guerilla marketing

ok so for our design marketing in a place we wanted to follow some similar lines of guerilla marketing so as kind of a metaphor for bus shelter we decided to place an umbrella over a GTA sign that has know shelter to implicate that it needs one. the umbrella would say iarc to link it back to us. I tried to get a picture of this in reality but unfortunately I was not tall enough to put the umbrella over the sign.

for our internet marketing we decided to make a awareness test video on youtube by creating a test to see how many red umbrellas that walk by, there would be like 10 or 15 and the take them back to the scene and ask them if they saw the man standing by the bus sign waiting for the bus without an umbrella. then we would link iarc and our blog community by design on the video at the end so they can be on an awarness of how few bus shelters we have and what iarc is doing to help.

see: Hannah Daughterty, Jennifer Cochran, and Jessica Crews for more marketing ideas for our group.

Codes To Live By

What was your experience with the various requirements to support human activities and needs?
While researching through the Federal Reserve and Interior Graphic Standards documents our group found it very interesting how much thought went into meeting the needs of humans. There were specific codes on things like railings, protruding objects, chairs heights and turning spaces for wheelchairs. I think it is very important to break apart spaces into codes and standards not only for safety reasons but also for accessibility purposes. The most important thing we learned while researching the codes, ergonomics and proxemics of our group’s bus shelter and shelter buses were that these codes are in place for everyone not just the average human. For instance just the other day I was walking down the sidewalk when suddenly there was a two-inch drop to the connecting sidewalks and I lost my balance and almost fell. I believe this was because the designer for the pathways did not follow the specific code for making surface heights distinguishable by color or texture. The Interior Graphic Standards book had diagrams showing people of all ages in different positions and also included height requirements for the max and min handicap persons reach.

What would you recommend to designers about changes necessary to better accommodate varying abilities?
We would recommend to designers that before you begin to design your space try to think about all types of people that would be experiencing or using your space. Take every part of your design into consideration and look up codes for things from height requirements to safety precautions. Also, make your design versatile so it is easy to alter to accommodate human activities.

How do codes help in design?
Codes help us to design for the community that we live in today. They provide us the standards of humans and their activities while allowing us to break the limit on how far we can go to help others.

How do you anticipate codes will change your work as a designer?
The codes that we have learned over the past two days have already helped us tremendously because they have forced us to look at specific flaws throughout our group’s designs. Later on we hope to learn more about different codes, as they will continue to change and impact the way we view design.

symbol group 9

here are a few of our ideas for our final two bus models.we had 10 needs that we felt should be accomodated....

1. water
2. food
3. clothing
4. first aid
5. sleeping arrangements
6. entertainment
7. daycare
8. recreation
9. showers
10. internet access
we combined in our two buses alot of the ten physical needs that we addressed in our list. Our extended bus is our sleeping quaters bus that includes clean clothing and showers to freshen up. there are beds included and various tvs for entertainment.

our double decker bus is primarily used as a cafeteria. we included a cafe with tables and chairs along with pantries of food and a endless supply of water.

we wanted our buses to a comfort zone, a place where you could relax and clean up after a natural disaster a place that could implement the feeling of being home.

both sketch ups used a by design by Kieran at the google 3d warehouse in sketch up.

we also pulled common images from our drawings and with the use of photo shop to implement ideas about the contents of our buses.

interviews with people like me and you

Ok… so our first interview was with a college student, her name is Nicole Taylor. She had on her Burger King uniform heading to work she complained a little about the bus being late and I asked her if it usually ran late and she said “No not ever.” She told us her mom insisted that she stay on campus for two years before moving to an apartment near campus. Lauren explained to her about her town house and the prices. She told us that she rode the bus to save money to help with school and it was just easier transportation for her while being in school. Just as the bus arrived we concluded our conversation by telling her about iarc and our plans to hopefully build a bus shelter here at Tate St. where she was waiting. We asked her if we could possibly take her picture she smiled and said sure before she boarded the bus.

Lauren and I then headed towards the bus stop to get some more details from the people about GTA. We honestly walked around for maybe 15 minutes trying to find the right person to ask and quite frankly this was a quiet Saturday morning. So we decided to sit inside the depot and low and behold as we where watching news about Ike on CNN a lady walked in and sat down beside us. She was an African American woman who looked to be in her thirties. We decided to strike up a conversation with her, she immediately took to us and we talked for a good half hour waiting on the bus. We asked her if she road the bus frequently she said “Everyday, if not I’m walkin’.” We laughed together and she asked us if we where students we said yes and preceded to tell her about our project and our hopes of helping the riders out with a few more shelters. I asked her if a lot of bus stops had shelters she said “ no, very few have shelters you just mostly have to stand, and even if you walk to some shade just a few feet away and your not directly by that sign they will leave you.” I was astonished, I had know idea they where so strict. She began to tell us a little bit about her life, she had always been riding the bus she said when she was little her family traveled a lot, her dad was in the military. She told us she was ready to leave NC “somewhere else,” she said, “new people new scenery.” We where also shocked to find out that you have to wait an hour for the bus on weekends, we couldn’t imagine what it must be like to plan your whole schedule around the buses. Before we left we asked her for her picture she said “no, no pictures I’m not the photo genic type” so we said that’s ok and asked her for her name and she said “Lolitta Mills”. Since we don’t have a picture I’ll do my best to describe her, she had on a flowing floral patterned white and red blouse with crimson red gaucho pants you know the big flowing business pants and white heels. Her hair was pulled back in small rows of braids that formed a pony tail in the back, she carried two bags which where clear that seemed to be like a purse carrying everything a woman might need.


We made a lot of observations while we waited as well…. There was one man who came in exhausted and hot from the humid air outside just to find out that he just missed his bus and would have to wait another hour before it would return. A lot of bus riders are just like you and me one man walked in sat on the bench and pulled out his laptop. Stereotypes get attached to a lot of things and we begin to judge when really it’s just people like you and me trying to save money with just as much class as someone driving an expensive SUV, actually their smarter they don’t have to pay for gas. Seriously though, you gain respect for something you didn’t understand, that now with a little research, you do.

GTA

Ok so this was my first Greensboro city bus ride and let me tell you alot different from my car. I went with Hannah, and Maurshell, and the plan was to catch the Heat and ride it to the depot where we would catch a GTA route come back and bring the Heat back to campus. Unfortunately we got on the wrong Heat and ended up going around in a circle then back where we started. It was great let me tell you, so we decided to take the easy way out we drove to the depot and got on the Friendly Center bus rode to friendly shopped for 30min got back on and came back to the depot. Along the way you really change your perspective. Being an outsider of the GTA I always hated driving behind them, and always assumed they where just dirty. But my experience yesterday changed my way of thinking the buses where actually very clean, and it takes alot of patience to deal with other drivers on the road, and the buses where not crowded either maybe on different routes but not this one. My favorite part would have to have been the yellow cord that runs down the interior of the buses along the windows, when you pull it, it makes a ding sound that lets the driver know you need to get off the bus. juevenile i know but it is so cool. I definately have respect for GTA riders it really is a cheap sufficent way to get around the city.

Wayfinding to become a community

The first week of school was very touch and go, meaning the first task was simple, although many of us complained I think we got something from it that we could bring back to the drawing board for the next task. I am part of the clubs, when we where challenged to combine our groups to make a whole i felt we did not have enough time to completely layout everything to the best of our ability. The idea was communicated well I thought but as the class as a whole agreed, not presented the best way, I was actually one of the ones that felt lost in our presentation, we meet earlier that day and agreed on a solution for our presentation. Some of the group was MIA but we agreed. when I came into studio for group presentations I was lost because my group had changed our idea and appearance of the presentation. As a group I definitely think we learned some key examples of what not to do, and hopefully we can grow from those as a whole. The class as a whole was another story completely and from it you can definitely see the maturity levels in the class and the lack to be professional. When we came together one group had an idea that most really liked, but some argued that we should at least have back ups. So we met in small groups and discussed the idea and found that not everyone agreed. We came back together as a whole presented the former idea again along with two other new ideas. The class voted and the first idea was over ruled by a new one that majority felt was best. In constructing this new idea I could see the corruptness unfold. The group that favored their first idea picked and criticized the new idea until no one recognized it. Along with major pouting and pour sportsmanship the new idea was overruled and the first idea along with there group began construction on the present idea leaving the majority rule in the background. So as a class I believe there is a lot of growing up to do and we need to learn how to respect others.