in the machine, it will show your lucky motto on the LCD screen. People are curious about this and are willing to put cards into the machine. So the machine is successful of catching people's attention and get interacted with them.

June 2, 2011

Information Anxiety 2 ch.4 An age of connections

Information Anxiety 2
Richard S. Wurman
Que; 2nd edition (December 28, 2000)

What do escalators, bananas, bathroom stalls, and chair backs at movie theatres have in common? They are all new Media for marketing.

Advertising-Communicating
Communicating is that people engage in to share understanding and meaning. Advertising is all about consistent messaging and the key is not to have technology for technology's sake, but to create something that consistently delivers information to your audience.

I think consistency of advertising help brands to reinforce their image to audience again and again. So how do you reinforce the information to the audience? Well, it reminds me of my teacher training skills in college.

1. Creating interest. It's like teaching kids that you have to grab their attention first. Secondly, don't let them get lost on the road to interest. The interest connections can be anything as long as it relates to your theme.
2. Making your own connections first. Connecting unfamiliar ideas to familiar ones, so your audience can understand easily.
3. Remembering what it's like not to know. It means stand on the audience side, especially information they have have no idea what it is about. How to simplify information?
4. Build relationship to your audience. How do you bring people to your website or store? Add value to your information.

Quality check for your information connection
1. Is it useful and relevant?
2. Does it have meaning or is it merely facts?
3. Is it feedback to the customer's question?
4. Does it have the power to change or expand the customer's knowledge?

These notes are suitable for design no matter what design field you are in. In digital age, the simple things become complicated due to the mass exploration of internet. It's important for designers to clearify and simplify the concept to customers and make points.

Thesis Directions

After class, I've been thinking about my thesis directions.

Who is your audience?

At first, I was thinking about discuss the efficiency of information design through different media. My topic is climate change, and I will use psychological analysis such as color, shape, form to explore how people perceive information.

But what can I do after I deliver all these information? Can my design trigger people to take action? How can I stimulate my audience to think and do something? So I kind of what to explore how can information design to make people to take action.