Play Rights
Graphic designers can create a positive impact on the world. The goal of this project was a fundraising event for WOMEN'S WAY, a non-profit dedicated to women's rights, to raise funds and create awareness of a cause. The event is a meaningful play series that features Top Girls, The Vagina Monologues, and For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When The Rainbow Is Enuf as a means to educate the public. The Play Rights branding includes bright colors to discern between plays and utilizes large, bold text to emphasize the brevity of the issues at hand. The event educates, entertains, and raises funds and awareness for an important cause.
Research
Nonprofit Selection
WOMEN'S WAY's mission…
"To inspire and mobilize the community to invest in organizations and leaders that will advance the rights of and opportunities for women and girls, and achieve gender equity for all."
WOMEN'S WAY's mission statement involves connecting, empowering, and investing in women to promote advancements in women's rights and opportunities.
Whom They Help
WOMEN'S WAY supports women leaders, businesswomen, go-getters, and women in need. They create a network of donors who invest in philanthropy for women, girls, and gender equity. They provide opportunities for learning, connections, and innovative work for organizations and leaders. They invest in their organization to strengthen it as a resource for partners and donors. They build and connect community involvement from donors, volunteers, activists, and organizations. In short, they help women.
Past Events
Due to COVID-19, WOMEN'S WAY's past fundraising events have mostly been online. Some of those events include online forums, marketplaces, lunch and learns, and more. Before the pandemic, some events included ax throwing, a pitch competition, and interviews.
After COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, WOMEN'S WAY needed to resume hosting in-person events. Three event ideas were considered: trivia night, a play series, and trash collecting. The play series was chosen as the best option because it addresses women's daily struggles and appeals to a broad audience.
Investigative Findings
Research showed that WOMEN'S WAY required an in-person event that appealed to a larger audience and gave back to the community. They needed help involving the general community. Previous fundraising events mainly targeted women, and although past events seemed inclusive, the photos, names of finalists, and winners revealed that the population was almost entirely female. By including all genders, WOMEN'S WAY could increase its success.
Choosing the Plays
The project began with formative research on WOMEN'S WAY and continued once the play series event was decided upon. Research continuation began by exploring which plays would be appropriate for the event. The plays had to be written by women and highlight the adversities women face daily. The final decided plays were Top Girls, The Vagina Monologues, and For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When The Rainbow Is Enuf.
User Personas
User personas were created to connect with a variety of audiences. The first audience is interested in Play Rights to participate in a theatrical production. The second audience was already linked with WOMEN'S WAY and wanted community growth. The third audience is unfamiliar with gender-based struggles but is eager to learn.
Visual Research
A moodboard was created to determine the aesthetic and overall atmosphere of the event. The chosen concept called for bold shapes and vibrant colors to communicate power and liveliness. Additionally, it was determined that photography should be included to highlight the women featured in the plays.
Naming
A name for the event was chosen after utilizing a mind map and word list to gather words and phrases associated with women, fundraising, and theater. The chosen name, Play Rights, reflects activism by altering the word "playwrights" with "Rights." The decision was made with the help of peer collaboration. After choosing the name, the ideation of the logo began with sketching.
Logo
Sketches
While designing the Play Rights logo, various approaches were considered, including wordmarks and icon combination designs. The logo directions that were more type-based were favored over the more youthful, illustrative designs. Ultimately, a typographic solution was deemed more appropriately aligned with the bold image of the brand.
Refinements
After sketching the logo concept, bold and chunky sans serif typography was explored. Poppins was chosen as the font for its squared corners, thick strokes, and various weights. Throughout the process, making the letter forms thicker balanced the overall form and reflected the edgy brand. Each rendition made the logo wider to balance the overall form and reflect the edgy brand. Lastly, the counters of "PLAY" were removed to enhance these ideas.
Scripts
A secondary element was deemed necessary for the logo to enhance the celebration of women through Play Rights. Various script fonts were manually designed to be placed over the chunky sans serif “PLAY” to determine the most suitable font to embody the brand.
Style Tile
Next, a style tile was created to develop Play Rights' personality. The brand was meant to feel edgy, bold, modern, and electric. Colors were chosen based on their associations; pink represents femininity and creativity, blue symbolizes purpose, purple represents justice, and green signifies health and prosperity. Opacity color treatments over black and white photos were used for consistency and differentiation. Color played a significant role in Play Rights for distinction and organization.
Deliverables
As a fundraising event, Play Rights required various deliverables, including a website, mobile tickets, a playbill, pole banners, and a lawn blanket. The finalization of the logo and branding provided direction for subsequent deliverables.
Digital Assets
Mobile Ticket
The mobile ticket follows brand rules with its use of text, rectangles, and color to represent the play. The color pink is associated with Top Girls, so it's used in the ticket. Upon opening, a loading screen with a play image appears with a fading message. After loading, the ticket is automatically shown and can be scanned at the event entry point. After scanning, another play image appears with a confirmation message.
Instagram Stories
Instagram stories promote events by presenting educational and statistical facts highlighting the injustices women face. The color scheme and text will correspond with the color of the play, which will change monthly depending on the current production.
Instagram Post and Profile
The Instagram profile also uses statistical facts to highlight the inequalities that women face. Based on the play shown that month, the profile will showcase posts corresponding to the play's dedicated color. The posts with just a colored image will contain a quote from the play and the meaning behind the quote with context as it relates to that particular women’s rights issue.
Website
The website features cohesive design elements, including oversized and angled text, various font weights and sizes, colored backgrounds, rounded rectangles, heavy strokes, and rectangular text fields. The website primarily showcases the brand and its operations in a straightforward manner. It played a significant role in establishing the design guidelines for the brand and informing other deliverables.
Physical Assets
Playbill
Each event patron will receive a playbill corresponding to the play presented that month. The playbill's design takes inspiration from the event website and incorporates bold text, rounded rectangles, and color blocking to distinguish between pages.
Pole Banners
Fairmount Park will have pole banners for wayfinding signage during the event. Three variations of banners use black, white, and the primary play color. One side of the banner will show the event logo, featured production, and event details. The other side will feature the responsive Play Rights logo and a scene from the corresponding play.
Quilted Lawn Blanket
Quilted lawn blankets would be sold at the event – both striking and practical – as this event is held on a grass lawn. The quilted lawn blanket features square patches with influential female actors, playwrights, and directors, with quotes beside each woman in their respective color.
Instructor: Kelly Holohan