After researching further into the issue I was able to generate a variety of possible ideas that aim to increase awareness and physically reduce the problem.
Idea 1
After visually analysing some examples of awareness posters it became clear that there needs to be more campaigns that are distributed to people's phones. The distribution of still campaigns seem slightly ineffective; the majority are printed posters and billboards that would be on display by the sides of roads and other vehicle areas. Whilst this is one way of trying to grab the attention of drivers, it seems counter-productive, as it would be more effective to distribute the content to people's phones, where people that use their phones regularly would be aware of the problem before getting in their vehicles.
Another point picked up on when analysing existing awareness posters is that there seems to be a lack of statistical campaigns. This may be because mobile phone car crashes are hard to measure; however, there are some statistics on the matter that could be used to aware people of the dangers. As the Police campaign found does not use any chilling, attention-grabbing imagery, as seen in the Think! campaigns, it would be interesting to combine statistics with a similar aesthetic to grab people's attention and inform them of the real-life consequences of using mobile phones when driving.
Therefore, this idea focuses on creating an awareness campaign that is digitally distributed to people's phones, as opposed to physically on the sides of roads and on billboards. The campaign would be statistically driven, and would use chilling imagery, such as the visuals seen in Think! campaigns, to grab people's attention. In terms of this imagery, a focus would be put on a variety of vehicles - not just cars - as lorry and van drivers are both large to blame for mobile phone use when driving. Outcome formats would have to be suitable for distribution on mobile devices; therefore, posters would have to be portrait, for optimum screen coverage, and would be designed in RGB for the best colours possible.
By using some statistics found in the research stage and looking at the style of Think! campaigns, a quick mockup of how a digital poster campaign could be distributed was created. Posters could be given to Police social media pages, which could then be sponsored and distributed to people's feeds. The mockup below uses North Yorkshire Police to highlight how a poster could be promoted.
Idea 2
The second idea is similar to the first idea; however, it revolves around distributing a video online, as opposed to digital posters. In a previous project completed in the Context of Practice module this year it was found that consumers are 27 times more likely to click through online video ads than standard banners. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that videos will account for 69% of all internet traffic by 2017, with static images declining fast, at a rate of nearly 45 percent. The most effective length for video ads is 30-60 seconds long, where 44% of Facebook ads were viewed to completion. In this sense, video campaigns are more effective in targeting users.
For this idea therefore, a campaign would be launched that is entirely video-based, distributing 30-60 second ads on social media. The ad would use hard-hitting facts and chilling imagery to aware people of the dangers and consequences of mobile phone use when driving. A quick mockup of how the video could be distributed can be seen below.
Idea 3
The final idea generated is different from the first two created. Instead of increasing the awareness of the issue, this idea would aim to physically stop people from using their mobile devices in their vehicles. My idea is to introduce a feature that automatically limits people's phones before they begin driving their vehicles. Further research would have to be made into existing solutions to the problem; however, the solution needs to target the highest percentage of mobile phone users in the UK.
In terms of distribution, the feature would be integrated into a software update for certain mobile devices. In a sense, I would like to produce a feature that works in a similar manner to Apple's 'Airplane Mode', which limits certain features on the iPhone. Whilst this can be turned on and off, I would rather make the feature compulsory, to ensure that those driving their vehicles are not distracted by their phones in any way.
Feedback
After generating the three ideas I pitched them to a mixed crit group of people aged between 17 and 24 - the identified age group that is most problematic in terms of mobile phone use when driving.
As I explained that mobile phone use behind the wheel is getting worse each year, people pointed out that awareness campaigns clearly have not made much of an impact in preventing the issue. Whilst people thought that the video campaign idea would be more effective in grabbing people's attention, they thought that it still would not be impactive enough to put people off using phones behind the wheel. The last idea presented was the most liked, mainly because people identified that it would not be a voluntary prevention; people would not be able to choose whether they use their phones or not in the car, which is very effective in minimising the problem. For this reason, it felt more appropriate to focus on the third idea when producing a solution to the issue. People suggested that I research into existing solutions and see whether such safety features exist.
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