LiliRose Creative

THE PROBLEM

The 2020 sustainability representative from the guild had come across the issue of contamination in the recycling bins at Murdoch University and realised that the current signage in place was ineffective in helping people dispose of their rubbish correctly. From conducting interviews, it was evident, however, that people on campus wanted to recycle correctly but did not know how and needed clarity on which items went into the recycling and landfill bins. In helping to resolve this problem, my objective for this project was to redesign the current bin signage for both recycling and landfill. With a very broad target audience, I aimed to create engaging yet straightforward and simple signage that could be understood easily by everyone.

Current bin signage at Murdoch University

RESEARCH

The research stage includes defining the target audience and gaining a deeper understanding into the people affected by creating personas, empathy maps and conducting interviews. Competitors are also looked at to see what has been done in the past and whether or not these ideas have worked.

1. PERSONAS

I first started the research phase by thinking about personas, and what types of people would use the waste management system at Murdoch. Being a university, the target audience was quite large and encompassed many people of different ages and backgrounds, and as such, many different personas were created to reflect the target audience as accurately as possible.

2. EMPATHY MAP

To gain a deeper understanding into the problem that was occurring, I conducted interviews around campus about recycling. Some of the questions I asked included:

Do you think that the bin signage at Murdoch is effective? why/why not?
Can you list some items that go into recycling and can you list some items that go into landfill?
If the signs was more visually exciting, would you look at and use the signs?
What do you think could be improved with the signage?

These questions proved that most people were ill-informed about the proper disposal of waste items, even if they were actively trying to recycle. From this, it was obvious that the signage was not effective and that something had to be done. Anempathy map was created based off of these interviews to gain a better understanding into the target audience.

2. EMPATHY MAP

To gain a deeper understanding into the problem that was occurring, I conducted interviews around campus about recycling. Some of the questions I asked included:

Do you think that the bin signage at Murdoch is effective? why/why not?
Can you list some items that go into recycling and can you list some items that go into landfill?
If the signs was more visually exciting, would you look at and use the signs?
What do you think could be improved with the signage?

3. COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

A competitor analysis of similar waste management systems was conducted to see what other identities did well and what they could improve on. From these, I found that have a colour system in place to differentiate the different bins was most effective and the use of graphics was important to help the target audience decipher what waste items go in which bin.

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS 1 - ECO BIN

https://www.ecobin.com.au

I think this identity is very effective. The ecobins are very bright and colourful which makes the bins highly noticeable which ensures people put their items in the right bin. Each bin is colour coded depending on what items go in that bin. I think that I would improve on the graphics part of this identity. I would possibly make them more eye-catching, filling them with colour to suit the rest of the identity, as well as create more graphical images as the ones used are repeated many times.

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS 2 - FACE YOUR WASTE

https://www.facebook.com/faceyourwaste/photos

I think this identity is effective in confronting people about the issue of waste and recycling as it is a clear bin and people can see how much rubbish is actually placed in these bins. The design of the bins is different to what is normally seen so people walking past may stop to have a look and think about the waste they produce on a daily basis. I don’t however feel this identity is effective in helping people sort between recyclables and general waste.This is because there is no information on the bins or the actual website about what items go in what bin. This could be improved by making have some graphics on the lid to show people what goes in each bin. This would not take away from the main purpose of the bin which is to confront people as it won’t be blocking the clear sides. I do also feel that the videos that they have posted on the website for the campaign feel a little out of place as they do not match the rest of the identity. I would change the videos to be more educational and possibly include animated aspects as this ‘cartoon’ style is present on the website.

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS 3 - FOGO

https://www.melvillecity.com.au/waste-and-environment/waste-recycling-fogo/3-bin-fogo-system/what-is-the-3-bin-fogo-system

From what I have seen, I do think this identity is effective and it works. There are a few collateral products such as brochures and magnets that make the process very clear and describe in detail what belongs in each bin. Each bin can be easily identified as they each have different coloured lids for the different types of bins. One thing I would add to this identity would be to put signage of what can and can’t go in the bins, onto the actual bin. This is because if a resident isn’t sure, they may have to search it up on the internet. This process may be time consuming and the resident may not have the patience for this and therefore just put the item into any bin, not caring. Another addition I would add to this identity would be a website of some kind. All the information about this new FOGO system can be found on each local governments website. eg. City of Melville, City of Fremantle etc. It would make the process easier if they had one website where all the information and FAQs were placed. This website, as well as additional collateral material, would enhance the visual identity as I do feel this is lacking in the government websites, as they have their own identity.

VISUAL INVESTIGATION

The visual investigation stage includes creating mind maps to help generate ideas for the development stage. During this stage, I also look at images, websites and other content found on the internet, as well as objects, books and other materials found in my surroundings to find inspiration.

1. BRAINSTORM

To begin the visual investigation phase of this project, I started with mindmapping the words ‘waste management’ to lay out my knowledge and to see if I could generate any ideas for the overall identity.

I then started to look online and in my surrounding environment for inspiration. Images were compiled into a visual investigation to help reflect the colours and graphical style that I was aiming for in the final identity. I looked at more cartoon style graphics as they were simple and could be easily understood by all audiences. Colours I looked at consisted of greens, yellows and blues as they reflected the environment, as well as recycling.

2. BRAND AND IDENTITY SUMMARY

After all this initial research, I started to have an idea of what this new identity needed to include, what it should look like, and the outcomes it would create. A brand and identity summary was created to identify and solidify the identity personality, character, core values and relationship with the target audience.

2. BRAND AND IDENTITY SUMMARY

DEVELOPMENT

The Development stage includes creating rough sketches and refining them with computer software, as well as experimenting with different elements such as colour, grids, layouts, typography and images until an identity is created.

1. COLOUR

The colour scheme I chose was similar to other waste management systems in that it used the colours red, yellow, green and blue. I felt that these colours represented the environment, and they were also colours that people have learned to associate with waste management. I introduced the blue colour as I felt that this accurately represented the container deposit scheme.

2. TYPOGRAPHY

When deciding on the typography for the headings on the signage, I looked at fonts that were bold and would stand out. This font also needed to be neat and easy to read so the viewer could interpret the sign quickly. I chose the typeface ‘Bebas Neue’ because I felt that it reflected these qualities well.

For the body text, I wanted to use a familiar, easy to ready font that would display well in different sizes. I also wanted this font to have different weights so that I could highlight important information in bold. I chose the typeface ‘Open Sans’ because I felt that contrasted well with the heading font and was easy to read due to having more rounded letters with no serifs.

3. GRAPHICS

From the visual investigation, I started to create the cartoon style graphics. I brainstormed all the common waste items that people would need to dispose in landfill or recycling on campus. I drew images of what I wanted these items to look like on the signage. I took these images I had hand drawn and re-created them in illustrator using a cartoon-like style.

I tried to use mostly colours from the colour scheme I had chosen, but also used other colours where necessary.

4. LAYOUT

I then started to experiment with putting all these different components into layouts. I decided to utilise a downward arrow that created a pyramid like structure. Each section contained the different items that could be disposed in that bin with other important information placed around the arrow. I felt this layout was clear with all the items in one spot, down the centre of the signage.

DELIVERABLES

The deliverables includes the delivery of the final outcomes, outputs, products or identities. These outputs should address the issues raised within the problem statement.

1. THE BIN SIGNAGE

The signage for the bins was then created in In-Design using the chosen colours, layout and typography, as well as the graphics that I had created. These signs are a big imporovement from the current signage as they are more visually exciting, utilising lots of colours and graphics to capture the viewers attention. Not much reading Is needed and the symbols can be understood by everyone which suits the large target audience.

2. TOUCHPOINTS

STUDENT PORTAL TILE

I also created a tile for the Murdoch student portal. People want information quickly and don’t want to be standing at the bin for a large amount of time. By placing a tile on the student portal, students would be exposed to it everyday when the log in and it will encourage them to recycle correctly. If they are still unsure about how to recycle then can click the tile for more information.

2. TOUCHPOINTS

STUDENT PORTAL TILE

POSTERS

Some other touchpoint created to go with the brand included 2 posters for the container deposit scheme and battery recycling. The container deposit scheme was a new scheme coming into action. Posters around Murdoch University would make students, staff and the general public aware of this new scheme and encourage them to recycle empty beverage containers using the new reverse vending machines The Guild was planning to put on campus.

FOOD CONTAINERS

I created some touchpoint relating to the disposal of food and drink containers on campus. The biodegradable food container design show they they can go in landfill. Coffee cups and lids were also the main contaminants found in the recycling bins at Murdoch. I created a design for a coffee cup to help people identify where these items go.

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