Work
All content © 2008 Tom Futrell
Power Up: Live Solar
Power Up is a public awareness campaign that promotes solar energy and solar energy research. This project was developed for my MFA thesis.
The Problem
The capacity to harness renewable power must increase in order to address our looming energy crisis. In order to meet this goal, participation and support for renewable energy research/technology must advance.
The Approach
I began a broad survey of current energy campaigns to determine strengths and weaknesses, spending the first month of this project immersing myself in the world of renewable energy sources. This involved an intense period of design research. As my exploration progressed, I narrowed the focus to the needs of the American homeowner, that is, people who own a home and therefore have more of an opportunity to benefit from renewable energy. I determined that although current solar energy awareness was limited, it yielded the most potential growth and return.
In an effort to empathize with potential users, I decided to spend as much time understanding the solar energy market as possible. This included a collaboration with Liam Pingree, a Ph.D researcher with the University of Washington’s Ginger Group to determine the most up to date passive solar technology. Although initial cost is the biggest obstacle to overcome, research also showed that most people felt they did not understand how solar energy worked and that the technology was unapproachable.
As the basis of the project formed, I also researched themes of human behavior, persuasion theories, as well as innovative strategies in branding and advertising.
Solution
Because it is important to generate public support for solar power and educate the general public, especially the science apathetic public, about the value of scientific research and development, my solution consisted of developing an educational campaign. Power Up: Live Solar is aimed at the average American homeowner illustrating the need for, economic importance of, and the benefits of funding solar energy research.
The campaign included branding personal solar charging products, for example the messenger bag, as a gateway into larger passive solar systems. Other elements include posters, which provide scientific information through humor, Seattle Metro advertising, and wearable brand collateral. A web site was created to provide additional information regarding renewable energy and how the public can participate in research, events and purchase solar devices.
PowerUp Presentation (PDF 6.4Mb)
PowerUp Design Brief (PDF 60kb)
This project was funded, in part, by a National Science Foundation grant.
