Emotional Journey Maps

This week's reading from Ellen Lupton's Design is Storytelling (2017) was among the most intriguing we have done thus far, in part because I teach writing and literature courses. While her descriptions could apply to nearly any form of writing, much of Act II seemed very consistent with playwriting and scriptwriting. That made her descriptions very relatable to me. Before beginning this course, I had not made a clear connection between The Craft and Design Thinking, but now it makes a lot of sense. In fact, it makes so much sense that I am kind of palm slapping my forehead and saying, "Well, duh."

The problem I am exploring is common in the area immediate to where I live. It is a small city that has many business and schools. In moving about the city from day to day, I have noticed that there is a serious problem with parking spaces that are labeled as "Handicap Accessible," but too often, they are inadequate at best and unsafe at worst. I work with many people who require accommodations of various kinds, so this issue was one of which I was aware, yet it was not cognizant of truly how problematic this challenge is. Accordingly, I had not really thought much about how people feel when the encounter parking issues, especially when the "handicap accessible" parking spaces leave insufficient room for individuals to enter and exit their vehicles with a lift or ramp. Engaging in Lupton's emotional journey maps made the significance of this important problem much clearer. 

In my designs, I wanted to choose visuals that would communicate clearly and simply, so I opted for one design using color and another deploying emojis. I kept text as simple as I could because I wanted the color and emojis to convey most of the meaning. For now I am not convinced that I achieved my goal, but I can always revise, just as I do with writing. I welcome any feedback, observations, and ideas you may like to offer.