Project Brief
Problem:
Create resources that add awareness of the lack of feminine products available for homeless women.
Purpose:
Feminine products, although necessary, are rarely donated to homeless shelters leading to staining of the minimal clothing they have, unhygienic private parts, cervical cancer, and stealing. This issue is rarely talked about because these conversations are already taboo. There are a few people in different states that are trying to address this issue, but no laws have been made. As a designer, I would like to help these homeless women by creating awareness of this unspoken topic so that a long term difference could be made in these women’s lives.
Process
I started the process with ethnographic research by volunteering at the Martin de Porres House of Hospitality. I was able to be a fly on the wall within a place for homeless individuals to get a hot meal, welcoming place to relax, and have a roof over their heads.
Many people kept to themselves within the common area, however homeless women were not only outnumbered, but were always talked to without solicitation. You could see that within the community there were a few people with aggression and possibly some acquired mental health issues, however they still acted with dignity and respect. Although many of the people I saw had minimal belongings, it still looked as though it was a lot for them to carry. Once the house was starting to close, I saw many people gathering any food or drinks they could bring/hold on to with them.
I also interviewed experts who ran non-profits that help homeless women get access to feminine goods. They gave me great insight into how they began their mission and keep it going.
After creating a survey and posting it throughout social media, I found that although people rarely donated feminine products, 92% of people would be interested in donating them.
Inspiration
I was inspired by awareness campaigns that didn’t guilt people but instead encouraged and uplifted people on sensitive topics. Such as adoption campaigns by AdoptUSKids, Pedigree, and more. My goal was to educate people on a touchy subject without attacking them. I felt an interesting comparison to my campaign would be feminine product advertisements that people are used to seeing, however I wanted to add a twist to make it more compelling.
Style Guide
After all my research, I saw how easy it was for people to not be aware of the problem for homeless women and I began drafting ideas for posters to help create awareness for the issue.
Drafts
I formed the posters to look similar to feminine product advertisements but with a homeless woman as the main subject.
At the end of the campaign, I had the entire process documented through a booklet.
