ALTERNATE...

This reminded me of a conversation I had with a homeless guy I know, we were talking about the whole issue of begging as he was saying how much he dislikes having to do it, but at times he has no other choice. We joked about the idea he had to just have a sign saying 'wanted money - to go get pissed!' Its good to have a sense of humour especially in these kinds of situations, personally I would be more likely to give a donation in this case! I have decided to collate, analyse, interrogate and show this results as a body of work in print form as it is more in fitting with this format as opposed to campaign design.

Chris Rose

" Your campaign has to be like a red thread. It cannot be the 'whole picture'. Instead it has to be a way, a trail, stepping stones, a critical-path. Do not try to communicate 'the issue', however tempting it may be. Communicate your campaign - what you think, the problem as you see it, the solution as you see it, the opportunity as you see it - and only that."
My guidelines is taking shape and through Chris Rose's campaign strategies website, I am getting a clearer understanding of how to approach campaigns for NGOs. Yesterday was an eye opener as it highlighted my previous doubts about testing my campaign guidelines on a campaign to raise awareness about homeless issues. This conversation needed to be had and it not only ironed out this issue but also made me aware that I must keep my campaign simple in order to get the message out there. The idea and methodology must be clear in order to reach my target audience. After watching the news tonight and seeing the very dire situation that remains in Haiti 6 months on, it got me thinking about humanitarian work, could it be possible to make this mandatory for young people 18 years and older, be it a 6 month term or more. It is an idea that would benefit not only the individual but also that feeling of internationalism, we all make up the world we live in and therefore should help all our neighbours, those in close proximity and otherwise.

Campaign strategies

Yesterday I spoke with 2 homeless men that I have known now for a number of years. These men have over the years informed me of the many issues surrounding homelessness in London, in particular the corruption within many homeless organisations which is one of the reasons I decided to approach this area in my Major Project. There are many issues to be aware of when dealing with this social issue and this is the reason I decided to meet and discuss this with the two men in question. However, I now feel as though a project of this nature is not realistic in terms of time and as I have worked with homeless people over the last couple of years, I am astute to their difficulties in terms of bureaucracy etc. Therefore, to take on this issue from another angle I feel would be akin to doing a campaign for campaign sake and ultimately I would not have the belief or passion to drive it forward knowing what I know.

Bruno Munari reference

Bruno Munari educates us through the sense of touch in his book The Tactile Workshops, which has lead me to conclude that human interaction can have a much more lasting effect when targeting young people. Munari’s observations provoke thought on the sense of touch and the impact of diverting the visual focus and refocusing on the tactile and I personally believe this to be the case, now all I need to do is to come up with ideas that can have this effect! Should be the easy part right...

Kenya Hara designs

While reading Kenya Hara's Redsigning Design, I came across an image in keeping with my Major Project, a garment that has zippers all round each opening to a pocket. These openings can be stuffed with newspapers which retains the heat therefore allowing you to sleep outdoors wearing this item of clothing alone! This lead to investigate further the idea of sustainable living whereupon I happened upon this image.

By a Japanese home building company Sago Mokuzai who design houses that come in two boxes (41 Kg each). With its purpose being for emergency use and durable for roughly 6 months.
I just stumbled across this image which takes on a whole new meaning to the idea of packaging, for me it drives home the freshness of the produce, however I have no doubt that others would have misgivings about how perishable the item would be and therefore forgo on such and choose the 'safer' option of bottled glass or plastic.

The One Campaign

Stumbed across this campaign to end homelessness in America known as The One Campaign focusing on combating global disease and extreme poverty.
http://www.one.org/international/

Off Track

MP related, well maybe not but is inspiring at the least not just for the design factor but there is also a note of admiration for Dan Whitford in that not only is he the lead singer of Cut Copy but also does amazing graphic design. That and the fact that my friend Mandy had a dance off with him and won, well cant be good at everything eh! http://www.alter.com.au

Major Project

I have finally narrowed down the area I wish to explore for my MP, well by narrow I mean that it is still broad enough to be of interest! Bruce Mau and Daniel Eatock have served me well, however I think its time to make the big leap with some experimentation. Just popped an email through to Camila Batmanghelidjh from Kids Company so fingers crossed for a response as she could be the key to this projects' success or otherwise! Kids Company are a hands on organisation that deal with impoverished, vulnerable inner city young people and this is the group I wish to target as they are the people most at risk of becoming homeless and indeed dealing with social problems in society.