Viktoriya Kim
Product Designer
How might we create a a civilization within 10 years on a remote island for a Technology Corporation with a green PR initiative?
Create a civilization within 10 years on a remote island for a Technology Corporation with a green PR initiative.
Develop an interactive VR (virtual reality) game using the island to simulate the impacts of global warming.
View Prototype ➞
Our team received a mysterious brief. Create a detailed settlement plan on the MS Dos Island, an imaginative isolated environment in the Pacific Ocean untouched by human lifeforms. This island is surrounded by healthy coral reefs and is inhabited by wild species like the beautiful, endangered Takahe birds. In this project, we had to navigate ambiguity through sustainable research, design thinking, and an extensive, detailed 10-year project plan.
You're probably still thinking the same thing we first did, "Okay, what's so special about this island?" Through our research, we uncovered several insights that helped us formulate a solution. We wanted to use MS Dos Island as a metaphor for change.
I know super vague still, right? We'll explain more below.
Settling on the island may pose environmental problems in the island.
The island may eventually go underwater due to effects of climate change.
Experiencing the effects of climate change may be an effective way to promote action.
To work efficiently as a a team, we created a working agreements document that established weekly check-ins, and scheduled workshop sessions.
Since this was our first time meeting each other virtually, each member also laid out their background, specialized knowledge, skills, and preferred form of communication.
This document was important to understand each team member's strengths & weaknesses to delegate roles & tasks more efficiently.
Ian Fenty and Geoff Moore collaborated in creating the prompt and imaginary location: MS Dos Island.
Their intention was to give aspiring interaction designers a difficult challenge rendered impossible, but expect reasonable results.
Ian Fenty
Geoff Moore
We had a stakeholder interview at the start of the project in order for them to answer any questions and concerns. After 8 weeks, we pitched them our concept and received feedback about how we could take Ecolution a step further.
During the first phase of research, our team searched for any relevant sources that would help us build a civilization on an island. Then we divided and conquered secondary research into subcategories of our concept.
I dove into sources related to green public relations identity and brand building.
There are many factors we have to consider when settling on an island.
We brainstormed all the questions we want to clarify on this chart.
During the ideation phase, our team compiled all of the research we gathered only to realize that all other ideas we brainstormed paled in the knowledge of how dire the global climate crisis is. Rising sea levels and global warming would submerge the island in a matter of years, so we couldn't justify creating a new civilization onto a ticking clock.
Based on the brief we were given, our team originally thought about tourism and human settlement on the MS Dos Island but the destructive practices of both concepts combined with global climate issues nudged us towards a different path. Instead, we refocused our efforts into asking how we could protect the island and environments like it.
After finalizing our concept, each teammate separated into an individual subject area. You can view more detailed research information from each lens on the prototype website. Each teammate spent several weeks researching and developing their lens.
To collect information on my individual lens, I consulted with SME partners who sat down with me over Zoom to talk about their public relations and marketing experience. The interviews proved to be highly valuable and my team was able to extract key points in creating our public relations and marketing plan.
Crystal Jeong
Amanda Magalski
Blue Kim
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After deciding our research lenses, we conducted a 2nd phase of secondary research & informational interviews/questionnaires from subject matter experts.
Between the marketing and PR efforts, we broke down each year into 4 phases. Throughout the entirety of the project, we initially focused on building brand recognition and awareness around our initiative. Afterward, we launched several marketing campaigns meant to build engagement and reach. After the initial industry introduction with our first game developed, we continued the same timeline efforts of launching new campaigns, tracking success metrics, and developing further based on iterations. Marketing’s main goal for the first year is to develop and grow brand awareness. Once initial awareness is established, the public image of the brand will grow. While marketing is focused on the visual aspect of the brand, the pr team will research outlets to collaborate with, reach out to top-ranked influencers, and start writing press releases. Even though the brand has to build up recognition, the pr team can focus on establishing relationships behind the scenes.
There is no one-fit-all strategy that will solve all of the issues that arise with crisis control, however there are a few actionable steps we can take to give us more time to re-evaluate and how to move forward.
Virtual realities encompass a smaller chunk of the global demographic we would hope to cater to, but in tackling one piece of the pie, we can tackle the other pieces as we grow.
Part of my team’s efforts is to make sure we finely comb the cultural nuances behind our marketing collateral to make sure we do not create backlash controversy.
Using Team Gantt, we created a 10-year timeline with each individual lens planning to develop the Ecolution game. All of timelines were dependent on the first release of Ecolution followed by several other launches.
Planning a project for 10 years can be hard! One issue our team encountered was making sure everyone's timelines aligned with the game's timeline. It was crucial to make sure the team made calculated efforts together when planning what would happen in what phase of the project launch. We found a solution by downloading a JPG version and draw a line down major milestones and phases to correct misaligned items.
Since my lens directly correlated with marketing, my timeline was in conjunction with public relations and marketing.
To ensure we cover all bases that may become a detriment to the success of our game, we each listed contingencies related to our lenses. Then, we compiled them into a master file rating from a scale of low to high the probability & impact of each risk.
We want to let players know this location is based on a real place. This may cause players to form an emotional connection towards the island and feel more compelled to help in some way.
Players can feel as though they are taking care of the ocean.
MS Dos Island is the home of Takahe birds. We hope players find joy in repopulating an endangered species & bringing community to the island.
Players are made aware much of the profit from our game goes into environmental restoration projects & organizations that aid in the combat against global warming.
Further details of our plan can be found in this section.
We also included a summary of each of our individual research in the About page.
This is where artifacts from teammates can be found, such as merch & articles.
Recent patch release notes include bug fixes, game updates, and introduces a new varieties of tropical fish.
For our Milestones, some terms such as "attention restoration theory" would need further elaboration. Additionally, other areas we need to be more clear about are titles in our timeline.
We also sent them a Canva board beforehand that outlines each team member's individual pages and artifact.
For our Milestones, some terms such as "attention restoration theory" would need further elaboration. Additionally, other areas we need to be more clear about are titles in our timeline.
The stakeholders found inconsistency with individual pages and some other details. Opportunities for improvement within these areas can be to use a cohesive template. The individual lenses were also too similar that there seems to be overlap and not enough bases to be covered.
Critiques on our "About" page included potentially making the landing page more inviting. We also have more opportunity to make the content more scannable rather than having walls of text. It remains unclear what the company is and why they decide to create a green PR initiative. Knowing this information could strengthen our narrative.
Overall, much of our feedback after our 5-minute pitch was positive and well-received. Ian & Geoff liked the alternative of steering towards other positive prospects rather than settling on the island.
Here's a photo our team saying our last virtual goodbyes on Team Techie Takahe! (It was a great presentation day🤠)
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