University Of Minnesota College Of Design

University of Minnesota College of Design

SHORT PROJECT 1 Context Sensitive Design Strategies

DHA 2351 Graphic Design I Text and Image Fall 2009 Tuesday/Thursday 8:30AM — 10:40AM 305 McNeal Hall (MacBack)

H1N1Pandemic pan•dem•ic |pan'demik| (A disease) prevalent over an entire country or the world.

(Swine Flu & U)

The start of fall semester and a new academic year is getting underway. Each fall, unfortunately, also marks the beginning of flu season. This one is likely to bring some potentially unusual challenges. We will experience not only the expected seasonal influenza but also the 2009 H1N1 influenza, which is sweeping the globe in the first flu pandemic in 40 years.1

Minnesota Department of Health http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/flu/h1n1/poster.html

Department of Veterans Affairs http://www.publichealth.va.gov/flu/materials/posters.asp

World Health Organization http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html

Flu.gov http://www.pandemicflu.gov/professional/school/additionalcomm.html

WEB RESOURCES

Some viruses and bacteria can live from 20 minutes up to 2 hours or more on surfaces like cafeteria tables, doorknobs and desks.

•Approximately 1/5 of the U.S. population attends or works in schools. •College age students are at higher risk for contracting H1N1. The virus is highly transmissible, so students living in close contact such as in residence halls are more likely to be exposed and contract H1N1. •Nearly 22 million school days are lost annually due to the common cold alone. Problem Universities across the country, including the University of Minnesota, are expected to be especially hard hit by the H1N1 influenza virus (swine flu) this fall. To date the U's primary method of communication about the virus and preventative measures to help thwart the virus's spread have been focused on e-mail updates that direct the viewer to the University of Minnesota Emergency Preparedness Web site. While the information there is helpful and thorough in both breadth and depth it is essentially trapped in both time and place in whatever electronic device you happen to be viewing it on at the moment. Given that the virus is most likely to be spread via direct and indirect human contact in public spaces it would seem that a more context sensitive communication method would be a helpful addition to the Web-based information. What if we could alert the viewer to nodes of virus transmission as they encounter them? What if we could communicate preventative measures for virus transmission in the areas where they might occur? Process Working in small groups of three students each, first develop a public health message regarding the H1N1 virus that you want to communicate to the College of Deign community in McNeal Hall. Second, determine what medium of communication you want to use to carry your message: banner, poster, flyer, sticker, stencil, brochure, etc. (choose more than one). Finally establish a strategy for the implementation of your message; how will the viewer encounter your message? Will you simply affix a poster to a wall in the atrium or will you embed your message in the structure of the building itself? How can you use the existing structure of the building (context) to amplify, emphasize or otherwise enhance (sensitize) your communiqué? Due September 22, beginning of class, for in situ critique of your context sensitive information embeds and installations.

1.University of Minnesota Emergency Preparedness Web site.

DHA 2351 / Fall 2009

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