“Make It A Straight Flush” Wastewater College Campaign 2022
Role
Visual Design
Duration
Feb - Mar 2022
Tools
Adobe Illustrator
Team
Solo
Design opportunity worked with Cascadia Consulting and SPU Facilities.
OVERVIEW
The "Make it a Straight Flush" campaign aims to reduce the amount of trash flushed down toilets in Seattle. Cascadia Consulting teams up with Seattle Public Utilities to educate residents and students about safe flushing practices, targeting universities and reducing sewage spills. As a design student, I collaborated with the campaign team. Baseline surveys are sent to students to evaluate the campaign's effectiveness.
Why It Matters: By raising awareness about flushing only toilet paper and avoiding flushable wipes, this campaign aims to prevent clogs and sewage spills, promoting a cleaner environment in Seattle's university areas.
PROBLEM
Disposable wipes, paper towels, and other products being flushed down the toilet are causing sewer clogs and backups at Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) pump stations, homes, and businesses, increasing the risk of sewer overflows into waterways and adds to SPU maintenance costs and risks.
GOAL
Educate college students about what is safe to flush down the toilet to reduce clog-related issues in pump stations regularly affected by backups. The campaign aims to change flushing behaviors and reduce the trash flushed down the toilet.
DESIGN OPPORTUNITY
How Might We create a posters campaign that effectively educates college students about the negative impacts of flushing wipes, and motivates them to dispose of them properly, while also being visually engaging and attention-grabbing?
Research Insights
DISCOVERY
Main Audience: University-area residents
Main Data:
52% of respondents in this group regularly use personal wet wipes
67% of respondents in this group use personal wet wipes for toilet use
35% of respondents in this group dispose of personal wet wipes in the toilet
Insights:
University-area residents are the audience with the highest potential impact in terms of changing flushing behavior
Participants expressed most effective messaging included issues that were deeply relevant for them, such as environmental impacts or real-time personal impacts.
Minimal text and visual cue enhance effective messaging evoke emotions while also informing the audience of why the problem is serious.
Research
Goal: gain valuable insights into the focus group's effectiveness and identify potential opportunities for improving future campaigns.
I analyzed final reports from UW and Seattle U by Cascadia Consulting, studying research methods, target audience insights, product usage, disposal behavior, awareness, and barriers to improve the design concept. I compared focus group messaging feedback to gauge the impact of previous campaign posters, aiming to enhance future campaigns.
