Social Change Lecture Experience

WHY I ENJOYED BEING THE GRADUATE ASSISTANT FOR MY DESIGN CRITICISM STUDENTS.

Last week, I had the opportunity to give a lecture to my students about Design for Social Change. I started the lecture off by having them watch the Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show with Coldplay as the headliner featuring Beyoncé and Bruno Mars and addressed the different messages/movements represented within their peformance. For example: Black Lives Matter, Women Empowerment, LGBT Rights, Black Panther Party, The Something Yellow Foundation (raising awareness to benefit the young heroes of childhood cancer). 

Later, I gave them a presentation on 10 Strategies of Community Based Graphic Design from Andrew Shea's book, Designing for Social Change. I gave them examples of different campaigns designed by professional, well-known creators to college-based students. 

For their homework, I gave them two days to give me at least a 300-word essay on social change. Tell me what song, movement, person, campaign, music video, performance, speech has impacted them and why. 

Oh my goodness! I have graded these papers, and I can honestly say that… I AM MOVED. I had so many students open up about how songs, such as "I Am Not Racist," "1-800-273-8255," "This Is America," "Praying," "Where Is The Love?" have moved them, given them hope and a different perspective on another's culture or background. Some have opened up to me about depression, their sexuality, identity, their upbringing, losing their friends to depression and mental illness. I even had two young men who addressed their white privilege at the beginning of the papers mentioning how they never thought about social change or been affected by it, but have shared their stories of their background or witnessed incidences that have affected them to be more understanding and helpful from people unlike them. 

I have shared my stories of what it is like being a small town African-American woman, who is considered the most underrepresented within corporate American and academic institutions and how hard I am trying to make a change within the community despite my views or my features differing from others. All I want to do is see people succeed, but have people understand what it is like to be me. These papers had me shed tears but also given me more hope that I am doing a damn great job at what I do. I never thought about being a teacher until this quarter. Maybe God is telling me that there is another calling out there for me. Who knows? These students are my world, and they are the future. 

My students... if you are reading this. THANK YOU FOR BEING MY INSPIRATION. CONTINUE TO GROW. CONTINUE TO HELP OTHERS. CONTINUE TO MOVE YOUR COMMUNITY. CONTINUE TO LOVE. CONTINUE TO SPREAD PEACE. YOU ARE THE NEW AMERICA.

Evernote

LOGO BRAND REVIEW

Evernote is a mobile app, developed in 2008, that is developed for organizing notes, tasks, lists, and etc. It is also useful for syncing messages and giving the users accessibility to view them anywhere. According to Brand New, a brand identity blog and a division of Under Construction, Evernote has over 225 million users, 8 billion notes, and 25 different languages represented. 

In August of this year, celebrating their 10-yr anniversary, the company released a redesigned brand identity. The new look was created by DesignStudio, and their goal was to develop a “fresh, energetic, and modern visual system to bring the positioning to life.” The elephant, also known as Mads, is the significant look of Evernote. The exploration process contained a variety of changes of the icon – ranging from extreme and drastic to subtle and minimal. The elephant explorations show that maybe the company did not want that big of a change. As long as there was an ear with a crease in it, a trunk, and an eye, Evernote was set. 

As a designer, there are plenty of times where I have explored many ideas and majority of them have made me uncomfortable once I went back to narrow down which ones were stronger than the other. What is crazy is that majority of my revisions or ideas are the ones that were created in

the very first sketch or have a slight alteration with a letter or design. That’s it! I hate it, but we have to go through the bad in order to get to the good – even if that means sketching 50 different layout design revisions and end up picking the one that had the least bit of change. Evernote did just that.

The logo consists of a green elephant instead of the gray, when elephants are actually that color. The redesign seems more personal and trustworthy with the serif-typeface. The curvature shape in the trunk making a spiral gives a more organic, progressive tone with the green, earthy color. The logo and wordmark portrays an clear message, very optimistic tone, and editorial format. The illustrations along with the redesign do not seem to flow well with the look, especially with that disturbing mid-tone green color within their palette. Although it reads cheerfulness, the geometric patterns seem overwhelming with the use of their color included, especially when when seeing it through a desktop and mobile app. Overall I believe Evernote’s was to focus on the personal purpose and look rather than be trendy.

Dream Crazy Nike Ad

MESSAGE. TONE. FORMAT.

On September 5, 2018, Nike, the world’s largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel, released a commercial advertisement including Colin Kaepernick that caused an uproar with the American population. Despite what Colin Kaepernick is known for – controversial decision to kneel during the national anthem, the commercial was a huge success design wise. Nike delivered an inspirational message with a stimulating tone in a simple, story-telling format within 2 minutes and 5 seconds. 

The ad featured Colin Kaepernick narrating and sharing stories of other athletes such as, skateboarders Nyjah Huston and Lacey Baker, Usain Bolt, Serena Williams, Lebron James, and more. Throughout the commercial, viewers witness individuals overcoming their adversities and achieving their biggest milestones. 

The tone is to have ambition and self-motivation no matter what obstacles come your way. For example, Seattle Seahawks amputee linebacker, Shaquem Griffin, is shown tackling football players during his college years then transitions into a clip of him playing in the NFL while Kaepernick says in the background, “If you have only one hand, don’t just watch football. Play. At the highest level.” He closes the commercial with an inspirational message, “Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy; ask if they’re crazy enough.” The form of the commercial was truly simple, yet diverse. Every single image in this advertisement contained a diverse group of individuals. Yes, they were different shades of skin, ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, sports, but they all had one thing in common – overcoming a stereotype or obstacle. They never settled to be great like someone, they all have become greater. Although majority of the athletes shown were young, the design of the video seemed geared towards teenagers and young adults. The imagery and the narrated words developed a connection to the overall theme of Nike’s brand and their slogan, “Just Do It.”

A Letter to Me: One Year Ago

TO: DELLANEE. FROM: DELLANEE.

Dear Dellanee, 

Hey girl! Can you believe that one year ago you were writing this letter for an assignment in Jake’s Portfolio I course? It’s unreal, right? I hope you are doing everything you said you were going to do in one year. Right now, you should be living in a nice studio apartment in San Francisco, CA working at a creative agency (preferably corporate). I bet the work you are creating is amazing! I know how you much you love social media and developing brand/identity campaigns for various clients. Don’t lose your love for social design though. Continue to make a difference within the community. I know how much you care for your surroundings and the people within them. 

I hope you still have the dream to work in the Marketing/Promotions Department at Pixar or Walt Disney Animation Studios. Don’t worry sis. You’ll get there. Just keep making those connections within the city. You better be involved in organizations like you were at Louisiana Tech with AIGA and AAF. You are such a social butterfly and highly outspoken. Do not get discouraged by being in a new area. If you made a great group of friends within the Louisiana Tech community, then I am sure you can make at least five friends in Cali. 

No matter what happens, continue to be on top of your schedule with your calendar, monthly planner, and random sheets of paper you shove in your purse/backpack. Remember to always smile. You may have a bad day, but you never know - you can make someone else’s better. I am proud of the young lady you have become and how you never give up. No matter how many times people have doubted you and your work ethic. You are a QUEEN! If no one else supports you, I SUPPORT YOU! Remember... 

You are black. You are strong. You are independent. You are WOMAN.

Sincerely,

Dellanee Wade

100 Words on Design

WHAT IS DESIGN?

Design can be a variation of things. It can be a building, a shirt, a dance move, a song, or even a thesis proposal. It is about the process of developing ideas and concepts before bringing the creation to life. Once I began paying attention to the world around me, I learned design evolves EVERY SINGLE DAY - from the form of technology, trendy clothes worn, ways of communication, or use of transportation. As a designer, it is more than just a job, but the way we see things. In order to express one’s voice, get out, explore, and learn.