Shopping & Flying

How to (makeGood)will a Source of Sustainable Creativity

2008-12-08T23:52:00.005-06:00

Goodwill Industries is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1902, but has been operating in Central Texas for 50 years. Their mission is to enhance the quality and dignity of life for individuals, families, and community by providing job-related services for people with barriers to employment. That might seem like a mouthful to swallow, but their goal is pretty clear: to make money to fund job programs that help people with barriers to employment. Through a rigorous few weeks of research and brainstorming, my design team and I have also recognized a dedication to recycling and sustainability as a second goal that seems crucial to the Goodwill ideal.

To prevent items from ending up in the landfill, Goodwill tries to resell or reuse as much of their donations as possible. After speaking with the regional transportation manager, we formed a diagram of the Goodwill flow chart to show how a donation travels through the system. Recycling can be seen at every step throughout the process of the donation’s flow. More formal evidence of their recycling initiatives can be seen in the various programs devised to promote recycling. Some of these programs include the Weigh Good drive, an annual donations drive that asks the community to donate items that would otherwise be thrown away from spring cleaning, and the Reconnect program, a partnership with Goodwill, Dell, and the City of Austin to reduce electronic waste from going to the landfill.

Recycling is already well integrated within the Goodwill system both in their normal operations and specific recycling programs, but there is currently a lack of in-store attention to their dedication to sustainability. Hence, one of their main goals is not being fully catered to and one of their main sources of revenue is not being used to its full potential. Also, despite their efforts to prevent items from going to the landfill, twenty percent of donations still end up going to the dump. Not only is this environmentally unfriendly, but it is also costly. Goodwill actually loses money by paying to take unsold goods to the landfill.

The Goal
To reduce the amount of waste that ends up at the landfill while only using or reusing resources and assets that Goodwill already has, we propose to enhance Goodwill’s image as a source of sustainable creativity.

The current situation of Goodwill can be examined in three ways: the retail store, shoppers’ perceptions, and online presence.

Goodwill retail stores are generally places of organized chaos. To reduce labor costs, clothing, which comprises the majority of donations, is separated by style and color, but not by size (although there are some exceptions, such as the Goodwill location on North Lamar, which has the resources to be sorted by size as well). Despite this mishmash appearance of items, large signs still delineate the general wayfinding necessary for shoppers: Women, Men, Children, Shoes, Books, Housewares, Furniture, and etc. Besides this basic system, each store varies its exact layout according to the wishes of its store manager. Some details worth noting are the ends of the clothing racks, where pre-matched outfits seem arbitrarily placed with a hope to be sold. The sides of the Housewares shelves showcase special items varying from antique looking candlesticks to seasonal items. Spaces in the store such as these stick out because of their ability to draw attention, and yet in Goodwill stores, seem to be poorly utilized as a tool for promotion.
Interviews conducted by our interview research group yielded consumer insights both expected and unexpected. Some questions that were asked were “What was your initial expectation of Goodwill? How has that been or not been fulfilled?”, “If you could tell people one thing about Goodwill, what would it be?”, and “What would you change about Goodwill?”. While most responses seem to point at Goodwill selling “a bunch of junkie stuff, old crap”, a large majority surprisingly mentioned their attraction to Goodwill as a place to go to find parts to make a new whole. “You can put together your own outfits or decorate your apartment and make it unique”, says one woman, while another vouches that “you can find a lot of good deals—it’s like a treasure hunt. People act as a community here.” From these and other quotes by interviewees, we caught on to the fact that there is a group of loyal Goodwill shoppers, and they all have a similar Do-It-Yourself mindset.

This DIY attitude leads to the final aspect of Goodwill’s current condition, which is their online presence. With the being “green” movement becoming ever more popular, the idea of reusing and reconstructing trash to make treasure has sprouted up in DIY websites, blogs, and various print materials. Upon browsing through several well-known websites such as make:blog, instructables.com, and thriftstorelove.com, we found that several if not all of them suggest thrift stores as the source of materials for their projects, and a good number of them even directly mention Goodwill. Bloggers that are also thrift store enthusiasts also share creative ideas for DIY projects while mentioning Goodwill as the place of preference to find good items to reuse.

This free advertising and promotion for Goodwill by these hip DIY resources represents an ideal opportunity for Goodwill to capitalize on. A significant number of shoppers there already consist of Do-It-Yourselfers, hip youngsters, and crafty women. This loyal audience is different from the customers that only come in October to look for their new Halloween costume; rather, these are the shoppers that come on a regular basis to rummage around for materials for DIY projects, and these people love to share and exchange their ideas.

The Plan
Our proposal presents a way to utilize the resources that Goodwill already has to tap into an existing market that hasn’t yet been directly attended to. We plan on doing this with the MakeGood program. It brings the DIY idea in-store at the point of purchase for the customer. The logo refers to the retro vintage look that is reminiscent of many DIY projects. We wanted to keep with the blue and white Goodwill logo and colors that the marketing manager of Goodwill Instrustries of Central Texas mentioned to be the set future logo. DIY projects will be displayed around the store according to what materials went into the project. Posters with the same retro look are interchangeable and modular; they will be hung where there are samples of finished projects. On each poster is a tear-off pad with instructions on how to make the project. Instruction sheets are designed to be pictures only with minimum text to make them user-friendly and easy to understand. Both the poster and the take-away instruction sheet will have an invitation to the makeGoodwill.com website. These in-store displays would mainly be stationed at those ends of clothing racks and housewares shelves that are currently being used inefficiently.

Our website component, makegoodwill.com, incorporates the necessary online aspect of the DIY culture with a blog, forum, and archive of all the projects that will be shown in-store. Instructions for each project can be submitted, and members of the makeGood community can also contribute their own ideas to the site as well. The blue and white retro theme is consistent throughout the website to tie it back to the in-store displays. The website can also provide opportunities to advertise and promote Goodwill’s mission statement and retail stores.

Considerations
As with any proposal, there must be some considerations. Because each store is specific to the design of its store manager, the equipment and space will vary from store to store. When putting up the displays, each one must be installed on a case-by-case basis to fit accordingly with the store. Project turnover time should be enough to keep customers interested, but not too long to make customers bored. Approximately three weeks should be about right for a project to remain in-store, so that they can rotate along with the turnover time of the donations from store to outlet. Project designers would initially be the MakeGood team, but ideally the community would be the ones to eventually generate the new projects. They would first post ideas online, then certain projects would be chosen to be featured in-store. To manage the website, a webmaster must be designated, but makeGoodwill.com is designed to be community-driven, and would require low maintenance. Finally, production costs for the MakeGood program would be minimal, since there are in-house at the Goodwill headquarters that can print the posters, instruction pads are cheap to print, and the projects would be made out of Goodwill’s own items.

Future Expansion
MakeGood is designed to be easily expandable in many ways. It could bring a more prevalent image to the Goodwill image at future MakerFaire events. As an event that celebrates the arts, engineering, and science, DIY projects play a big role in the festivities and could be a great place to promote MakeGood. Currently most if not all signage in Goodwill retail and outlet stores are bilingual. To cater to the Spanish-speaking audience, MakeGood posters can easily be converted to Spanish. Video How-Tos are popular on many DIY websites as another way to show the making process; this could be further embedded on the makegoodwill.com website as well. Finally, workshops to demonstrate how to make DIY projects can be featured in-store to bring in an even larger audience. These workshops could then work with the volunteer programs that Goodwill already has in place.

Thus, in recalling the goal of Goodwill to not only help foster job programs for individuals but also to promote sustainability, we looked at the current situation of Goodwill Industries of Central Texas. In the layouts of the retail stores, perceptions in shoppers’ minds, and online presence, we drew out the Do-It-Yourself subculture in which Goodwill already plays a large role to formulate the MakeGood Program. Not only would this attract the loyal shoppers that already go there to find materials for sustainable projects, but the in-store displays would also speak to the shoppers who might never have considered making their own projects until they have seen the displays of sample finished projects. Essentially, we hope to enhance Goodwill’s image as a source of sustainable creativity.

Make Of It What You Will

2008-12-08T23:44:00.006-06:00

Goodwill Industries of Central Texas states that its mission is “To enhance the quality and dignity of life for individuals, families, and our community by providing job-related services for people with barriers to employment.” To this end, it accepts and resells donations, putting the proceeds toward employment programs. The more donations Goodwill sells, the more people it can employ. In this same spirit, Goodwill attempts to create as little waste as possible, and it makes every effort during a donation’s lifespan to put it to good use and keep it out of the landfill. The MakeGood program enhances Goodwill’s ability to accomplish these goals by appealing to shoppers and members of the burgeoning do-it-yourself community to purchase and use more of Goodwill’s items in a creative, sustainable manner.

Goodwill currently has no shortage of programs encouraging sustainability and waste reduction. Within Goodwill’s standard system, every opportunity seems to be taken to sell an item or to ensure that it is disposed of responsibly. In an effort to keep the community sustainable, Goodwill’s annual Weigh Good Drive encourages the central Texas area to donate the refuse it has accrued during spring cleaning. This past year, 725,000 pounds of donations were accepted into the Goodwill system during this drive. Goodwill has several programs in place to recycle electronic items responsibly. The RECONNECT program, a partnership with Dell and the City of Austin, offers consumers free drop-off recycling of electronics. Every month, it helps recycle 250 tons of electronic waste. Goodwill’s own Computer Works division ensures that no electronic donation goes to landfill by sorting broken-down computers into recyclable components, which are then shipped to specialized recycling facilities around the world.

In spite of all these excellent efforts, 20% of all donated goods still must be disposed of in landfills – a costly and environmentally unfriendly result. With MakeGood, it will be possible to reduce this waste and operate sustainably by using and reusing only the resources that Goodwill already has at its disposal.

Goodwill currently organizes by very general categories, such as most types of clothing, housewares, electronics, and books. Shelf and rack space are utilized to their fullest, and items are often very chaotically distributed. A uniform system of signage, which employs pastel colors and graphical cues mimicking the disjointed visual of clothes on a rack, is used in the Central Texas region. Signs are often hung from the ceiling or high on the walls in an effort not to detract from retail space. Signs advertising specific Goodwill programs, such as Brand U. or the Ghoulwill Ball are distributed throughout the store.

Many different opinions about Goodwill exist throughout the community. Some see Goodwill as a place where only the underprivileged shop for subpar goods. Others find the stores unappealing and dingy. There are a number of shoppers who go to Goodwill for specific seasonal items – most notably, Halloween costumes. Goodwill does, however, have a loyal shopper base, composed of diverse personalities. There are older shoppers, generally women, who seek out bargains on items they find fashionable. Other younger, hip shoppers build outfits out of unique vintage items. A few shoppers already recognize the value of Goodwill as a resource for do-it-yourself projects, and these will be the initial target audience of the MakeGood program.

The do-it-yourself (DIY), or “making” movement, is a somewhat recent phenomenon. It is a culture that encourages creative, unconventional, and innovative use of materials, and emphasizes the sustainability and satisfaction of accomplishing these projects on one’s own. The glue of this community is the internet, where “makers” absorb ideas and share tips via blogs and forums. The online presence of Make Magazine, Make:Blog, and Instructables.com are two of the largest online communities dedicated to this lifestyle. Goodwill is already recognized in this community as a source for affordable, unique materials which can be used in DIY projects. It is often recommended by makers, or praised when a particularly good find is discovered. This presents a fertile opportunity for Goodwill to build upon to promote sustainability and its mission.

MakeGood is a program that will take advantages of resources already in place within the Goodwill System to enhance Goodwill’s image as a source of creative sustainability. It is a system of in-store invitations to “do it yourself,” an online community of DIY-ers, and a presence within the community to promote awareness of the DIY mindset to fresh or previously uninterested audiences.

MakeGood’s extremely consistent, simple, and recognizable visual language is built around a blue and white color scheme, in keeping with Goodwill of Central Texas’ current graphic design vocabulary. The main typeface is Santa Fe, an italicized script with connotations of nostalgia and times gone by, ideal to convey the focus on vintage items. The MakeGood emblem incorporates this script with the easily recognizable “Good” of the Goodwill logo, “smiling G” included. MakeGood’s motto is “Reduce Waste. Reuse Items. Be Creative!” This is a succinct conveyance of the program’s goals, and an enthusiastic appeal to participate.

The central focus of MakeGood will be DIY projects constructed from items available in Goodwill stores. Goodwill will provide instructions for making basic projects, and offer invitations for participants to create and share their own ideas. This is an effort to get shoppers to reconsider how items on the shelf can be used. With the encouragement of MakeGood, shoppers will eventually take most items in the store at more than face value, and this re-imaging of items perhaps once considered useless should ultimately result in more donations being sold. The MakeGood team has devised several projects as the starting points for the eventual database of projects that MakeGood will provide. A pair of speakers made out of coffee mugs will wake you up in the morning with tunes instead of caffeine. A clock made out of an old record will give vintage flair to your wall. A lamp made out of a vase brings unique, colorful light, and a purse made from a hardcover book is quirky and chic. These simple projects serve as starting points for creative exploration in the hopes that participants will become interested in more complex projects and return to Goodwill for supplies.

The primary aspect of MakeGood will be its in-store presence. 18x24” posters, displayed within the pertinent section of the store, will ask the shopper: “Find something cool? Don’t know what to do with it?” and then suggest that they “Turn it into a [Vase Lamp!]” or whatever project pertains to the area of the store. The name of the particular project and its instructions will be printed on 5.5x8.5” tear-away pads for the shopper to take home as guidance on their DIY endeavor. Invitation to participate in the online community at makegoodwill.com will be included on the tear-away instructions, as well as a statement of Goodwill’s mission. In stores where space is available, examples of actual completed projects may be displayed near the instructions, hopefully enhancing the appeal of the final product and enticing the shopper to want to make their own. Another option for the distribution of instructions and information about MakeGood is bag stuffers – small leaflets that are placed in a shopper’s bag at the checkout counter. Bag stuffers are already used by Goodwill, and are extremely cheap and use a minimal amount of paper.

Considering that the nexus of the DIY community exists on the internet, it is vital that MakeGood have an online presence. Makegoodwill.com would serve as a source of making-related information, project guides and instructions, and community communication. This site employs the same uniform visual scheme of blue and white as the rest of the MakeGood program. It features a blog in which Goodwill representatives can post interesting news within the DIY community or updates and information about programs and events within the Goodwill system. Ideal topics include sharing the stories of various people Goodwill has helped, or letting the community know when a Goodwill store will be opening. The instruction database will offer instructions for every project that MakeGood has come up with for free download, and opportunity to comment and share ideas about the projects. Finally, the forums will allow discussion of projects and of Goodwill and general, and a medium through which users can share their own projects, instructions, and results.

MakeGood is an easy program to implement because it utilizes resources that are already in place in the Goodwill system. Plotters are already present for poster printing within stores. A graphic designer is already on staff to create new instructions, which follow a simple visual scheme and template. The display system is simple enough that it can be modified and scaled to different store layouts. The website would require minimal upkeep and moderation, as it is designed to be a self-sustaining community. If a website proved to be beyond Goodwill’s resources, however, a collaborative effort could easily be established with the already bustling online DIY community. For instance, Make:Blog could easily feature projects tied specifically to Goodwill and the MakeGood program.

MakeGood presents an excellent opportunity for Goodwill to expand its customer base, resell more donations to support employment programs, and be a more sustainable organization.

Blue Hanger Bash: Process Analysis

2008-12-08T22:37:00.005-06:00

After visiting the Blue Hanger on Springdale for the first time, I would have never guessed that it was affiliated with Goodwill. Though all Goodwill stores have various identities in terms of how the store is laid out and how it is managed, there is a huge disconnect between Goodwill’s Blue Hanger outlet and its normal stores. There is a discrepancy in how the two kinds of stores appear inside. Goodwill stores tend to be organized while Blue Hanger stores appear chaotic and messy within a large ware-house space.

These visual differences were most evident during the research phase of the project. Blue Hangers at both locations lacked the order of normal stores because all the goods were placed onto tables. Clothes on one side and “hard-line” items (furniture, house ware, and the like) on the other side served as the categories of things one could purchase at Blue Hanger. Goodwill stores have more than just two ways of sorting their merchandise. The stores have subcategories like “Men’s Jeans” and “Children’s Clothes.” There are signs, colorful and bright, that mark each area within the store, making it feel like a real shopping spot. The signs at the outlets were big and blue, containing all of the prices on one board, and the space at the Blue Hangers are more open with high ceilings, and since everything is set on tables, it’s easy to see across the place.

At Goodwill stores, there are a mixture of clothing racks and display shelves that sometimes disrupt a person’s line of vision. The Goodwill stores also had consistent branding among themselves that showed they were all part of the same organization; at the Blue Hangers, there were no ad campaigns such as “Brand U” and the “Hall of Fame” to tie the outlets back into the main brand. Even retail stores such as Gap and Bebe have consistent branding between its mall stores and its outlet stores. Blue Hanger at McNeil may have had an actual logo associated with the Goodwills, but Blue Hanger on Springdale did not, creating more conflicts between visual information and branding.

The interview section of the research phase also revealed a difference in shoppers’ demographics between Goodwill and Blue Hanger. Goodwill stores had people of various age groups and economic standings that shopped there. People came to shop for themselves, looking for great deals. They also came because they knew of Goodwill’s mission to help people with barriers attain jobs and wanted to support their community. Many consumers who shop at Blue Hanger came to buy things in bulk to resell online or elsewhere; the other major demographic were lower-income families. One notable age group absence from Blue Hanger were adolescents and young adults.

The systems analysis, the third research portion, gave some insight to why there were so many differences between Goodwill stores and the Blue Hangers. In a nutshell, donated goods were either sent to Goodwill stores to be sold at higher prices or sent to Blue Hanger to be sold at lower prices. If the items could not be sold at the normal stores, they too were sent to the Blue Hanger to be rid of. Ultimately, the donations that end up at Blue Hanger are either trashed or sold in bulk to buyers for cents at a pound. That is why the outlet sells things for a fraction of the price of normal Goodwill stores, a fact that Suzanna Burmeister, marketing director for Goodwill Industries of Central Texas, noted. She went on to mention that the lower prices at Blue Hanger stirs competition which may be why Blue Hanger is under advertised and not well known to young shoppers.

This set of information introduces several problems. Blue Hanger has a weak visual connection to Goodwill which includes the branding. The merchandise doesn’t always get sold when it ends up at Blue Hanger – a kind of last chance – but if new shoppers were introduced to the brand, there would be less things sent to the landfill (according to research done by the systems analysis team, about 20% of donated goods eventually end up as waste). Another issue is that Blue Hanger has a fantastic space that is not being utilized to promote itself. Rather than spending money on other costly venues like hotels, the Blue Hanger space can be transformed into a place to host events. This saves Goodwill money and promotes Blue Hanger at the same time, educating the public about its locations.

So what my group thought would solve the issues we identified best was to host a dance pre-party for people to attend before going out to down town. The party idea has the potential to attract a younger demographic and introduce them to Blue Hanger as a shopping option. This would also provide the opportunity for Goodwill to educate younger shoppers about its mission through advertisements leading up to the event, creating a stronger connection between itself and the outlets. Hosting the party at the Blue Hanger also makes use of the space that Goodwill already owns; the tables at McNeil are on wheels and be easily manipulated to form different formations to alter the layout. This could also be done at Springdale with a little bit more manual labor effort.

The event itself was not the only vehicle to market Blue Hanger. At the dance party, people could buy clothes from Blue Hanger to add to their existing outfits to go to down town later. The party idea did have some obstacles, though. One issue was how people would come and go from Blue Hanger to down town. Another “problem” was how something could be called a party without alcohol, especially when it comes to the college demographic that the party was supposed to target.

Another way of promoting Blue Hanger had to be considered. The idea to use actual blue hangers as advertising came; hangers would be hung en masse on car door handles, at bus stops, street signs, and anywhere with anything that a hanger could be hooked to. The paper wrapping around the hanger had printed messages such as “Have you seen my pants?” or “Have you seen my jacket?” to attract people and come take a closer look at the hangers. On the reverse side was the answer to the questions, “Find it at the Blue Hanger.” The address and Goodwill’s website for more information were also included on the answer side. Rather than focus on designing posters, the guerilla style of advertising felt more suitable for targeting teens and young adults who may feel unaffected by ordinary advertising means.

This proposal left out the aspect of transforming the Blue Hanger space and utilizing it in a fun and creative way. Rather than nixing both ideas, a combination of the two seemed plausible with more tweaks to the events idea. The focus would remain on manipulating the Blue Hanger space using the events and blue hanger advertising as tools to educate new shoppers about the outlet.

The dance party turned into a bash of sorts, including do-it-yourself workshops to modify clothes, a fashion show to showcase the workshop results, and live bands and DJ’s to provide music and entertainment for the day. These ideas appealed to students interviewed from McNeil High School and the University of Texas. Many of the students knew about Goodwill but not about Blue Hanger; some who knew about Goodwill associated it to an older image. The live music and craft events break away from the older image associated with Goodwill and allows for a fun alternative to typical parties.

A big event with all three parts is an ideal way for Goodwill to attract a lot of younger shoppers, bringing them in to the space so that they may buy goods and alleviate the problem of many things being trashed or sold at an even more reduced price. As an added bonus, there could be an admission fee that can be reduced if people bring donations with them. These donations and the admission fee means higher, potential gains for Goodwill’s finances.

The space transforms when tables are moved around to form work stations, stages, and a runway. Blue Hanger undergoes another kind of change when people come to it for reasons other than shopping – to come for creative purposes. Still, Goodwill has the option of splitting the events up for smaller activities that may be more manageable.

The workshops use Blue Hanger’s resources, putting them to good use so they don’t end up being thrown away or sold at low prices. Participants can modify clothes or make other objects with the guidance of volunteer designers and crafters who are willing to donate time to Goodwill’s cause.

Held separately or in conjunction with the clothing modification workshops, a fashion show can take place to showcase either the workshop results or fashions found at the Blue Hanger.

A battle of the bands event works well on its own, highlighting Austin’s culture and influence on live music. In a combined event setting, music played by bands serve as the backdrop to a whole day’s event and as music for the fashion show.

The modularity of these events reflect the way the space in the outlet locations can be easily mutated with new formations of tables that symbolize an activity experience instead of a consumerism experience. Using blue hangers with messages to promote a new Blue Hanger also fits into this theme of flexibility within the space and the events themselves. The hangers can go nearly anywhere and promote either the events or just Blue Hanger itself.

These proposals benefit both Blue Hanger and Goodwill in the long run. Blue Hanger benefits from selling more goods to reduce waste; ultimately, Goodwill gains money out of this, more than what they would have from selling bales at cents per pounds. Educating a younger demographic also holds the possibility of these new shoppers becoming more connected to their community and be willing to help people find jobs by shopping at Goodwill. And if the events become successful, Goodwill can also use the Blue Hanger spaces for annual bashes and other fund-raising galas to promote itself. They can save money by doing this instead of paying fancy hotels for space that they already possess.

Goodwill and Blue Hanger utilize their own resources and untapped resources (younger shoppers, creative events) to help bring donations and funding in to reach their mission goals.

Goodwheels

2008-12-08T22:27:00.003-06:00

In working with Austin Texas Goodwill Industries, we analyzed and researched their systems, clientele, visual displays, advertisements, and ultimate mission, in order to identify an opportunity in which to educate, promote, and better the Goodwill identity.

We began our research by interviewing employees, managers, customers, and non-Goodwill shoppers. In these interviews, we asked them a list of set questions. For example one of the questions was, “Are you familiar with Goodwill’s mission statement?” Goodwill’s mission is to “enhance the dignity and quality of life by eliminating barriers to opportunity and helping people in need reach their fullest potential though the power of work”. It became apparent that the people who were unaware or had less of an understanding of this mission were young adults and teenagers. Many of the people interviewed were also unaware that unlike Salvation Army and other charity thrift stores, Goodwill’s money and job opportunities stay local and within the Austin community rather than working on a national level. We believed this to be an attractive quality of Goodwill and believed that if the community were aware they too would agree. We took note of these two issues, knowing we wanted to address both of them in our proposal.

Next we did a visual analysis of Goodwill, this consisted of looking at the exterior and interior store layouts, signage, color, and advertisements. Many of the Goodwill signs and advertisements were very informative, but were visually cluttered and verbose in content. This discourages viewers from reading and attaining the information. Also, the signs and advertisements had no consistent branding or reoccurring elements such as typeface, color, and/or imagery. However, we did like the use of vibrant colors used in the Goodwill’s store signage. We hoped to extend these vibrant, exciting colors in our designs used for our proposal.
With help from Kevin McCown and Joel King, the transportation manager and assistant manager, we created a flow chart that gives a visual understanding of Goodwill’s circulation system. There are three types of donations- individual donations, commercial donations, and events donations. The items are then taken to the store where they are sorted and are either priced and placed in store to be sold, salvaged (immediately given to the outlet), recycled, or in the worst case thrown away. The items put in store are then sold or auctioned and after three weeks if they have not been purchased they are sent to the outlet (known as Blue Hanger). Once items reach the outlets, they are either sold or auctioned. From there hard-line items (such as lamps, stereos, shoes, etc) are placed in gaylords and sold. Clothes are compacted into bales where they are sold to bulk-buyers by the ton. It was vital for us to have a good understanding of this system in order to figure out how and where our proposal would adjust the circulation.

Also after speaking with Kevin and Joel, we discovered that originally Goodwill had purchased several trucks to complete delivery routes. Since then, Goodwill has designed a more efficient route, leaving seven box trucks unused and taking up space in the parking lot of the Blue Hanger Outlet Store in Springdale. Presently, these box trucks are wasted resources.
We took the main issues from all of research and analyses and have created “Goodwheels”. Goodwheels is a mobile Goodwill that travels to local Austin events, both large and small. Goodwheels objective is to “efficiently utilize Goodwill’s resources in order to strengthen community presence and mission awareness”. Events we have considered for Goodwheels to be present are Austin City Limits, First Thursdays on Congress, Fun Fun Fun Fest, and Youth sports fields. Austin City Limits is an annual local music festival held at Zilker Park, this would be a chance for Goodwheels to become a linked part of Austin, the music capital of world. First Thursdays on Congress is an event held every first Thursday of each month where several vendors line the streets of Congress Ave. and act as hosts to an array of events and activities. In participating in an event such as First Thursdays, it would allow the public to anticipate Goodwheels consistent presence at the event and perhaps encourage them to collect and bring donations once a month. The theory behind Fun Fun Fun Fest is to create a fall festival that supports emerging artists, creativity, LOCAL BUSINESS, and bands. This would be another chance for Goodwill to begin to be viewed more as a local vendor. Goodwheel’s regular presence at Youth Sports Fields would create a strong community bond and allow families to contribute to the mission of Goodwill whether through donations or purchases. These are a plethora of events, all of which emphasize Austin’s strong, creative, and exciting community that are targeted towards educating younger generations.

We photographed, documented, and measured the unused box trucks. The cargo space of each truck measures to be 24 feet long, 8 feet in height, and 7 feet in width. The box truck holds a driver and two passengers. In redesigning the exterior, we used vibrant colors inspired by the existing Goodwill signage and made the formal design playful, dynamic, and visually engaging. We saw the exterior as an opportunity to educate and excite the public on the Goodwill mission; therefore we shortened the original mission statement into a concise tagline that reinforces Goodwheel’s purpose, “Goodwheels, delivering opportunity to your community”. The original design of the rear of the truck is another example of the visual clutter often found in Goodwill’s graphics. The new rear redesign continues the visually engaging theme from the side, while including Goodwill’s contact information in a clear way. We also plan to have the recognizable Goodwill Smiling “G” placed on the exterior of the truck, in order to allow the viewer to draw back to the familiar roots of Goodwill. In the trucks interior space, we wanted to utilize existing systems within the cargo space. Specifically, the metal tracking used to tie-down duratainers. The straps have a metal piece that securely attaches to the tracking. We propose to use this metal tracking to create a clothes display that will be modular—in that it can be placed in any truck with the tracking. This allows the display to be interchangeable in size and location. Also, by using the tracking it avoids having to drill holes into the truck walls and having to have to make the renovation permanent. The interior will also include lighting, boxes for storage, a dressing area, a mirror display (in order to expand the space), and a donation box. The color theme already seen on the outside of the truck is also maintained in the interior. Another unique feature is the Donate Your Story Board. The board is an interactive medium that unites the individual with goodwill and its community by allowing individuals the opportunity to share a story of their own or to read a story of someone else's. We also propose that this storyboard include or feature stories from people who have had Goodwill provide and help them in getting jobs and an education. This way people will feel more compelled to purchase and will know that there purchases are directly making a difference in their own community.

When the Goodwheels truck is operating at an event, the cashier counter and donation box will be positioned outside of the truck. Also, for an event with not enough space for a truck clothes racks can be set up outside of the truck. The outside of the truck will be illuminated with removable lights. These will be put in place by Goodwheels employees after the truck is parked for the event. Power will be provided by a generator. In fact, this year at Fun Fun Fun Fest several vendors ran off of solar powered generators, which would be ideal for Goodwheels. Clothes and other items to be sold in the truck will be selected by a Goodwheels employee from items already priced and on the floor of a Goodwill store. The merchandise selected can vary and be tailored to the specific event.

In order to promote the Goodwheels campaign, we have designed two simple yet unique examples of advertising to distribute within the community- door hangers and small business-like cards. Both forms depict the Goodwill logo on one side and on the other they have a calendar of the event’s Goodwheels will be located. This will allow the public to anticipate donations or even just shopping the Goodwheel low prices while enjoying a fun community event. The door hangers can be distributed to the neighborhoods near the location of which the Goodwheel’s truck next event will be located. The cards can be placed near registers at several businesses in order to make people aware, for example the several stores that participate in First Thursdays as mentioned prior. These cards could also be distributed at the ocation where tickets for the events are being sold.

Goodwheels easily fits into Goodwill’s existing circulation system. It acts as another filter. The sellable items sent to the store are selected and are attempted to sell in the Goodwheel’s truck and then after the event the merchandise will go back to the floor of the store, where they will be reentered into the existing system. The cost towards redesigning and promoting the truck would be low. The highest cost would be in employing a driver and running a generator, but in the end would be worth it in recruiting a larger amount of goodwill supporters and contributors through raising awareness. The trucks not only will serve their purpose in being a venue for selling and donating, but will also work as movable billboards all around Austin. Goodwheels would be an effective entity within the Goodwill system in boosting community presence, mission awareness (especially amongst the youth), donations, revenue, and ultimately in providing more opportunity for Goodwill to provide work for those in need.

Make Good

2008-12-08T22:07:00.005-06:00

Goodwill Industries of Central Texas is a private, non-profit organization operating in Central Texas for 50 years. Goodwill’s mission is “To enhance the quality and dignity of life for individual, families and our community by providing job-related services for people with barriers to employment.” Everyday hundreds of donation items are processed and are salvaged by Goodwill, but 20 percent of the donated items still end up at the landfill. From our research, consisting of interviews, observations, and Goodwill tours, we have also recognized Goodwill’s dedication to recycling and sustainability. We aim to enhance the existing Goodwill recycling initiative by implementing a program that will further help salvage the 20 percent of trashed goods.

In order to effectively contribute to the “reduce and reuse” cause, we researched existing recycle programs at Goodwill. The annual weigh good drive is a donation drive that encourages the Central Texas community to engage in an environmentally friendly effort to recycle their “trash” from spring-cleaning. Two recycling programs that focus specifically on computers and electronics are the Reconnect program and the Austin Computer Works program. Goodwill holds a partnership with Dell Inc. and the City of Austin. The Reconnect program offers customers a free computer-recycling drop off. The Austin Computer works recycling program processes 2,500 tons of computer waste annually. Every month, Goodwill processes 250 ¬tons of electronic waste with none going to the landfill. Computer parts are reused, resold, and displayed. In order to promote this recycling effort, the computer works program has an in store computer museum that displays older computers, as well as displays large statues made of recycled computer parts in the front of the store.
Even though Goodwill has available programs for recycling there is a lack of in store attention to their recycling initiatives. Despite these efforts to reduce waste, twenty percent of donated goods still end up in the landfill, therefore Goodwill losses money by paying to take unsold goods to the landfill. In our proposal we aim to enhance Goodwill’s image as a source of sustainable creativity.

In order to determine and investigate the current situation in existing Goodwill retail stores, we visited the North Lamar Location, which is one of the largest Goodwill retail centers in Central Texas. All Goodwill stores have a consistent organizational system which consists of categories including: men’s and women’s clothing organized by either size or color, house wares, electronics, books and furniture. In this particular store, we found that the clothing displays and their placement were not as successful as in regular stores because Goodwill does not sell multiples of the same articles of clothing. We found that the space at the end of the clothing racks could be better utilized. These grid wire racks and metal-shelving units with adjustable shelves are coherent organizational elements in almost every Goodwill store. When looking for areas around the store for potential implementation, we decided these spaces could be used more efficiently to further raise awareness of the recycling opportunities available.

In order to get an idea of how shoppers perceived Goodwill we conducted interviews the first week of research. Throughout the interviews we found that people mostly shop at Goodwill for costumes, props, vintage clothing, or shop for resale. Also, customers that thrift shop as a hobby prefer Goodwill. Most customers shop at Goodwill for themselves and said they would not shop there for gifts. When asked, “What was your initial expectation of Goodwill and how has that been or not been fulfilled?” Most people responded that there exists a misconception about thrift stores including Goodwill. One person responded, “I thought it was a bunch of junky stuff and old crap.” When asked, “If you could tell people one thing about Goodwill, what would it be?” One woman said, you can put together your own outfits or decorate your apartment and make it unique.” With this we start seeing a Do it Yourself initiative, where people are searching for things to decorate their homes, fix and build their own computers, and complete outfits. When asked, “what would you change about Goodwill?” One person responded, “I would change the negative stigma people have of Goodwill, and believe it is under them. It should be about the shopping experience, helping the community and environment, and having fun.” Customers said that the Goodwill mission gave them more of an incentive to shop there. Employees and shoppers believe in Goodwill’s mission and want to change the perception of Goodwill.

A Do it yourself community already exists and is most prominent online with DIY websites, blogs, and videos. Many DIY resources suggest thrift stores, and sometimes specifically Goodwill, as the place to go look for used goods and materials to use in trash-to-treasure projects. These websites also provide photos of existing Do it yourself projects with step-by-step instructions. There are a variety of projects, ranging from easy-to-make and affordable to more complex and time consuming.

In effect to our goal to promote the recycling effort and implement the DIY mindset, we propose a way to utilize inefficiently used resources and products in store to promote sustainability. We plan on promoting Goodwill as the place to go for Do it yourself enthusiasts and potential Do it your-selfers. The make good logo represents our effort to enhance Goodwill’s image by keeping the existing logo and adding a vintage script typeface that corresponds to our effort to salvage and reuse materials. The tag line reads, “Reduce waste. Reuse items. Be creative”. This speaks about our recycling effort and encourages creativity. Two effective ways to apply our goal is through in-store displays and a website. There will be 18 x 24” posters placed in the Goodwill stores, designed to remain the same with detachable instructional pads that will change over time. The instructional pads where designed to be more universal with only a minimal amount of text that could potentially be translated. The DIY projects will be easy to make and affordable. Some projects that we have come up with include, a vase lamp, a record clock, mug speaker set, and a bookcase handbag. These posters and instructions will be placed in the corresponding section depending on the materials needed for the project. The poster will have a link to the website so that people can take pictures of their make good projects and post them on the website. They can even exchange their own DIY ideas on the blog. In order to also promote the Goodwill mission, it will be printed on each of the instruction pads. Shelf space in the house wares section could be utilized by detaching one shelf so that the poster could be placed on the backboard of the shelf. The DIY project will also be on display so that it could be a visual example to stimulate ideas. The website will have information about Goodwill’s recycling initiatives as well as their mission statement. The website will also be a source for creative exchange with photos of Do it yourself projects and instructions. New projects will be featured on the popular projects page so that web users can download instructions, comment on the project, send it to a friend, or continue reading more about the project.
We are aware that there are concerns about the actual execution of our proposal. Further considerations include, configuration of store displays because of the layout discrepancies in each Goodwill store. Also in consideration is the turnover time for the DIY projects in store. Website maintenance is also a concern since there are no employee volunteers trained to do complex web work. On the contrary, there are resources available at the Goodwill headquarters, including a plotter printer for poster printing.Plans for future expansion are definitely included in our proposal. We plan on using Austin’s annual event Maker Faire to promote and exhibit Goodwill’s DIY mindset and projects. Maker Faire was created by Make Magazine to “celebrate arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the DIY mindset.” Maker Faire includes exposition and workshop pavilions, hands-on workshops, demonstrations, and DIY competitions. Goodwill already sponsors Maker Faire and could take further initiative to make an appearance at the festival. Apart from expansion, in order to accommodate to the large demographic of Spanish speakers, we will have bilingual posters and instructions. Furthermore, in our initiatives to make these DIY instructions universal, we plan on making instructional videos that will be available on the make good website. Through existing Goodwill volunteer programs; enough support is available for ongoing DIY workshops in order to encourage the community to participate in the recycling cause. We hope this will inspire customers to reuse goods in effort to improve the environment.

From the beginning of our process we have been interested in taking existing resources to better promote Goodwill’s mission and recycling effort. This idea has carried us through our process and our appreciation for Goodwill’s mission along with our concern for helping improve its cause is clearly reflected in our proposal. Not only is our proposal joining the global green movement, but the proceeds of this DIY mindset is also contributing to Goodwill’s mission of finding jobs for individuals with barriers to employment.

Shop At Home

2008-12-08T22:06:00.014-06:00

After conducting weeks of research that involved several visits to Goodwill stores in Austin, Texas, a few behind the scenes tours, and a dozen interviews with employees and shoppers, our research group discovered a few issues that might be addressed at Goodwill Industries. After speaking to shoppers at Barton Creek Square mall it became apparent that many people are unaware of Goodwill’s mission statement and there is a lower turn out of younger shoppers at Goodwill thrift stores. Some of the logistical problems include the inconsistent layout of items within the five different Goodwill stores we visited, and the difficulty in finding specific items and sizes of cloths due to disorganization. In order to overcome these problems, my group and I devised a mock online shopping website that consists of a systems flow chart, a guide to managing a Goodwill online store, and some marketing strategies in hopes of generating more revenue and further educating those who are uninformed.

Our research shows that many shoppers are unaware of Goodwill’s mission and purpose in our community. Goodwill’s mission is to sell donated items to make enough revenue to be able to maintain its own business. The organization uses the revenue to benefit its community by creating programs for individuals and families by providing job-related services for those who are unemployed. Goodwill services include adult programs and youth programs. The adult program is available to all eligible people regardless of race, gender, disability, or religion. The adult program includes a job source program that help search for jobs for those who have difficulties in their career path due to setbacks in areas such as education and housing. There are also community rehabilitation programs that offer assistance for people with disabilities seeking entry into the workforce such as application, interviewing, and job seeking training. Lastly there is an assistive technology lab that provides the community training services on specialized equipment and demonstrations on navigating the internet and other software such as Jaws, Magic, and, Deaflink. Goodwill partners with other youth service agencies such as Workforce Investment Act to help youth stay in school and prepare them for career opportunities with programs like career counseling and job readiness training exercises. A “healthy” Goodwill store is a self-sufficient one that receives enough donations to make enough revenue to support itself and to carry out Goodwill’s mission by providing the services to the community. However, some stores require trucks to physically deliver goods to them because they are not self-sufficient and need more donations to sell to make a large enough profit to stay in business and serve those who are in need. The ratio of “healthy” Goodwill stores to the stores that require constant deliveries is about half.

Many shoppers, especially teenagers, are reluctant to go to Goodwill stores due to, as one interviewee noted, the “overwhelming clutter”. After speaking to shoppers away from Goodwill we noted that they choose not to shop at Goodwill because of the time and labor involved with searching for specific items. One shopper mentioned her past experience at Goodwill and the difficulty she faced due to the clutter and the fact that the clothes are organized by color and not by size. She said “There was no way for me to find the right sized shirt without having to flip through every green shirt on the rack.” When we asked Amy Rames, marketing communications specialist at Goodwill headquarters, how the layout was determined, her response was, “The clothes are organized by color rather than size. The same goes for hard-line objects because this is the fastest way to put items onto floors with the least amount of time and manpower required to do so.” Suzanha Burmeister, Goodwill’s marketing director, said “Even if there is any spare room most managers are not willing to give up any space because they want to put out as much items onto the shelves and floors as possible.” Even though the managers are only trying to generate as much profit as possible many shoppers feel overwhelmed and are often frustrated by the lack of order and are burdened by the excessive amount of goods inside the store.

In order to increase awareness about Goodwill’s mission statement and to make shopping hassle-free we proposed an online website that will allow visitors an opportunity to learn, browse, and purchase goods without having to leave their homes. It was not our intention to rid or rebrand Goodwill’s current identity but instead to build on the existing logo by adding unique aspects that will promote the idea of shopping online. The new online logo is a modification of the current logo because we felt that it would still retain the company’s image. We removed the half smiley face image that takes place of the letter “g” in the name Goodwill underneath the larger half smiley face on top of it to make it less redundant. We replaced it with a cleaner, neater, and a simpler typeface that spells out the website’s URL, http://www.gogoodwill.com,/ instead. Below the website’s URL lies a tagline, “browse digitally, shop locally,” to emphasize the fact that the users can shop comfortably at home but at the same time are supporting their local community by purchasing goods from nearby Goodwill stores. Although, the changes between the two logos are subtle, the old logo is still recognizable while the new logo is different enough for the viewers to make the distinction between the two.

We designed a flow chart to better explain the process of how an item is sorted and sold to the online consumers. First, an item is donated by any individual to any Goodwill donation center. To better utilize Goodwill’s employees, the Goodwill online system will only require one or two employees per store to supervise and sort out the items that are worth placing on the website. It will be up to the manager’s discretion on who and how many employees would monitor the system because some stores may already have the manpower to do so while others may need to hire additional employees. Once the initial sorter, (either a Goodwill employee who already sorts items or another employee hired for the job) pulls out the more upscale items (anything that is worth more than ten dollars) he or she will have the items photographed. Once the item is photographed the sorter will have to upload the image onto the website, and then tag the item with a label and item number. After the item is properly tagged it will be placed on a hold shelf depending on where space is available per store for a week. Suzanha Burmeister mentioned that even though many of the stores in Austin are cluttered in the front there is enough space in the back, where donations are dropped off, to store the online items. If an item is not sold online within a week it will be placed inside the stores at a lower price. If a shopper wants to make a purchase then he or she will have to click on the “add to shopping bag” icon that is located below the image of the item and pay her balance. The system will then lead the shopper to a “thank you” page where the customer is informed that his or her purchase is going to a good cause (the Goodwill programs that serve the community). Afterwards, the system will remove the item on the website and alert the store manager to remove the item from the hold shelf to the sold shelf for forty-eight hours. The customer will be alerted with a message that provides the directions to the store. The customers must pick up the items themselves in order for both the shoppers and Goodwill to save on shipping and handling. This would also create another opportunity to lure the customers into the stores in order to potentially make additional sales.

In order to maximize profits and make the website as self-sufficient as possible each store manager will be emailed the instructions on how to become a part of the Goodwill online store. To avoid any confusion the guide will explain thoroughly how to activate an online store, how to take quality photographs of items, how to upload images, where to store items, what to do when items are sold, and what happens to auction items. Purchasing or bidding on auction items that are in the store bid cases will not be available online to avoid an event where someone would bid on an item online when someone else is bidding or buying the same item physically at the store at the same time. Therefore, photographs of the auction items are only online to browse through and to encourage people to go to the stores to bid or purchase them.

The concept of the website was to contrast the clutter of goodwill stores by creating a more user friendly way to present the objects to the customers. The website is inviting and easy enough so the users can visually navigate through the website on their own. The visitor will first locate his or her region by clicking on his or her city on the homepage. Once the desired region is selected, users will be greeted with the mission statement on the top of the page along with a link that leads the users to the regional homepage, where they can learn more about the services that are available. To keep the website organized, there is a list of categories on the left that groups items according to their specifications. There is also a search tool for specific needs and a faster search. Lastly, there is a RSS feed that is available to subscribed users to receive updates on new arrivals.

According to Suzanha Burmeister, Goodwill has tried to sell computers and computer parts online in the past but failed to maintain stability because of a lack of effective marketing. The previous website had issues that were never resolved such as, software issues that resulted with an unfriendly user website, insufficient amount of products, and the overall lack of awareness of the website. In order to make our website feasible we had to overcome the challenges that the previous website could not by designing a website that will enable users to easily navigate and browse through the items, provide an abundant and wide selection of various products, and most importantly to inform and encourage the public to visit the website. No matter how comfortable, effortless, and efficient the website will be to the users the website cannot last long if it isn’t able to generate enough revenue. Therefore, it is crucial to inform the public about the website and the available products in order to sell a lot of products. That is why advertising to the public is vital to the success of our proposal.

We came up with a three-point marketing strategy that is cost efficient. First, we had to target the people who already go to the stores by placing posters with website logos and URLs on windows and printing them onto shopping bags. Furthermore, we will try to promote the use of free media to promote the website as an online retailer that supports the non-profit Goodwill Industries. Such as on blogs, social networking sites, and news articles that appear online in print and on television. Also to target those who use the Internet regularly online banner ads will be advertised on high traffic websites such as the Austin Chronicle. Lastly, if Goodwill Industries feel that not enough people are aware of the site, then more money will have to be spent on traditional media such as billboards, newspapers, and television ads.

After conducting our research we realized the challenges that Goodwill Industries has to overcome in order to better carry out their mission. We believe that our online store will be a great tool to help meet these needs. Goodwill should acknowledge our proposal to strengthen their revenue and broaden their awareness in hopes of better serving the community.

The Blue Bash Program

2008-12-08T22:00:00.009-06:00

Goodwill has always been where I dumped all my tired clothes after spring cleaning my room, where I bought last minute Halloween costumes and where old “stuff” was sold to people who couldn’t afford new “stuff.”

I realized how ignorant I was to Goodwill after receiving a tour of the Goodwill Headquarters of Central Texas by Suzanna Burmeister, the marketing director. I had never heard of the mission, “to enhance the quality and dignity of life for individuals, families and our community by providing job-related services for people with barriers to employment” and I had never heard of the Blue Hanger, even though I went to high school within a mile of one. After a week of extensive research with peers further educated me on the intricate system that employs the Goodwill mission, I felt equipped enough to find and assess issues that I recognized. Brandon Gamm, Meagan Greenwalt, Nicholas Nguyen and I teamed up and collaborated a proposal to use the Blue Hangers as an event space creating an identity for the Blue Hanger within the company’s system, attracting local youth to the Goodwill brand, and decreasing the amount of excess goods that are sent to landfills.

I further propose a name for the concept, The Blue Bash Program, and a focus on the Blue Hanger on McNeil Drive taking advantage of its interior, developing concentrated awareness and gaining revenue in a middle class area.

There are two Goodwill Outlet stores in Austin. The original Blue Hanger is on Springdale Road in east Austin, next to the “Blue Theater” hence the name and the newer Blue Hanger is on McNeil Road, in north Austin. Goodwill does not invest money on advertising, organization, or interior design of the Blue Hangers for fear that attention will be diverted from the main retail stores and it is evident. The result is a warehouse of waist high tables full of unorganized goods. The sparseness of interior in the space is not ideal for a comfortable shopping experience but lends itself to events such as concerts, fashion shows and “do it yourself” workshops. By taking advantage of the unique characteristics of the Blue Hanger with “Blue Bash” events, Goodwill’s image will become a part of Austin culture.

Nick Nguyen and I interviewed high school students from McNeil High School, in close proximity to the Blue Hanger on McNeil Drive, and college students at the University of Texas at Austin. The feedback from our questions confirmed that the Blue Hanger lacks an identity and the public does not understand its connection to Goodwill. High school students expressed reluctance to shopping at Goodwill and, with the exception of one, had never seen or heard of the Blue Hanger. College students had a more positive reaction to the subject in question but had the same ignorance as the young interviewees.

Shopping at the Blue Hanger is vastly different from shopping at the regular retail locations of Goodwill stores. The lack of organization, low cost arrangement and warehouse aesthetic provides an experience that is similar to the average garage sale or flea market. The product is piled haphazardly on four by eight feet wooden tables, lined up in long rows throughout the concrete space. The customers that are most common at the Blue Hanger are underprivileged families, bulk buyers and individuals from the local crafting community looking for cheap materials. The demographic of shoppers at the Blue Hanger lacks youth, despite the high percentage of young people in Austin.

The outlets can be seen as a recycling center as it prevents low quality donations from going straight to landfills. When items are donated to Goodwill they have three weeks to be sold in the retail stores before they are shipped to these outlet locations where they are sold for a low price. The turnover of product on the sale floor is high because the outlets receive a high amount of unwanted donations that need to be processed. Anything that is unsold on the floor is organized in the transportation warehouse adjacent to the outlet store. “Soft line” goods, anything made of textile, and excess cardboard are each compressed into large blocks, which are sold by the pound. “Hard line” goods, anything that isn’t made of textile including shoes, furniture, and home décor, are auctioned in bulk. Excess goods remaining from this process, approximately 20% of Blue Hanger items, end up in the landfill.

Goodwill Industries will utilize the Blue Hanger on McNeil Road as location for “The Blue Bash Program” in order to cater to the middle class families of the area. The Blue Hanger on McNeil Drive is surrounded by neighborhoods with higher economic standing and lower crime rates. Shoppers at the McNeil Blue Hanger are less aggressive than those at Springdale. Also, the interior of the McNeil Blue Hanger is more developed with air conditioning, indoor bathrooms and tables with attached wheels.

The high schools that are in close proximity with the McNeil location are highly competitive, expecting students to participate in extra curricular activities, organizations and charitable work. The program will be targeted to students seeking opportunities for charity, entertainment and creative expression. Events for students interested in music, fashion or art can occur individually or together. Organizations such as National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society and Student Council will have the option of sponsoring events to raise money for Goodwill as a charitable donation. Goodwill will also have annual competitions that will become a tradition for students to participate in and attend, providing friendly competition between neighboring high schools. Winners will be chosen by audience applause, pushing competitors to invite their friends and family. At the events, entrance fees will be minimal and include a donated item. Items will be left out for a “swap-o-rama” style way of getting youth to participate in the exchange of goods. Parents will be comforted in the safe location of the Blue Hanger and youngsters, eager for a change in scenery, will be more apt to participate in events held outside their high school atmosphere.

Bands and artists seeking exposure come to Austin because it is known for live music so it was no surprise when students that Nick and I interviewed at McNeil High School communicated an interest in concert type events. Lunden Atkins, 17, is in a band with friends and says he would play at a hypothetical Blue Bash event. The Blue Bash will have the option of hosting a Blue Hanger Battle of the Bands or a non-competitive concert for one of the other competitions.

Thrift fashion is popular in Austin and young students are always searching for ways to set themselves apart from the crowd with their attire. Jessica Litteken, 16, said she enjoyed thrift shopping because of can always find something unexpected and unique. The Blue Bash Program will have a second option for an event that involves a fashion design competition, culminating in a fashion show. Students must use Blue Hanger clothes to put together outfits that can be worn and walked down the runway.

The crafting community in Austin is predominately an older crowd but young artists are open to creative workshops if there is an incentive. A “Do It Yourself” competition will be the third option by The Blue Bash Program. Students can learn basic construction methods and then compete to create items, such as small furniture, home décor or Halloween apparel that would appeal to their demographic. Items will be auctioned at Goodwill locations and the winner will be one that is sold at the highest bid.

The rows of tables, acceptable for regular shopping experience at the Blue Hanger, can be easily transformed into a stage, a runway, and workshop stations. The stage and runway are simply formations of tables with plywood boards laid on top for a smooth surface. Tables holding swappable goods are bunched in small clusters along the wall near the warehouse entrance. The openness of the swapping area will encourage movement and be a contrast to the constrictive daunting rows that are used during the day. DIY stations are aligned at an angle along the wall to be inviting. An ideal Blue Bash, hosting each type event simultaneously, would fit each necessary element with ease. If events are separate, extra table can be stored in the warehouse.

The Blue Bash Program will change the Goodwill image amongst youth from old grungy rummage to funky, creative and sustainable. A middle class community will have a new relationship with the system, developing committed donors and supporters. Ultimately, revenue will increase and the mission will be easier to achieve and promote.

GoGoodwill.com

2008-12-08T19:44:00.007-06:00

After an extensive analysis of Goodwill Industries of Central Texas stores, my group and I discovered a potential avenue for increasing the success of Goodwill. We learned how the system works after donations are dropped off, what shoppers think of Goodwill, and the variances in appearance between the stores in Austin. From these observations we know that Goodwill does a lot of good for the community, but there is room for improvement. After interviewing a wide array of people, we discovered that some people do not like to go into the Goodwill stores to shop. This is due to many people having the misconception that all of the items being sold are in bad condition. Also, we found that people do not like to shop in the stores because they “don’t have time to go through all the clutter," “it feels dirty in there," and that “the stores smell," as well as other reasons.

My group and I feel strongly that Goodwill is a great system for helping people get jobs and start new lives, and that there is a way to reach these people that don’t want to shop in the stores. Our proposal is to increase Goodwill’s revenue by creating a website that will reach a new audience. Shopping online is very popular these days, and by welcoming Goodwill to the online community we hope to overcome people’s misconceptions of the store and bring in more revenue to continue to help people. Our hope is that if Goodwill has a website, consumers will choose to shop there over craigslist, ebay, or other online thrift shops, since Goodwill serves a greater purpose.

After a meeting with marketing director Suzanha Burmeister, we learned that Goodwill Industries of Central Texas did try to have a website before for the Computer Works store. The website was unsuccessful because of a lack of marketing, not enough inventory, and a software that was not very user-friendly. Mrs. Burmeister also revealed to us that some store managers do take higher end items and photograph them and try to sell them on ebay to make more money for the store. Managers have to keep their store under budget, which gives them the incentive to do what they can to make as much money as possible. Mrs. Burmeister also told us about how books are already being sold online, but through Amazon.com. They do not advertise that the books are from Goodwill in fear that competitors will trash their good name in the customer reviews.

After taking in all of our research, my team and I devised a plan to make a successful, easy to use, attractive website, named GoGoodwill.com. One of the major components of our plan is to make the website easy to integrate into the existing Goodwill system. This way each store manager will be more likely to implement the website for their store.

Each store will need an employee to be in charge of the website, but it is up to each store whether this needs to be a new hire, or if there is an existing employee that can take on the responsibilities. Each store will also need a computer for the sales floor, a digital camera, a place to take the pictures of each item, and shelves to store the items.

When donations come in to each store, that sorter will set aside higher end items. The website employee will then choose which items to sell online, which will all have a value of at least ten dollars, and photograph them. They will then assign each item a number and place them on the shelves. The employee will then upload the photographs to the computer, send them to the server, and then the items will be organized on the website by the website software.

When a customer finds an item they want on the website, they will pay with a credit card online. Then, the respective store will be alerted and the item will be taken off the website. The store employee will label the item with a new label that contains the name of the customer and the date that it was paid for. The item will be moved to a shelf that is clearly marked sold, and then the customer has forty-eight hours to come pick up their item. Since there is a limited amount of space for storage, customers will be encouraged to pick up their items on time by implementing a late fee. They will be charged three dollars a day after the forty-eight hour period, for up to five days. After the fifth day of being late to pick up the item, the item will be returned to the floor without a refund to the customer. We decided not to have an option for shipping because each store would have to store all of the shipping supplies, which would take up too much room, and also would need someone that was very good at packing items to insure the items won’t be broken in transit.

Each item will be kept on the website for one week. If it has not been sold within a week, it will be put on the sales floor. There is a countdown for each item on the website so the customers know how much longer it will be available online. The purpose of only keeping the items on the website for a week is so that the website won’t hoard all of the higher end items and there will still be nice items available in the stores. If the customer is not fully pleased with their purchase they can return it to the store they purchased it from within thirty days with their receipt.

Each store will have a computer out on their sales floor for people to check out the website while shopping in the store. This will be a good way to introduce people to the website, so hopefully they will use it when they are at home, too. The computers will be donated by Computer Works, and will only be used for GoGoodwill.com. The computer will be placed by the registers, or on a table anywhere in the store that is convenient and easily accessible by customers.

Each store will receive an employee guide that will instruct the website employee how to set up and use the website. It explains how to set up the website software, how to take a quality photograph, how to store the items, what to do when an item is sold and how the auction process works. It will be in PDF form, so it can be kept on the computer or printed out for the employee to keep as reference.

There will be one website supervisor for each region that will overlook the website to make sure that it is working and to answer any questions that the individual store employees might have.
Implementing the website will only cost the amount of buying the website software and a digital camera. To get the website up and running for each store, it will only take the amount of time it takes to organize a space to store the items and a place to photograph the items, and to set up the software. This should only take one day.

GoGoodwill.com is designed to be very clean and organized, a large contrast to the appearance of inside the stores. This will allow shoppers to easily browse through the items without feeling overwhelmed. The website is organized by city. Each item is labeled with the name of the store that it is located at. This is important because the customer must come to the store to pick up the item. Goodwill is set apart from other thrift stores, like the Salvation Army, because it helps the local community. We want to keep the focus on the community by having the customer come in to the store to pick up their item. By getting the customer into the store, we hope that they will look around and realize that there are good finds in the stores. It can also be a great chance for the customer to bring in donations. There is an auction section on the website so that online shoppers can browse what is up for auction each week at each store. They will not be allowed to bid or buy any of these items online, but are encouraged to attend the live auction if they see something they are interested in.

Also, the GoGoodwill.com aims to educate shoppers about Goodwill’s mission. At the top of the main page for each city is the mission statement. On the top of Austin’s main page it reads “Our mission is to enhance the quality and dignity of life for individuals, families and our community by providing job-related services for people with barriers to employment.” There is also a link directing the shopper to find out more about Goodwill by going to the main website. When the shopper buys an item, there will be a processing page that will feature stories about the lives that Goodwill has helped. Then, once the item is finished being purchased, there will be a page thanking the customer for helping to provide jobs and services for people in need.

We propose that the marketing plan to get GoGoodwill.com known be a cost efficient one. Including the URL on Goodwill shopping bags and placing posters about the website in the stores will let current Goodwill shoppers know about the site. An inexpensive way to get the community to know about the site is to write postings on local online blogs, such as Austinist.com. We suggest that online banners be placed on Austin websites, such as Salon.com and AustinChronicle.com, to let internet surfers know about the new way to shop at Goodwill. If these inexpensive manners do not appear to be working, other ideas are to create ads for newspapers, television commercials, and billboards.

By creating an organized website, that is easily integrated into the existing Goodwill system, partnered with a cost efficient and extensive marketing plan, we hope to attract new customers and increase revenue for Goodwill, while increasing awareness of Goodwill’s mission to help those in need get jobs.

Truckin' Goodwheels

2008-12-08T19:39:00.003-06:00

After visiting the Goodwill Headquarters and speaking with Suzahna Burmeister, the marketing director, our class saw many areas of Goodwill that could be improved through design. This project was tailored to a real world client that could implement any of our proposals for real world design issues. It was a great opportunity for our class to show how Goodwill could potentially reach out to its community even more.

Each of us was designated into an area of concentration, which included conducting interviews, analyzing the visual communication, or analyzing the systems for Goodwill. I chose to be a part of the visual analysis group and was told to take thorough notes and photographs of Goodwill’s store layouts, organization of clothes, advertising, and signage. Most of my research resulted in visual clutter and disorganization. Signage seems to discourage viewers from actually reading them because they are overwhelmingly text heavy. There is an inconsistency in typefaces, branding, and a lack of reoccurring elements. For example, in holiday and seasonal advertisements, the inconsistency in typefaces and extraneous imagery make it difficult to recognize them as part of Goodwill’s campaign, were it not for the Goodwill logo itself. Whether it is a disarray of clothing or text heavy advertisements, most of Goodwill’s visual communication seems cluttered and overwhelming. However, one aspect of Goodwill’s advertisements we wanted to maintain in our proposal was the vibrant and engaging color schemes.

Other group members, Carrie and Giulio, asked shoppers, employees, managers, and non-Goodwill shoppers a specific set of questions regarding Goodwill’s mission statement. They discovered that many people are either aware or completely oblivious to the mission. A large subset of the community that is unaware included young adults and teenagers. They are also unaware that Austin’s Goodwill’s money and job opportunities stay local and within the community unlike other charity thrift stores such as Salvation Army. JM was part of the systems analysis group and did an extensive analysis on the circulation system within Goodwill. It begins with the points of distribution, or PODS. These are different ways the donations are received. From there, they are either salvaged or sold and then, the donations that have passed the three week period are taken to the outlets (blue hangers). Then, they are filtered into either bales that include textiles and gaylords which include hard-line items such as shoes and electronics. Finally, anything that cannot be recycled is trashed.

A major issue they uncovered after their research was that there is an inefficient use of certain resources. After Goodwill devised more efficient truck routes, fewer trucks are used now. This leaves seven box trucks unused and parked outside the Blue Hanger Outlet in Springdale. This led us to conclude that the trucks have become wasted resources. Viewing the research we had collected, our group found that there was great potential in proposing an idea that included the usage of these box trucks.

We asked ourselves how we could utilize these trucks in a way that will alert the younger generation of Goodwill’s mission? How can we create a presence that shows people that Goodwill is about aiding the Austin community and will do whatever it takes to reach out to it? We concluded with our own mission statement: “Our goal is to efficiently utilize Goodwill's resources in order to strengthen community presence and mission awareness.” This brought about Goodwheels. Goodwheels would be a box truck transformed into a “mobile” Goodwill that travels to local Austin events, both large and small. For example, Austin City Limits and Fun Fun Fun Fest are great large local events that would attract a younger crowd. We then thought of a smaller, more consistent event, First Thursdays, which is held every first Thursday of each month on Congress Avenue where several vendors participate. It’s an event that would create consistency for Goodwheels’ route each month. Finally, the smallest events we prepared Goodwheels to travel to are Youth Sports League games in neighborhoods in Austin. This would be a great opportunity for those who have no access to transportation to go to Goodwill to experience Goodwill’s community presence firsthand. Our slogan, “Goodwheels…delivering opportunity to your community” reinforces what it fulfills: community presence, mission awareness, and an efficient use of resources.

We went to the Blue Hanger Outlet in Springdale multiple times to obtain measurements of the cargo space and how many employees are needed to set up Goodwheels. The height of the cargo space is approximately eight feet high. The width is about seven feet long and the length is about 24 feet long. There can be a maximum of three employees that sit in the truck. We created Goodwheels with these confinements in mind.

The exterior design of the truck uses vibrant colors of Goodwill, while still keeping it simple and clear with minimal text. The sides employ dynamic concentric circle patterns that create a visually engaging composition. The rear of the truck continues that design but only includes the contact information, which is clearly and legibly printed. The original design is an example of the visual clutter seen in many of Goodwill’s graphics.

The current interior includes a metal tracking system within the cargo space used to tie down the duratainers. Our redesign employs this existing system to give Goodwill less work when preparing the truck. The straps used have a metal piece that securely attaches to the tracking. We decided to use these metal pieces to create a clothing display that will be modular. It can be placed in any truck with the tracking. In addition, since this tracking encompasses the whole space, the display can be interchangeable in location and size. This would be convenient for any employee setting up the box truck. The interior includes lighting, storage boxes for transportation, a small dressing area in the back, a mirror display, and a donation box. The color theme in the interior is consistent with the exterior as well.

What are the criteria for what will be selected for Goodwheels? It would sell items that are already priced and on the floor at any Goodwill. Depending on the event, the type of merchandise that is selected will vary. For example, if the truck were to go to Goodwheels, clothes that appeal to a younger public would be selected. From Carrie’s and Giulio’s interviews, we discovered that Goodwill has many young experienced volunteers and employees that can determine what type of clothing attracts the stylish younger crowd. Our group decided that Goodwheels would essentially hold usually only clothing. However, there are opportunities (Youth Sports Leagues) to sell other items such as books and stuffed animals.

Because Goodwheels’ focus is reaching out and educating the community about its mission, we also included a unique feature, the “Donate Your Story” Board. This feature is an interactive medium that unites an individual with Goodwill and its community. It allows individuals to share how Goodwill has impacted their lives. One suggestion we received was to encourage people to donate their stories. To give them the incentive to donate, we would have to start this process by posting an existing personal story onto the board. This would be a vital part in Goodwill since its goal is to build personal relationships with its community and the individuals who have been positively impacted by Goodwill.

When operating at an event, the donation box and cashier counter will be positioned outside of the truck. Also, removable lights that will be put in place by a Goodwheels employee after arriving at an event will illuminate the truck. Power will be provided by possibly a solar powered generator because it is environmentally friendly and cost efficient. This is possible because a similar vendor, the “Big Rig Vintage” that was powered by solar panels has set up at Fun Fun Fun Fest previous years. During the summer, large fans can provide ventilation and lemonade or water can keep shoppers hydrated.

To promote and advertise the Goodwheels campaign, we created two distinct examples of advertising: a door hanger and an event card. The door hanger would be placed in neighborhoods surrounding the event that will notify people prior to when Goodwheels arrives at their neighborhood. The event card is useful because businesses can place them on the front counter for people to pick up if they were interested in the upcoming events. For example, on the “drag” or on Guadalupe, there are many businesses that all college students have access to and would be interested in Goodwheels. The cards would undoubtedly be placed in businesses where Goodwheels will set up at.

Finally, Goodwheels fits in perfectly as another filter in Goodwill’s current circulation system. Not only can it be a valuable entity within the system to boost community presence and mission awareness, it can collect more donations at events and can yield more revenue. This revenue can later provide for additional job opportunities and programs to enhance the lives of people who have barriers to employment which in the end, reinforces Goodwill’s mission.

Brand U Design Challenge

2008-12-08T19:16:00.003-06:00

Goodwill Industries is a community based, non-profit organization committed to providing job-related services for individuals facing barriers to employment. Through monetary donations and donations of goods the company receives revenue, which is allocated towards job education and placement within a particular community. Donated goods range from lightly used clothing to furniture, computers and even cars. They are sorted and sold at nearby Goodwill retail stores at a relatively low cost. After a six-week intensive research into Austin Goodwill retail stores we made a few startling discoveries in regard to the general public’s knowledge of the Goodwill Corporation. The average shopper is older and has a basic awareness of the company mission but young people, who dominate the population of Austin, seem to be missing from the stores. We conducted in-store interviews to better understand this observation. When asked why they did not shop at Goodwill, young people typically reasoned that the stores were intended for people of a lower socioeconomic level and perceived the goods sold there as old, in poor condition and even unsanitary. The store layout and clothing organization methods surely don’t help this social stigma about Goodwill retail shops. The number one customer complaint in stores is regarding disorganization of clothing. Some stores organize by color, others by size, but no matter the organization method there tends to be a problem with the quantity of goods in relation to their storage. Most shoppers stray from Goodwill stores because they don’t have any incentive to search through the racks or bins. The overwhelming nature of the stores’ layout in conjunction with negative social connotations of resale items create a barrier in Goodwill’s relationship with the younger Austin community.

In the city of Austin, a younger demographic dominates the population through universities of the area , such at the University of Texas and St. Edwards University, as well as the large percentage of graduated students staying in area because it is familiar to them. The city has historically concerned itself with the arts, generating a funky but hip environment and more recently the city has taken a role in promoting sustainable or green living. The combination of youth and this eclectic setting engage a desire for individuality that can easily be achieved through thrift fashion finds. Some thrift stores, such as the Buffalo Exchange, have embraced this trend, marketing their finds towards younger generations through such methods as window displays mimicking current fashions. Even Goodwill has jumped on the bandwagon with their new Brand U campaign, promoting that “its not what you wear, but how you wear it.”; a message promoting each individual to brand themselves with a style all their own. But I believe this campaign is not being fully utilized for the greatest advantage to both Goodwill and the Austin area community. Currently the Brand U campaign is only promoted through printed advertisements that tend to be ignored by a desensitized public. Goodwill stands to strengthen this idea through more public engagement inside and outside of their stores. A combination of Brand U, along with a program that distinctly caters to young adults and some adjustments to the aesthetic value of Goodwill’s retail stores will drastically enhance the organization’s image towards youth within the community.

The Brand U Design Challenge offers students a creative outlet to display their individuality while simultaneously increasing Goodwill’s cool factor among younger generations. Through the reoccurring challenge high school and college-age students are challenged to create a unique outfit using garments purchased at Goodwill stores. Participants are encouraged to alter and manipulate the articles of clothing to create a look that is all their own. The completed outfits can then be featured in a fashion show competition in which the winner receives the prize of being featured alongside their design in the local newspaper. In addition to the fashion show, the completed looks are then put on display inside Goodwill retail stores to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. This creates added revenue for Goodwill but more importantly serves as in-store fashion displays that enhance the store image and promote the Brand U campaign ideas.

To initially announce the Brand U Design Challenge Goodwill can directly contact educational programs that relate to their promotion and proposition their participation in the challenge. High school art classes, home economics and theatre programs could invest interest as well as college fashion groups, design programs, and fashion focused courses. Perhaps the challenge could even serve as a competition between schools. By limiting the competition to students however, a narrower demographic is attracted and Goodwill’s specific community connection is strengthened. This also prevents industry professionals from competing and potentially having an advantage over more inexperienced participants. Brand U promotes the idea that anyone can create a unique look, not just trained professionals.

The Brand U Design Challenge will be held three times a year, once in the fall, once in the spring and once during summer, in concurrence with typical school semesters. After a few trial runs to promote the competition the Design Challenge could potentially be held more frequently but it is not necessary. The competition will culminate in a community fashion show where participants can model their creations. Shows can be held in school venues or in the Goodwill stores themselves, perhaps even their outlet locations that offer large open spaces. Audience voting or applause participation can determine a winner of the challenge. The winner will receive published credit through the Austin American Statesman. Goodwill regularly advertises in this newspaper so the Brand U Challenge prize can correspond with that advertisement, adding no additional cost for Goodwill while providing credit for their competition winner.

After the fashion show, the outfits created are placed on display inside Goodwill retail stores for auction. This serves multiple purposes. While in-store the creations become three-dimensional advertisements for the Brand U campaign, encouraging shoppers to create their own unique looks. They also add to the store’s atmosphere, creating a more inviting environment reminiscent of the perceivably trendy Buffalo Exchange vintage shops and shedding social stigmas among youth. Lastly, the articles are auctioned off creating added revenue for Goodwill. This last step of the auction can be omitted however, allowing the outfits to be displayed longer or perhaps even returned to the designer after a certain amount of time. The entire challenge, as well as the unique looks the participants create, can further be used in promotional print work for Brand U, simply expanding upon the campaign not changing it.

Through the Brand U Design Challenge Goodwill stands to potentially increase community involvement and brighten their image among youth in the greater Austin area. In-store displays and competition focused towards youth greatly aides Goodwill Industries in gaining momentum within the youth centered Austin community. Through participation in the competition and access to store resources the public becomes aware of and more receptive to Goodwill’s mission. Increased awareness of the mission makes people more inclined to shop in stores through their willingness to help their community. Therefore, polishing the Goodwill image through the Brand U Design Challenge serves two functions to potentially increase revenue. There is potentially little cost to Goodwill for this promotion, mainly in print advertising and promotion. But more importantly, Goodwill stands to gain much more than it has to give for the challenge to function effectively. The Brand U Design Challenge is a simple addition to the Brand U campaign that will shed current social stigmas and captivate a part of the community previously unreceptive to Goodwill.

Goodwheels...delivering opportunity to your community.

2008-12-08T18:03:00.008-06:00

After working with Goodwill and researching their existing systems, conducting interviews with customers, employees, and future shoppers, and analyzing current visual material such as signage and advertisements, my group and I retrieved vital information which we then used to construct a design solution called Goodwheels.
My group member Jennifer Kim—along with the “Visual” group— focused on examining all aspects of Goodwill’s visual communication. In doing so, she and her peers revealed problems with advertisements, signage, and personal stories being too informative, visually cluttered, and wordy in content.

Above are two examples of how Goodwill advertisements are visually cluttered. Most of Goodwill’s promotional materials are proliferated with images, motifs, and a large amount of text written in different typefaces. Although there is an apparent effort to make the text more easily legible by creating a hierarchy in font size and line widths, the words themselves become additional, unnecessary visuals on the page. Moreover, there is an inconsistency in branding and elements such as color and imagery selected. On the left, the colors chosen for the background are green and blue however, the advertisement on the right is all in black and white. Although it can be argued that the color combinations between the two advertisements differ based on the holiday—the brighter colors being more appropriate for Christmas and the dark, gray tones for Halloween— the Goodwill logo, however, should remain the same color and similar size. This, along with the consistent placement of the logo on all of Goodwill’s promotional material, would certainly aid in brand recognition. But, none-the-less, the combination of inconsistent visual elements in all of Goodwill’s current advertisements ultimately discourages viewers from wanting to read and most importantly retain the information presented to them.

Another problem found was that none of the Goodwill Austin stores have uniform signage. While Goodwill employs hanging signs with information about clothing for men, women, and children, kitchenware, books, etc., the subset of signs located in isles are inconsistent. At some stores these signs are digitally printed, while in others, they are handwritten with markers.

By translating the information on the signs from English to Spanish, the images above show how Goodwill has taken language barriers into consideration. The problem that occurs here is not an incorrect translation, but rather the usage of all lower case and all uppercase lettering to set apart the English from the Spanish words; the sign, which reads “women’s, PARA MUJERES”, uses this particular combination. Although “PARA MUJERES” is written in a slightly lighter typeface—possibly Helvetica light—, the fact that it is written in all capital letters makes it hard to read and seems to give the Spanish translation more importance. Two positive critiques about the in-store signage, however, are the use of bright colors and the consistent placement of the Goodwill logo on the bottom right hand corner of the digitally printed signs.

Giulio Yaquinto and Carrie Gates, my two other group members, were part of the “Interviews” team. They devised a set of questions concerning various aspects of Goodwill. They then visited all, if not most, of Austin Goodwill stores to interview employees, managers, customers, and even non-Goodwill shoppers who were within the area. A few examples of what type of questions they asked are as follows:

• What would you change about Goodwill?
• Why would you choose Goodwill over other donation/thrift stores?
• If you could tell people one thing about Goodwill, what would it be?

After reviewing the data retrieved, one of the questions asked revealed a large split between responses. The question “Are you familiar with Goodwill’s Mission Statement?” showed how many people were aware and could recite the mission statement, while others—a large subset of the Austin community—had no clue as to how Goodwill contributed to the community. Most of this ill-informed population are young adults or of a younger generation. Why is there such a lack of knowledge about Goodwill’s mission with this specific demographic? Could the lack of awareness be caused by the visually cluttered advertisements mentioned earlier?

My “Systems Analysis” team and I researched the process of how a donation travels through the Goodwill system. We met and interviewed with Kevin Mccown and Joel King, the Goodwill Transportation Manger and the Assistant Transportation Manager, on numerous occasions. Combining our interviews with both Kevin and Joel, along with the guided “behind the scene” tours they gave us of the two outlets stores — the Blue Hanger and the one off of Palmer Lane—we created a visual flow chart to better understand how the Goodwill circulation system actually works:

The process begins with the three PODs (Points of Distribution): individual donations, commercial donations, and events donations. From here, a donated item can go from and individual to an ADC (Attend Donation Center) and then to an Austin Goodwill store, or an individual can donate his or her items directly to a store. Items donated by a commercial donor are made directly to any Goodwill store. Likewise, donated items retrieved from a Goodwill event will then be taken to a store. Once an item reaches a store location, they are separated into two piles: sellable or salvage. The merchandise that is sellable is put out on the floor, which is then either sold or auctioned. The items that can be salvaged are taken directly to one of the two outlet stores. If certain items cannot be salvaged, they are either trashed or recycled.

After the merchandise is out on the floor at a Goodwill store for a period of 3 weeks and has not been sold, it is then transported to an outlet store where it will be sold or auctioned to individuals and bulk buyers. The merchandise at an outlet store is changed out every couple of hours. If an item is not sold within the turn around time, it is then divided into either “hard-lines” or textiles. “Hard-line” items consist of either products made from plastic, wood, or metal, or all types of shoes. These “hard-line” products are then placed in large, bales and are sold by the pound, averaging at about twelve to thirteen cents a pound. Textiles are compressed into tight bundles called “bales.” These “bales” are pieces of cardboard that are bound together to hold the compressed textiles. The “bales” are typically sold to bulk-buyers for resale at flea markets located near the border, or are often sold to buyers who export the merchandise to other countries for unknown purposes. If items cannot be sold at an outlet or to bulk-buyers, they then again either trashed or recycled.

In taking a closer look at how all of the donated items are transported from events to stores and then to outlets, Goodwill has managed to cut the number of routes it employs. Although Goodwill has created a more efficient route, it has left seven of its box trucks parked at the Blue Hanger Outlet in Springdale. These parked trucks currently have no use and have become a wasted resource (see image below).

So what is Goodwheels? Well after analyzing all of the research my group members and I conducted, we combined the problems from each area to create a solution: convert an unused box truck into a “mobile” Goodwill that will travel to local Austin events both large and small, ranging from a Youth Sports League baseball game to Austin City Limits, an annual music festival held at Zilker Park. Goodwheel’s objective is to “efficiently utilize Goodwill’s resources in order to strengthen community presence and mission awareness.”

Above is an image of a spare box truck. It is twenty-four feet long, 8 feet in height, and 7 feet in width. The box truck can hold a driver and up to two extra passengers.

The images above illustrate the exterior of the box truck before and after it is revamped with our “Goodwheels” design. The redesign is inspired by the bright colors found in existing signage at Goodwill stores. We have used a vibrant color scheme, in a concentric, circular pattern. The redesign is certainly fun, dynamic, and visually engaging. The truck also includes our slogan: “Goodwheels…delivering opportunity to your community.”

Here is a rear view of a spare box truck next to our redesign. The original truck another example of Goodwill’s promotional material being too visually cluttered. In our redesign, we chose to keep it simple and clean by including only the contact information and a few of the concentric circles; the text is legible, while continuing our visually engaging theme.

In redesigning the interior, we decided to use existing systems within the cargo space to build our clothing displays. If you notice in the image above, there is a metal tracking which borders the interior of the box truck.

Pictured above is a sequence of images of an existing belt system used to tie down duratainers during transport. The belt includes a latch system, which securely attach to the metal tracking adhered to the interior of the box truck.

On the top is an image of the box truck interior before and below it, our redesign. The clothing display (on the left wall) will attach to the metal tracking. It is also modular in the sense that it can be attached to any of the walls in any of the spare box trucks. The clothing display may also expand or contract in size depending on the amount of merchandise it will hold. Our redesigned interior also includes a mirrored back wall to expand the space and to bring in reflected light from outside, boxes for storage, track lighting on the ceiling, a dressing area near the back, and a donation box. The color scheme is taken from the colors used on the exterior of the truck.

Here is a quick view of the interior space in use:

The clothing and other merchandise that will be displayed in the Goodwheels truck will be selected from already priced items from a Goodwill store. An experienced Goodwill employee will sort this merchandise to be sold in the Goodwheels truck. The items may be customized for the particular event Goodwheels will attend.

Another feature included in the interior of the Goodwheels truck is the “Donate Your Story” board. Goodwheels shoppers will be able to donate their personal stories or fun comments they would like to share to other Goodwheels shoppers. This interactive facet will connect Goodwill with the local Austin community and will hopefully create interest in the younger demographic to become future shoppers of Goodwill.

Above is an image of the storyboard in use and a few example of what comments shoppers might write

The illustration above is a depiction of how the truck will look like once it is set up at an event. The donation box and the cashier station will be placed outside, next to the truck. A bordering strand of attachable lights will also illuminate the side of the Goodwheels truck. The Goodwheels employs will set the lights upon arrival to an event and a solar-powered generator will provide electricity. This idea came from the use of solar-powered generators by vendors at Fun Fun Fun Fest, a local fall Austin music festival, featuring local artists and businesses.

Two types of advertising will promote Goodwheels campaign: door hangers and event cards. The front of promotional material will include the Goodwill logo and the back will include Goodwheels, our slogan, the link to the Goodwill website, and the dates and events where Goodwheels will be participating. This advertising will not only inform the Austin community about how they will be able to shop Goodwheels at an event, but also how they can bring donations for Goodwill to the events. The door hangers will be dispersed in neighborhoods close to where the events will occur and the cards will be placed on checkout counters at Goodwill stores and local businesses.

Here is the flow chart of the existing circulation system within Goodwill and below is the “new” system which would include Goodwheels:

Following the red arrows, the merchandise that would be sold in the Goodwheels truck will be taken off the floor from a Goodwill store. After the truck is loaded with items, it will then attend an event (Fun Fun Fun Fest, Austin City Limits, etc.) The merchandise that is not sold and the items donated at the event(s) will been brought back to the store. The already priced items will be placed back onto the floor and the donated items will enter the system and be sorted.

Goodwheels would ultimately be an effective “filter” to aid in building a better community presence and mission awareness; to build a better relationship between Goodwill and the Austin community. In addition, the number of donations received by Goodwill would assuredly increase, and so would Goodwill’s revenue. The increase in revenue can then be allocated to further Goodwill’s mission: “to provide job-related services for people with barriers to employment.”

Browse Digitally, Shop Locally

2008-12-08T17:52:00.007-06:00

Everyone has his or her own perception of Goodwill. Many of the regular shoppers enjoy the treasure-hunting aspect that comes from the layout, organization, and overall atmosphere of Goodwill stores. But there are also many people who avoid Goodwill stores because of the cluttered atmosphere, the smell, or as one shopper put it, “I really just don’t have the time or the patience to go through the aisles of Goodwill.” During research, no one claimed that the deterrent for shopping at Goodwill is the merchandise, but it is solely a negative perception of Goodwill stores themselves. It seems that if there were a way these people could shop at Goodwill without physically going into the store, they might be pleased with the merchandise they find for sale. When one shopper was asked what she would like to change about Goodwill, she replied, “If I could be here by myself.” She laughed and dismissed the idea as impossible, but with our proposal her vision could become reality.

Proposal

With the concerns of these people specifically in mind, our group proposes an online Goodwill store called GoGoodwill.com. With the growing number of people shopping online, GoGoodwill.com could be a way to reach a demographic that does not typically shop in the stores. The goals are to increase revenue, educate more people about the Goodwill mission, and place their presence in the already established online community.

Goodwill already uses the Internet to sell books through other sites such as eBay and Amazon without telling customers they are buying from Goodwill. Suzhana Burmeister, the Director of Marketing at Goodwill Industries of Central Texas, said this is to avoid “negative feedback” that a competitor could leave, plus sites like Amazon and eBay are already established websites that people use regularly. She also said that the books sold online typically sell for four times as much as they do in the Goodwill stores. The amount of revenue that could be made through other types of products could be greatly beneficial to Goodwill. During our research, we found that many Goodwill store managers have already seen the opportunity of selling goods online. They have taken the initiative to increase profits for their store by selling Goodwill merchandise on the Internet under personal accounts.

How GoGoodwill.com Will Work

The items to be put online will come in through the normal sorting process: employees sort donated items at each store daily. It will be up to the sorter’s discretion to choose which items will be put online. The minimum value of each item is ten dollars in hopes that the items will be of better quality and more unique, such as specialty shoes, furniture, and collectible items. Ideally, the sorter would have an eye for items that could sell for more money like classic records or vintage clothing. Some decisions, like what kinds of items would sell best or how many items per week should go online, would ultimately be up to the store managers. The chosen items will be photographed, receive a tag with the item number and the date received, and put in a storage section in the back of the store. Many of the stores already have areas that can be utilized for this storage need. The photographs of the items will then be uploaded to the server and organized by the site’s software. There will be an online supervisor assigned to the Central Texas region to monitor the website and make sure everything runs smoothly.

Once a customer purchases an item at GoGoodwill.com using an online payment method such as Pay Pal, the item will be taken off the website and the respective store will be alerted that the item has been sold. The employee will find the item, mark it as “Sold” with the date purchased and the customer’s name, and move it to the “Sold” section that is also in the back of the store. In research interviews for this project, Goodwill staff emphasized that there is not a lot of room for stagnant merchandise, therefore the policy would be that the customer must pick up their item within 48 hours or their credit card will be charged three dollars per day. After five days the item will be put back on sale in the store and the buyer will not receive a refund.

The advantage of having customers pick up items in-store instead of being shipped is that people are physically brought in and possibly introduced to a Goodwill store for the first time. One shopper said that his initial expectation of Goodwill was, “It was not as nice. But you can get really good deals here.” Another shopper said that if he could tell someone one thing about Goodwill, it would be that it is, “a lot nicer than you might imagine.” We hope that by getting the online shoppers into the store, any of the negative ideas held by those who have never shopped at Goodwill will be alleviated and they will come back again.

One perceived concern with online retailing of Goodwill merchandise is that customers will not be able to see the items before purchasing them. This is an issue any online retailer runs into whether the products are new or used. For this reason, online purchases could be returned following the standard Goodwill thirty-day return policy.

Employee Guide

An “Employee Guide to Managing a Goodwill Online Store” will be sent to every location as a PDF file for reference at any time. The guide will have all of the information an employee might need for operating the online store, such as instructions on how to activate an online store, take quality pictures, upload photos to the internet, store the items, and what to do after an item is sold.

Computer in store for browsing GoGoodwill.com

To inform customers who are already shopping at Goodwill about GoGoodwill.com, and for those who wish to shop online while in-store, there will be a computer in each Goodwill location that is strictly dedicated to accessing GoGoodwill.com. Since the online merchandise will not be on the floor until the next week, the customers can browse the current week’s selection while also seeing what is available in the retail store around them. If a customer wishes to buy an item online, he or she will have the convenience to purchase it over the Internet and take it home immediately.

The time and cost of implementing GoGoodwill.com would be minimal since it can be easily integrated into the existing Goodwill system. The only expenses would be software for the website, web fees, and initial marketing. Staffing costs would be offset by increased revenue from goods. It would be up to each store individually to decide if extra staff is necessary to efficiently run the program.

Items will stay online for seven days in order to have a rotating selection and for the items to keep flowing throughout the Goodwill system. The images on the site will display each item’s expiration date, or the day they will be taken off the Internet and moved from storage in the back of the store onto the floor. The website will also explain which store location they can be found in, and that there will be a whole new set of items to shop for the next week. After they are taken off the website, the items will follow through the regular item routine. Merchandise stays in the retail store for three weeks, and then is shipped to a Blue Hanger Outlet Store where it is are available for purchase for just a few hours before sold in bulk or thrown away. The advantage of online merchandise is that it gets one extra week in the system at the very beginning of the sales process.

GoGoodwill.com: The Website

Austin page of GoGoodwill.com

The website itself is designed to be clean and orderly-a relief to those who find Goodwill retail stores to be too cluttered to efficiently shop in, such as one individual who told us, “I generally don’t have time to go through all the crap.” Online shoppers will be able to browse by store and category, with thumbnail images and prices shown for each item. Categories include things like art, toys, games, music, computers, furniture, kitchenware, etc. A shopper will also be able to subscribe to an RSS feed, which allows him to get e-mail updates on certain categories of their choosing. For example, if a shopper collected Nike shoes, he could subscribe to get notifications any time Nike shoes are entered into the GoGoodwill.com system. This is a valuable feature for collectors or anyone who is looking for a specific genre of items. Once a customer decides on the items he or she wishes to buy, he simply clicks on the “Add to Shopping Bag” icon and continues through the steps of payment. There will also be a link to the Goodwill Industries of Central Texas’ main page to encourage customers to learn more about Goodwill.

Suzhana Burmeister informed us that Goodwill continually struggles with educating the public abut their mission. Their mission statement is important because it is the sole reason behind Goodwill’s existence. When shoppers were asked if they would use the Goodwill services more after they were told the mission, almost everyone said yes. We felt that it was important to make every online shopper aware of what Goodwill does, therefore the mission statement is shown at the top of each page and after checkout so it is the last thing a customer reads when he or she leaves the site.

Last page of GoGoodwill.com

Marketing Strategies

Advertising is a large part of what will make GoGoodwill.com a success. In the past, marketing for a Computer Works website has not been successful. Computer Works is the program through which Goodwill sells and recycles computer parts and whole systems. The website meant to sell parts online has proved inefficient due to a lack of funding and manpower to run the program. Our strategy for marketing GoGoodwill.com is an attempt to avoid these mistakes by beginning with free advertising in the stores. Hanging posters on the walls and printing the website’s URL on every checkout bag are two ways that already loyal shoppers can find out about GoGoodwill.com.

Austinist blog entry

Other types of free advertising, such as word of mouth, online banners, and blog entries, can provide awareness to more people in the community. For example, “The Austinist” is a local blog that users can advertise their business, news, or events while providing more information than a standard ad. Posting on city-specific blogs also helps promote the locality of Goodwill; that goods and revenue circulate within the community.

Possible newspaper ad

Possible billboard ad

If those strategies do not bring enough people to GoGoodwill.com, traditional marketing strategies such as billboards, print ads, and radio and television commercials could be utilized. The ads will use the slogan “Browse Digitally, Shop Locally” to remind users that they can conveniently shop at home for stores near them.

Mission: GoGoodwill.com

GoGoodwill.com is a cost-effective way for Goodwill to reach the already established community of online shoppers. The hope is that it will increase revenue while educating the community on Goodwill’s mission of helping put people to work. It is not meant to start something completely new-it is meant to add on to the existing Goodwill system. GoGoodwill.com is a way to advance the initial purpose of the retail stores: to generate revenue to provide job-related services for people with barriers to employment. Online shopping supports and enhances Goodwill’s mission through the addition of technology and the Internet.

2008-12-08T17:22:00.001-06:00

After six weeks of analyzing various aspects of the inner and outer workings of Goodwill, recognizing different problems, and formulating various solutions, my group and I have offered Goodwheels as our final proposal.

Our analysis of Goodwill came from through two avenues: first was an investigation of the circulation of goods throughout the Goodwill system, and second was a series of interviews conducted at various Goodwill stores around Austin. The investigation in regards to the circulation of goods throughout the Goodwill system started at points of distribution, or PODs. More generally, these are the channels through which goods are donated. Once the goods are donated, they are sorted into what can be sold and what can be salvaged. Anything else is either trashed or recycled. Goods that can be sold then head to the floor for a period of three weeks. After the three week time period, any items still not sold are transferred to the Blue Hanger outlet. If the items still do not sell at Blue Hanger, they are divided into two general groups: hard-line goods (shoes, electronics, etc.) and soft-line goods (textiles). Hard-line goods are placed in large cardboard containers called gaylords and soft-line goods are compressed into bales which are generally sold by the ton at pennies per pound. Again, anything that cannot be sold for whatever reason is recycled if possible, or trashed.

It was during our time spent at the Blue Hanger talking to the head of transportation that we were made aware of seven large unused box trucks. Generally these box trucks are used for transporting goods and materials around the city, but more efficient routing cut the number of trucks needed.

The interviews we conducted covered a broad range of topics regarding the public's general perception and awareness of Goodwill. One of the questions that ultimately lead us to an issue of concern was, " Are you familiar with the Goodwill mission statement? " We discovered that while in fact, the majority of people are at least somewhat aware of the Goodwill mission, there was a large subset, young adults and teenagers, who were oblivious. Also, while many people had a general idea of the mission statement, most did not seem to understand that unlike other charity thrift stores such as Salvation Army, Goodwill's efforts and resources remain in the local community.

Through this analysis, we were then able to identify what our goals might be. In a sentence, they were to efficiently utilize Goodwill's resources in order to strengthen community presence and mission awareness. We feel that Goodwheels fulfills these goals.

So, what is Goodwheels? Goodwheels is essentially a mobile Goodwill run out of the converted cargo space of an unused box trucks that could go to a wide range of Austin events. For example, Austin City Limits already attracts thousands of people each year. Goodwheels would be perfect for ACL in that it could drive down to the park area and set up shop for concert goers who otherwise would not have even thought about shopping at Goodwill that day. Fun Fun Fun Fest, another annual music festival in Austin, would also be a perfect candidate for Goodwheels, especially since it reached out to local Austin businesses this year for the first time, allowing them to set up shop at the festival in an effort to strengthen community ties among one another. Other events occurring on a more regular basis could be First Thursdays on South Congress, or even youth sport events like little league games on the weekends.

The redesign of the truck would begin on the exterior. While surveying different Goodwill graphics, we realized that there was not a very consistent visual language. Color schemes, typefaces, layouts, etc. all seemed to change from ad to ad. However, there were some bolder color schemes we found to be visually engaging that we would like to incorporate into our Goodwheels visual language. The sides of the truck would then be painted with a more dynamic and visually engaging pattern and would have only the word "Goodwheels", plus the tag line "delivering opportunity to your community", included in order to cut down on visual clutter. In addition, on the back door entrance to the cargo space, we would maintain the same visual language by including a composition with our pattern and cut down on visual clutter by only having Goodwill's contact info presented in a clear and legible way.

The interior of the truck would house a lighting source, large storage boxes for transportation, a box to collect more donations, a small fitting area with a mirror display, and most importantly, a display rack for the clothes. This display rack would be integrated into the already existing tracking system inside the truck. Currently, the tracking system is used to tie down the large duratainers during transportation. However, by using the metal pieces that hook into the tracking, it would be easy to make a modular clothing rack that could not only be placed on either side of the interior, but also change in size. Also, the color scheme already seen on the exterior of the track would be continued on the interior. In regards to a power source, a generator would probably be best suited for the job. At Fun Fun Fun Fest this year, several businesses used a solar power one, which would be more environmental and cut down on costs.

As far as what might be sold from the Goodwheels truck, we have at this point geared it primarily for clothing that would be selected off the floor at Goodwill stores and rotated according to the event. However, it would also be possible to sell items, such as books and toys, depending on the event. For this, we discussed placing a display shelf on top the clothing rack supports.

Also included in the interior of the truck would be the Donate Your Story wall. Costumers browsing the goods at an event would be encouraged to write on index cards anything they might want to share with others ranging from how Goodwill might have affected that person to stories about the event the Goodwheels truck is present. We feel that this would serve as a median through which people could connect with one another by reading the different comments and stories, thus strengthening both Goodwill's as well as the individuals ties within the community. In addition, we have also discussed the possibility of using this board to showcase stories of people whose lives have already been affected by Goodwill, thereby reflecting to the rest of the community Goodwill's efforts and successes.

In order to advertise the Goodwheel truck's presence at events, we have devised a couple of systems. The first is to circulate door hangers in neighborhoods surrounding the event area. Included on the door hangers would be the times and locations of the upcoming Goodwheel events as well as a note to encourage people to come and donate. The second system would be to circulate cards with the same information around events the Goodwheels truck might already present at. Also, the cards could be placed in businesses around the area of the event prior to its start in an effort to help get the word out before hand.

In conclusion, we feel Goodwheels would be an effective entity in the existing Goodwill system. Its inclusion would mean a huge increase in coverage around the community, inevitably increasing awareness of the Goodwill mission statement, and therefore expanding Goodwill's ability to serve the community.

gogoodwill.com - Why Not the Internet?

2008-12-08T17:11:00.004-06:00

Goodwill is a great place to shop. It provides a market for reusable goods to be purchased thereby diverting tons of once-used items from ending up in landfills. It gives those with lower incomes an alternative to pricey malls. It provides the savvy shopper moments of triumph upon finding an overlooked bargain. For Goodwill Industries, it gives them a chance to accomplish their mission of providing job services for those with barriers to employment. For these reasons, a large number of people do shop at Goodwill retail stores. Still, a large amount of people for a number of other reasons, do not. We believe that creating an online interface where shoppers can engage with Goodwill outside of their physical locations has a great potential of bringing more of these people into the Goodwill process. Our proposal is to create a website called gogoodwill.com, provide the logistics of its operations, and provide a budget-conscious advertising and marketing strategy that Goodwill could easily incorporate into its existing infrastructure.

In our interviews, we found that the majority of people engage with the Goodwill process in some way, even if it is just to donate items at drop off points. What we wanted to find out were the reasons why people didn’t want to visit and purchase items from the retail stores. One of the interviewees described a feeling of uncleanliness and claustrophobia. Others talked about their lack of patience and time, with one interviewee responding, “I generally don’t have time to go through all the crap.” With the exception of a small minority who absolutely refused to buy pre-owned goods, most people were not averse to buying used items.

Our proposal targets this problem by aiming to attract more customers through a user-friendly online interface that is simple, convenient, and that would also act as an alternative to physical Goodwill stores in their current manifestations. This website also address two other problems Goodwill has – the first one being a general ignorance about the programs Goodwill fosters and the second problem being a limited online presence which fails to capitalize on the benefits and potential of internet commerce that Goodwill is aware of. Currently, Goodwill recognizes that books they sell online retrieve four times the revenue as books they sell in stores, yet little else is offered online. This website would provide another opportunity to educate people who normally don’t come into contact with actual Goodwill locations about their programs, and it will also help to organize Goodwill’s largely incidental online commercial presence.

The website is more similar to Craigslist than ebay, where the buyer can browse through items online then pick up the item, thereby keeping the process within the community. Unlike Craigslist however, where people can be unreliable, meeting places and schedules have to coordinated, and messages are sometimes left unreplied, after the purchase of an item online, one can go straight to the store that the item is located at and pick it up the same day. By having people come to actual stores to pick up their purchase, online shoppers are exposed to physical stores and those with negative attitudes towards these stores can be assimilated into the process. Also, the potential for higher revenue through further shopping at the stores is increased.

Items that appear on gogoodwill.com follow a similar trajectory to items in the physical store. When goods are donated, a sorter at the store decides whether the donation goes on the shelf, goes in the auction, which is primarily for premium items, or is unsuitable for sale. This sorter would separate items that could potentially benefit from higher online revenues (with a minimum price of ten dollars), take a picture of the item and upload it to the software, then store it in a separate back room storage space. When a customer decides to buy an item online, the item is automatically taken off the website and the store is notified in order for the item to be tagged as sold. The customer has 48 hours to pick up the item, otherwise they are charged a three dollars a day penalty for up to five days. If the item is not picked up, the customer is charged for the purchase and the item is put onto the store shelf to follow the normal cycle of a Goodwill donation. For those who do not own computers, a computer donated by Goodwill’s own Computer Works program will be set up at each store for customers to browse through the online catalog. In terms of initial setup, the cost and labor would be relatively minimal. After setting up the software, Goodwill would employ an online supervisor to look after the site, but the rest of the labor would be divided up at the stores. Stores already employ a sorter to go through donated items and storage space already exists at the retail locations. If the job of taking pictures and uploading them becomes too difficult for present personnel, stores could choose to hire an employee in charge of these responsibilities – a welcome hire that be a result of increased commerce and revenue. Managers would also be sent an easy to follow PDF of instructions for setting up their online presence.

Currently, a number of store managers are pulling items from store shelves and taking pictures of them to upload on eBay because they feel Goodwill can fetch a higher price for them online. As for bookselling on the web, Goodwill often sells titles on Amazon through pseudonyms in order to avoid negative customer feedback. A Goodwill shopping website would eliminate these clandestine enterprises and help organize and legitimize all the current internet commerce activity under the umbrella of the Goodwill name.

The website's Austin page

The website gogoodwill.com was designed to contrast the cluttered, claustrophobic feel of a retail Goodwill store by employing a cleaner, more minimal aesthetic that wouldn’t overwhelm the customer. A shopper can browse through all the items available around town, or choose particular categories that interest them, such as computers, art, or furniture. At the city home page, Goodwill can also educate its users about its mission statement and other programs like its computer recycling initiative or donation events through the header space at the top of the site. Along with items for sale online, customers can browse through items available for auction at each store around town. The website also offers RSS subscription capabilities that allow for instant updates for subscribers on new items available by category or keyword search. If the website were to become successful, there would be the potential for other cities and communities to set up their own browse and shop stores, and these stores would be networked in one, orderly site.

To market the website, we’ve employed a three-step strategy based around Goodwill’s limited advertising budget. Goodwill Industries of Central Texas had attempted an online store for its Computer Works program in the past, but according to their Marketing Director Suzanha Burmeister, it failed primarily because of three reasons – inadequate software, limited supply, and ineffective marketing. Our first marketing strategy would be to target shoppers who are already inclined to shopping for used items at Goodwill stores by advertising at the Goodwill retail outlets with informative posters, shopping bags, and handouts in hopes that these shoppers would not only continue to visit the stores, but supplement their actual visits with online ones. Our second strategy is to utilize the viral media capabilities of the internet to inform those who spend a large amount of time on the web daily. This includes informing news media and local blogs, such as the Austinist and the Austin Chronicle, about the non-profit website in order to generate news stories about the site. Social networking site like MySpace and Facebook would also be employed to market the site. This viral online campaign would also be supplemented by digital advertising using web commercials and banners. Finally, if a large number of people still have not been exposed to the new website, then traditional methods of advertising would be utilized including newspaper ads, billboards, and radio spots.

In store poster advertisement

When asked about the likelihood of shopping at Goodwill online, one interviewee at Barton Creek Square Mall offered, “I’d be more likely to go to the website if there was a website than I would be to go to the Goodwill store.” With more and more people becoming acclimated to shopping online and spending larger amounts of time on the internet overall, the potential for greater revenue exists for Goodwill if it were to have an online entity. Not only would Goodwill potentially make more revenue by selling items online for higher prices, it would also provide an alternative storefront for those reluctant to visit its retail locations.

MakeGood Program

2008-12-08T13:19:00.000-06:00

Goodwill Industries of Central Texas stores receive a constant flow of donated goods everyday that hold much more potential than what customers see on the mere shelves and racks. There are great everyday recycling efforts occurring within Goodwill already; however, there is a lack of in-store attention to recycling initiatives. By implementing the MakeGood program, Goodwill can become the quintessential go-to place to rummage for Do-It-Yourself project materials, while enhancing its image to become the source of sustainable creativity.

Several programs and events specifically created to promote recycling already exist within Goodwill Industries. A highly successful roundup was the annual Weigh Good Donation Drive. This event encouraged the community to recycle their unwanted spring cleaning items, and donate them to Goodwill instead of trashing them and consequently increasing the landfill. Goodwill also works in conjunction with electronic recycling programs, such as RECONNECT and MRM, in addition to operating their own Computer Works Recycling Program at the Headquarters. All these initiatives strive to expand the recycling movement in Texas by offering consumers convenient drop-off locations for free electronics product recycling. The programs all save 250 tons of electronic waste from heading to the landfill each month.

Goodwill has great dedication to recycling within its own system, but that is not reflected in the retail stores themselves. Twenty percent of all donations still end up in the landfill, despite all the recycling efforts. This actually hurts Goodwill, since they have to pay for unsold goods to be taken away to the landfill. All the donated goods are not used to their full potential. To reduce the amount of waste that ends up in the landfill while only using or reusing resources and assets that already exists at Goodwill, the plan is to enhance Goodwill’s image to become the source of sustainable creativity.

The current perception of Goodwill is that it only sells used, cheap, and old donated items. One Goodwill shopper said the items “were a bunch of junkie stuff.” Some people only shop there for seasonal items, mainly for Halloween costumes. With various project ideas, there would be a bigger appeal to frequently return to Goodwill to browse for new materials. Not a popular choice for gift-shopping, Goodwill items could be used to create unique and meaningful gifts instead. Since all items are from donations, no one is bound to get the same thing, and individuality prevails—a highly appealing notion to Austinites. There is currently a substantial wave of recycling euphoria, highly prevalent in the artsy and green Austin area. The Goodwill selection is seen as boring and uninteresting, but with inspirational DIY projects displayed around the store, Goodwill could enhance its image to become a fun and resourceful place to find unique materials. One shopper that UT Design student Nancy Guevara interviewed believes that Goodwill “should be about the shopping experience, helping the community and environment, and having fun.”

There are many people interested in DIY projects, as evidenced by many websites, publications, and events dedicated to the DIY mantra. As the green movement and recycling rises in popularity, there has been a boom in the DIY community, which is evidenced in resources such as, www.instructables.com, www.diylife.com, www.blog.makezine.com, and the annual MakerFaire event. The websites are documentation platforms for the DIY community to share, collaborate, and learn from each other. The MakerFaire event is all about celebrating arts, crafts, engineering, science and DIY projects. The festivities include hands-on workshops, project exhibitions, craft booths, demonstrations and competitions. It is important to see how this DIY subculture fits into the MakeGood interest of Goodwill. Many DIY resources suggest thrift stores, sometimes specifically Goodwill, as the place to look for used goods and materials to use in trash-to-treasure projects.

Introducing the DIY mindset to Goodwill stores, the target audiences would be do-it-yourselfers, hip youngsters, and housewives. The younger crowd, supporters of individuality and vintage shopping, is innovative, frugal, and active in the green recycling movement. The housewives are women who browse and shop around Goodwill as a hobby during their spare time. The addition of the project posters could lure in a more diverse crowd who shops at Goodwill in a new and different perspective.

Goodwill can become the inspirational go-to place to find exclusive materials for DIY projects. The aisle display posters can introduce the DIY mindset on-site in stores to customers who never might have considered reusing or remaking used items. The projects offer a great opportunity to reactivate used goods to save them from the landfill. Instead of trashing torn and old books, they can be remade into book handbags or a hollowed book safe. Vases could turn into one-of-a-kind lamps, and old t-shirts can turn into tote bags. Even coffee mugs can be transformed into speakers with a couple materials around the store. Merely browsing around a Goodwill store will spark much imagination for innovation, and the project displays around the store will help instigate a sustainable creativity mindset. The MakeGood program presents a way to utilize the underrepresented and inefficiently used resources that already exists at Goodwill, and puts them to a better use.

The in-store displays at Goodwill will primarily be located at the aisle ends, where the vertical grid metal frames are situated. The 18" × 24" project posters will replace the outfits that arbitrarily hang off the frame rack. On the poster will be an instruction pad with detachable sheets, relevant to the location of the poster. For example, the poster for the book handbag would be located in the jeans and books aisle (conveniently located adjacently in the North Lamar location), while the poster for the vase lamp would be located on a portion of the shelf in a house wares aisle. The poster and instruction pad would both include information about the Goodwill mission statement and an invitation to visit and contribute to the MakeGood website. An actual finished sample of the project would be included with the poster, hanging from the rod, or sitting on a custom shelf with the poster displayed behind it. A separate poster, with minor adjustments, will be displayed at the Blue Hanger Outlet, which contains a different customer base and drastically different visual layout. Instead of the instructions pad in the center, there will be a list of DIY projects, such as a book handbag, record clock, mug speakers, and vase lamp. Because of the absence of aisles and racks, projects cannot be physically displayed in the store. Therefore, a list of project ideas would be equally inspiring and effective.

The MakeGood blog website will include a compilation of all the project instructions and tips, with feature projects on the home page. It incorporates the blogging element that is crucial to DIY sites. It will provide a place for fellow Do-It-Yourselfers to discuss and share project ideas, as well as to promote the new Goodwill image for sustainable creativity. Members can participate in the forum to find creative new applications to use everyday Goodwill items. Makegoodwill.com presents a broad spectrum of various DIY projects, but focuses primarily in the Goodwill interest. It allows many opportunities to advertise and promote Goodwill, as well as further spread the mission statement.

The MakeGood program carries some considerations that need to be taken into account. The main consideration is the visual store layout. The layout of each store is determined by the individual managers, and this causes layout discrepancies. Although every Goodwill retail store contains the basic item categories (Womens, Mens, Childrens, Books, Housewares, Furniture), it is up to the store manager to decide on the location of the poster, and how many goods that would be relocated or removed for this space. In addition, a turnover time would need to be agreed upon, to decide how long each project would remain displayed in the store. With the in-house graphic designers at the Headquarters already busily occupied, skilled volunteers or MakerFaire artists could contribute ideas for the project designs. They would be responsible for pitching new project ideas on a set schedule and creating the actual project samples for the store. Another consideration would be finding a webmaster for the makegoodwill.com website. A volunteer with basic web skills could be in charge of this position, updating blogs and maintaining the site.
Costs for the implementation of the MakeGood program would be very minimal. Conveniently, there is already a printer located at the Goodwill Headquarters, where all the posters and instruction pads could be printed and distributed. The posters were modularly designed, so every time a new project is displayed in-store, only the instruction pad would need to be replaced. The sample projects would not cost Goodwill anything, since all the materials come from the donations within each retail store itself.

Many opportunities for future expansion exist with the MakeGood program, beginning with MakerFaire event participation. With all this creativity surrounding Goodwill, the MakerFaire event would be highly appropriate for the customers’ projects to be displayed at a booth. This would directly reach a large audience of people specifically interested in DIY creations, and could easily gear people towards shopping at Goodwill for unique material finds. Bilingual poster displays are also in consideration, with the addition of Spanish posters. The large display posters would have an English and Spanish one adjacent to each other, while the instruction pads would have English on the front and Spanish on the back. Bilingual signage already exists at Goodwill retail stores, so bilingual poster displays would appeal to more shoppers. Catching up to the DIY online community, video how-to’s for the projects would be uploaded to makegoodwill.com. Actually seeing a project being made step-by-step inspires Do-It-Yourselfers to go out and create their own. Future expansion can also be seen in DIY workshops taking place in each retail store. Goodwill’s existing Do Good volunteer program already includes a wide assortment of positions (interns, display designers, educators, researchers, etc.), so there are clearly plenty of volunteers in the community with the appropriate skills who would be willing to become involved with the MakeGood program. The workshops would be a great opportunity to inspire customers to reuse goods, and also further advertise the poster displays and the DIY recycling movement.

With all of Goodwill’s dedicated recycling efforts and initiatives, the addition of the MakeGood program would further benefit both the environment and Goodwill Industries of Central Texas. Used items are prevented from ending up at the landfill, Goodwill receives revenue to further promote their mission statement, and the green recycling movement spreads within the community. Do-It-Yourselfers can promote Goodwill as the go-to place for great material finds, transforming the Goodwill shopping experience. The MakeGood program will enhance Goodwill’s image to become the source of sustainable creativity.

Blue Hanger Redux

2008-12-08T12:29:00.007-06:00

For the last four weeks, the junior class in the design program at the University of Texas has been researching Goodwill Industries of Central Texas to identify areas of improvement in its function and develop solutions to those deficiencies. Based on this research, my group proposes using Goodwill's Blue Hanger Outlets to host events.

During the research phase, our class divided into three teams. One team interviewed customers and employees to understand public and internal perception of Goodwill. Another documented the visual makeup of each store, including signage. My research team studied the Goodwill system — how a donation moves from the point of donation, to the sales floor, to Blue Hanger Outlets and to its final destination.

We talked to Joel King and Kevin McCown, the transportation manager and director, respectively, to get a bird's eye view of how the system functions.

Goodwill's system of processing donated items to maximize their profit is non-linear, but simple. When an item is donated, a manager identifies it as either fit for sale or trash. Some donations are obviously trash and are set aside for transportation to pick up, but most donations, the ones identified as fit for sale, are immediately priced by the manager and put on the sales floor. If an item doesn't sell within three weeks it is taken to transportation headquarters.

Transportation consists of a variety of vehicles, ranging from 12' box trucks to 24' trailers, to accommodate the various loading dock configurations at each Goodwill store. The transportation department picks up trash and unsold donations and brings them to the transportation warehouse where they enter the final phase in the system.

At the transportation warehouse, items are sorted into two rough categories: soft line items, like textiles, and hard line items, like appliances — basically everything made of metal, plastic, or wood. Tables are stacked high with discarded toasters, jeans and training toilets. Offered at a slash-and-burn discount and piled deep, Goodwill's rejects get their last chance for an average consumer's purchase. Unsold hard lines are boxed into four-foot gaylords — cardboard boxes resting on pallets — and sold at auction in bulk. The leftovers are recycled or trashed. Unsold soft lines are bound into 1,000-pound bales and sold by the pound (currently 12 cents per pound). Buyers of these bales send them to border towns to be resorted for sale in other countries. According to King and McCown the clothes from these bales may end up anywhere from Malaysia to Mexico.

After the official interviews and tours, we revisited both Blue Hanger Outlets, this time as customers, to observe the culture and function from the ground level.

Blue Hanger Outlets themselves are large warehouse spaces with bare walls and concrete floors. 4' x 8' wooden tables hold the unsorted masses of soft and hard line items. Nothing is individually priced, and large blue placards with mismatched white vinyl type display prices for broad categories of items. For example, at the time of this writing, any clothing item is $1.25. However, cashiers may use discretion and are allowed to price items higher or lower than their stated value, creating a garage sale atmosphere.

From the time we spent there and from our interview with King, we identified three main types of customers. The first and most prevalent are the families, primarily Latino, who buy clothes and other necessities. The second type is the bulk reseller, who buys and sells specific types of items, like stuffed animals or appliances. The third type are people who buy goods cheaply and then hold garage sales to resell the items at a marginal profit.

At the conflux of over-zealous thrift and Darwinistic capitalism a phenomenon occurs at Blue Hanger Outlets. Every hour or so, a row of picked-over tables are cordoned off, cleared of goods, and refilled with fresh goods. Meanwhile, a crowd gathers a respectable distance away from the workers to scope out new items. After the workers are finished refilling the tables, a manager gives the go-ahead and shoppers hurl themselves at the new array with abandon, which can result in the occasional scuffle. King and McCown said Blue Hanger Outlets average one or two altercations per month.

Overall, we found the Goodwill system highly efficient and progressive, willing to adapt changes in operating structure and implement them quickly. However, our foray into the Blue Hanger Outlet culture and function showed us there was still room for improvement.

Upon completion of the research and observation phase, the three teams were then segregated into four mini-groups, each incorporating at least one team member from the visual team, interview team, and systems team.

Though Blue Hanger Outlets could potentially be a thrifty student fashionista's secret haven, most shoppers are either very young or middle-aged and older. To find out why, we interviewed students at McNeil High School, a mile away from the main Blue Hanger Outlet (McNeil), and college-aged students at UT — a demographic largely absent from Blue Hanger Outlets. Their responses indicated a lack of knowledge of the outlet's existence. This isn't surprising given "the retail stores mission to drive Blue Hanger Outlets out of business," according to King, but we felt they were missing out on an opportunity to bring in new, young customers and use the space in other ways.

We identified three main problems with Blue Hanger Outlets. First, Blue Hanger Outlets lack any cohesive identity, and their connection to Goodwill is unclear or unknown to shoppers. Secondly, they are used solely as bargain-hunting retail spaces and for bulk selling, targeting a narrow demographic and under-utilizing the uniquely mobile and exceptionally large space not available at normal Goodwill retail stores. Finally, 20% of the goods that pass through Blue Hanger Outlets end up in the trash. It is all the more troubling that King expressed regret at this figure, stating that many trashed goods are still useable, but holding onto them any longer than they already do is too costly.

We imagine Blue Hanger Outlets accommodating a variety of large and small-scale events, giving it a new identity, showing the community its tempestuous but necessary relationship with Goodwill retail stores, expanding its consumer base, and ultimately reducing the number of items that end up as trash. The warehouse space can accommodate everything from do-it-yourself workshops and clothing swaps, to a battle of the bands, to dance parties or fashion shows. These events can be held alone or be part of a larger all-day event in the spirit of Swap-O-Rama-Rama (SORR), a clothing swap and do it yourself workshop Goodwill recently partnered with at Maker Faire, an all-day counter culture geek and craft festival. When we told the high school students we interviewed earlier about reusing the Blue Hanger Outlet space to host those types of events, the responses were positive (by teenage standards), ranging from "yeah, definitely" to "yeah."

Events can take place either after normal hours or when the outlet is shut down from its usual retail functions for an all-day event. An all-day event might charge an larger admission fee of anywhere from $5 to $20 to help offset lost revenue. In any case, running two or more of these events concurrently fosters a dynamic, festive interplay between separate events.

Blue Hanger Outlets have completely modifiable floor plans thanks to wheeled tables (at McNeil) and a lack of dividers. Blue Hanger Outlet's tables become band or DJ stages, runways, and DIY workstations. For a SORR-style event, D.I.Y. and sewing stations are set up on tables set back a few feet from the perimeter. They are also the workstations and demonstration areas for volunteer designers and crafters to work on. These designers and crafters can also assist participants with the sewing machines and clothing modifications. Participants are encouraged to modify all the clothing they want using provided sewing machines and tools. Janome, the "world's leading sewing machine manufacturer" currently has an agreement with SORR to provide sewing machines free of charge.

Tables holding clothes to be swapped are arranged with the entrance to the warehouse close by. The clothing to be swapped comes from a combination of Blue Hanger Outlet stock and donations. Additional volunteers help by sorting donations, keeping things tidy and bringing out more clothes from the back as needed. The fashion runway and music stage are tables pushed together with plywood boards on top to make a flat surface. Participants model their own work on the runway. If the fashion show is a contest, it can be judged by audience reaction — whoever gets the loudest cheer is the winner. Prizes could be particularly high-quality donated clothing or Goodwill gift certificates.

Volunteer DJs or bands play either a secondary role as background music for an event like the fashion show or are an event in themselves, like an after-hours dance party or battle of the bands.

Any event held at a Blue Hanger Outlet will require external marketing to draw in new customers, because they currently lack an advertising presence and many potential customers are simply unaware of its existence. So in addition to using traditional advertising like handbills and radio spots, we developed an advertising vehicle consisting of blue hangers to promote Blue Hanger Outlet-specific events. The hangers are printed with a coupon-like incentive to encourage people to bring them in, keeping them out of the trash and recycling them back into the advertising system. They're distributed in a guerilla-style, fly-by-night campaign, standing out against other advertisements like posters. Most importantly, the innate need of such an unusual advertising vehicle to be placed in unorthodox locations helps Goodwill reach a younger audience desensitized to ordinary advertising.

Goodwill benefits from hosting events and advertising Blue Hanger Outlets in three ways. First, these events will make a profit, both directly from charging admission and indirectly from attendees to events returning to shop during normal business hours. Hosting an event at night, when only a handful of staff are needed to accept donations and admission to an event, ensures this. Plywood and fabric for a stage or runway is cheap and reusable and requires little set up time or construction. Advertising events with blue hangers is inexpensive. Secondly, more customers means less stuff ends up in the trash. Blue Hanger Outlets make more money from what gets sold on tables than in bales. Finally, Blue Hanger Outlets get an identity, going from grungy rummage to funky, creative and sustainable. The relationship between Blue Hanger Outlets and Goodwill retail stores become more transparent, which can only serve to strengthen Goodwill's reputation in the community.

Recycle

2008-11-20T16:25:00.003-06:00

WoW!

2008-11-18T16:03:00.002-06:00

Teddy, Mike, Jen Knowles, Kelsey

I think you cute little designers can make yours WAY better!!!

Airport Dehydration

2008-11-10T23:00:00.000-06:00

A thorough tour of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, ABIA, revealed a humanistic approach to creating a traveling experience that addressed issues of security, way finding and overall identity. A main focus on comfort and ease in airport design reflects the progressive nature of flight; however the primal human need of hydration is not well considered in the grand scheme. The current system for acquiring drinking water, within the isolated setting, is limited, impractical and disregards health and environmental concerns. Airports need to support and promote proper hydration habits for their own image and more importantly, the well being of travelers.

The issue of water is first evident when people reach the security checkpoints at airports. In the screening area of ABIA there are large signs addressing 3-1-1, a campaign implemented in 2006 by the Transportation Security Administration in response to “an alleged terror plot using liquid explosives” (Helton). Each passenger is confined to carrying on liquid or gel in individual “three ounce or smaller containers” that must fit into a one “quart-size, clear, plastic, zip-top bag” (TSA). Bottles of water are unfortunately no exception to this rule and unless empty, they are confiscated. TSA employees are known to adhere strictly to this liquid ban and are fueled by the widely publicized threat of terrorist acts, with just cause. Health risks of travel caused partly by dehydration are not as evident as terrorism yet they cause plenty of danger to people flying. The 3-1-1 Campaign is a solution for the issue of security but hinders prevention of dehydration by limiting options for drinking water.

People are succumbed to buying bottled water at an inflated price once they have reached sterile area of an airport. After the ban on liquids was enforced, “beverage sales at Oakland International Airport rose nearly 20 percent” in the span of three months with the majority of the increase coming “from bottled water sales” (Goldman) A range of beverage companies including, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Fiji Water Company, has exploited the simplicity of drinking water and marketed bottled water to the public as a superior alternative to tap water. Harriett Baskas, author of Stuck at the Airport and USA Today travel reviewer, evaluated the best selling items at various airports and discovered that at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, “bottled water is the highest selling item” (Baskas). The irony of the bottled water market is that in Seattle and plenty of other airport cities around the world, the quality of the local tap water is just as good if not better than the foreign water being shipped and sold to thirsty consumers.

Carrying a bottle of water is the most practical way to stay consistently hydrated through long flights, layovers, and delays but the variety of disposable plastic bottles sold in airport are not safe for general health or the environment. The health issue with most bottled water is the plastic material contains “a chemical called bisphenol A, or BPA”, proven through research to “mimic or block the function of hormones” and potentially leading to infertility, prostrate cancer, and early puberty (Claudio). As if that isn’t enough, the total production of water bottles “for the U.S market” requires “seventeen million barrels” of oil “each year” and “they are often purchased at big concert venues or airports with no recycling bins,” partially causing “eight out of ten bottles” to end up in landfills (Royte139) (Knopper38). The effect this system has on the environment is unfortunate because it is preventable. One could argue that these issues resonate through the entire market space of airports yet water, an essential for living, should be given more priority and not be so closely associated with the plethora of unnecessary goods and concessions.

When travelers want to stay hydrated at no personal cost, tap water is available through water fountains, such as the ones found along the corridors near bathroom entrances in ABIA. In the early 1900’s, “Halsey Willard Taylor and Luther Haws, respectively, pioneered a major change in how water was dispensed in public places” with the drinking fountain (Honeycutt). The tap water dispensed from water fountains is regulated and harmless to drink. In the airport specifically, they are updated along with sinks, toilets, and other plumbing fixtures to look and function in the most innovative way, accommodating children and people with disabilities. The Seattle Tacoma International Airport has an exhibit, created by Jim Green, featuring six drinking fountains “that gurgle loud enough to turn heads when travelers lean over to take a drink” (Baskas). At ABIA there is a “lowered dog drinking fountain” just outside the lower level (ABIA). These endeavors are useful to endorsing tap water but the problem with drinking fountains is their inability to provide people with a constant access to water as they navigate through the security check point of one airport to the exit of another airport hours away. The most critical time for commuters to be concerned with drinking water is during their flight in which fountains are far from available.

A recent article in “Budget Travel” provided a list of tips for future fliers including a common solution for the all the preceding problems and advises people to “avoid paying high prices for bottled water at airports by carrying empty bottles through security and then filling them up at a water fountain” (“20Tips”). This response is clever but water fountains are clearly not designed to efficiently fill water bottles. The slow projectile stream of water that is ejected from a fountain forces people with bottles to find a perfectly odd angle to fill up. When found, the process is longer than necessary and water often spills around the rim container’s opening.

The issues of security restrictions, plastic bottles and water fountains at airports may not seem to be vital considerations for redesign individually, but the ultimate concern is dehydration, a common factor in health issues resulting from flying. Deep Vein Thrombosis, a syndrome characterized by blood clots gathering in the legs, has been a problem amongst passengers, leaving many injured and some dead. A research experiment on this issue, conducted by the “Saitama Medical School in Moroyama, Japan,” proved that “drinking fluids” is the most reasonable way to prevent acquiring the condition (Hadfield). Additionally, dehydration is more prevalent while traveling by plane because of the low humidity levels on board aircrafts. (“How To Fly Right”145). Many people believe that all fluids aid to hydration and consume various beverages besides water such as alcohol, soft drinks, or coffee. These drinks may seem to be desirable choices to consume while waiting for a flight but their high level of sugar and caffeine negate hydration. As of August, US Airways began charging passengers for plain water, promoting the necessity as a commodity. When airlines make moves like this, they are sending a message of carelessness to the public and prove that they are more concerned with profit than general health of passengers.

Flight crew are not to be excluded from this critical topic and should be brought to the foreground of this problem. Nina Anderson, FAA Wings Program human factors seminar leader and performance nutrition specialist, has evaluated the misconceptions that lead pilots to undermine the importance of water and references “the Spring 2000 edition of the Federal Air Surgeon Bulletin” to outline the “three stages of dehydration, heat stress, heat exhaustion and heat stroke”. Symptoms begin with reduction of alertness, vision, and coordination and escalade to fatigue, nausea, vomiting, fainting and ultimately can cause severe mental confusion and disorientation. In attempts to “heighten general aviation’s awareness of this often overlooked condition,” The Federal Aviation Administration added pilot dehydration to a list of physiological conditions in an aviation training text (Anderson). Educating pilots on the gravity of dehydration is a positive direction and passengers should also be considered as an audience for instruction.

Airport design needs to attend to the importance of hydration and develop a reliable and effective system for the large flux of people that cycle through the enclosed space everyday. A solution that might prove fruitful is a campaign for general health that highlights hydration and clears up the misconceptions associated with it. Water fountains can be improved to have a station that is intended for filling bottles. In 2007, the mayor of San Fransisco, Gavin Newsom, ‘declared a ban on bottled water” and “installed large dispensers in city buildings that poured out pure tap water.” (Knopper) This type of system communicates local tap water as a valuable source against the competitive market for bottled water. To further promote the use of the dispensers, airlines could sell reusable bottles that are made from materials such as aluminum or BPA free plastic. Near these additions to the airport setting, insightful signs could be designed and placed to heighten the awareness hydration. This type of arrangement would be directly beneficial at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport where there is an aim to reflect the image of Austin. Austin is known for being environmentally friendly and the local water follows regulation. When tested tap water proved to have less impurities than a bottle of Dasani. (Blessum) By communicating a detailed concern with how water is consumed, ABIA would support local resources. Likewise, any airport could advance their image with a thoughtful hydrating scheme.

With the technology and knowledge of today, there is no reason why airports haven’t coordinated a more sensible arrangement for drinking water. As an institute for innovation and progress, the modern, ideal airport should seek to educate and provide its society with a practical way of maintaining hydration and not attempt to maximize profits at the expense of human health and unnecessary environmental waste.

Works Cited

ABIA. “Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Text Map.” www.ci.austin.tx.us/‌austinairport. 10 Nov. 2008 ‌austinairport/‌textmap.htm>.

Anderson, Nina. “Flying High & Dry.” Weblog post. Plane & Pilot. 10 Nov. 2008 ‌proficiency/‌pilot-skills/‌flying-high-a-dry.html>.

Baskas, Harriet. “Better Than A Key Chain.” Editorial. USA Today 5 Sept. 2006. 10 Nov. 2008 ‌travel/‌columnist/‌baskas/‌2006-07-25-baskas_x.htm>.

- - -. “Quirky amenities and priceless souvenirs: Hitting eight airports in seven days.” Online posting. 29 Mar. 2005. 10 Nov. 2008 .

Blessum, Scott. Personal interview. 10 Oct. 2008.

Goldman, Kiran. “Bottled-water backlash has many drinkers tapped out.” Online posting. 26 Nov. 2007. 10 Nov. 2008 .

Hadfield, Peter. “Don’t Drink and Fly.” New Scientist (Jan. 2001): 7. Academic OneFile. Gale. U Texas at Austin. 10 Oct. 2008 ‌itweb/‌?db=AONE>.

Helton, John. “TSA hopes 3-1-1 will keep lines moving.” CNN 21 Nov. 2006. 10 Nov. 2008 ‌2006/‌TRAVEL/‌11/‌17/‌holiday.travel.311>.

Honeycutt, Al. “Water, Water, Eveywhere.” Buildings Aug. 2000: 20. Business Source Complete. EBSCO. U Texas at Austin. 10 Nov. 2008 .

“How To Fly Right.” Health Nov. 2007: 145.

Knopper, Melissa. “Bottled Water: Backlash.” The Environmental Magazine May-June 2008: 37-39.

Royte, Elizabeth. Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It. New York: Bloomsbury USA , 2008.

“20 Tips.” Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel Mar. 2007: 10-13. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. U Texas at Austin. 10 Nov. 2008 .

U.S federal government . Transportation Security Association . Make Your Trip Better Using 3-1-1. By Transportation Security Association. www.tsa.gov . U.S Department of Homeland Security. 9 Nov. 2008 ‌311/‌index.shtm>.

Safety First?

2008-11-10T21:28:00.012-06:00

Making your way through security checkpoints in any airport is chaotic, frustrating, and time consuming. The security at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is certainly no different. First you must weave through a roped off maze, intended to shrink the amount of space the line takes up. All the while, you are bombarded with informational signage, “Simplifly: Pack simply and fly through security”, lists of prohibited items and specifications for the size of your carry-on. It is a lot of information that seems to be thrown at you last minute. Then, you rustle to gather your identification and boarding pass for the daunting officer ahead. Once passed him, you are forced to take off your shoes and place them, along with any carry-on items, into a plastic bin that runs through a conveyor belt x-ray machine. The floor is hard, cold tile covered in whatever germs and filth the person before you could have been carrying. Next you are ushered through a full frame metal detector by an attendant as equally cold as the floor. She holds a metal detection wand, just in case you fail to proceed through the full detector easily. Now through the metal detector, you must rush to gather your belongings from the tray and put on your shoes in a timely fashion. This is typically resolved by hopping on one foot while grasping any stationary object to steady yourself, which in turn creates a back up in the line. After all this, you are finally through security and on the sterile side of the airport where you can shop, grab a bite to eat, and wait for your flight to begin boarding. Now wasn’t that pleasant and efficient? Of course!
Pleasant? The abundance of graphic signage, attended to aide the passenger in line, ironically can just confuse them more. Even the plastic bins that go through the x-ray machine carry advertising messages in some airports. Shouting these different messages at them graphically, combined with the stress associated from waiting creates a very hectic environment. The removal of ones shoes and the process of putting them back on creates another dilemma and adds to the calamity of the situation. As Matt Blaze, Associate Professor of Computer Science at University of Pennsylvania states, “There’s no better place to get away with something than a chaotic environment”, proposing that this supposedly secure process is really just aiding those trying to bypass the system. Removing your shoes also brings the issue of hygiene into the mix. Airports are high foot traffic areas, susceptible to an array of bacteria and illnesses. Efficient? Standing in a long line, removing your shoes, waiting for your luggage to scan and the opportunity for officials to scan you can be very time consuming. Airplane passengers often arrive up to 2 hours before their scheduled flight just to allow time to go through security. This just adds to the stressful atmosphere projected in these check points.
Once upon a time, all you had to do to get through airport security was walk through a metal detector. You didn’t need a boarding pass or to take off your shoes. Even baggage scanning was not required in most airports. Airport Security was then regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, a branch of the Department of Transportation that regulated air traffic and kept our skies safe. But all this changed on September 11th, 2001 when four United States Airplanes were hijacked and intentionally crashed into the World Trade Center Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania, causing nearly three thousand fatalities. After this tragedy, Congress passed the Aviation & Transportation Security Act, creating the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and its three main duties. The TSA was responsible for the security of all forms of public transportation, established to recruit, hire and train Security Officers for U.S. commercial airports and provide screening of all checked baggage for explosives. In December of 2001, Richard Reid, more commonly known as “the shoe-bomber” brought another security issue to light when he attempted to ignite explosives he had hidden in his shoes and gotten past security. Shortly thereafter passengers were asked to remove their shoes to be scanned along with their carry-on items, bringing the system, which we are now accustom, into effect.
There are, however, new technological solutions to quicken the process. The SmartCheck System, first implemented in February of 2007, scans the entire body to create a contour outline that can examine the exterior frame for guns, bombs, and other explosives. This obviously brings up the question of privacy, practically performing a strip search through a virtual medium. The SmartCheck system has other issues as well. For example, the system cannot detect anything that may be hidden in body cavities, a likely hiding place for drug trafficking. The machine also generates radiation, but at this point the system is so experimental and the radiation is so minimal that it is the least of their concerns. General Electric (GE) Security has recently created an explosive trace device. The device takes a trace of your finger when you touch a screen and sniffs for over two hundred different chemicals associated with explosive devices. A similar device manufactured by GE, the Trace Portal Machine or “Puffer Machine”, can detect explosives and narcotics by releasing multiple puffs of air on a subject in an enclosed booth. Both seem like good ideas but how much protecting can they really do? The most recent and developed security measure is the Clear system. Clear is an identification system that allows you to go through a separate line with a biometric identification card, in hopes of traveling through security faster. To receive an identification card, a subject must first submit personal information and agree to a background check. Once all their information clears the system they must take an identification photograph, a fingerprint, and an iris scan image. All of this information will be stored on the i.d. card they are given. With this card they can then go through security with a separate kiosk, have no need to take their shoes off, and supposedly get through the check 30% faster than normal x-ray machines allow. But all these technological advancements raise the much bigger problem of privacy and start to infringe on our individual freedoms. The way you choose to travel through security has now become a choice of efficiency or privacy. You can take the longer, more unpleasant approach and wait your turn in line, take off your shoes and bear the chaos. Or you can choose to bypass the line by submitting all your personal information. This option not only calls to question airport security but the very security of our nation. Where do you draw the line between keeping people safe and keeping people free? The issue cannot be solved in an airport or even clearly defined giving the current state world politics are in. That thin line has been walked for generations and just recently, with a more looming threat of terrorism, brought to our attention. For the sake of United States freedom, airport security as a choice is the most effective solution for the time being.
The best solutions a designer can make of the airport security problem ones of general layout and aesthetic concerns. Simplifying the graphics introduced in the area would be a great start. Perhaps presenting the information in a more uniform, organized fashion or reducing the amount of signage would help greatly. The other difficult task would be layout, which would be subject to change depending on the specific airport restraints. Most fully functioning airports were built prior to 2001 and did not allow in their original building plans for the complex security measures we are taking today. A simple solution to the chaos caused in the area would be to spread out the checkpoints- a difficult task though to spread them out enough to reduce clutter but not so much as to reduce security measures. Floor treatments could be added at the shoe removal point in the process to aide in hygiene and comfort. At the end of the security checkpoint, a larger area designated for putting your shoes back on and gathering your belongings would greatly aide in the ease of process. In the end its simple solutions regarding flow, not complicated technological systems that would help the passenger most.

Sources:

1. Brzenzinski, Matthew. Fortress America. New York: Bantam Books, 2004.
2. Clear. 2007. Verified Identity Pas. 10 Nov. 2008 .
3. Giblin, Paul, and Eric Lipton. “New Airport X-Rays Scan Bodies, Not Just Bags.” The New York Times 24 Feb. 2007, Section A; Column 3 sec.: 1.
4. Good Thinking. "The Privacy-enhanced SmartCheck System." Weblog post. GizMag. .
5. Nader, Ralph, and Wesley J. Smith. Collision Course: The Truth About Airline Safety. N.p.: TAB Books, 1994.
6. Schiavo, Mary. Flying Blind, Flying Safe. New York: Avon Books, 1997.
7. Sharkey, Joe. “Bad Enough Being Shoeless Bug Just Look at This Decor.” The New York Times 23 Oct. 2007, Section C; Column 0 sec.: 6.
8. Sharkey, Joe. “Finally, a Way to Catch a Flight Without Shedding Your Shoes.” The New York Times 19 Dec. 2006, Section C; Column 1 sec.: 8.
9. Transportation Security Administration. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 9 Nov. 2008 .
10. Wallis, Rodney. How Safe Are Our Skies? Assessing the Airlines’ Response to Terrorism. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2003.

BIRDS STRIKE BACK!

2008-11-10T19:58:00.003-06:00

When pondering the major precautions of an airport, wildlife would probably not make most people's lists. Consider this however: one in every four planes that takes off collides with some type of wildlife, most commonly birds. While often there are no serious problems resulting from these strikes, they still have the potential to cause hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to the plane and a delayed flight. In addition, there are enough documented fatalities resulting from these strikes to make any flyer at least a little nervous, especially around airports such as New York’s JFK, which has one of the most well documented bird problems of any airport in the world. These wildlife concerns have created a unique problem for the designer in which he must consider the best way to lower the risk of an animal strike while not harming the animals themselves, nor their environment. Also, because there are many different wildlife environments around airports worldwide, each airport has its own unique list of issues it must consider in order to come up with a solution that is beneficial to both humans and wildlife.
According to a 2008 USA Today report, between 1990 and 2007, the FAA documented more than 82,000 wildlife strikes, 97% of which we’re birds. The strikes totaled $291.1 million in damages and 362,073 hours in aircraft downtime. Documented damage ranges from minimal body damage to extreme engine and airframe damage. For example, one Learjet overhaul shop in the Midwest reported a jet colliding with nine snow geese while being ferried in for maintenance. The repair cost for the jet was $300,000 to fix the airframe and $200,000 to fix the engine. At Palm Beach International, a bird collided with a cabin class corporate jet above the windshield, puncturing the skin and wrecking six stringers as well as a frame. The time to complete repairs to the aircraft was in excess of six weeks. Given these numbers, it is easy to see how anxious airports are to find a permanent and effective solution to this problem.

The key to finding the solution lies in understanding the location and environment of each airport. Wildlife strikes at different airports are so diverse that no airports share all the same problem species. For example, because JFK is located in the bay, there is a year round problem with seabirds like gulls and geese that would probably not be too common around an airport located in the midwest. Also, while some airports experience a consistent number of strikes each month, other airports located on major migratory flyways see spikes in their numbers during the spring and fall migratory periods. The birds are attracted to environments around airports because, in general, there is a large amount of open, grassy space that was most likely previously undeveloped before airport construction. Typically, this area is lush with insects that birds feed on. In addition, there are not really any predators for birds around airports aside from humans. Specific airports then have their own specific problem features. Auckland Airport in New Zealand had problems with birds being attracted by oxidation pools located near by connected to a water treatment plant on the coast. Similarly, Seattle-Tacoma has pools located near the runways containing fish attractive to bald eagles.

In brainstorming design solutions for these issues, the first thing to consider is the environmental impact. Animals were living in these spaces long before humans developed them. Often times, airports are built in undeveloped spaces that served as a refuge to all the animals previously forced outward by city development. Therefore, a good solution should be one that not only guarantees aircraft safety, but also does not harm the wildlife or environment. Auckland Airport recognized the problem with the oxidation pools, and in response, opened them up to let the sea in so that the birds would be drawn back out. This has not only relieved the number of bird strikes, but has also created new inner coastal environments for aqua life. Christchurch airport, also located in New Zealand, has been experimenting with endophyte fungi in the grassy areas where birds graze. The fungi are hosted by the grass, and in return, release a toxin if the grass becomes stressed by predators. This toxin has shown in experiments to only make the birds sick rather than kill them. Also, tests have shown that the experience is apparently memorable enough to the birds that they generally do not graze in the same areas again.

Despite the success of the solutions, some critics argue that they required substantial amounts of money and time commitment. Auckland's coastal revamp took nearly six years, and Christchurch's endophytes cost $30,000 to inoculate only fifty seeds. Still, there have been more simple solutions that have had success. The International Journal of Pest Management released an article last year discussing the results of anti-perching devices tested around airports with a high density of wire area for birds to perch. The study surveyed which species of birds preferred which width of wires and placed anti-perching wire at the the appropriate heights to deter specific species. The tests showed promising results in deterring blackbirds and starlings from perching around airports, which are two of the most common problem species. Even simpler solutions include replacing grassy area with FAA approved airfield turf, or training dogs (as used at JFK in addition to the famed falcons) to stalk and chase the birds away.

So, where does the designer fit in all of this? Is this not an issue that a wildlife specialist, engineer, biologist, or even a landscape architect would be more suited to deal with? Most people would probably not read an article about a biologist using fungi in grass to deter birds and consider him a "designer". So then what is a designer? Common notions would probably ascribe someone involved in fashion, graphics, furniture, architecture, or some other artistically creative practice to the title of "designer", and this is not at all wrong. To call anyone in the previously mentioned fields a "designer" would more than likely be totally accurate. However, it is important to understand that the fundamental idea of design is simply to formulate the best solution to any problem, regardless of the nature of that problem. Good designers are constantly building their knowledge and understanding of diverse subject matter from cars to posters to your mother's desk lamp. They are experts at becoming experts in any field they need to be so that they can help to solve any problem. They blur the lines between boundaries in the same way Theo Jansen's kinetic sculptures blur the line between artist and engineer.

In closing, it should be safe to say that not only do airport wildlife issues fall under the category of a design problem, but also that they are issues of which everyone should be made more aware. The solutions listed above were executed by biologists, landscapers, animal trainers, etc., not one of which would probably refer to themselves as a designer. The fact that people involved in so many different areas have all come forth to tackle the same problem demonstrates that regardless the issue, anyone can take up the fundamentals of design and use them to solve that issue.

Why so blue?

2008-11-10T11:33:00.003-06:00

Colors have a wide array of meanings and symbolism – they become very versatile in the realms of art, design, and marketing. This allows for flexibility when it comes to branding and identity. For instance, Southwest Airlines is branded by primary colors, and Continental Airlines uses blue primarily. While there may be room for diversity, in color combinations among airlines, the opposite is true when it comes to major American airports. The majority of airports use the color blue in varied hues as a part of their logo. Sometimes airports will pair yellow and light neutrals (like gray and white) with the cool color. I aim to explore why many airport logos incorporate blue and if other colors might work in blue’s place.

At first thought, it appears easy why airports such as Dallas Ft. Worth, San Francisco International, and Austin Bergstrom would choose the color blue to dominate their logos and brandings. We can look to the sky and see the answer there; the message of the airport bringing its travelers across the skies is clear. Matt Coldwell, Austin Bergstrom’s art coordinator, believes that the colors of the airport logo were “easily identifiable with flying.” Still, we can go further than that and think about what other connotations the color blue has. There are two methods of studying color. Color symbolism is the study of colors and what physical things they may represent. Color psychology is the study of how colors affect feelings, emotions, and health. In color symbolism, blue represents air, water, and the earth as a whole; the latter seems to make sense with the earth’s nickname as the “Blue Planet.” With air travel, people cross over bodies of water and go from one point of the globe to the other. Perhaps using blue dominantly best informs the public about what the airport’s primary purpose is – a hub for air travel. When airports combine the color blue with yellow, like George Bush Intercontinental or John F. Kennedy, the connection to the skies become clearer since yellow also relates back to the air and the earth. More importantly, yellow also signifies the sun. If blue is also paired with white and grays, then the symbols of air, purity, and lightness increases. Whether the logo uses blue singularly or with two other air-related colors, it works despite becoming somewhat predictable.

The decision by designers and airports to use blue as the chief color in identity graphics may also have a psychological effect, too. While blue can represent air, lightness, water, and the earth, various shades of blue can affect people in different ways. According to ColorMatters, a quick reference to color theory on the web, and Pantone’s Color Think Tank, lighter shades of blue have a more tranquil effect on people’s mood. The calmness that stems from experiencing blue color can also be a sort of escape which then corresponds well with an airport’s message of travel, sometimes to go on a vacation. When someone looks at an airport logo that incorporates blue, they get the two main messages: air travel and tranquil escape. Blues can also impart the feeling of technology, trust, and security, three important ideas for airports of today to consider. Technology for better and faster aircrafts with trust and security for today’s heightened awareness for terrorist attacks.

Though there are many airports that use blue as their identity’s foremost color, there are several who incorporate other hues into their logos (other than yellow, white, or gray). El Paso International Airport uses the compliment of blue – orange. Passengers can refer to happiness and energy when they think of orange. Here, the clear connection of airport and the sky is lost. However, orange may provide a better indicator of where the airport is and its environment. Orange, to an extent, symbolizes the city of El Paso because of the city’s warm hues reflected in the El Paso Mountains. It’s hard to say what works better; had blue been used, then the airport would have related better to its function. Since orange was used as the prominent color, visitors and travelers will find that the airport relates well to its locale. Two examples of airports not using blue to brand their logos are Washington D.C.’s Dulles International and Reagan National Airport. The airport system uses red-violet as the sole color. Again, the ties to the skies are severed. With the help of color theory, it seems to make sense that the nation’s capital’s airport would choose a hybrid of red and purple – red-violet – to serve as the dominant color for its identity. Red has the meaning of strength and vitality while purple has royal, dignified, and leadership associations.

Austin’s new South Terminal has a reason why it includes the color green in its logo with common blue hues. The building itself is a vibrant green, and the wavy bar of green is a nod to it. The bright green exterior of the terminal attracts attention from a distance, and the other reasons, according to a press release from the terminal’s website, were because “AIB One LLC, the partnership running the terminal under agreement with the city of Austin, wanted a ‘culturally sensitive’ color … Which culture? Well, Mexico presumably, given the initial destinations and airline. This shade of green is also the color of a hybrid locomotive sold by GE, one of the partners in AIB One…” In color symbolism, green represents nature and the earth, so to use blue and green together really symbolizes the globe. This color combination may also be more “true” to an airport as a hub since green symbolizes the land and blue symbolizes air and water. The airport itself is anchored to the ground, but it is a transitional place for air travel at the same time, through the sky and at points, over sea. Other airports across the nation seem to be following this idea, too. Seattle-Tacoma International, Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport, Fort Wayne International, and the Killeen Municipal Airport are among the hubs that use green in their logos.

Though there are airports like the ones above who stray from using blue as a dominant or sole color, the fact remains that many airports continue to look alike. Imagine seeing a stream of airport logos. What we would see is a flow of blues interjected with occasional spots of yellow, greens, oranges, and reds. The overuse of blue makes airport logos seem monotonous, lacking in originality. With numerous airports nationally, of course it would be hard to have unique colors and color combinations for logos. However, there would be far more variation and difference between each airport’s identity. Travelers already know what an airport is for and what is commonly associated with it; planes, travel, the sky. With that knowledge in mind, perhaps an airport’s color use in branding can speak more about its actual identity, involving its surrounding culture and environment like El Paso Airport. For example, Austin Bergstrom could use a mixture of burnt oranges and forest greens to display nature and connect the airport to the idea of how people associate the capital with the University of Texas. Incoming travelers or outgoing travelers seeing the airport’s logo might then have a better understanding about the place they are about to arrive at or depart from. JFK in New York might be effective in using the color red to relate to the city’s renowned vitality. Red can also symbolize the “Big Apple” or the hearts in the “I Love New York” t-shirts.

This idea of replacing blue with other colors for airports to tie in with their cities lessens the hubs’ relationship to the sky in a way. However, airports are not actually the vessels that transport passengers across the sky; they are just the centers of arrivals and departures, firmly rooted to the earth by their architecture. It would make more sense for airlines and their jets to use blues repeatedly to send off the vibes of lightness and air. Using other colors for airport branding has more potential in helping people distinguish between different airports and creating a sense of unique place. If we were to be in El Paso’s airport where things are branded in orange, we will realize that we are in El Paso and that it has a warm-toned environment. On the other hand, if we travelled to Washington D.C. and were met with the red-violet colors of the airport logo, we can easily understand that we are looking at the nation’s capital and not at El Paso.

It may seem like a stretch that colors in airport logos can totally inform us about the place, but using colors that relate to the airport’s locale does more than using blue continuously. Simply using various shades of blue as an airport logo’s main color only reinforces what we know about the airport’s function instead of what we could know about when it comes to where and who the airport serves. The latter information personalizes the airport’s identity and makes it much more memorable.

Bibliography

"Airports of the World." World Airport Directory. November 2, 2008.

"Austin's new low-cost carrier housed in a little green box." South Terminal Austin: News. October 26, 2008.

Coldwell, Matt. E-mail Interview. November 3, 2008.

"Color Think Tank - the psychology of color." Pantone /Color Think Tank. November 1, 2008.

Gill, Robbie. "Airport Branding - Airport International." Airport International. October 30, 2008.

Morton, J.L. "Color Matters - Business, Marketing and Trends." ColorMatters. November 1, 2008.

"Psychology of Color." Precision Intermedia. November 2, 2008.

Multilingual Issues in Airports

2008-11-10T09:36:00.007-06:00

Airport culture has changed dramatically since the early twentieth century. Technology has enabled drastic growth in economic air travel. From more sophisticated security systems to more efficient ways to process million of travelers through self-service kiosks. Since self-service kiosks have been adopted by all airlines, travelers can now attain boarding passes and check-in quicker than before. Airport culture has evolved in a number of ways except when it comes to communicating with passengers. English is a dominant language across the world, but it has become so by neglecting to communicate in international languages. Because of our global ties, there should be a respect for international travelers coming to America.

English as a dominant language

English has become the dominant language of the world. According to Seth Mydans, in his article Across all cultures, English says it all, one-fourth of the world’s population speaks English either casually or fluently. It is critical to speak English in foreign countries, and is usually a job requirement. Mydan quotes Mark Warshauer, professor of education at University of California, “It’s gotten to the point where almost in any part of the world to be educated means to know English.” Eighty percent of the world’s web information is in English. “By the most common estimates, 400 million people speak English as a first language, another 300 million to 500 million as a fluent second language and perhaps 750 million as a foreign language.” “The largest English-speaking nation in the world, the United States, has only about 20 percent of the world's English speakers.” America is also suffering in language education. Compared to other countries, Americans are not as proficient in language.

Delta accommodates to Latin American travelers

Companies such as Delta are introducing initiatives to cater to international travelers, but in this case failed to translate correctly. Delta has added Spanish language self-service kiosks available in U.S airports and Puerto Rico. Since 2005, Delta has expanded its flights to Latin America and the Caribbean-adding more than 60 flights to 58 destinations in the region. The addition of Multilanguage kiosks will ensure Delta is catering to the needs of the Spanish speaking population. As a result of Delta Air Lines expansion to accommodate to Latin American markets, complaints have arisen about translations in signage. At Hartsfield Airport, arguments started over the Spanish translation for “gate”. Delta used “Salida”, which translates to “exit”. Words lost in translation or translated incorrectly can create confusion for international travelers. Another issue was an inconsistency between the use of “toilet” and “restroom”.

Where Austin-Bergstrom stands

In a local study in Austin Bergstrom International Airport I had the privilege of talking to some of the staff that employ the ticketing counters and self-service check in kiosks. I went through each airline interested in the customer usability, convenience, and language options. America Airlines had four languages available; English, French, Japanese, and Spanish. Pete Patterson, Customer Service Manager for American Airlines says most travelers are familiar with self-service check in kiosks but it can be intimidating for first time users and the elderly not familiar with the technology and interface. He says that new users feel uncomfortable with swiping their debit or credit card because they think they might be charged. Also, when the kiosk requires the customer to swipe their passport, they are often confused by where they must swipe. United Airlines had ten languages available; English, French, Spanish, Deutsh, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese. U.S. Airways had only had English and Spanish as a language option. Jet Blue surprisingly only had English. Jet blue employee, Susanna Gonzalez said it was not a problem since almost everyone knows how to read and speak English. She says that most of the staff can communicate in Spanish, which is the second language in demand at Austin Bergstrom. Continental Airlines had ten languages available including English, French, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Deutsch, Greek. Southwest had either English or Spanish. Delta had English, Spanish, and French. Some airlines had the kiosks right in front of the ticket lines and others had then in an aisle separate from the check in counter. Delta representative said that some traveler’s prefer assistance while using the Self-check in because they are afraid they might type in the wrong information. He went on by saying that because the self service check in kiosks are located in the ticket counter that a representative is always there but the customer is not forced to talk to him or her if not necessary. He continued by saying that it is a self-service and technology age resulting in people are walking around with their I-pods and sitting with their laptops, just wanting to go through without speaking to anyone. Mark Gottdiener questions this isolation in airports in “Deterrorialisation and the Airport” asking, “Could the airport be creating the uncaring, detached, self contained individual armed with laptop, walkman, credit cards, cellular phone, palm pilot, and business agenda?” In effect I can understand why self service check in kiosks have been developed to provide more and more do it yourself options.

From the first screen of the kiosks I noticed that most except for United Airlines did not have language options on the first screen. United Airlines had a list of ten languages on their first screen while the rest, for example the Delta Self service kiosk has two small rectangular boxes with Spanish as an option and then other languages. In order to accommodate to International travelers the language option should be on the first screen. The selection language boxes are also too small, which can easily cause problems for the elderly.
Languages available in other airports

During my research I was interested in knowing what languages are available, specifically in International Airports. Seattle Tacoma International Airport has seen a sixteen percent increase in international traffic since 2007, which has increased demand for their phone translation service. Airport translation phones are located in 22 immigration booths and in the main terminal and baggage-claim areas. The service is run by California based Language Line Services, which employs 3,000 translators for 170 languages. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which has the highest percentage of Self Service use, has staff and volunteers that speak about 70 languages. Boston Logon International Airport’s Massachusetts Port Authority Interpreter Program started in 1974. The staff speaks 20 languages; Arabic, Cantonese, Creole, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Miami International Airport has translators available for Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, and Creole. If the language is not available, there is a special service where they call for a translator for the language needed. Houston International Airport has multilingual special service representatives that speak more than 20 different languages. They assist arriving international travelers at the US customs and Border Protection processing section.

U.S Customs and Border Protection

The airport is the first place foreigner’s experience. The first people that foreign traveler’s interact with are the Customs Border Protection Officers, who according to the job qualifications, are not required to be bilingual or have any language training. Obviously, going through customs for a citizen is much faster than if you are a visitor. First you have to get in the correct line, then you must proceed to answer a series of questions, to an intense bag search, This is usually confusing and disorienting for a U.S passenger, imagine doing this in a language you are not quite fluent in? The customs procedure can be intimidating especially for foreign visitors because of the rules, regulations, and consequences.

Airport kiosks & language options in the future

So what can we expect from self-service kiosks in the future? Research by technology company Amadeus and marketing firm Henley Centre shows kiosks will eventually allow the travelers to control every aspect of their flight. For example, passengers will be able to change their itineraries and gain access to airport maps in order to prevent disorientation and confusion in airports. Customers will also be able to control their flight experience, from seat selection to food and entertainment. Speech technology might even replace the touch screen and it would be available in several languages.

As a result of English becoming a dominant language, airport language options are not a priority. Travelers are almost expected to know how to speak English when they come in to the country. Other countries facilitate to the United States because it is a requirement to speak English. From my experience in Europe, most people can communicate or understand two to three languages. I do think English serves as a unifying language, but it doesn’t encourage Americans to learn a different language. I wonder if this creates less of an appreciation for diversity. In order to provide effective communication and language services, one must understand the difficulty of being in an environment where the language spoken is not your native language. Sufficient languages services are available, but it is always a more complicated and confusing procedure for foreign travelers.

Works Cited:

American Airlines Website. http://www.aa.com/aa/homepage.do

Altanta Hartsfield Website. http://www.atlanta-airport.com/

Boston Logan International Airport. http://www.boston-bos.com/

Continental Airlines Website. http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/default.aspx

"Delta Launches Spanish-Language Kiosks for Growing International Customer Base." Globe Newswire. 6 Mar. 2007. .

Delta Website. http://http://www.delta.com/index.jsp?log=1&mkcpgn=sezzzw1a&keyword=delta&s_kwcid=delta|1291824848&noflash=true.

Gottdiener, Mark. "Deterritorialisation and the Airport." The Cybercities Reader. Routledge, 2004. 1-444.

Houston International Website. http://www.fly2houston.com/iahHome

Miami International Website. http://www.miami-airport.com/

Mydans, Seth. "Across all cultures, English says it all." The International Herald Tribune 10 Apr. 2008.

"Sloppy Spanish Translation at Airports." Weblog post. WLSTranslations. 9 Oct. 2007. .

Yu, Roger. "Airport Check-In: Atlanta Leads in Web, Kiosk use; new at JFK." USA Today 20 Oct. 2008.

Yu, Roger. "Airport Check-In: In translation, on arrival." USA Today 28 July 2008.

The Careful Design of Airport Buttholders

2008-11-10T09:01:00.005-06:00

They are perhaps the last thing we consider during the hustle and bustle of passage through the airport. Certainly, they are often overlooked by critics for the “bigger picture” items in airport design. Consider, though, just how terrible an experience the airport could present if it were lacking its seating. Each airport has its own unique army of seats, quietly and stoically poised side by side, day in and day out, to cradle the bottoms and briefcases of traveler after traveler. Design of airport seating must meet a number of design challenges. It must be comfortable. It must be durable. It must serve as more than just a seat. It must be configurable. It must be located well. It must complement its environment. It must meet stringent fire and safety standards. It must be cost-effective. It is no insignificant object, then, that your rear end is squashed upon as you rest your feet in the airport terminal.

Airport terminal seating sees uniquely heavy use. Much more than a seating surface, it is a luggage rack, dinner table, and even a punching bag for travelers who are in a particularly bad mood. No mean feat, especially considering it weathers this [ab]use twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week! Durability under many situations is key. Exasperated travelers may flop into a seat quite unceremoniously, and luggage is sometimes tossed about without a great deal of care. Herman Miller tested the iconic Eames Tandem Sling chair for durability “by dropping a 100-pound weight on a seat pad 15,000 times at a height of 5 inches” to simulate the sort of abuse it would see over its lifespan. For its “Trax” seating system, used in the Ghuangzhou Baiyun International Airport, OMK Design “developed a molded polyurethane seat that can even be slashed with a knife” (Thomas-Emberson, 82). It is clear that materials are important. Construction needs to be carefully designed as well, both to minimize parts and to maximize strength in areas of high stress. The fewer parts there are, the fewer joints and fasteners will be weakened and wiggled loose over time. In spite of the designer’s best efforts, even the most durable furniture can be damaged by a determined individual. Unfortunately, there is really no time when airport seating is not in use. Thus, it needs to be composed of modular, easily interchangeable parts. Repairs that can be made on the fly by a relatively untrained handyman will minimize inconvenience and loss of efficiency to the flier and the airport. And of course, it must be easy to clean in the event of any sort of messy accident. Material quality must be tempered with practical concerns toward its absorbance and ability to repel foreign goop.

Modularity is key to an effective seating system. Like any furniture to be used on a large scale, it will be asked to serve many different functions. A system that works broadly and seamlessly must be highly configurable to serve any need, location, or geometry that the airport can throw at it. OMK’s “Trax” system “is a kit of parts with interchangeable panels that can encompass hard and soft surfaces” (Thomas-Emberson 80). This, in fact, allows the airport to configure the same seating system for levels of comfort and exclusivity that serve a wide range of travelers. Spanish firm IMAT builds its SARDI system with “clear premises: the adaptation [and] personalization of almost the whole system according to specific demands and requirements of each arrangement. … They confer definitely differentiated features to the system within the current market.”

Aesthetically, airport seating plays a delicate role. It is often produced for multiple, unknown, unique applications, and must work harmoniously with any of them. Moreover, it must do so over a long lifespan. The airport chair “has to be a visually timeless product – nothing to do with fashion,” says designer Rodney Kinsman (Thomas-Emberson 80). The seats must not clash with or overpower the terminal. For this reason, many seating systems are offered in mute, monochrome schemes, and feature sedate, timeless structures. Material can often be ordered to fit a particular color scheme, of course.

The cost of airport seats can be a counter-intuitive notion. At first blush, seating as “affordable” as $90 per seat can seem appealing to bean counters, especially when faced with options sporting four figure price tags. However, airport seating sees a very long lifespan – it “must stay in use for 25 years” (Thomas-Emberson 80). This is a time period over which non-durable products would deteriorate and fall into ruin many times over. Architect Lawrence Speck encountered this cost dilemma when he attempted to appropriate $500 Knoll Furniture chairs for a restaurant seating area in Austin Bergstrom International Airport. After an intensive study of their lifespan and durability relative to much “cheaper” alternatives, it was discovered that the $500 seats were in fact more cost-effective in the long run thanks to their superior build quality and robustness. They also proved more environmentally-friendly and sustainable, thanks to conscientious, efficient application of recycled materials and considerations for the product’s disposal after its service life.

Specific societal concerns often come into play in the design of airport seating. Armrests can act as a physical and psychological barrier between seated travelers, creating isolation between two parties seated very near to each other. This aids in the capsularization that travelers seem to seek, as observed by Gottdeiner (185). Armrests are an aid to “non-interaction,” the alternative to which is one of the “pet peeves of frequent fliers” (187). A concern not typically encountered by Westerners is the need for women to maintain their distance from men while seated encountered in some Middle-Eastern locations, such as Istanbul Ataturk Airport (Thomas-Emberson, 82). This is where the modularity of airport seating again comes into play – certain parts, such as tables, can be added into a series of chairs to provide the necessary gap.

Conventional wisdom may hold that it is every seat’s goal to provide the plushest repose possible, but can an airport terminal seat be too comfortable? Is its job to provide the ultimate in pillowy comfort, or should an intermediate level of temporary relaxation be sought? Seasoned traveler Angela Wen recounted to a panel of experts her experience of falling asleep in a seat at a terminal and missing her flight. In fact, many fatigued travelers run the risk of nodding off when they take a short, too-comfortable breather from their busy itinerary. At the individual level, this is devastating to the traveler. For the traveler, as well as the airport at large, this represents a loss in efficiency – a detriment to the airport’s ultimate goal, as stated by Paul Andreu (75). With the airport now as much an environment for commerce as a nexus of travel, it serves the airport’s concessionaires, and subsequently the airport best if traveler-customers are on their feet, taking advantage of commercial establishments. A seat that is overpoweringly comfortable can engender lethargy in the traveler, and dissuade them from moving about the terminal and concourse as a consumer. A seat that provides just enough comfort to be viable only as a temporary resting surface will encourage the traveler to spend more time in the shopping areas after they have cleared security and are waiting to board. Regarding the traveler’s health, it likely serves them best to be seated as little as possible prior to extended flights. Extended periods of seated inactivity have been pinpointed as a cause of Deep-Vein Thrombosis, a potentially fatal condition. Less-comfortable seats may prompt a higher level of activity prior to flight, mitigating the risk of cramped economy seating to fliers’ health. Ultimately, this design goal lends itself well to other airport seating considerations. A less comfortable seat is able to minimize cushion material and occupy a minimal footprint, fulfilling the necessities of material, monetary, and spatial economy.

A demonstration of the Tandem Sling's strength

A well known example of airport seating, and perhaps one of the most iconic of the category, is the Eames Tandem Sling system. Designed in 1962 By Charles and Ray Eames for the Chicago O’Hare International Airport, and recognized as one of the first applications of design to seating in an airport context, it is used as prevalently today as ever. Its timeless appearance seems to subtly complement any airport it is used in. Its cast aluminum and simple stretched vinyl construction, based on the Eames’ series of aluminum lounge and office chairs developed in the late 50s, minimizes individual parts for simplicity of assembly and repair. It also keeps the overall weight of the structure down. It is available in myriad lengths and configurations. The Tandem Sling is arguably the basis for much other modern airport seating – it set forth concepts of modularity, configurability, simplicity, and basic construction that are still followed today. The contemporary version produced by Herman Miller, while holding to the Eames’ original design, is made of 54% recycled material, and is 87% recyclable after its product life. The tandem sling also remains valuable after its service life. An old, worn four-seat section is currently available on eBay for just under $2000.

An even earlier airport-oriented chair was the Kastrup Chair, designed in 1958 by Hans Wegner for the Copenhagen International Airport. It introduced a number of key concepts the Tandem Sling would later build upon, such as configurability and multiple attachments – though only four chairs could be mounted together. It is not as simple, durable, or technically accessible as the Eames piece, being made of a relatively complex birch frame on a steel chassis wrapped in leather.

The future of airport seating may see a new challenge in the ever-increasing overweight population. With over one billion overweight individuals in the world, and a projected 2.3 billion by 2015 (World Health Organization), airport seating must be sturdy enough to withstand greater weights, wide enough to accommodate larger waists, and positioned for ease of ingress and egress. How designers will address this problem remains to be seen. Perhaps some seats should be replaced with stationary bicycles.

Like any element of such a grand architectural, engineering, and design endeavor, the seats found in airports are carefully considered, expertly designed objects of functional beauty. The next time you enjoy a moment of respite during a layover or while waiting for a flight, be mindful of the significance and resilience of the device on which you rest.

Works Cited

American Heart Association. “Economy-Class Syndrome and Deep Vein Thrombosis .” American Heart Association. 2008. 8 Nov. 2008 .

Andreu, Paul. Interview with Patrick Javault. . N.p.: n.p., 1991.
Coldwell, Matt. Personal interview. 30 Sept. 2008.

Danish Furniture. “Kastrup Airport Chair.” Danish-Design. 2008. 8 Nov. 2008 .

Gottdeiner, Mark. Life in the Air: Surviving the New Culture of Air Travel. New York: Rowan & Littlefield, 2001.

Herman Miller. Eames Tandem Sling Seating. Zeeland: Herman Miller, Inc., 2008. 8 Nov. 2008 .

IMAT. “Waiting Areas Seating: SARDI System.” IMAT. 2008. 9 Nov. 2008 .

Speck, Lawrence W. Personal interview. 7 Oct. 2008.

Thomas-Emberson, Steve. Airport Interiors: Design For Business. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2007.

Wen, Angela. Personal interview. 8 Nov. 2008.

World Health Organization. “Obesity and overweight.” World Health Organization. Sept. 2006. 8 Nov. 2008 .

Fresh Restroom Design Solutions For Airports

2008-11-10T08:38:00.024-06:00

The first words that come to mind when you hear “airport restroom” are unsanitary and crowded. After stepping off a long flight, the first place I generally want to go to is the restroom. I expect to see impeccable attention to cleanliness and be provided with high-tech amenities. According to USAToday, Atlanta Airport’s restrooms are cleaned every 15 minutes from 7am – 11pm daily. Fort Lauderdale Airport’s restrooms are cleaned every 15 minutes from 6am – 11pm. Chicago O’Hare has attendants in 17 restrooms maintaining them from 6 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Restroom cleanliness especially in international airports where there is a high amount of traffic affects customer satisfaction largely. However, not only is the cleanliness of the restrooms important, there is a greater need to give consideration to the design of them. People land from long flights desperately desiring to brush their teeth, relieve their motion sickness, and even wash immediate parts of their body. No matter how immaculate these restrooms are, cleanliness can only satisfy so much when many of these airports lack services that accommodate other, more practical needs.

A prevailing complaint of airport restrooms is that the stalls are not spacious enough for a traveler to hold all their luggage while they use the restroom. Alice Wing, a writer for USAToday, states, “Not only is the size and configuration of the average restroom stall uncomfortable, but it is also a security risk because people often leave their luggage outside of the stall…Have you ever tried to enter a stall with a backpack and a roller-board bag, trying not to touch the toilet as the door swings inward and clears the toilet by only inches?” Oakland International Airport in California conducted a customer feedback survey that showed “Travelers want restroom facilities that offer: 1) More stalls; 2) Larger stalls roomy enough for a traveler and his/her carry-on luggage or a young child; 3) Ergonomic layout for improved circulation; and 4) Hands-free fixtures and entrances/exits for increased hygiene.” With the increasing amount of families traveling, it can be hassle when a parent and child both have to squeeze themselves into one tiny, narrow stall, let alone with their luggage. This issue also addresses the lack of family restrooms and children’s amenities that exists in airports.

Some solutions to these issues have been proposed and also have been implemented into many airports. Airport restrooms should include stalls that contain more space, multiple coat hangers, and possibly a small shelf that can hold smaller items. Dallas Forth Worth International Airport’s airport has published their design manual on the web. The design manual dedicates four pages to design guidelines for public restrooms in its terminal buildings. Page two includes a feasible solution that other airports could adopt: “Guideline 10.1.3.7 Provide hooks adjacent to lavatory for hanging bags, purses, and briefcases. Provide a 12” deep purse shelf at back of counter and/or on sidewalls” and “Guideline 10.1.4.7 Provide a 12” deep baggage wall shelf behind toilets and urinal bank.”

Another security risk issue of airport restrooms is when parents or guardians leaving young children unattended, even for short amounts of time. A good example of an airport implementing these design solutions is the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. According the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, it’s the ninth busiest airport in the US,. The airport accommodates families by having “20 ‘Family’ restrooms available in the terminals at DTW” based on its official website. This helps to prevent children from getting lost. According to an article by Levi Fishman, family restrooms at “Chicago O’Hare airport have only one toilet, but they have a seat attached to the wall for a parent or a caretaker to sit down.” Now that more young families travel, airports are satisfying their specific needs.

A proposal that was designed with children in mind is the Step N’ Wash. On msnbc.com, travel writer Harriet Baskas discusses a new “gadget called the Step N’ Wash. It’s a retracting step-stool that pops up from under the sink to allow kids to wash their hands in airport bathrooms without having to get an adult to pick them up…” Atlanta Airport, the number one busiest airport in the nation wants to “provide the highest level of customer service. Installing Step N’ Wash in the restrooms to assist those traveling with children is a great example of how we meet the needs of the traveling public.” The Step N’ Wash is a great amenity that can lighten the mood and also diminish stress on both parents and children.

Today, restrooms in airports are usually designed similarly to public restrooms anywhere else. However, because airport restrooms call for heavy use, waiting in line for an open sink can be increasingly inconvenient when people decide to wash their hair or brush their teeth in them. My personal experience with washing my hair in Korea’s Incheon International Airport after a long and arduous 16-hour flight led me to realize how bad of an idea it was. After I rushed into the restroom, in desperation to wash my hair, I realized I had taken up one of the only three sinks that were available in that restroom, which I’m sure annoyed everyone else. It took about 10 minutes to wash up, but there was no real open area to dry my hair with my towel. I was in the way and obstructing people’s paths as I attempted to dry it. I realize how exasperating it can be when people are trying to get in an out as quickly as possible.

To solve the problem of people lingering at sinks for too long, proposing separate stations in the restroom for different purposes can possibly alleviate this congestion. Ft. Smith Regional Airport in Arkansas was acclaimed as America’s Best Restroom in 2005. It contains two rows of sinks that face each other, all on one granite top island. Since mirrors are off on the other side of restroom, this forces the traveler from taking too much time in front of what is normally both the sink and mirror. With the mirrors away from the sink, this allows a better flow of traffic in the restroom. Again, DFW is one step ahead with the simplest solutions. In Guideline “10.1.3.9 Provide a full-height dressing mirror out of the main circulation path.” In addition, creating separate stations for brushing teeth, and even shower rooms would relieve even more blockage. To prevent lines forming in front of the showers, a fee would be paid as compensation. An example of this occurs at London Heathrow Airport. Not only are there restrooms at each terminal, there is a shower room at Terminal One with a cost of £15 (about $20). Although many large airports, such as the New York JFK airport include shower facilities, they are only for those flying business or first class.

The American Restroom Association discusses some prominent public restroom design issues including waiting in long lines for an open stall. Their philosophy is: “no matter what their configuration, public restrooms portals should be designed with sufficient width to accommodate peak times when users may be waiting in line. People exiting the restroom should not have to jockey their way through or collide with people waiting to enter the restroom.” The American Restroom Association suggests that a labyrinth style entrance and exit into a restroom solves the formation of long lines and more. The labyrinth design reduces the risk of hitting someone with a swinging door, prevents criminal activity since there really is no “doorway”, and allows people to wrap around it when lines form. DFW’s useful manual mentions a similar alternative: “Guideline 10.1.1.4 Entries to the men’s and women’s rooms should not have doors, but switch-back or ‘T’ access halls, that are wide enough for two people to pass. The ‘T’ access is preferred for rooms with larger number of fixtures due to the improved circulation.”

On top of all this, some airports are taking the initiative to implement cutting edge designs in their restrooms. Take for instance the Chicago O’Hare International Airport, the second busiest airport in the nation, holds one of the more popular restroom facilities. Baskas states, “Nine years ago, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport installed intriguing self-changing Sani-Seats in most restrooms. The entertaining amenity is extremely popular with female travelers and there are even a few YouTube videos marveling about it. A similar product now on the market, the Hygolet Sanitary Toilet Seat, has now been installed at Iowa’s Des Moines International Airport, Alabama’s Montgomery Regional Airport and a few others.” Not only does the Hygolet Sanitary Toilet Seat automatically flush, it also has automatic revolving plastic seat coverings. This satisfies the cleanliness factor and is entertaining to experience. Already, other airports are adopting this widely popular method.

Another great example of innovative restroom designs is at the Stockholm-Arlanda Airport. It employs an entertaining, yet functional restroom environment. Judith Davidsen, a writer for InteriorDesign.net, speaks of some of the designs in Arlanda Airport’s restrooms: “Urinals in the gents' are backed by a meadow of wildflowers photographed in southern Sweden. On the inner wall, the yellow blossoms reach practically to the ceiling. On the outer wall, the meadow rises just 4 1/2 feet—somewhere between chest and chin, depending on the height of the gentleman in attendance. Above that, there's a window…” The design has “significant pluses. Seamless glass goes a long way toward eliminating the odors that accumulate in grout between tiles around the typical urinal.” Cleaning glass takes only slightly more effort than cleaning mirrors. Another plus is “the gray ceramic floor tiles at the airport are joined by a special grout that's used in hospitals and nursing homes to resist the absorption of urine.”

To create a lighter and more engaging environment, designers should attempt to stay away from the cold, sterile feeling that some restrooms communicate. In an article called “Restroom Design Challenges”, by Abigail Kelly, some tips include having “high ceilings that create a sense of spaciousness; softer lighting schemes or, occasionally, day lighting; and design schemes that carry architectural and aesthetic elements used elsewhere in the facility into the restrooms.” However, the designer must be careful to not let form dominate function, a critical mistake that can easily be overlooked by designers.

Although airport restrooms are cleaned routinely, airports have a substantial need for innovative design that accommodates all types of travelers. Airports are highly sensitive to efficient design because they have to meet the needs of the high traffic of travelers. Whether it’s the Step N’ Wash or revolving toilet seats, airports are expected to be the first with technologically advanced facilities.

Works Cited

Baskas, Harriet.  "Fresh Amenities for Pooped Out Travelers".  2 Oct 2008.

Davidsen, Judith. "A Loo with a View". Interior Design 1 Oct 2006.

Fishman, Levi. "Family Restrooms Overcome Stalls". 11 Dec 2007.

"Public Restroom Design Issues". American Restroom Association. 30 Oct 2008.

"OAK Responds to Customer Feedback with Restrooms Renovations for Terminal 1". Oakland International. 1 Nov 2008.

"December 2007 Airline Traffic Data: U.S. Airlines Carry Record 769 Million Passengers in 2007". Bureau of Transportation
Services. 1 Nov 2008. .

"Airport restrooms: When and how often they're cleaned". USAToday. 30 Oct 2008.

DFW Design Criteria Manual: <www.dfwairport.com/development/pdf/design_ch01.pdf>.

Photos:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/biztravel/2006-06-19-airport-bathrooms-usat_x.htm
http://www.urinal.net/stockholm_airpt/
http://www.bestrestroom.com/news_ivwinner.html
http://flickr.com/photos/52302306@N00/302058373/

A New Airport Art Aesthetic

2008-11-10T08:38:00.012-06:00

All over the world, a percentage (usually between one and two percent) of the total airport construction budget is set aside specifically to fund public art programs. Given the cost of building a modestly sized airport can approach a billion dollars, airport art acquisition budgets rival those of many museums, and are quickly becoming a major exhibition space for art.

The potential audience is equally massive. Last year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art accommodated about four million visitors. In that same year, 70 million people passed through O'Hare Airport in Chicago.

Of course, there is a difference between an art museum and an airport — people in airports are rushed. A museum's sole purpose is to facilitate a leisurely stroll from art piece to art piece. Visitors don't have time to spend admiring artwork on the way to their destination. In other words, people don't go to airports to admire the art. If it's not an integral part of the airport, it's nothing more than a distraction for stressed and harried passengers.

However, given an audience and the money invested, it seems only natural that we would want to populate our airports with the best our culture has to offer. But increasingly, artwork seems to be perceived by airport planners as a panacea to the stress and anxiety passengers face when traveling. It is a solution similar to the phenomenon Tom Wolfe once called "the turd in the plaza," or plop art. Plop art originally referred to international modernist skyscraper plazas in the middle of which a sculpture, usually large, metal and alien, was 'plopped.' When the idea was first implemented it was seen as a remedy to the dehumanizing aspects of modernist skyscrapers, those geometric glass boxes designed to house people as efficiently as possible. As anyone who has visited downtown Manhattan or Chicago and seen this kind of work in person knows, it fails to remedy anything. Today an equivalent practice can be found in airports.

Christopher Janney, a site-specific architectural artist, said, "My work, especially when it's in public-transportation areas, is really about creating an oasis. It's about being in juxtaposition to the din." By inference, the implication is that the public transportation areas as they are originally designed are public deserts, forbidding, sterile and lifeless. Public transportation areas should be specifically designed to be as stress free as possible, encouraging social interaction and Vitruvian delight, with playful installation artists like Janney brought in from the the initial planning phase. Instead, artists like Janney are increasingly expected to function like the symptomatic-prescriptive doctors of today's medical practice, trying to cure instead of prevent.

The questions airport planners should be asking are, Why do we need an oasis in a space we designed? Why aren't our airports humanistic? Is airport art nothing more than a drug to alleviate symptoms of the disease of poor design that needlessly stresses passengers, or can airports learn to build in the overlapped spaces between art and design? Is there an airport art aesthetic?

When art is commissioned specifically for an airport often it is the artists themselves who are at fault for creating work that is either irrelevant to the audience or impractical in the situation. A visitor to Schipol Airport in Amsterdam walks into a vortex of changing speeds and spaces, a blur of metal, glass, people, concrete, chairs, food, smells, languages, signs and lights blend together in a sensual cacophony. In the midst of all this, untitled, by Jenny Holzer, is a 927 x 27 cm vertical column covered with a red LED sign reads a never ending stream of unique 'truisms,' such as, "'The desire to reproduce is a death wish.' 'It is the habitual mistakes that make fate.'" John Thackra put it best, "Phenomenologically, it is inert. It is powerless to communicate amidst the silent roar of people, movement, and information that pervades the airport."

In O'Hare's award-winning airport terminal 'L' (which has its own set of problems) Michael Hayden's The Sky's the Limit, a light sculpture comprised of ceiling mounted neon lights, hovers overhead. The lights, their linear forms alternately resembling organic jellyfish tentacles and the vehicles in Tron, light up in complex patterns set to a custom composed music piece by William Kraft. One look at a video of this piece and one can see how inconsequential it is to passengers walking beneath it. The lights become mere decoration, ignored by the public. Not only do the lights fail to make any discernible impact on visitors, but they fail to make any statement about the airport or Chicago itself. The piece is 'inert.'

In the summer of 1995, for an article on Denver International Airport, New Art Examiner wrote:

New Mexico artist Luis Jimenez's initial proposal was for a multiple-piece sculptural installation of an Indian buffalo stampede and slaughter that was to be placed in the terminal, where passengers would be "herded" amongst the buffalo. The proposal was nixed as too politicized, however, and Jimenez was eventually awarded $300,000 to fashion his fiberglass bronco—the 30-foot Rearing Mustang—for the airport's front lawn. It was to have flashing red eyes gazing skyward, but Federal Aviation Administration officials warned that the lighted eyes might confuse pilots approaching the runways. Now the mustang won't rear up for another two years, and when it does, the horse's eyes will be pointed downward.

Obviously there must be a balance between the space art requires to communicate and the impediment of airport functions. Part of the problem is that airports are too complex — there is less and less space for the artist to be able to work in isolation. There must be a dialogue, from conception, between the artist, architects and community involved in the airport's design.

Ironically, it is that kind of integration between art and design that draws a great deal of criticism. The Pittsburgh Airport has been repeatedly criticized for its art being too well integrated into the airport. Pieces like Alan Saret's Home and Away, comprised of tile pathways in the airside terminal atrium, reinforce the "X-shaped terminal and the atrium's 60-foot ceilings." But more importantly, Saret says Home and Away "clarifies and brightens the path for inbound and outbound travelers and at the same time affords a sense of place." However, the artwork is so symbiotic with the design that it goes unnoticed as 'art,' to the point that visitors fail to notice it as such.

The difference, though, between Hayden's work and work like Saret's at Pittsburgh is that Pittsburgh's art communicates something to those who listen, but doesn't impose itself. We go to museums and think nothing of seeing art, for a museum's function is to do just that, house art. Likewise, we should not be surprised by the art we see in an airport, in the sense that it should appear to be integrated into the structure and system. When the Pittsburgh art committee, deluged in complaints that local artists were not getting a fair share of the limelight, gave in and installed Silver Grid Wall, by Peter Calaboyias, the effect was artwork "neither integrated with the architecture nor given the prominence of the original five works." Art installed for art's sake has no place in airports.

That's not to say airport art is a lost cause. The last 20 years abound with success stories of the integration of art and design in airports.

Art can serve practical, in addition to aesthetic, functions. Coda, by Dennis Adams, is a 450 cm checkered cube in Schiphol International Airport's main plaza. Besides understated ties to airports through its use of color and grid, the piece serves as a big, bright meeting point — one can imagine the cellphone conversations: "Meet me at the 3-D chessboard at 4." At Orlando International Airport, Todd Warner sculpted a menagerie of animals native to Florida to help drivers remember which floor they parked on. Functional art has great potential for growth. Why shouldn't wayfinding be enjoyable, even fun?

Other times art picks up where architecture left off and successfully integrates the interior with the exterior. In Nashville, Dale Eldred's Airport Sun Project, a "concoction of mirrors and diffraction panels uses reflected light to splash a continuously changing medley of colors on surfaces at the terminal entrance and near ticketing counters." It might be considered distraction, but at least the idea behind the work — our relationship with the sun — is vaguely accessible to the harried passenger. The piece asks nothing of the viewer and allows them to continue on their way because movement is actually required to appreciate its shifting light qualities and see the illustration in its entirety. Robert Morris's Steam Gardens and Framed Vistas, for Pittsburgh, acts as a segue between the parking garage and airport entrance. Steam rises off smooth river stones enclosed in five 140'x48' courtyards, giving the airport the ambiguous and mysterious aura of overgrown Asian jungle ruins. By adding drama to the otherwise routine act of entering and exiting, Morris elevates the airport to monumental status.

Airports have been criticized for being alienating and disconnected from the community that supports them. Data Nature, by Ben Hooker and Shona Kitschen, disguises an introduction to the community in the form of a ticket. Those who dare to push the button at the behest of one of two ticket kiosks get their picture surreptitiously taken and a faux boarding ticket is printed out, complete with a picture of the person, random weather and flight data and obscure facts and stories about the airport. In this way, connections between the invisible airport operations, local community and the data that make it work smoothly are all unobtrusively brought together.

Electroland, a company whose self-described mission involves "creating new relationships between people and public space and shifting the boundaries of private experience in the public sphere," designed Connection, an installation consisting of dinner plate sized lights mounted into the ceiling of a walkway at Indianapolis Airport. The lit dots, constantly changing in color and intensity, become life forms in their own right, playfully following individuals and groups of people, chasing each other, drawing connections between passengers, or synchronizing together for brief sound clips. A similar proposal for Hollywood Airport in Florida involves LED lights installed in the floor. These kinds of interactive installations give airports a lifelike presence, a crude but admirable approximation of the dynamics of natural environments.

If, as current trends suggest, airports are becoming cities, why not take the opportunity to define at least part of the shape these new environments should take? When technological sophistication reaches a point that our built environments are as complex and information-strewn as the natural world, a kind of natural airport order should refine the design. I propose a new airport art aesthetic, to be adopted by artists and architects alike, one that not just acknowledges, but thrives off of the constraints of airport functions and uses them as the raw material for inspiration. Airport art should not be limited to isolated objects without context or meaning, but encompass whole environments. In talking about his experience at Pittsburgh International Airport, Robert Morris described his work as "'site-generated,' rather than 'site-specific.'" The interplay between form and function or site-generated and site-specific is debatable, but there is no question that airport art not directly addressing the issue is ugly from conception.

WORKS CITED

Artfuldodger. Post to everything Web forum, August 2, 2000. http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=682281 (accessed November 10, 2008).

Carmichael, Suzanne. "Stuck at the Airport? Then Look at the Art." The New York Times, December 15, 1991. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9D0CE7DB1131F936A25751C1A967958260 (accessed November 10, 2008).

Electroland. "Interactive Passage." Electroland. http://electroland.net/projects/indyairport (accessed November 10, 2008).

Electroland. "Interactive Walkways." Electroland. http://electroland.net/projects/broward (accessed November 10, 2008).

Fogt, Stephen. Post to Artifice Great Buildings Discussion Web forum, November 6, 1999. http://www.designcommunity.com/discussion/785.html (accessed November 8, 2008).

Hall, Peter. "Hear Color, See Sound." Metropolis Magazine, September 19, 2007. http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=2954 (accessed November 3, 2008).
Hensler, Kate. "Pittsburgh International Airport." Sculpture, July-August 1991.

Huebner, Jeff. "holding pattern." The New Art Examiner, Summer 1995.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Visitor Information." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. http://www.metmuseum.org/visitor/faq_hist.htm (accessed November 9, 2008).

Schiphol. "untitled, 1995 (Holzer) - Schiphol." Schiphol. http://www.schiphol.com/AirportInformation/AirportFacilities/SightseeingAtSchiphol/ArtAtSchiphol/Departure/untitled,1995Holzer/untitled,1995Holzer.htm (accessed November 10, 2008).

Thackara, John. "Lost in Space — A Traveller's Tale." In Airport - The most important new buildings of the twentieth-century, 58-69. Great Britain: The Photographers' Gallery, 1997.

World Airport Guides. "Chicago O'Hare International Airport - ORD Airport Guide." World Airport Guides. http://www.chicago-ord.com/ (accessed November 9, 2008).

Please Remove Your Shoes

2008-11-10T07:49:00.002-06:00

Millions of feet tread through airport security as required by the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) mandatory shoe screening policy. The American public is becoming aware of the ill effects of exposing their bare feet and are insisting airport security urgently present a solution to protect passengers without risking privacy and health. TSA instituted the mandatory shoe screening policy August 10, 2006. It is illegal for TSA to force anyone to remove their shoes, but if a passenger does refuse, he or she is passed on to the long inconvenience of being wanded and having bags searched. In December of 2001, Richard Reid attempted to set off a bomb during an American Airlines Flight from Paris to Miami. He managed to board the bomb on the plane through wiring in his shoes. He was not successful in his plan and was subdued by passengers on the plane when they witnessed him attempting to ignite the bomb with a match. Since this issue, TSA reacted with required removal of shoes with thicker soles and not till recently did they make it mandatory for everyone to remove their shoes, no matter the style. With improvised explosives being the number one threat to air passengers, it is necessary to see changes in the security system that correspond to passenger’s rights of health and privacy without adding to the inconveniences and time spent in security.

With TSA’s impulsive response to avert another shoe bombing, they quickly followed the easiest route of making people remove their shoes. With this becoming a mandatory process for the last two years, it is vital that new technology meet with TSA’s standards in order to minimize risks of people’s health concerning foot hygiene. The Rockport Company, a shoe company introducing machine washable shoes, did a study concerning floor germs and had ten people wear brand new shoes for two weeks. Afterwards, they tested the bottom of the shoes to find that the shoes had picked up more than 400,000 units of bacteria- including E-Coli. Several of these floor studies have also been done concentrating on airports alone. When a San Diego 10 News employee took samples from two popular destinations, Las Vegas and Phoenix, suspicions of living bacteria on the floor were confirmed. In Las Vegas, McCarron Airport, trichophyston, a mold causing ringworm and farvus was found. Also in Phoenix, Sky Harbor Airport, Neisseria was discovered. Neisseria is an organism that can lead to gonorrhea. Many podiatrists warn about the common fungus of “Athletes Foot” being transferred at airports. Athlete’s foot is contracted usually through public places such as showers, gyms, etc. Dr. Scott T. Grodman, a podiatrist, explains the hygienic concerns of having to remove shoes in the airport by describing the “normal flora”—the live organisms living on our skin by creating, “a shield or barrier to help fight off germs from invading our insides”. He goes on to describe that when wearing shoes such as sneakers and moving and walking around that the flora of the feet becomes more “dark, moist, and hot… the perfect breeding ground”. Therefore, when we remove our shoes and immediately come in contact with the floor of the airport, our warm attractive breeding grounds of feet are more at risk to be infected. The risk rises when an individual is “immunocomprimised” for example having AIDS, diabetes, or even just a small cut on the foot.

The mandatory shoe removal has potential of being a beginning conflict of interfering with a person’s privacy. Is shoe removal the start of mandatory apparel removal, what will happen when someone attempts to wire a bomb through his or her shirt or pants? Attempts to solve the problem of removing shoes and other articles of clothing become a privacy hazard. Many proposals of x-ray machines have been rebuked due to having private body images exposed. One wonders where the line should be drawn to avoid a potential terrorist versus revealing one’s intimate privacy. Minds linger on whether or not privacy and security can coexist or whether it is a choice- one or the other. The American Civil Liberties Union Legislative Council, Rachel King, eases Americans fears saying, “heightened airport security and respect for civil liberties are not mutually exclusive -- the former can be achieved without diminishing the latter,” and goes on to say, “Evidence has also shown that security measures that infringe on civil liberties are notoriously ineffective and create an illusion of security”.

Many companies including TSA and individual airports are quickly working on innovations for future responses to the problems of convenience, privacy, and health risks of shoe removal in airport security. The most available and perhaps simplest form of avoiding health risks is airport booties. Several small companies online sell these for around ten dollars for a package of ten. Also, some airports such as the Phoenix and Dallas Love Field give out complimentary booties. Bootie’s are purchased by the airport and not required by TSA. A Love Field Officer explains that although many people look past the booties, the people that do see them and wear them are usually very happy and thrilled to have their feet protected from the unsanitary floor. The employees of Love Field also choose to wear them when having to go through security, showing that the people who work at the airport everyday see what goes on the floor and do not want it on their bare feet- setting an example for the rest of the passengers. On the Love Field website their mission statement explains their reason for having these sanitary motions, “It is our mission to provide a safe, efficient and user-friendly airport system by being responsive to customer and community concerns while continuously improving services to both commercial and general aviation operators.” Some attempt to protect themselves from bacteria through wearing socks in the airport. But many airports confirm that they do not even allow people to wear their socks through security. Also, if one were permitted to wear socks through security, it would mean bringing the bacteria collected back to a person’s home rather than being able to dispose of them immediately provided by airport booties.

Prescreened programs are also developing to help beat the long lines and traffic of security and these programs are working harder and with more urgency than most to develop shoe scanners that will better their program. TSA and ACLU have just approved one of these programs known as Clear. Clear targets frequent flyers by having the member submit biographic information, a picture, fingerprint images, and iris images. Clear members are then able to follow a shorter designated line, but still cannot avoid metal detectors, x-ray machines, and specifically shoe removal. Clear is eager to give it’s members advantages and therefore are one of the top companies urgently working towards a shoe scanner innovation. The idea, as explained by Jason Slibeck, Clear’s Chief of Technology, is that the shoe scanner will be part of the Secure Registered Traveler (SRT) kiosk and will incorporate “the biometric verification done at all Clear lanes with some advanced detection capabilities”. This way a passenger can do everything at once- scan their shoes while checking in for their flight. Clear, along with GE Security, Department of Homeland Security Science, and Technology Directorate are working together to create a scanner that will allow airport security to detect materials such as explosives and to discriminate between threatening metal shanks or non threatening metal in shoes. Dan Mahlum, the GE Homeland Security Product Manager, describes the shoe scanner as “in an ongoing development stage”. Other security innovations that may be seen in the future are using biometrics, x-ray machines, or even thermal reader machines. All of these are constantly being drawn back to privacy issues with the ACLU.

As more people learn of the health risks and other inconveniences of removing shoes, solutions are becoming highly necessary and demanded by passengers, airports, and doctors. It looks as though it is only a matter of time when a solution will meet the agreements of TSA’s screening requirements and that of the people’s privacy concerns. Till then one will be forced to find sanctuary from exposing their health and privacy through paper booties, if offered. Perhaps the shoe removal issue has presented TSA and other security companies with the idea that innovations should be proactive now rather than reactive later, preventing hurried security inventions, necessary privacy breaches, and most importantly, potential terrorist attacks.

Sources:

“The Screening Experience” Transportation Security Administration. 10 November 2008.

DeNoon, Daniel. “Shoes: New Airport Health Hazard”. Web MD: Women’s Health. 10 November 2008.

“Taking off Shoes at Airport Could Be Health Hazard”. Airport Business: Airline and Airport Security News. 10 November 2008.

“Covering Bare Feet At The Airport”. ABC 7, 15 August 2006. 10 November 2008.

Burgess, Kelly. “What’s Hiding on Your Floor?”. iParenting. 10 November 2008.

Duffy, Jonathan. “The Future of Airport Security”. BBC News Online. 12 November 2003. 10 November 2008.

Elliot, Michael. “The Shoe Bomber’s World”. Time. 16 February 2002. 10 November 2008.

American Civil Liberties Union. 20 September 2001. 10 November 2008.

“Shoe Screener System”. Federal Business Opportunities. 6 August 2007. 10 November 2008.

“Love Notes” Dallas Love Field. 10 November 2008.

Dr. Scott T. Grodman. Personal Email. 30 October 2008.

Jason Slibeck. Personal Email. 15 October 2008.

Airport Booties. 10 November 2008.
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Murph, Darren. “Airport Shoe Scanners Holding Up the Show”. Engadget. 21 January 2007. 10 November 2008.

“How Clear Works”. Clear. 10 November 2008.

Mahlum, Daniel. Personal Email. 28 October 2008.

Airports and Delays and Hotels, oh my!

2008-11-10T04:58:00.011-06:00

In our rapidly expanding and highly globalized society today, the increasing demand for air travel is trumped only by an even greater increase in the cost of providing the service. With airlines scrambling to make up for rising costs of operation, they have less and less margin for error. One unexpected delay can lead to hours or even days of unpleasant ‘stranded’ situations for travelers. Displaced passengers need a place to relax and rest when they encounter this problem. Airport accommodations have developed through the years from the standard airport hotel to various sleeping solutions in compact pod-style rooms, a retired jet-turned-hostel, and even spaces in the airport terminal itself.

Airlines currently function in virtually the same procedures that have been in place for almost half a century. These old models of operation, which according to the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) are “based on 1960s technology”, have reached the end of their abilities to handle the kind of air traffic encountered now in the 21st century. This internal disability, combined with the recent downturn of the economy, rising costs of oil, and the ever-tightening budgets of consumers, have airlines taking a brutal hit. Some strategies to lower operation costs noticeably impacts the traveler. Checking in bags often costs a fee now, even for the first item. Unlimited free amenities like refreshments and drinks, once taken for granted, are now rare to find. Behind-the-scenes operations have changed as well to try to cover costs. According to JP Morgan, U.S. airlines will ground 512 airplanes by the end of this year, a number equivalent to the size of a small airline fleet. From an interview in The Wall Street Journal, a Continental spokesperson relays that “schedule reduction started with decisions about eliminating certain less-efficient aircraft from the fleet…then we looked at the profitability of routes, ending service where we did not see the prospect of making money in today’s environment” (McCartney). Statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation further show that the number of flights has decreased 2% from last year to this year-to-date (July 2008). That’s about one hundred thousand fewer flights so far, and there are still a couple of months left until the year’s end. Reducing flights carries some benefits for consumers by freeing up crowded terminals, shortening lines through the air travel process, and freeing up space in the air for planes to get to their destination, presumably with fewer delays. However, while cutting planes and flights seems like a logical way of cutting costs, the conditions of the current airline situation actually cause more problems than solve.

For instance, despite the fact that more flights are being grounded now than before, there are still more delays than ever before as well. Based on a statement released in May 2007 by the FAA, “the percentage of on-time arrivals at the nation’s busiest airports has steadily declined each year since 2002, when 82 percent of flights arrived on time at the 35 busiest airports” (Fact). Last year, the percent of on-time flights decreased to 73 percent. There are several causes of flight delays that are recognized by the Bureau of Transportation in their data: Air Carrier, National Aviation System, Weather, Late-Arriving Aircraft and Security. Extreme and non-extreme weather related delays are consistently about 70 percent of the total delays. When weather is the deterrent for a plane to fly, there is really nothing outside of Mother Nature’s control to prevent or combat the impending delay. However, the problem arises, especially in light of the current airline situation, in the fact that “the retrenchment has brought most airlines in the USA back to thin profitability…has created an industry that is running full tilt all the time and more vulnerable to breakdowns when faced with adversity”, as written in an article by Dan Reed in USA Today.

Keeping the airline industry’s breakdown vulnerability in mind, another pattern worth considering is the number of passengers increasing steadily through the years. In a speech given by Robert Sturgell at a forecast conference of the Federal Aviation Administration, “load factors remain high…they’ve gone through the roof in the last five years…that culminated in a record last year (2007), with 765 million passengers, or more than 2 million a day.” This number is expected to reach one billion by 2015 and forecasts indicate increases in demand doubling or tripling by 2025. Consequently, these record high passenger figures also hike up the percentage of seats filled on flights. Only a few years ago, one could expect to get on a plane and still have plenty of room to stretch around or switch seats with no question. Thinking about embarking on a plane now brings to mind uncomfortable and awkward situations of elbows from the neighboring passenger invading into the area of one’s own seat. For me, there is nothing worse than finally making it through the bureaucratic process to get to the correct seat, only to find it jammed between two passengers that have already claimed the armrests. Trying to move around the airplane for a better, unpopulated seat away from others is a difficult feat to accomplish. An analysis done by USA Today of U.S. Department of Transportation statistics reveals that “flights in the USA were more crowded than ever in 2007, running at 76% capacity compared with 60% 10 years earlier” (Frank). Though 76 percent seems capacity seems reasonable because it leaves almost a quarter of the seats open, these federal statistics only show an average of all flights at all times. It does not show the fact that most people fly during the day; likewise, most flights are almost at 100 percent capacity during the day.

The consequence? The combined circumstance of reducing operation costs, eliminating flights, and an increase of passengers and delays, means “all these packed planes create a huge problem when weather or other events cause airlines to go off schedule. There simply aren’t enough readily available seats to accommodate all the displaced travelers” (Reed). When travelers with layovers miss their next flight due to a previous delay, the probability of there being an available seat on the next plane is slim, much less even another available flight altogether. Thus, when there is an unexpected emergency such as the February 2007 ice storm in New York City, hundreds of travelers can get stuck in the dreaded airport limbo.

What can travelers do when encountered with this situation? Airline companies will only take care of problems if they are troubles within the airline’s control. Otherwise, travelers must fend for themselves. While airlines usually do not pay for meals or hotels, many will help by giving discounts. However, according to an article on flight delays in The Wall Street Journal, “carriers don’t offer specifics in their ‘Contract of Carriage’ documents—the rules that govern air tickets. And a few said they were unwilling to discuss specifics of their policies.” In the same article, an e-mail from a JetBlue Airways Corp. spokesman states that “[JetBlue] leaders determine appropriate voucher amounts and accommodation based on the circumstances to meet our customers’ need in each unique situation…in order that customer expectations not be misguided we prefer not to disclose possible voucher amounts or hotel specifics” (McCartney). Because of this “play by ear” method that most airlines adopt, stranded passengers are more often than not forced to find their own solutions for food and rest, which is an unwanted hassle in an already high-stress environment.

Many businessmen and entrepreneurs have caught on to the needs of these mobile traveling consumers. Since displaced passengers desire places for peace and rest, the hospitality industry has found a profitable segment to tap into in airports all around the world. The global placement of traditional and innovative sleep solutions relates to the millions of international travelers suffering from jet lag and disorientation when traveling frequently between different time zones. Designers and entrepreneurs have devised various methods of bringing comfort to the weary traveler.

First came traditional airport hotels, which developed out of several reasons: people with transfers that require overnight or day accommodation, aircrew and staff accommodation, and convenient meeting places for conference facilities (Lawson). The luxury hotels that have sprung up in airports are a huge business opportunity. ForbesTraveler.com notes that this trend is fueled by the wish to make money off of the “high occupancy and good rate achieved at airport hotels…the occupancy rate for airport hotels in 2007 was 71.4%...a very healthy rate when compared to non-airport hotels, where it’s 65.1%” (Heydari). With amenities that range from a simple bed and bathroom to a spa, swimming pool, and world-class restaurants, airport hotels may well seem like an oasis in the midst of the hectic and sterile airport experience. Many are even contracted and designed by famous architects. Certain well-designed hotels that come to mind are the Kempinski in Munich, “the first luxury hotel at any European airport” as claimed by its general manager, Holger Schroth. Helmut Jahn, a Chicago-based architect, did the futuristic steel-and-glass design. Another luxury hotel recently made its debut at Dallas-Fort Worth International. The new Grant Hyatt is “integrated into DFW’s equally new $1.4 billion Terminal D: a sprawling two million-square-foot structure that brings a touch of European élan to the world’s third busiest getaway” (Heydari). Kempinski Hotel Airport, Munich
Grand Hyatt Hotel, Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport

Though glamorous in their own rights, these ritzy getaways might be a little overwhelming for the average traveler or the frugal businessman. For someone who wants a quick nap or brief escape from the terminal environment, a new alternative comes in pod form, an idea adapted from Japanese pod hotels in the late 20th century. Designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, the Capsule Inn Osaka opened in 1977 and was the first pod hotel, “with more than a passing resemblance to the drawers in a morgue…a weird but nifty addition to Japan’s space-starved cityscapes” (Buhrstein).view of sleeping compartments in a pod-style hotel in Japan

Originally designed for businessmen in transit, the pod idea easily conforms to the similar airport transit setting. Several companies have realized and adapted this concept. In Vancouver, MetroNaps opened in 2004, and installed several pod spaces in the middle of the airport to give travelers space for rest. Each pod consists of a giant bulbous fiberglass helmet over the top of a contoured chaise lounge. Once the helmet is secured, music is played in the sphere.
MetroNaps pod for rest

The most recent modification of the original pod system was accomplished by Simon Woodroffe, the CEO of the company that owns Yotel!. He envisioned an adapted version of the old Japanese hotel and created the futuristic pod-style hotels that currently exist in Gatwick and Heathrow airports in London. At Yotel, one can choose to stay any amount of time from the minimum of four hours and longer. Because it only takes “30 minutes to clean and ready a room for the next guest, compared with two to three hours at a typical hotel…daily occupancy runs between 150% to 180% since rooms can turn over more than once a day” (Jackson). This is an extraordinary figure that can boost profit margins considerably. Despite their small sizes that can measure as little as 65 square feet, airport pod hotels around the world are not without their amenities. Some offer gourmet room service, private bathrooms, “42-inch plasma TVs, heated bathroom mirrors that don’t fog, and Phillipe Starck designed décor” (Jackson). These economical but trendy capsule rooms match the discount airline trend of low frills and low cost. They save on costs by not needing as much labor to provide extra services, and in fact, there are “as few as one full-time employee for every 12 rooms at a pod hotel, compared with an employee for every two rooms in a typical budget hotel” (Jackson). As a cost-effective way of providing a place to rest, the space-saving pod-hotels also save on the amount of real estate on airport properties, an attribute most likely welcomed by airport architects, dollar-conscious CEOs, and environmentally conscious consumers.rooms in a Yotel pod-hotel

The newest variation on the small-room, low cost room idea will open for its first booking in Sweden at the Stockholm-Arlanda Airport this upcoming December. This innovative hostel is not only on the airport property, but is completely reconstructed from the interior of “a worn out jumbo jet of the model 747-200 built in 1976” (Histories). Named Jumbo Hostel, the idea is simply to have the same basic attributes of a hostel that can be found in similar large cities in Europe. Owner Oscar Dios, who also operates the Uppsala Vandrarhem och Hotell hostel, jumped at the opportunity in 2006 to buy and redo the old jet in order to take advantage of the two-for-one deal of saving on the cost of airport property and construction costs. Viewing the new budget living proposal as a landmark to stand at the entrance of the airport, authorities at Arlanda agreed to let the jet remain on the property. 450 seats were taken out to put in 25 rooms with three bunk beds each. Larger rooms such as the redesigned cockpit suite have its own bathroom. The entire plane works within Swedish building, climate, environmental, and energy regulations.
views of Jumbo Hostel, exterior and proposed interior

Although these airport options are soon to be or are already available for stranded travelers to choose, the majority of airports are still unable to provide sufficient places of rest. Sometimes the passenger must simply make do with what they are presented at the airport where they are stranded. Donna McSherry is a Canadian that understands the concerns of budget travelers. Her website www.sleepinginairports.com is a guide for people who are money conscious and travel weary. When the site was first launched in 1996, there were a measly three reviews. At the time of the last update on July 19, 2008, there were counted more than 5500 reviews of not only airports, but buses and trains as well (About). Airports, however, are the specialty of this site, and “Sleeper Scores” are assigned to each of the reviewed destinations, along with first-hand quotes and lists of amenities. Singapore Changi currently ranks as the best airport to sleep in, with Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport ranked as the most hated. With amusing illustrations rather than actual pictures (the only thing that’s lacking on this site), the entire idea seems quite comical. Yet, the public response to this helpful guide is positive, and even major publications (New York Times, Time Magazine, etc) as well as the Frommer’s guide books approve.
Singapore Changi Airport's new terminal 3

The current situation of the airline industry may seem grim in light of the fluctuating economy and the quickly increasing numbers and needs of businesspeople and leisure travelers. Delays and passenger load capacities are at an all-time high. In the event of an air traffic emergency, whether due to uncontrollable or controllable occurrences, hundreds to thousands of passengers can be stranded at the gloomy limbo phase that is the layover terminal. Because it is essential for consumers to be comforted in times of high stress, several solutions have been devised to allow displaced travelers a place to rest. After examining options such as traditional airport hotels, pod-hotels, hostel jets, and the making-do-with-what’s-there tactic, there cannot be a consensus on the best option unless more factors are considered for each unique situation. Which airports are most in need of affordable housing options for travelers, and which can actually afford to construct one that will entice travelers to want to enter and enjoy? For some venues, the super sophisticated luxury hotel is the best option, while for others, a more affordable capsule room-by-the-hour will do the trick. Regardless of how travelers are getting more affordable ways of waiting out a flight, the important thing is that some designers and innovators recognize the context of the airline industry in our mobile world today and are addressing the problems that derive from it. How airline traveler accommodation will further improve in the future is yet to be seen, but there will certainly be developments as long as there is still the draw of producer and consumer benefits in this highly profitable airport hospitality industry.

Works Cited

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Heydari, Farhad. "World's Best Airport Hotels." Forbes Traveler. http://www.forbestraveler.com/resorts-hotels/best-airport-hotels-story.html (accessed October 13, 2008).

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Jackson, Candace. "A Pod of One's Own." Wall Street Journal, April 12, 2008.
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"July 2008 Airline Traffic Data." Bureau of Transportation Statistics. http://www.bts.gov/
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McCartney, Scott. "Canceled Flight? Your Inn Trouble." Wall Street Journal, April 2008.
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McCartney, Scott. "The Middle Seat: A Downside of Cheap Fares: Flight Cuts --- Routes Vanish In Low-Fare Cities;Grounding 737s." Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2008. http://www.djreprints.com/link/DJRFactiva.html?FACTIVA=wjco20080930000027 (accessed October 16, 2008).

McSherry, Donna. “About This Site.” The Guide to Sleeping in Airports. http://sleepinginairports.com/about.htm (accessed November 1, 2008).

Reed, Dan. "Airlines Stretched So Thin that One Piece Out of Place..." USA Today, March 14, 2008,national edition. http://ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/
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Sturgell, Robert A. "Growth Ahead, But There's a But." Speech, Forecast Conference, Washington,D.C., March 10, 2008. Federal Aviation Administration. http://www.faa.gov/news/speeches/news_story.cfm?newsId=10185 (accessed November 1, 2008).

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Airport Noise and What Has Been Done to Abate It

2008-11-10T03:35:00.011-06:00

With the promise of travel to a new destination in a number of hours, airports are a very popular place. Whether for pleasure or business, passengers come to airports with the trust that the airports will help them get them to where they want to go. With so many people in one place and the nature of multiple loud planes, the airport can be a very noisy place. When it comes to public places, noise can be considered “unwanted sound” (Berendt 1). Noise can invade our “privacy and [disrupt] the enjoyment and full use of our surroundings” (Berendt 1).

Over exposure to noise can have many negative effects on people, one of which is hearing loss. “According to the U.S. Public Health Service” noise exposure is the cause of hearing loss in “10 million of the estimated 21 million Americans” who have hearing impairments (Suter 14).
Noise is “a nonspecific biological stressor, eliciting a response that prepares the body for action.” Noise does a lot more than just annoy a passenger who wants some peace and quiet before their flight; noise can “influence perceptual, motor, and cognitive behavior, and also trigger glandular, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal changes by means of the autonomic nervous system” (Suter 24-25). Noise can increase “susceptibility to disease and infection” (Noise 3). It can be especially dangerous to those that already are “ill in mind or body” because they are “more susceptible... [to] heart problems and other diseases,” while it could only cause annoyance and irritability in other people (Noise 3). To avoid negatively affecting people’s health, it is important that in the planning of large buildings that are going to accommodate large crowds, like airports, the designers take into consideration what can be done to diminish unwanted sound. There are many factors for designers to account for that contribute to the noisy atmosphere in airports, such as the size of the building, materials used on the interior, flight announcements, crowds of people, and the aircraft engines.

Austin Bergstrom Airport (ABIA), an airport with only 25 gates, accommodated nearly 8.9 million travelers in 2007 (“Austin-Bergstrom”). A smaller airport, Des Moines International Airport (DSM), “enplaned 992,000 passengers” in 2007 (Erickson). A larger airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), had nearly 48 million passengers travel through its terminals (“Facts”). With hundreds of people passing through the halls of an airport at one time, it is likely to get loud. People talking to each other or on their cell phones adds the element of conversation into the mix of noise.

Many airports use beeping carts to help transport elderly and disabled passengers to where they need to go. According to business class traveler Ken Walker, the carts are a good idea for airports like Minneapolis where the gate furthest away from the ticketing counters is over [half of a] mile away” (Walker). However, Walker explains that the cart drivers depend on tips, so they yell ‘excuse me’ while rushing “through the airport in pursuit of a fare,” without consideration of people’s “bags, toes or hips” (Walker). The beeping of the carts combined with the drivers’ yelling adds a lot to the discordant noise in the air. Austin Bergstrom is particularly proud of not having these electric carts . ABIA instead has personal helpers that come to assist passengers that need it and have previously submitted a request. The absence of these carts distinguishes ABIA as being quieter than those airports that have the beeping carts driving through their terminals (Coldwell).

Music played in airports is another contributing dynamic. Unique to the Austin airport, a new CD is made each week featuring only local artists. The CD is only played in certain areas. It is not played in the loading lounges in order to give passengers a break from that particular stimuli before they board their plane (Coldwell).

The constant announcements that are required to be played over the loudspeakers are another factor of noise in the airport. There are announcements warning travelers about airport safety measures, e.g. to not leave belongings unattended or if you see any belongings unattended to report it. The Federation Aviation Administration requires these announcements to ensure the safety of all those in the airport. Also, each gate has its own announcements about the loading process to the planes. These announcements are imperative to ensure that travelers get on the right plane at the right time in an orderly fashion.

To help eliminate confusion and more unwanted sound, each gate in an airport makes announcements that are localized to their respective loading area. At the JFK airport, the “the latest technology in loudspeaker design, the ‘phase array’ loudspeaker” is used to minimize the “requirements for acoustic treatment within the station architecture by using highly directional [optimized] loudspeakers” (“Airports”). Also, ABIA employees are encouraged not to shout or yell, but rather use radios to communicate with one another (Coldwell). All of these are efforts to abide by the regulations, but still work to lessen the noise in the air.

The design of airport structures is also a big aspect in how airports can engender much unwanted sound. In ABIA for example, the ceilings are very high and have exposed metal rafters. When noticing the metal rafters, tile floors and large glass windows, it would seem these materials would act as agents for noise to bounce off of; however ABIA architect Larry Speck and his team of designers took a lot of extra steps to help fight this from happening. The metal in the ceiling is in fact perforated, which is acoustically absorbent (Speck). Speck and his team also avoided the problem of rolling luggage strolling boisterously on tile floor by using a different technique for the flooring of the high-traffic areas, like the security stations, halls and baggage claim. They decided on terrazzo flooring because of its smooth texture (Speck). Terrazzo is “a flooring material of marble or stone chips set in mortar and polished when dry” (“Terrazzo”). With this type of flooring, rolling luggage can cruise easily through the airport without making continuous banging noises.

Most airports also use carpet as another sound absorbing material. Tile and terrazzo floors can allow sounds to reverberate; however, carpet “helps to attenuate noise in the departure lounge, which may stem from aircraft taking off on nearby runways” (Edwards 132). Carpet is used in the holding areas and the ticket counter areas, where the wear and tear is not too much for carpet (Coldwell).

Matt Coldwell, ABIA Art and Exhibit Coordinator, points out that the most important thing for keeping the inside of the airport quiet “is the sound proofing of the terminal from the outside noise generated from aircraft engines.” He explains that the windows at Austin Bergstrom are “dual paneled, gas filled” glass which drastically reduces the noise coming from outside (Coldwell). On a tour of ABIA, Coldwell pointed out that there are jute panels along the walls that serve to attract sound from the hustle and bustle inside the airport. Instead of the sound from people, music, announcements, planes, etc., bouncing back off the walls into the mix, the jute sucks up the sound particles and helps to reduce the noise.

Not only do airports have architectural aspects that serve to abate unwanted sound, but many also offer special quiet rooms for passengers to escape to. “Austin Bergstrom does not have a meditation room, but they do have Admiral & President Clubs” which “provide a quieter area for those who have membership” (Coldwell). “The American Airlines Admirals Club is an exclusive area” that allows members to get “away from the noise and semi-chaos of the airport” (Miner). Airports that have meditation rooms include Jacksonville and Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Albuquerque, NM, and Newark, NJ. These rooms are “warm and welcoming to those in need of meditation and reflection” (“Meditation”). For those that are easily overwhelmed by a lot of noise and stimulus, these quiet places are a good escape to be able to stay calm.

When airports were first built, not much consideration was given to reducing noise inside the buildings. As aviation increased, and airports became more popular, noise became more of an issue inside of the buildings. Nowadays people are more knowledgeable of the negative effects of noise and do more to avoid it. Airports care about the comfort of their travelers and do a lot to make sure they are comfortable. This includes fighting off unwanted sounds. Planes, the primary source of airport noise, are the reason airports are visited in the first place; thus, airports are noisy. Most noise in airports is “simply unavoidable” but with the help of good design and engineering, loud noise can be combated (Coldwell). Quieter plane engines have been engineered, however, they are still extremely loud. The growing market of sound absorbent materials has helped to allow airports be bearable places. Hopefully in the future there will be even less noise in airports with the help of designers and new products and idea to continue to abate unwanted sound.

Bibliography

“Airports.” ArupAcoustics. www.arup.com/_assets/_download/download547.pdf

“Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) News.” Austin City Connection. 28 January 2008. http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/austinairport/actov_dec07.htm

Berendt, Raymond D. Quieting. The Minerva Group, Inc., 2000.

Coldwell, Matt. Personal interview. 07 November 2008.

Edwards, Brian. The Modern Airport Terminal: New Approaches to Airport Architecture. Taylor & Francis. 2005.

Erickson, Jim. “A New Era for the DSM International Airport Board.” Des Moines International Airport Year in Review. 2008. http://www.dsmairport.com/PDF/DSM Annual 07-08L.pdf

“Facts and Information.” The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey- Kennedy Airport.
http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/airports/html/ken_facts.html

“Meditation Room.” Albuquerque Official City Website. http://www.cabq.gov/airport /sunport-information/chaplaincy- program/meditation-rooms

Miner, Jennifer. “American Airlines Admirals Club: The Lounge Brings Luxury Back to Airports for Aadvantage Flyers.” Suite101.com Media Inc. 09 August 2007. http://luxuryresorttravel.suite101.com/article.cfm/american_airlines_admirals_club

“Noise: A Health Problem.” United States Environmental Protection Agency. August 1978.
http://www.nonoise.org/library/epahlth/epahlth.htm#introduction

Speck, Larry. Personal interview. 07 October 2008. 

Suter, Alice H. “Noise and Its Effects.” Administrative Conference of the United States. November 1991. http://www.nonoise.org/library/suter/suter.htm#effects

"Terrazzo." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 09 Nov. 2008. http://dictionary.reference.com /browse /terrazzo

Walker, Ken. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Airport Electric Carts.” AllBusiness.com, Inc. 02 June 2008. http://www.allbusiness.com/travel-hospitality-tourism/lodging/10206941-1.html

Unequal Access for Visually Impaired Travelers

2008-11-10T01:25:00.009-06:00

From baggage check-in to boarding and deplaning, the experience of traveling by air is never an easy task. A traveler encounters exhaustive security procedures, problems with gate location—due to poor signage and overcrowded passageways— and is deluged with mass advertising and airline announcements as he or she makes his or her way through an airport terminal. According to Rudolph Brynn, “It is estimated that about 20% of the population faces barriers in using public transport…blind and visually impaired people face particular barriers in the field of transport that is often connected to access to information as well as access to infrastructure and the various means of transport themselves.” Although legislative bills have been passed concerning discrimination against disabled travelers, there is still a substantial lack of accessible navigational information and inconsistencies in services provided by airlines and airports, to assist the needs of visually impaired passengers when traveling by air.

In the August 19, 2007 issue of The Sunday Times, the headline read, “My mother is 84 and blind and was left for long periods with no information at two airports.” According to the London newspaper, the elderly woman was traveling between Gatwick and Manchester; her departing flights were both delayed on her roundtrip voyage. Assistance was provided to aid her through security and gate location. Her daughter, Angela Clough, states that her mother cannot read signs or screens and has trouble hearing announcements read over the intercom. She continues, “Both times, assistance left her for long periods with no information…when staff did appear, they did not introduce themselves to her; instead, she was pushed around like a piece of luggage, with no explanation. She felt vulnerable, tearful, and panicky. This is unacceptable.”
According to the Air Carrier Access Act, it is illegal for any airline to discriminate against travelers with disabilities. It requires airlines to be at the service of passengers with special needs, including providing “assistance with boarding, deplaning, and making connections,” as long as the traveler notifies his/her airline 48 hours in advance.

Although training is required for all respective airline staff that deal with special needs travelers (ACAA), when a spokesman for The Daily Telegraph anonymously called First Choice, Thomas, Thomas Cook, and Airtours concerning assistance for travelers with disabilities, he found customer service staff to be inadequately informed. “First Choice was the only exception,” states the spokesman, “none of these tour operators guaranteed to meet any disability requirements, meaning that all you can do is book and hope for the best.” The Air Carrier Access Act was passed in 1990, however, the two previous cases both occurred in 2007.

In another instance, Charles Starmer-Smith, a reporter for The Daily Telegraph, references a study done by Which? report on how Heathrow, Glasgow, Manchester, Gatwick, and Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster were the only five airports which allowed guide dogs to travel with special needs passengers on international flights. Although some airlines have their own guidelines on allowing or refusing the travel of pets on flights, The Air Carrier Access Act requires airlines to accept guide dogs on board any flight to accompany visually impaired passengers. This is because guide dogs are considered service animals, not pets.
These inconsistencies are certainly not specific to airline assistance, they are found in other areas concerning unequal access to information concerning navigation within airports, such as poor placement of Braille signs, dull color schemes—making various areas of airport terminals hard to distinguish—and various kiosks and display screens that are illegible to people with different levels of vision impairment.

An interview with Hope Lenaburg, a stylist at Regis Salon in Barton Creek Square Mall, revealed problems with wayfinding signage at Philadelphia International Airport in Pennsylvania. “My visually impaired friend and I arrived in Philadelphia. As I guided her towards the elevators, I looked up at the sign above our heads and noticed something was wrong. I couldn’t figure it out at first, but then it hit me; there was Braille at the bottom of the sign that was located seven feet off the ground!”

At the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand, there are hardly any Braille signs near elevators. “‘Many signs have sharp edges which are a hazard to the visually impaired, and interior colour schemes are mostly monotone, making it difficult for a person with poor eyesight to navigate…’ said Topong, who is suing the AOT (Airports of Thailand) and former prime minister Thasksin Shinawatra, along with a few others, at the Administrative Court for failing to provide necessary access to the disabled as required by law.” (The Nation)

An interview with Diana Doan, a visually impaired University of Texas student, revealed how she has gotten lost at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Hobby Airport, and Austin Bergstrom International Airport numerous times when she has traveled independently. “It would be easier to navigate if there were different colors at different gates and terminals. I can usually just read the gates numbers; however, each airline name is harder to read. If they could enlarge each individual image, it would be nice.” In Rudolph Brynn’s paper, “Blind and partially sighted people and transport — some important issues,” he mentions how there are many problems at airports with the placement of monitors and the size of text on screens that make retrieving information very difficult. This is reinforced by Diana’s comment oh how it is difficult to know when flights are delayed due to the small size of the television screens. Although she complains about airport infrastructure, Diana mentions, “At every airport I can always find someone to help me when I have questions about directions or flight information. I can always find my way, because there is someone who is nice enough to help. I just have to be brave and ask.”

Visually impaired passengers do not want to struggle to receive information that is easily accessible to every other traveler. In response, there are numerous attempts to provide visually impaired travelers with technology to aid independent navigation in airports. For example, students at Texas A&M University have begun a project using Radio Frequency Identification Systems (RFIDS). The network system will include “reduced function nodes (RFID tags), active nodes (Zigbee transceivers) and user-friendly device (RFID/Zigbee compatible dual-mode transceiver).” This network will provide visually impaired travelers with automated, up-to-date information such as flight delays or sudden gate changes.

In “Holding Patterns,” Peter Hall conducted an interview with Paul Milkensaar about a GPS, wireless wayfinding system to aid with navigation at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. With help from a student attending Delft University, Bueau Mijksenaar design firm decided to use a WiFi technology application to be used on passengers’ cell phones. If a traveler needs to find a restroom that is close by, he or she would simply speak into the phone’s receiver and say, “‘Show me a restroom within three minutes’ walking distance.’” The screen would then show that person a map with their location and an “animated line” leading towards the requested destination would appear. Other application features would include flight departure information, numerous language choices, and audio directions—specifically for visually impaired passengers.

A similar solution is a GPS system called Mobic, which is being developed at the University of Birmingham. The system is in the form of a wristband, which includes a GPS locator, a keypad, and a speech synthesizer. Once a destination is typed in, the GPS system calculates the most suitable path for travel and then verbalizes directions to the passenger through an earphone. Through the use of “landmarks,” the GPS system will make announcements relative to the person’s location.

Another navigational design innovation for visually impaired travelers is a three-dimensional wayfinding system called “haptic maps.” Researchers at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece have created a system that takes video footage of a virtual space and translates it into a map constructed of a sequence of points. Pressure is then applied to the traveler’s fingers by a glove and wand designed to read the “virtual space points.” It is also accompanied by audio cues to allow for a better understanding of the traveler’s surroundings.

Most of these technologies are still under development and would take quite some time before they can actually be incorporated in current airport infrastructures. In the mean time, however, airports can fix a majority of their navigational problems by implementing a few simple guidelines concerning interior color schemes, and the accessibility and legibility of signs to make navigation for visually impaired travelers easier. The Ministry of Community and Social Services has an “Office Accessibility Checklist” that is used as a reference to make sure businesses facilities adequately accommodate visually impaired customers. These five simple guidelines can too be applied to airport environments:

1.) Design spaces so that walls, floors, doors, and furniture are high in colour contrast.

2.) Avoid floor patterns that are visually confusing.

3.) Any television set displaying information for the public should be captioned.

4.) Signs should be clear (easy to see and understand); concise (simple, short and to the point); and consistent (signs meaning
the same thing should always appear the same and be consistently located).

5.) Signs should have a clear typeface and contrasted from the background, such as light coloured, characters/symbols on a dark background, or dark coloured characters/symbols on a light background.

When a visually impaired passenger arrives at an airport, he or she is met with a wheelchair instead of being provided the necessary travel information to make his or her own navigation independently. Navigational and flight information should be equally accessible to visually impaired travelers—whether through verbal assistance, Braille, or other mediums—at all times, in all airports. These inconsistencies must be addressed in order to make air travel for visually impaired passengers easier, more enjoyable, and more independent.

Sources:

Air Carrier Access Act, 1990.
http://www.disabilitytravel.com/airlines/air_carrier_act.htm

Brynn, Rudolph. “Blind and partially sighted people and transport—some important issues.” August 08, 2006. http://www.dok.no/blind-and-partially-sighted-people-and-transport-some-important-issues-.344720-50923.html

Clough, Angela. “My mother is 84 and blind and was left for long periods with no
information at two airports.” The Sunday Times. London. August 19, 2007. Features. Travel. Pg. 11.

Doan, Diana. Personal Interview. November 09, 2008.

“GPS will guide the blind.” University of Birmingham. Popular Mechanics. August 1997. Vol. 174. Issue 8. Pg. 18.

Hall, Peter. Mijksenaar, Paul. “Holding Patterns.” Else/Where: Mapping. Minneapolis. 2004.

Harris, William. “How Haptic Technology Works.” How Stuff Works. http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/haptic-technology4.htm

Lenaburg, Hope. Personal Interview. November 5, 2008.

“Quick Reference Guide to Accessible Constituency, Riding Association,  Central Party and Campaign Offices. Office Accessibility Checklist” Ministry of Community and Social Services. Accessibilities for Ontarians with Disabilities.
http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/mcss/english/pillars/accessibilityOntario/planning/accessible/3_checklist.htm

Quilty-Harper, Conrad. “Tactile 3D maps could help blind people navigate.” Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Posted April 7, 2007. 5:15PM. Engadget. http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/07/tactile-3d-maps-could-help-blind-people-navigate/

Rojanaphruk, Pravit. “More toilets for disabled sought at new airport.” The Nation. Thailand. November 7, 2006.

Srinivasan, Rangakrishnan, Hussien Faisal A., Turker, Didem Z., Aslanzadeh. Hesam A., Mobarak, Mohamed, Cortes, Ferando P., Sánchez-Sinencio. Edgar. Design of an RFID / Zigbee Network for Blind Navigation. Texas A&M University. Summer 2004/ Fall 2005. http://amsc.tamu.edu/research/Research%20Summary/Rang2.pdf

Starmer-Smith, Charles. “Disabled travellers 'still get a raw deal' Which? report shows industry is not doing enough to help passengers with special needs, says Charles Starmer-Smith.” The Daily Telegraph. London. September 8, 2007. Travel. Pg. 4.

Airport Design for Passengers with Disabilities

2008-11-10T00:29:00.002-06:00

Airports are notorious for being disorienting and providing a sense of uncertainty to many passengers. For a person with a physical disability, airports can be quite an ordeal. Orientation of oneself in his or her surroundings, navigating through the space, and mobility within the space are three key aspects necessary to efficient transportation. A major airport design challenge is creating one system that efficiently provides the same information and travel accessibility for passengers with disabilities and for those without.

A study by Dada and Wirasinghe showed that the two biggest factors that slow wayfinding is the number of decision points and the number of level changes. The study also showed that people who are visually impaired tend to orient themselves every 40 meters instead of every 100 meters like a normal-sighted person. With 17 million passengers with disabilities flying each year (De Lollis), airports must take this into consideration when designing spaces such as long corridors or large, open rooms. Check-in and Information desks are of major importance for the disabled; therefore airports should make sure these locations are clear, visible, and easily accessible. For those who are partially blind, color and tonal contrasts are key visual aids. However, an efficient sign system does little good for the fully blind that must seek alternate wayfinding.

Another challenge for persons with disabilities in airports is getting the assistance they need, while negative attitudes from the airport staff seem to be an ongoing problem that makes this even more difficult. According to the US Department of Transportation, passengers filed 10,193 complaints in 2004 with US airlines, and two-thirds of these complaints were wheelchair-related (De Lollis). One common problem is long waits for help. Once an employee is there to assist, they might be uneducated on proper procedures or not know how to work the passenger’s equipment. People with disabilities have complained that the Sydney Airport forces them to walk long distances before being helped by a wheelchair, or must stand for long periods of time waiting for a wheelchair (Goldberg Bellevue Hill). This is a problem of both the assisting employee and of the airport design that failed to take this issue into account. It is also up to the passenger to find his or her own help. Travel agent Jerry Lyon remarked, “The only thing we can do is put in a note to the airlines if a passenger needs a wheelchair or is blind. The passenger must contact the airport separately if extra assistance is needed.”

The government has done some to help travelers with disabilities by enacting policies relating to the less able in airports. The Disability Discrimination Act in 1995 made it unlawful for airport employees to either refuse to serve a person with a disability for a reason that relates to their disability, to offer substandard service to a person with a disability, or to provide a service on different terms than those who do not have a disability. Adjustments to the act in 1999 included the provision of auxiliary aids to services. After five individuals with disabilities sued Northwest Airlines for not providing adequate assistance during their travels in 2008, a federal judge ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act does in fact apply to airports under the ADA’s definition for “places of public accommodation”, and the people were entitled to proper assistance by the airport staff (Compart, 3).

The Transportation Research Board did a study in 1990 to improve airport access for persons that are disabled or elderly. It resulted in five formal papers that addressed, “the market for airport services among people with disabilities; the policy and regulatory framework for making airports accessible to people with disabilities; the state of airport design, technology, and operational logistics with regard to disabled persons; and International experience and practice in airport access for disabled and elderly people.”

The European Union implemented three rules in 2007: equality of treatment of persons affected by reduced mobility, free assistance in all EU airports, and free assistance on board. In the Irish Independent, columnist Bernard Purcell stated, “Until now airports and, mainly but not exclusively, the low-cost airlines have argued between themselves as to who must provide the facility and who should pay the cost, sometimes resulting in legal action by passengers.” Since 2008, European regulations entitle people to compensation for damaged equipment (Corner), but these reparations are just a “Band-Aid” solution to the deficiencies of the design. The way an airport is designed could solve these problems before the damage occurs. For example, The Department of Transport has made certain requirements for airports in regards to air travel for the disabled. These include proper signage, appropriate distance of ticket issue from driver’s hand, close proximity of help points, and fully accessible transitions to taxis and buses. While these requirements are significant to the assistance of the disabled, they may be unnoticeable to those who do not have a disability.

The Transportation Security Administration also does its part to assist the disabled, but they are only concerned with checkpoints. The TSA website reads, “TSA officers are trained to provide whatever assistance they can to persons with hearing disabilities.” It does not state, however, how many TSA officers are trained to provide adequate assistance to persons with hearing disabilities. Perhaps all employees should go through at least some training before inevitably working with issues they may not understand or know how to handle. AirAsia has taken this into account and put into practice “Disability Equality Training” for its cabin crew and staff to “give them a better understanding of the needs of disabled passengers” (Mokhtar).
Another factor that must be considered in designing an airport is the need of service animals for certain passengers with disabilities. According to TSA, to relieve a service animal one must leave the building and then reenter through security for a second time. This inconvenience is unavoidable during long layovers or before long flights. A small outdoor area past security may be a simple solution to this issue.

Modern technology is also providing assistance to the disabled. One group working in the Computer Science Assistive Technology Laboratory at Utah State University has invented a system of robot-assisted wayfinding for the disabled in indoor environments. It works through mobile robotic guides and small passive RFID sensors embedded in the environment (Kulyukin). This system of wayfinding could eventually be useful in spaces as large as airports. A group from Tokai University in Kanagawa, Japan developed a navigation system in 2001 that uses optical beacons set on the ceiling. Using an infrared signal, a navigator guides the user with an artificial voice. It has been tested in hospitals, and could likely be useful in airports if improved upon (Magatani).

Gerald R. Ford International Airport and the Birmingham International Airport are applying the latest technology to assist those wearing hearing aids (Airport Announcements). The Induction Loop, or hearing loop, is a system that amplifies flight announcements directly into the passenger’s hearing aid using a special receiver. James Koslosky, the airport’s aeronautics director, said that “adding a hearing loop would be a natural move” since many people with hearing disabilities already use hearing aids. Birmingham International Airport has also introduced the “Deaf Alerter” system for the hearing impaired. The Alerter is a hand-held device that is permanently connected to the airport’s fire alarm system. In the case of an emergency, the Alerter will vibrate and flash until the person holding it is outside of the building. BIA also uses a vibrating pager system for the hard of hearing to notify passengers when their escort is ready to take them from the special assistance area (Examples of Good Practice).

Each airline has its own way of tending to the needs of disabled passengers — some methods being more useful than others. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are two airlines that are doing their best to fulfill the needs of travelers with hearing disabilities. “Not only do they provide a textphone number and aircraft induction loops, they can also provide subtitled entertainment videos and cabin crew with sign language skills” (Starmer-Smith). AirAsia has implemented the use of an ambulift, which is a device that allows passengers with disabilities to be transported directly from the ground to the aircraft and vice versa (Mokhtar). This avoids accidents caused by the passenger being carried onto the aircraft by an employee who may or may not know the proper handling procedures. Some airlines provide information in Braille or large print, but many airlines including American Airlines and Ryanair do not. It is therefore up to the passenger to figure out which airline is most likely capable of meeting their needs.

Looking beyond assisting the disabled with just technological devices, some airports are using the concept of universal design to improve wayfinding for passengers with disabilities, passengers without disabilities, and everyone in between. The Sendai International Airport in Japan completed the construction of a new terminal in 2007. The Universal Design Promotion Committee was established to gather information and opinions to “achieve a continuous barrier free state between the railway station and the airport terminal” (Ichiro). It was built with human-friendly architecture in mind. This includes a hierarchical structure, traffic line separations, easy wheelchair traffic, bright and clear space, and good visibility throughout. Universal design is meant to be intuitive and provide equitable use for all. The Newcastle Airport has also taken this concept into account, providing wider access paths and ramps, low telephones and information desks, and revolving doors that can be slowed for wheelchair users throughout the airport (Disabled Facilities).

The airport system in regards to passengers with disabilities is complicated and broken up into many parts that all hold different responsibilities. Government programs, policies, airlines, airline and airport employees, passengers, and technology all play roles in a traveler’s experience. An airport that is efficient and accessible for passengers that are able and disabled alike is an ongoing design challenge. Although intuitive design and innovative technology are workable solutions, there is still much to come for improving wayfinding, accessibility, and the overall travel experience in airports for the disabled.

Works Cited:

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Purcell, Bernard. “Ban on airports and carriers charging disabled for help.” Irish Independent 26 July 2007. 9 Nov. 2008 < http://www.independent.ie/national-news/ban-on-airports-and-carriers-charging-disabled-for-help-1044154.html>.

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