Design Brief

I.               Project Overview and Background

Art Box Kids is a local organization that requires a complete brand identity. They lack more than a basic web presence and have a disconnected system of design in place. An updated design system will project a confident and reliable organization and increase visibility to their audience.

The updated design system will offer the audience more information about Art Box Kids in a clean and easy to read way. It will present supporting evidence of the organization’s work and present a reliable and hard working persona to its audience while maintaining its roots in the community.

II.             Goals and Objectives

·      Create a clean, easy to navigate website

·      Provide easy to find information on the organization

·      Make it easy to contact or donate to the organization

·      Create a design system that covers advertisements and informational material in a cohesive way.

·      Design an identity that is trustworthy and rooted in the community

III.           Criteria for Success

Designs will be produced between the designer and the organization leader. They will then be tested for feedback among a sample of the target audience and revaluated, insuring desired response to the design system is met. The design system should illicit feelings of trust and promote a reliable company image, without misrepresenting the size of the organization.

IV.           Company Background / Business Analysis

Art Box Kids is an organization dedicated to helping ill or disabled children through art and music. They donate supplies to hospitals, shelters, and families in the Piedmont area that treat children and work to raise money to bring disabled children art and music. The organization was founded by Michael Everitt and his wife as the Steve Everitt Foundation and originally helped children in the cities where he played NFL football. The organization has since become more focused and small, maintaining a low overhead to avoid government constraint and operating solely through their website.

They offer a local community outlet to help disabled children, giving them an advantage over competitors within the community. Currently, however, there is little information about the company available. The website is under construction but lacks links to basic information such as contact or donation. Multiple news articles about the organization exist from third party sources, but offer no additional information.

The organization functions primarily through donations from private businesses. They refuse to accept government or foundation funding as they are morally against receiving non-voluntary or tax related aid. There is currently no way for an interested donor to receive information or contact Michael Everitt except through e-mail, as their site lacks information and they no longer maintain a building or phone for the organization.

SWOT

Art Box Kids is a small organization, run entirely by Michael Everitt. Its size and focus is its strength in that it allows for a closer relationship with the area and a more personal approach. Providing school supplies to children offers a concrete way to give back to the community and an easy way to measure the organization’s success. The organization’s main weakness is the lack of refined design and easily accessed information. There is little about the organization currently presented that suggests they have been around and successful in their goals for 14 years. The organization currently has the opportunity to reach out more to their community. They currently focus on private organizations and avoid advertisements because they only want money freely given, but more of a presence in the community would allow individuals interested in donating to get involved as well. The current threat to the organization are other, more professional organizations with similar goals. The Art Box Kids is small to avoid government interference, but they also present as very small and disorganized through their lack of available information and means of contact. Since they primarily target private businesses, it is important to convince those businesses they are a reliable charity for donation over similar, larger competitors.

PEST

                   Since the Art Box Kids is very small, they avoid most government interference. With this being an election year, however, the political climate is changing and it is possible that a new president will set different government requirements for charitable organizations. The economy is also very poor so individuals and businesses who might normally donate to charities such as this one, who focus on non-essential goods, might instead hang on to their money until better times. It is important for the organization to stay aware of changing laws and make sure the smaller size and lack of advertisement is still to their benefit. Since they only work in the Piedmont area, their social focus is on that specific community of primarily white, primarily middle class Americans. Technologically, since the organization is only operating through the web, it is important for them to be as up to date as possible on social-media and web trends. Currently their website is under construction, but as the only source of information for the organization it is important to have it up and running efficiently as soon as possible.

V. Service Sector Review

The Art Box Kids operate in the children and arts sectors, focusing on supporting ill and disabled children through the arts. They provide this aid in the form of art supplies, delivered in shoeboxes to children in hospital, homeless shelters, and abuse shelters. The Art Box Kids focus on the Matthews community and offer a more specialized service than other, similar groups in the same sector. Unlike other groups, The Art Box Kids limits their services strictly to art supplies for children within the community and accept no government or foundation donations.

VI. Target Audience Review and Identification of Stakeholders

The Art Box Kids target audience is the community of Matthews, specifically adults with an interest in the arts or aid for disadvantaged children. The organization also targets local businesses that either sell art supplies or donate money to charity. Adults with disposable income are the most likely to donate to the organization, but are not the sole audience. The Art Box Kids is focused on donations of any size from anyone within the Matthews community.

The organization is small and has no volunteers or stakeholders. All donations come in the form of supplies or money used to buy supplies and then sent directly to ill and disabled children. Donations can be made through the website or sent directly to the organization leader for distribution. The organization does not advertise, making the website or direct, face-to-face contact the only touch points available for potential donors. Michael Everett and his wife are the sole members of the organization and manage all of the donations.

VII. Competition and Competitive Positioning

Arts for Life is an organization very similar to The Art Box Kids which operates out of North Carolina and focuses on the four major cities. They present a similar persona to their audience, offering experience and reliability while maintaining the light, caring, childish aesthetic. They offer plenty of information about organization goals and success as well as identifying the group they are trying to help to the audience.

Caitlin’s Smiles is a larger organization than The Art Box Kids that has the same goals. They have a much more refined and sophisticated design scheme, mimicking the hospital aesthetic. Though their audience is wider spread they are also rooted strongly in their community. Caitlin’s Smiles sponsors local events and donation drives as well as accepting electronic donations and volunteer work.

VIII. Perception and Tone

The Art Box Kids currently lacks any definite positioning within the community due to a lack of information and presence. There is strong potential to differentiate itself from other groups in the same sector by highlighting their specialization to their audience and giving more information about their ten years of experience. The organization stands for the arts and supports their benefits for children who are sick or disabled. They need to present themselves to their audience as caring and nurturing while maintaining sophistication and reliability.

IX. Business Objectives + Design Strategies

Business Objectives                                                Design Strategies

Donate supplies to children in need            Streamline donations and website so businesses and donors can easily access information on donations and donate what the organization needs

Inform the public of the organization            Improve website and design to appeal to audience and contain more information

            Appeal to potential donors                                    Offer easy to access information on the

history and success of the organization

                                                                                    Create a design system that presents a

reliable and experienced image for the

organization

X. Phases of the Design Process

·      Logo research and iteration

·      Consultation with Michael; settle on aesthetic tone and design direction

·      Poster design; integrate logo and define pertinent information about the organization

·      Consult with Michael about organization information and gather data on past fourteen years of operation

·      Settle on poster design that fulfills needs of the organization

·      Narrative Sequence; integrate information into design scheme, begin thinking about website design and how it relates to brochure

·      Website research and iteration

·      Consult with Michael to confirm website direction and prioritize functionality

·      Website design and coding; make information easily accessed and donations available through the website. Include any other functions Michael wants.

·      Website testing across multiple platforms; debugging

·      Reassess integration of logo, poster, brochure, and website together

·      Process book; include all research, iteration, refinement, and audience testing

XI. Research Questions

XII. Appendix

Competitive Audit

Caitlin’s Smiles

·      Non-profit organization that donates art supplies to very ill and dying children

·      Founded 2004

·      Extensive list of hospitals donated to

·      Variety of donation and volunteer options

·      Supply donations and public outreach events

·      Presents a sophisticated but caring persona, presents itself as a large, active organization

·      Clear representation of how funds, donations, and volunteer time is and has been used

·      Easy to donate or contact

·      Focused in the PA area

·      Coherent umbrella design covers site, logos, and event marketing

·      Data suggests large successful organization while specific names and pictures suggest personal attachment to cause

·      Color scheme and site layout similar to children’s wing of a hospital

·      Pictures of children with crafts and of Caitlin connect donors to organization’s cause

·      Organization offers sense of trustworthiness and accountability; lives up to promised goals.

Arts for Life

·      Donates art supplies to sick children in North Carolina

·      Also teaches art to children and mentors

·      Similar aesthetic but presents a slightly larger organization

·      Targets similar demographics and helps similar community

·      Covers wider area with sub-organizations under single umbrella group

·      Offers events and volunteer opportunities in addition to donations

·      Uses images and stories of specific ill children to connect to audience

·      Design lacks clean composition and presents as organization run by enthusiastic amateurs

·      Offers names of specific volunteers

·      Presents as a community organization, narrowing their efforts to sick children within North Carolina and appealing to donors and volunteers in the North Carolina area.

·      Nearly identical goal and aesthetics as well as target audience, making them the closest competition

·      Ample third party reports of charity work by organization

SWOT

Strengths:

·      Small, local organization

·      Connection with community and audience

·      Focused, attainable goals

·      History of consistent success

·      Physical, tangible donations

Weaknesses:

·      Lack of design or voice

·      Lack of information

·      No evidence of previous success or accountability

·      Difficult donation methods

·      Too focused, attainable goals; no BHAGs

Opportunities:

·      Larger web and social media presence

·      Community events and lectures

·      Greater public awareness

·      Immediate, visible impact on community

·      New avenues for donation

·      Volunteer work

Threats:

·      Larger organizations with same goals

·      Organizations who cover the same audience

·      Lack of representation in community

·      Distrust of donors

·      Disinterest

PEST

Political:

·      Upcoming election

·      Changing healthcare and welfare laws

Economic:

·      Higher unemployment rates

·      Less disposable income

Socio-Cultural:

·      Middle class

·      Predominately white community

Technology:

·      Increased availability of free internet access

·      Fewer brick and mortar stores/increase in internet shopping

·      Organization is only operating through the web