The Beacon Hill Architectural Commission
Last week’s assignment was to attend a public meeting and combine the concepts we learned this semester to create a media artifact that motivates the audience. I attended the public meeting at the city hall of Boston - Beacon Hill Architectural Commission, on October 17, 2019, at 5 p.m. It was a monthly public hearing in which the committee decided the design approval of subjects regarding Beacon Hill neighborhood architectures. I chose this meeting partly because I had a special interest in architecture, and the website provided images that explained each case of application, which made it easier for me to understand the background of the meeting. Another reason was that the meeting aimed at a particular audience - the residents in beacon hill. This means I could have a specific target audience for design.
I decided to make a print pamphlet or a brochure – which was what I finally made. First, I didn’t want to add lots of words that explain what the meeting was about, because this was a long meeting – about 4 hours, and that might be boring for my audience. I wanted it to be simple, straightforward, specific, and most importantly, easy for the audience to understand. Second, I was not that good at drawing, so I didn’t choose a zine that needs detailed hand drawing and painting. So, I designed a brochure that can be folded into three pages or erected as a triangular prism on the desk. What does the brochure mean for this public meeting? Education and promotion (motivation). On the one hand, the brochure carries basic information about the public meeting which plays a role in educating people to learn more about the hearing. On the other hand, it serves as a promotional spread brochure. It is easy for people to take and carry. As the audience is mainly Beacon Hill Neighborhood, the brochures can be consumed and spread out in several ways. For example, it could be put in the mailbox or put at the neighborhood center where residents can easily pick up. It could be put in the Boston City Hall near the gate or the environment department.
To start with a brochure, I googled what a typical brochure looked like. And then I spent some time deciding which color to choose. I analyzed the matching of colors which was often used in design and clothes. I like the color of pink-purple – warm and vibrant, and I thought it would be a good match with the white color. After choosing its form, color and page size, I started to design the details.
First, I completed the white page in the middle. I put the logos of the city hall and the department, and also the basic information of the public meeting. On the bottom, I added the contact information and QR code of the organizer in case the residents want to attend the next meeting or learn more.
Then I wanted to write a brief story or a few quotes from the perspective of the applicants and participants because this is important and interesting for the other residents to know what their neighbor’s experience was and how they felt about attending the meeting. Since it was a four-hour meeting, I picked up one that many participants were interested in as they raised their hands and discussed in the meeting. I interviewed the speaker and applicant when they got the approval of the design from the committee. I used the clipping mask in the photoshop for the picture because the rectangle picture didn’t look nice on it. For the required drawing, I made a microphone and put it besides “a voice from applicants,” and hoped that it better embodied the concept of voice.
Last, I focused on the right page. The purpose of the page is to invite more residents to come to the next monthly public meeting. I felt like it is important to not only inform the residents what was happening with the architecture in their community but also motivate them to participate and discuss in the next public meeting. In this case, I put the application information including what would be typically discussed, and residents who apply for approval of design are welcome to talk to the environment department at the city hall. I hope these could in a sense facilitate civic engagement. At the bottom, I put a picture of architecture design to make it more like a brochure for the subject of architecture.
I decided to make a print pamphlet or a brochure – which was what I finally made. First, I didn’t want to add lots of words that explain what the meeting was about, because this was a long meeting – about 4 hours, and that might be boring for my audience. I wanted it to be simple, straightforward, specific, and most importantly, easy for the audience to understand. Second, I was not that good at drawing, so I didn’t choose a zine that needs detailed hand drawing and painting. So, I designed a brochure that can be folded into three pages or erected as a triangular prism on the desk. What does the brochure mean for this public meeting? Education and promotion (motivation). On the one hand, the brochure carries basic information about the public meeting which plays a role in educating people to learn more about the hearing. On the other hand, it serves as a promotional spread brochure. It is easy for people to take and carry. As the audience is mainly Beacon Hill Neighborhood, the brochures can be consumed and spread out in several ways. For example, it could be put in the mailbox or put at the neighborhood center where residents can easily pick up. It could be put in the Boston City Hall near the gate or the environment department.
To start with a brochure, I googled what a typical brochure looked like. And then I spent some time deciding which color to choose. I analyzed the matching of colors which was often used in design and clothes. I like the color of pink-purple – warm and vibrant, and I thought it would be a good match with the white color. After choosing its form, color and page size, I started to design the details.
First, I completed the white page in the middle. I put the logos of the city hall and the department, and also the basic information of the public meeting. On the bottom, I added the contact information and QR code of the organizer in case the residents want to attend the next meeting or learn more.
Then I wanted to write a brief story or a few quotes from the perspective of the applicants and participants because this is important and interesting for the other residents to know what their neighbor’s experience was and how they felt about attending the meeting. Since it was a four-hour meeting, I picked up one that many participants were interested in as they raised their hands and discussed in the meeting. I interviewed the speaker and applicant when they got the approval of the design from the committee. I used the clipping mask in the photoshop for the picture because the rectangle picture didn’t look nice on it. For the required drawing, I made a microphone and put it besides “a voice from applicants,” and hoped that it better embodied the concept of voice.
Hi Linhui! I really like your idea after you introducing it to me. I feel that the idea of folding papers into a triangular prism that can stand is interesting because it can stand in any table and easily catch peoples' attentions. When I am sitting on a table, I always look at them and check out the information on it. I also like the QR code idea!
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