V. Design Research

Overview of the material and concepts learned this month.

Connecting/Synthesizing/Transforming 

The place I selected was Little Haiti and it was a small area located where I currently live (Miami) and it wasn’t even that far. I would say less than 2 miles from where I currently live. When we were assigned to select a place branding location and research the location, I was a bit nervous because Little Haiti looks a bit branded due to the gentrification. 

I asked the interviewees a few questions about the place in general since they either live in the area or visited the area before. I asked what makes Little Haiti stands out from the rest of the other communities they’ve been in, and one of the interviewees said that the culture is what makes the location stands out. To go into detail, everybody knows everybody. To greet everyone is like an unspoken code and what makes the area so unique is that everyone wants to be helpful and lend a hand. So you can say the interaction with the residents of Little Haiti is warm and gracious. 

Two sisters hugging each other, having the time of their lives at the cultural center. Image obtained from Miami Herald.

Problem Solving

As stated in 3.4 Prep: Innovation through Differentiation in week 3’s Differentiation: “It is necessary to find the unique qualities inherent to your brand that are of worth to the target audience­–especially those they don’t themselves recognize–them champion those qualities in every aspect of the brand communications. (Argo, 2021). 

I think the biggest design problem that needed to be solved in the work was that although Little Haiti is one big rectangle, there are two sides that are split by a train track. There is a cultural difference on the northern and southern side of Little Haiti. On the northern side, you will see more houses, apartments and businesses (less culturally diverse). In order to solve this problem, I can either separate the community into two sides and choose one or the other to brand or find the cultural aspects of the northern side and add it to the branding of the southern side. Because there is a lot of history on the southern side, I have decided to brand that side since it is a stronger message to communicate. 

  • A Haitian restaurant in Little Haiti
  • Piman Bouk Bakery Mural
  • Little Haiti Caribbean Marketplace
  • Welcome to Little Haiti Mural
Southern sections of Little Haiti

Innovative Thinking

I say the process of research was different compared to others in the industry. Just like how the assignment was organized I started off with secondary research, then primary research. Other industries tend to start off with primary then secondary. According to Shannon McCrocklin, “Secondary research is usually where most research begins. This is because secondary research may provide a researcher with a basis of knowledge on what relevant information had already been compiled by other researchers in the past” (McCrocklin, 2018). I started conducting secondary research by finding information about the history of Little Haiti. The information from the secondary research led me to change my perception of the place (primary research) just a tad bit. Yes, I see the cultural aspects of the place, but there were issues that needs to be fixed right away. Therefore, you can see the differentiation between Little Haiti historically, and seeing the place for myself. 

Little Haiti Empathy Map

Acquiring Competencies

What did you learn overall throughout this process? Any new software? Techniques? Skills?

  1. Make connections. Utilize primary and secondary research for the brand and make connections from the two. (occupational, conceptual)
  2. The difference between art and design. Design is problem solving and art is a form of expression. (occupational, conceptual)
  3. Interview techniques. Interviewees are more likely to give you an in-depth answer when you create open-ended questions, and interview whoever lives in the affected area. (occupational, conceptual, technical). 
  4. Comparative analysis. Finding similarities and differences between two brands. (academic, conceptual)
  5. Brand differentiation. Differences between similar brands that makes them unique. (conceptual, academic)
  6. Quantitative research. Based on stats and factual numbers. (technical, occupational)
  7. Qualitative research. Observable insight. (technical, occupational)
  8. Primary research. Research that you collect yourself. (academic, technical, occupational)
  9. Secondary research. Research using existing data. (academic, technical, occupational)
  10. Brand equity. Composed of four dimensions: brand loyalty, awareness, associations, and perceived quality. (conceptual, occupational)
  11. Be proactive. Make it happen instead of waiting for them to happen to you.  (occupational, conceptual)
  12. Empathy map. A tool to identify and understand what is known about the target audience. (conceptual, occupational, technical)

References:

References:

Argo, B. (2021). Full Sail Online Login. Retrieved from https://online.fullsail.edu/class_sections/105576/activities/1896813

Martinez-Echeverria, M. (2020, July 31). All about Miami’s little Haiti and lemon city. Retrieved from https://www.miamiandbeaches.com/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/lemon-city-and-little-haiti

McCrocklin, S. (2018, October 4). Primary vs. Secondary research. Retrieved from https://www.geopoll.com/blog/primary-vs-secondary-research/

Viglucci, A. (2019, October 4). Little Haiti is up for grabs. Will gentrification trample its people and culture? Retrieved from https://repeatingislands.com/2019/10/03/little-haiti-is-up-for-grabs-will-gentrification-trample-its-people-and-culture/