Syracuse University Bird Library

Promotion, campaign, group work

Background: Syracuse University Bird Library curates a rich cultural and scholarly record, creates a safe and welcoming environment that encourages intellectual exploration, and advances the University’s teaching, learning, and research mission ("Strategic Plan 2018-2022", 2018). The help desk is the center of questions, answers, solutions and services students, faculty, and public individuals seek the help desk for assistance when searching for reading material.

Problem: Due to the high request of books from those individuals the help desk becomes overbearing making it difficult for everyone to gain the assistance they need. From our research, we found the most problem for students is searching reading material without a title especially when they explore a new subject. However, there is an online research tool named "ResearchGuides" on library website has this function, almost on one knows.

Question: How might we let more people know about ResearchGuides?

Solution: Promotion, campaign.

Research Methods: Secondary Research, Online Survey (https://forms.gle/koGpJ9xkNows2nyF9), Focus Group, Interview, Pilot testing.

My role is to develop design proposal, design background wall, badge and slogan banner. I'm also in charge of contacting with Bird Library staff to push test moving forward.

Design Proposals

Plan 1:

As the mascot of Syracuse University, Otto is popular among students. So we plan to have a campaign about introducing ResearchGuides in the first floor of Bird Library. We hope a new-looked Otto will attract more students to join the campaign and promote ResearchGuides.

Pros: A campaign can catch a huge attention;

Cons: the campaign details need to be updated, such as campaign procedure, inviting expert to introduce how ResearchGuides works, etc; the campaign may cause a traffic jam in the library;

Mockup image of the campaign

Plan 2:

We plan to show all the subjects that listed on ResearchGuides, to inform students that they could use this tool to learn about a new subject by themselves.

Pros: It shows clearly how powerful the tool is; the decoration can attract attention;

Cons: It doesn't show the name of ResearchGuides which may cause confuse what this for;

Plan 3:

We plan to put wrapping posters on the columns on the first floor of the library, which will include the URL of ResearchGuides and its functionality.

Pros: an eye-catching wall decoration will attract students' attention; It shows clearly ResearchGuides's function;

Cons: the color of those column may relate to LGBT;

Final Design Intervention

Pilot testing video

The final plan includes campaign and visual promotion.

Campaign: We invited the REAL Otto to join our campaign test; We designed the background wall, which made by all the subjects listed on ResearchGuides to tell people what it provides; We made a huge magnified glass, held by Otto to attract students to take pictures, and post on social media platforms; We asked students to use ResearchGuides on our ipad to get to know how it works, then we sent a ResearchGuides badge to students as a gift;

Visual promotion: We kept the column idea but changed the colors into University colors, orange and blue.