Overall, I found this to be quite a challenging module, particularly as I have tried to really push my skills to their limits. In the first Studio Brief, I produced my first screen print of this year, which was really beneficial in developing my practical skills. I feel much more confident producing analogue prints moving into Level 06 and will definitely try to produce more physical work next year. In the second Studio Brief, I really pushed my motion graphics skills, as well as my problem solving skills. Choosing Apple as a client was tough, as the outcomes had to be very high-quality; however, I feel that I managed to create outcomes that are effective and produced to a high-standard.
In terms of time management, this was definitely the most organised that I have been in any module so far. I think that this was because I planned my time out ahead of starting the individual briefs and thoroughly enjoyed completing the work; therefore, managed to complete the outcomes quite efficiently. Producing the walkthrough video and promotional video was the most time consuming aspect of the project as I wanted it to look as professional as possible for consistency with Apple’s previous commercials. Whilst I have identified that motion graphics is not a career pathway that I want to follow, I think that it is still beneficial to improve my skills in the area, as it will give me a more diverse range of possibilities to work with when going into industry. It was interesting to use my music production skills in this project also, as this is one aspect that I would like to tie into my practice more often.
What I learnt most from this project is the importance of message and distribution considerations. Studio Brief 02 opened my eyes to how target audience needs to be linked with distribution, and also how existing designs and campaigns can be analysed in terms of the effectiveness of their distribution, as opposed to their aesthetic.
If I could have done anything differently in this project, I would have liked to have worked with a coder, or app developer, to physically test the Apple Drive Mode. As I have already highlighted that I would like to promote this concept online to try and raise awareness of mobile distractions and potentially contact Apple, this is one possibility that I may try over Summer.
In conclusion, I am extremely happy with the quality of outcomes produced in this module. Over Summer, I am going to develop them further to upload and promote on Behance. This will hopefully increase my exposure moving into Level 06.
All the outcomes produced can be seen on this blog post - particularly the final walkthrough video and promotional video, which are essentially the main two outcomes.
Overall, the solution created would physically stop the social issue of mobile distractions behind the wheel. Whilst I have only focused on iPhone owners, the concept could be applied to the majority of smartphones, as they are now built-in with microphones, motion sensors and update capabilites.
To gain some feedback on the entire campaign, I set up a small crit group of young adults (the main target audience being targeted) to see whether they think the proposed concept and promotional material effectively solves the issue and grabs their attention. Everyone agreed that it would definitely reduce the number of incidents due to mobile distractions behind the wheel because Drive Mode is compulsory. People thought that, because of this, the campaign is more effective than awareness campaigns, as it is a physical prevention, as opposed to an encouraged message. As the outcomes produced are consistent with Apple's existing visuals, people thought that the campaign would successfully grab people's attention, as there is already such a demand and buzz around Apple products as it is. People said that the distribution methods have been well informed to target younger people, as they tend to use social media and mobile devices more than the older generation. However, many people also thought that the campaign would appeal to all ages, as the tone of voice used and visuals are quite universal. This was great to hear, as it would allow a higher percentage of incidents to be prevented by distributing the update to all users, whatever their age.
One piece of feedback received regarded the walkthrough video, and the proposed idea of allowing BlackBox insurance users to see their driving data in real-time. People thought that this may distract people when driving, as they may keep looking at their phones to see their updated stats. This is one aspect that I would change if I developed the concept further - I would only allow users to see their driving data when Drive Mode has been disabled.
In conclusion, this was one of my favourite projects to date, as it had a real focus on problem solving and making a change to society. Picking Apple as my focus was quite challenging, as their existing visuals are produced to a very high quality; however, I feel that I have made a campaign that is consistent and carefully considered in this respect. Whilst it is a huge long-shot, I am going to put this project online to see whether I can raise some awareness and possibly contact Apple. Realistically, all smartphone providers and car manufacturers need to work together to solve the issue; however, projects like this may make them consider the possibilities they have.
As the concept and visual considerations were now settled on, I was able to move on to producing the outcomes. Distribution had already been considered throughout the idea generation and development stages, therefore outcomes were able to be made that would effectively target the target audience of young people. Whilst young people are my main target audience, I also wanted to ensure that Drive mode can be understood by all consumers, and Apple (when pitched to them). A lot of time was spent on ensuring that the outcomes were made to a high quality. The outcomes that needed to be produced are:
A logo for Apple Drive.
A walkthrough video that would be pitched to Apple, to highlight how the mode would physically work and be distributed.
A promotional video that would be distributed on social media, targeting young people online. Informed by research, this needed to be 30-60 seconds in length for the best effectiveness. This would also be distributed on TV, as Apple do not tend to use social media.
Posters that aware people of the new mode. These would be physically distributed to reach a wider audience, as all the other outcomes produced would be digitally distributed.
A desktop and mobile layout that informs consumers of the new mode, how it works and why it has been introduced.
In terms of the Apple Drive logo, inspiration was taken from Apple's existing icons. As Apple use visual metaphors, it was appropriate to use a steering wheel for instant recognition with driving. As the mode is aiming to promote safety and wellbeing, the colours from the Apple Health icon were used.
Initially, I gained feedback on the following four symbols. Everyone agreed that the top right icon is the most suitable, as it has the best weight with the other icons in the Control Centre.
The promotional video and walkthrough video were produced in Adobe After Effects. Inspiration was taken from previous Apple commercials, which use a combination of fast paced text transitions and smooth, sleek transitions, alongside white a background, black type and simple, clean imagery.
As the promotional video is mainly targeting at a younger audience, Zara Larsson's track 'Lush Life' - the 3rd most popular track of 2016 in the UK - was used to grab the audiences attention. For the walkthrough video, a more subtle background track was used, with my own voiceover and added sound effects.
In terms of promotional posters, feedback highlighted that young people are very inquisitive, and that they need to be enticed by an incentive. To effectively do so, I based posters on questions related to the new mode. These aim to intrigue the younger audience by making them want to learn more about the update.
Lastly, desktop and mobile site layouts were entirely inspired by existing layouts on the Apple site. Design considerations were informed by the visual aspects highlighted in the development stage.
By considering the features that iPhone devices have, I was able to create a concept for how mobile phone use when driving could be completed. This can be read below.
To see whether the concept seems viable, I asked a few peers for their feedback on the matter. Overall, everyone agreed that the concept, technically, would work. However, one aspect that needed to be considered is electric cars, as their engines do not make a noise when the car is started. Upon researching into electric cars, I found that they all have individual start-up noises. Some of these can be heard below. If Apple was to take this concept forward, they would have to work with car manufacturers to create a bank of recognisable car start-up sounds that the microphone will listen for.
After careful consideration the main functional concept created can be seen below. This was used when developing the walkthrough video and other outcomes.
As no other feedback was made, I felt confident to move forward with the concept. As Apple are my main area of focus, their use of typography, imagery and colour needs to be considered, to ensure that the feature is designed to fit in with their current visuals.
On both mobile and desktop sites, Apple uses two main typefaces - SF Pro Display for headers and SF Pro Text for body copy. This is also used on IOS 9 and above, whilst Helvetica Light and Regular is used for IOS 8 and below.
In terms of Apple's colour use, text is monochrome and icons are colourful. Icons tend to be accompanied by one word, or two max, and use very simplistic visual metaphors. Layouts are kept organised and as simple as possible for an easy user experience.
As I want to target the highest percentage of mobile phone users in the UK, I used the research made into the best selling phones to choose a device that will be targeted. The campaign would attempt to work with various mobile phone providers; however, for the purpose of this brief, I am going to focus on just one.
As found earlier in the project, the best selling smartphone in the UK was the iPhone 6, alongside various other Apple devices that have dominated the market. Because of this, I have chosen to focus my feature on being integrated into Apple iPhone devices - particularly the iPhone 6.
In terms of the capabilities that Apple have over their user's devices, one very recent update that they introduced highlights how they can bring in new features with ease. The recent update caused people's iPhones to be permanently disabled if the handset detects that a repair to the fingerprint sensor has been carried out by a non-Apple technician. Apple did this as a safety measure, to prevent third parties from stealing information from their users. Whilst a fix has been released since the update, this matter highlights the power that Apple has to bring in a new feature.
To see whether there are any solutions to the problem of mobile driving distractions, research was made into existing apps and concepts. The first app that I came across is one called 'iCarMode', which essentially simplifies the iPhone user experience into one platform. Large icons and type are used for easy access and the phone essentially works like it would if connected to the car over Airplay. Whilst this may speed up the time spent by users on their devices when driving, it does not prevent distractions in any way - users can still use their phones, and can still receive and make texts whilst driving. For this reason, it is ineffective in solving the problem.
The second piece that I came across is a device called RiVE. This is a third-party device that can be plugged into mobile phones before driving. It blocks you from using your phone when driving and automatically sends out a message to anyone who is trying to text you, awaring them that you are driving.
This is much more effective than the previous solution found, as it physically stops people from using their devices when driving. The only negative aspect to such an idea is that it is a product. People who are obsessed with their phones, or do not realise the dangers of using their mobiles when driving, will most likely never consider buying a product or app that stops them from doing so. A feature needs to be put in place that can not be open to choice. Some aspects of this product can be taken from when developing my own feature; however, it must be compulsory.
The best concept that I found that aims to tackle the issue of mobile phone use when driving is a concept called 'Car Mode', produced by Joey Cofone and Michael Vanderbyl. This is an automatic feature integrated in the iPhone that passively turns your phone off when connected to your vehicle's bluetooth. You are still allowed to receive calls and sat-nav directions from the device; however, you cannot text people and can not fully use your device. The proposal of Apple partnering with insurance companies is one interesting incentive that could work to help encourage people to use such a mode on their devices.
Whilst the concept is very strong, there are two main issues that I have identified with the concept. Firstly, the name is not entirely relevant. Whilst many offenders use cars, there are also offenders in other vehicles, such as vans and lorries. It was found in the research stage that mobile phone users in vans are more problematic than those in cars in the UK. This concept is American however; therefore, it may be more appropriate. The second issue with this concept is that many cars do not have bluetooth. As the entire concept is reliant on this, drivers that do not have bluetooth are able to choose whether they can use their device in their vehicles - an ineffective solution to the problem. The feature should work, no matter what car people have, and should not be optional.
As it is clear that there needs to be a more effective feature that is integrated into Apple devices, some further research was made into the features that smartphones have.
As the 'Car Mode' concept analysed relies on cars having bluetooth, a more effective device feature needs to be found that can work in any car, no matter what capabilities it has. The iPhone 6 is the most popular-selling phone in the UK, therefore I looked at its specifications. One feature that all iPhones have is internal microphones, which applications can use to record external sounds. One possibility that could be introduced is to use the microphone to pick up the sound of a driver starting their car. When the sound is heard by the device, the car's drive safe mode could be launched.
Another feature that iPhones have is various sensors. These all have different functions; however, the most appropriate have been listed below:
• Proximity sensors – This sensor can determine how close the iPhone is to your face. This sensor is what helps the iPhone turn off its screen automatically whenever you hold the phone up to your ear for a phone call. This is necessary to prevent accidental button clicks by the side of your head when talking. This could be used to prevent drivers from calling people on their phones (detected by when the driver goes to put their device to their ear).
• Motion sensor/accelerometer – This sensor enables iPhones screen to automatically switch from landscape to portrait modes and back again based on whether you’re holding the phone up and down or sideways. The sensors are also very advanced - they can record how fast people are moving also, which could be used as part of the mode concept.
Another feature is the iPhones GPS. This is how apps, such as Snapchat, record the speed in which you are travelling. They use the GPS of your phone to figure out where you were at two different points in time. It then measures the distance between these points. Velocity=Distance/Time. This method works best when you are trying calculate the average speed over a period of time while travelling in one direction. The more you change your direction the less accurate it will be.
These features will be considered to find an answer to the problem.
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.
