In 2017, The City of Hamilton's volunteer initiative consulted with my group on rebranding efforts and wanted to create a new brochure that appealed to the community. Each of us worked on our own projects individually. At the end, we presented our findings and recommendations to the client.

During the debrief, a few volunteers came in and provided some insight into what the group did, as well as the hopes they had for the project. We were given branding materials including the current brochure they had, which has been summarized below:

Before creating a new brochure, I reimagined the style guide, paying close attention to text legibility and color choice. I also made a new iteration of the logo in the spirit of the organization, which is to unite the 17 neighborhoods within Hamilton. The new logo is a simplified map of the city, an abstract "7" in "17".

In the meantime, I reached out to a few Hamilton residents I knew to test the current brochure. Though randomized testing across a broad demographic would have been ideal, I was limited by time and resource. I created an Informed Consent waiver detailing the usability research process, scope of use, and risks/confidentiality/eligibility pertaining to the study. The sessions were led mostly by participants. Near the end of each session, I asked them a few follow-up questions.

I led three usability testing sessions and recorded a few interesting findings:

- 2/3 felt a closer identity to the Ohio and the Midwest, rather than Hamilton

- 2/3 were unaware of the type of neighborhood they lived in.

- All participants had not heard of 17 Strong before. 

- 2/3 didn't understand the connection between the brochure's current elements

Based on usability feedback, I designed a new brochure that I hoped would better engage Hamilton residents.