Mod 3 week 12 Sneaker Graveyard Keeper

With the basic set up pretty much decided, the other details in building and maintaining the site is being considered. 

First off is to develop a logo. At first in the demo, the aim was to achieve a graveyard look, but after the demo was complete, the overall look looked too dull. In order to attract teenagers, or people that are more in.

to pop/hip culture, the outlook has to pop more while being recognizable. 

I started off wanting to  “wing it”, armed with a couple of ideas, I went on AI and started drawing with the results not even being close to what I wanted. So I went and looked for a bunch of references mainly from Nike, and a book about Nike sneakers named Nike Soul Provider written by Robert “scoop” Jackson, editor of Slam magazine. 

I started sketching quickly came up with a chubby font paired with a slender cursive “Graveyard” I found fitting, but then was trying to look for more elements to communicate “worn sneakers”, then I started to picture all the heartbreaking things which could happen to a sneaker: separation of leather and sole, hole in air pockets, dirt and grime etc. 

Eventually I ended up with a logo that screamed “Nike t shirt graphics”,  but wanting a sort of mascot to leave a deeper impression, I went online and found a stone angel in creating that main headstone/button, after all that spot is a focal point to the site and needs more highlighting. 

On the other hand, the standard free posts are now in black and white writing, compared to the early beige version, the high contrast of the black and white makes the overall look and feel stand out way better. With all these adjustments made, the site layout went from serious and boring to quirky and pop art. 

I have learnt a lot about site building communication with Sam trying to get this built. One interesting mention is when we were figuring out a way to allow public postings. At first, we thought about having people fill in their sneaker info: sneaker model, date, 300 word story, upload their photo and that the post would show up automatically. The problem with this thought is that it might take a programmer to create this setup OR to find a plugin as close as possible and change the parts up. Then I started thinking about control and filtration of content to take out any incomplete fill-in or ads, plus the fact that we are to include selling “E-headstones”, a little design thinking I picked up from this module kicked in: what if it’s as simple as a form being filled in, sent to us and we’ll do the posting ourselves. 

This plan would save us lots of starting up money, but the downside is if we ever get popular, we should have to figure out something else. 

The donation button is included in the demo, and I am still yet to figure out where other content such as : shoe recycling or data collection should go. But for the beginning phases of the site, our plan is to first promote it enough and encourage visits and posts in gaining popularity first. 

GOALS OF SNEAKER GRAVEYARD

By implying emotions into products, we are starting a conversation within the sneaker community that was unheard of before. 

1: Having learnt about people with over 1000 pairs: it’s an awesome sight to see, but honestly there’s a problem. For one it is an obvious over consumption, the extra resources could go to someone in need, and secondly using all that space for storage (specially in Hong Kong) is a common house cluttering problem due to the lack of space.

2: An archive of dis-continued shoe models for sneaker fans to see and revisit.

3: To send used sneakers out for recycling and for those in need. 

4: To become a source for data related to sneaker consumption.

 PROMOTION

1.We are looking to put a lil’ money on Instagram and Facebook after the site is functionable. 

2. Instagram account is to feature the “editor’s choice of the week”. 

3. To approach sneaker recycle that are interested in working with us.

4. Enjoy up to 50% off on headstones on the first month!

Improvements

The placing of other features such as : to submit shoe for recycle or to give shoes to those in need is still in considerartion, but the mentioned features might not be added until more activity is seen on site. I do not wish to disrupt the “true horizontal” linning of content on the site, hopefully the features later on could fit in to the design.

ANDY WAS HERE