Shortlisted as Outstanding in 2018 Creative Conscience.
The Brief: You will be undertaking the Creative Conscience Open Brief. This brief is from the perspective of ‘designer as catalyst’. It is key that you identify a specific user and consider social, ethical or sustainable design. You will need to identify a problem and will describe (visually/verbally) the situation from the perspective of your user. You will then use graphic design as a means to provide a solution to that problem, using any medium that you decide is appropriate.
The Approach: Ever tried buying snacks for a diabetic? It’s near impossible. I see this as a real problem because my Grandpa (aged 71) was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes 15 years ago and really struggles with finding suitable snacks which won’t damage his health. I decided to primarily research into and produce a product for Type 2 patients because 90% of people with diabetes have Type 2. It is much more common and can be prevented. This 90% could face the same problem as Gordon. Hopefully Support can make a difference. I asked Gordon what problems he faces on an everyday basis, my intention to find a solution to make his life easier and put him at ease.
The Solution: Support is a subscription box for Type 2 Diabetes patients. There are two types of boxes, a personalised box and a gift box. Click here for a video explaining the solution. The personalised box is catered for an individual and their specific needs. I have devised and designed a website for Support as I believe it is the easiest platform in which my user would be able to access. The website includes an online consultation which consists of 20 questions designed to gather information about the user in order to personalise and recommend snacks suitable for their needs. The questions are tailored around food and exercise as well as what they miss from before their diagnosis. This way, hopefully Support would be able to find healthier alternatives so the user will still be able to enjoy their favourites without feeling guilty or conscious. The Support personalised box will also make life easier for the user as they will not have to leave the house to enjoy snacks, the delivery service is convenient and could put the user at ease, knowing they will have snacks weekly, fortnightly or monthly depending on their preferences. They will also be able to eat any snacks in the cupboard without thinking ‘am I allowed to eat this’ which my Grandpa told me he regularly thinks- especially around family and social occasions. Check out my Process Book here to see my journey to the solution to the brief.
Expansion: This leads on to the Gift Box which is a mixture of sugar free snacks which all Type 2 diabetics would be allowed to eat. If you are throwing a party and you know there is going to be diabetics around, it is hard to know what they are allowed to eat and also hard to get hold of food which is similar to yours which is suitable. The idea behind the gift box is making this problem easier. Anyone can buy a gift box which will make it convenient for the host of the party as well as the diabetic guests as they will feel welcome by the fact that the host has gone through all the effort of buying them snacks they are allowed. When in actual fact they just ordered a gift box from Support. Sorted.
The Response: “I think this idea is excellent. It looks good, the pattern is very striking and suitable. I love the way you have paid attention to small detail such as the pattern resembling sugar grains. The size of the box is perfect, I thought it was going to be huge but you have compacted it well. The snacks inside are personalised well to my needs as well as my wants and I definitely think I would use something like the Support Box to be delivered weekly. I like the look and feel of the website too, easy to understand, navigate and use. It would make my life a lot easier and put me and my wife at ease.” - Gordon Grant
