new book - 2nd jessica abraham

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Prepared by Jessica N. Abraham for Shorty Produkshins, 2011.

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UPGRADING AWAAM: Campaign for Branding, Website Re-design and Social Implementation Prepared by Jessica N. Abraham for Shorty Produkshins, 2011.

“Living, breathing culture. AWAAM is art!”

UPGRADING AWAAM:Campaign for Rebranding,

Website Redesign & Social Implementation.

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INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW

REBRANDING

WEBSITEREDESIGN

SOCIAL IMPLEMENTATION

The following campaign has been prepared by Jessica Abraham of Shorty Produkshins on behalf of AWAAM’s current refocus on the organization and connection between brand and consumer. Currently, branding is actually creating confusion through lack of professionalism, standards and creativity.The web design is plain, boring and redundant. Social implementation is completely void from the site design. Research shows that these areas should be improved in order for consumers to become more loyal to the brand, support it and help AWAAM reach the goals set forth through the organization’s mission. This prepared project book gives insight as to why this should be considered and executed immediately, as well as how it would be implemented, where distribution will begin and what needs to be done.

The creation of this campaign began with a concept. The concept of the campaign focused around the Arab American woman artist. Whether the woman was Muslim or not, was considered Independent or Traditional, lived in an Arab American community or not, all Arab Women had one thing in common – oppression. The Arab American woman is no different than any other American. She has a dream and aspiration in life.

The problem with this woman is that she faces much adversity through diversity. The Arab American woman comes in many different nations of origin,shapes and skin colors, religions and belief systems. In order to become part of a sisterhood in the field of arts and media, she must join organizations group-ing her with others of her skin color, not her heritage. Her culture is to be em-braced. She wants support from her community. She wants to be empowered. She seeks support and would like to collaborate with others JUST LIKE HER! But, the same community that she embraces is the one that restricts her.

She is exotic, mysterious, cultured and traditional in value. Family means the world to her, but so does her passion. She wants to “embrace the drama within” her soul, while “painting the future” of her community. AWAAM is to bring this community together amongst “sisters” and create the ultimate “sisterhood” via social media and social networking.

Through the process of Research, the elements of AWAAMs new branding came into focus. Ideals are collected; the markets are measured. Values are understood. The groundwork is then laid.

Through planning, this campaign was made possible due to the researchcollected. Here, colors, textures, typography and imagery were selected based upon relationship to the appeal of the target market. These points were selected based on the premise that they would tell the story of the brand with few words and would capture the attention of the audiencein a positive way. It was through this stage that branding came about.

Also part of the creation period, branding evolved. Logos were explored,setting standards for icons and typography that would be used to iden-tify the brand. Additionally, a style guide was set up as a toolboxfor outside design teams to reference, as well as our own.

Next in the creation stage was sketchwork. These sketches and wire-frames were what molded the most important elements of the campaign.They acted as brainstorming tools, planning keys and more. These were studied in primary form and enhanced via color study.

The last stage has included execution and presentation of the final copy. Here, all branding, websites, landing pages, widgets and more can be found. Every-thing from the Print Ad to SEM has been finalized for use in an actual campaign.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS THE DESIGNER

Client BriefResearch Paper

SWOTBrand Attributes & Features

Target Audience & OtherTo Be Upraded

Creative Brief

RESEARCH:

DEVELOPMENT:

STYLE GUIDE:

FINAL DESIGNS:

91119232425

474954555657

62646668697071727374

272932373842

Design ResearchMoodboards

Website/WireframesVideo PSA Storyboards

Landing PagesPrint Ideas

Style GuideLogo Exploration

TypographyTexture

Color PaletteImagery Usafe

WebsitesSocial Arena

Social DesignsLanding Pages

Print/FlyersWidgets/Ads

Video PSAFinal Workds: Summary

ReferencesContact

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The campaign for rebranding, website redesign and social implementation has been planned, designed and presented by Jessica Abraham on behalf of Shorty Produkshins, an Online Promotions Company in Orlando, FL and Pittsburgh, PA. Shorty Produkshins focuses on the Internet Marketing strategies of Social Branding and Event Marketing. This often includes web and widget design, search engine optimization and the creation of a social presence that creates a strong bond between brand and consumer base.

Jessica Abraham has brought the essence of Shorty Produkshins to the forefront of this campaign in creating an experience consumers will genuinely love and the desire to support the AWAAM organization. For over ten years, Jessica Abraham has been involved in the Entertainment Industry and has been educated at a Master level in Entertainment Business, Internet Marketing and Media Design. She has worked with a variety of clients and has delivered to them premium service each time.

Jessica Abraham wanted to take part in such a campaign due to the desire to give back to her community – the Arab American world. As an Arab American woman and as an active participant in the industries of the arts and media, Jessica Abraham has been passionate about this project and sincerely understands that the process will be tedious but will be a great success. She understands the role of the Arab American woman in the United States and amongst the family in traditional and modern culture. This campaign is set to target these challenges and bring empowerment, encouragement and sisterhood to Arab American women artists around the nation.

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| RESEARCH RESEARCH |


OBJECTIVE:The objective of this campaign would be to create a brand for this organization, including color schemes, tagline, a new logo and correlating graphics. In addition to brand creation, a new website design will be proposed, including Social Media implementation, interactive features and mem-ber contributed content. “

The new design and branding will give this organization and adjacent website a more professional feel, bring awareness, hone community and loyalty amongst members, will combat bad press and rumors in the media, and will ensure support from contributors and competition.”

MESSAGING ISSUES & STRATEGY:This piece must be designed to include professional, but captivating and empowering messages to target markets that include Arab American women of ages 14 and older that are involved or would like to be involved in the arts and media industries. “Hitting the nerve” of the woman’s desire to join a sisterhood of Arab American women across the United States is key in this campaign. Many women just want to belong, while these women want to belong to a sisterhood of artists in their own ethnic com-munity. These messages will include copy related to the arts and media and contain dramatic undertones.

MEASURING DESIRED OUTCOME:- Donations and Contributions”- WebTraffic and Time Visited on the Site”- Back Linking”- Growing Support of NPOs and the Community”- Content Contributions and Members Active in the NPO”- Blogs, trends, reviews, etc., as related to Brand Monitoring.”- Inquiries for Collaboration”

DESIRED REACTION: - New members- New affiliates- Continued support- New and returning web traffic- Mass content contribution- Inquiries- Donations- Virility of message and action

TONE OF CAMPAIGN:- Feminine

- Artistic- Dramatic

- Empowering- Encouraging

- Supportive

BUDGET:- Monthly Fee of $49 for Social Server Fees.- $1000 Web and Social Design- $100 month for advertising (SEM and Affiliates)

DELIVERABLES & TIMELINE: - Branding for AWAAM in both digital and hard copy

formats.”

- Website Redesign implementing the new branding of AWAAM, Social Media and interactives”

- Collected works of a few newly recruited members for the pur-pose of providing content onto “the web platform”

The estimated time from the planning stage to finalization will take approximately 3 to 6 months, based on the coding selected for web design.”

Suggestions being made are almost necessary if this brand would like to survive in the new age of technology. This organization once held strong, but this was long ago. The flame amongst the community needs to be rekindled to prevent the market space from being taken over by another non-rofit of similar influence and nature.



ABSTRACTThe objective of this paper is to provideunderstanding into the detrimental needs of the AWAAM Organization, otherwise known as the Arab Women Active in Arts and Media, supporting Arab American women who are or would like to become active in the Art and Media industries. If left unattendedto, this organization could lose all support from the Arab Americancommunity, top non-profit organizationsand competitors, who have actually supported this organization. Three areas of focus will prevent all losses the organization could face and will bring newer successes to the organizationsforefront in achieving the goals set forth through the organization’s mission and create a unified vision betweenmembers of AWAAM in pursuit of change. Branding, website redesignand social implementation are imperative areas of focus for AWAAM at this stage of development.

Furthermore, AWAAM cannot continue to grow without proper use of branding and by refusing to evolve through the use of ever-changing technology that engages the consumer and encourages active participation in this organization. Through research, one will notice that as technology progresses, the means of communication and collaborationis facilitated with greater ease. The concept of support and encouragementwill take place through the abilityto communicate and collaborate. Through these essential traits, AWAAM will prosper in bringing empower-ment to each member of AWAAM and

sisterhood into the community established via Arab American women who are active in the arts and mediaindustries, while creating new possi-bilities for those who have not yet been included in such indus-tries but aspire to be.

IntroductionArab American women have been hindered of their creative efforts outside of the home for generations. Some argue that it is against all moral,cultural and traditional practices for a woman to engage in such activity.Support for Arab women in the arts and media industries have been minimized. It is a known fact that independency out of the home is also considered a taboo against the traditions and culture of the Arab American woman. Because of these beliefs, there is a strong need for an organization like AWAAM (Arab Women Active in the Arts and Media) amongst the Arab American community. The mis-sion of AWAAM is described as such:

AWAAM provides comprehensive leadership opportunities in communityorganizing, art and media skills to young women and girls. Our goal is to empower a generation of young women with the community organizingand media skills necessary to act as leaders within their communities, which have endured increasing hardshipin recent years. As Arab and Muslimwomen and women of color, we endeavor to position ourselves as producers rather than objects, of

media programs are the seedbed from which our membership grows to take leadership, developing campaigns and programs in AWAAM and in the community at large (AWAAM, 2011).

Problem at HandBecause this is the only organizationamongst Arab Americans to supportthe arts and media industries, especially to support women, AWAAM stands a chance in creating a great movement. There are no direct competitors. However and due to the current “face” of the organization, competitors currently stand as organizations who attend to the needs of Arab Americans with special sectors for women audiences. These “competitors” actually support the organization, alongside top non-profits relating to themedia and art industries and amongst Arab American communities.

Currently, the organization has virtually no branding. There is a logo, but it has no reflection of the organization or its

mission. Furthermore, there is no tagline or vision for the organization. While there is an understood vision, there is no official vision to remind members and stakeholders what the goal of the organization ultimatelyis. There is no color palette usedamongst the black and green content of the AWAAM.org site, which also needs redesigning. The current web layout and design simply does not work against today’s standards and appears to be very unprofessional. It does not reflect the organization’s function and bores the audience through redundancy and confuses them with striking similaritiesto Google AdSense programs. Where there is lack of support for its membersand limited content that strength-ens the organization’s mission, user generated content could be displayed to further engage audiences and inspire future members. There is no section of the site that showcases the work of members, tips on profes-sionalism and/or articles relating to the empowerment of women in this community. Finaly, incorporating asocial aspect to the site would increase member support and joins, viral and word of mouth marketing, content contribution, and community participation. Outside social branding would also benefit the organization’smember support, joins, SEO, continued reputation and web traffic. By implementing a new web layout and design with a social presence, this organization will better thrive amongst other organization’s in this day and age. The organization will be more appealing to supporters and appear more professional to the business world. Contributors and investors will be less hesitant knowing that their funds are being used for a cause that can actually be seen. Furthermore,



established immediately following theplanning stages of branding. A logo is easy to remember and often associated with the brand, itself, differentiating the brand amongst competition. Logo design must follow and match correlating branding procedures in order to beheld most effectively, as this will appear on letterheads, flyers, business cards, merchandise and more.

BrandingMany sources in the past have reported that companies with effective branding, including logo design, color scheme, and tagline seem to find higher returns on investment than those who do. That being said, AWAAM has much to gain through the incorporation of the tagline element. A tagline is a simple phrase, often catchy, that descries the brand in few words. It usually separates the brand and/or organization from competition by including the brand’s unique selling proposition within. Taglines also introduce the organiza-tion’s services, in essence, to potential

allegations against the organization’s ties to overseas terrorist groups will be combated with more ease and leverage. Overall, this organization will benefit by updating to today’s standards for web and business. AWAAM should expect to see changes within weeks of project completion.

AWAAM is in desperate need of a new logo design. A logo is a visual depiction of the organization, its mission and what it represents. They say that a picture says a thousand words. It is an opportunity to leave a lasting first impression with potential consumers. AWAAM’s current logo does not say much for the organization as is. It is advised that the logo design be

choice. These colors represent the company’s standards and focus, because they will trigger assumption in the minds of ongoing audiences far and wide. Graphics must also follow these rules, reflecting the company’s branding and color selections for similar reasons.

The final step to branding AWAAM for success would be to add a vision statement to organizational manuals, logs, sites and releases. The organi-zation is in need of a vision statement that is set in stone. The reason behind this is to bring togetherness within the organization and between members. It is a goal that each person involved in the organization has in common for AWAAM. While there is a mission statement, there is no personalization. The mission speaks for the organization, but the vision reflects the desires and goals of organizational members, chairpersons, contributorsand supporters. It is a form of inspi-ration and a reminder as to what the

future consumers. Taglines will also help boost awareness through search engines across the Internet. Taglines and logos must correlate when introduced to the public, in order to avoid confusion amongst the audience.

Color palettes selection is effective in bringing together an overall appeal to the aesthetic and user-friendly portions of the website. Colors bring a brand to life through emotion, awareness, attitude, personality and set precedence through branding, logos and web site layout. They set the atmosphere and tone for the brand and its mission. Colors must be chosen based on the affects that they have on the eyes and the psychology behind each color

“AWAAM is in desperate need of a new logo design.”

organization would like to achieve hand-in-hand with members. A common vision will have to be developed and set in place for branding to be finalized and upgrading to continue.

Based upon the essence of what AWAAM represents, which is the embrace of femininity and tradition fused with culture and art, color selection will include the colors of royalty (purpleand turquoise), precious gems and metals (gold/orange, deep green, dark blue, and silver) and the use of the colors: pink (femininity), black and white. These colors create mysticism through the use of multiple colors developed into different hues. Arab culture is often categorized as mysterious and magical through folklore, pop culture and stereotype.

Font usage and typography will include those of “rounded,” “sharp” and bold, “enchanting” and “exotic,” “ethnic” and “feminine” natures. Rounded, sharp and bold fonts such as Arial, Calibri and Helvetica (not rounded) give a more legible, professional edge and less decorative appeal to branding and copy display. Words tend to stand out amongst decorative typography in order to deliver the message meant to persuade or inform the audience. Enchanting, exotic and ethnic

fonts, such as Arabella, High Strung and Aladdin, have a visual connection to fonts already understood as “Arab” through pop culture, stereotypical media portrayal and folklore illustra-tions. They are very decorative and relate to the organization directly. Fonts, as visually relating to femininity, include “curly” and “calligraphic” characteristics, as such found in Edwardian font type may also be used in transitioning an advertisement copy and/or web graphic. It has been proposed that the logotype lettering of “AWAAM” be transcribed in the High Strung font type for differentiating and identifiable purposes. The final tagline will accompany this logotype through the use of a legible font type of either Calibri, Arial or Helvetica.

Shapes and graphics found in the organization’s new logo design, advertisements, web redesigns and so on will coordinate with branding decisions. While exploration and creation must still take place, proposed shapes include traditional and cultural imagery. These projections include shapes as related to ancient Egypt that has a strong influence throughout the Middle East, Arab history, art and folklore. Mysticism and femininity will be balanced with these elements through



depiction of these shapes and im-ages in correlation to color selection. Shapes and images may include but are not limited to pyramids, the Eyes of Horus and Isis, jewels, Moorish archi-tecture, pottery and décor, fashion, the sisterhood of women and young girls, nature, and art supplies. Textures will include that of brick, sand, gemstone, smoothed glass, metals, lace and other soft materials found in clothing. The overall emotion should reflect that of an artistic Arab America through culture, femininity, tradition and art.

Web RedesignThe current stage of AWAAM’s web presence at AWAAM.org is in very poor and basic form. The website is designed in green, black and white colors and includes stock clip art, in addition to a poorly designed logo that is being used as a web banner for the site. There is no branding incorporated into the site, and the colors could potentially harm the eyes (Matt, 2009). The website includes headers relating to the organization, directly. The left navigation menu includes news, events, media, a pressroom, a survey and test results for a campaign that took place in 2009. The right navigation menu includes news articles, as well.

Upon navigating the site, one will re-alize that these news sections are not only outdated but are also redundant in each category. To the right, these news sections are easily mistaken as Google’s AdSense program and will more than likely be overlooked by those who are not planning on purchasing products any time soon. This news is redundant and will be ignored by audiences. It is unneces-sary to include this information, un-less it is redesigned and removed as links on the left navigation menu. More problems with the current web design include outdated events, a media room with broken links and non-embedded media, a pressroom with no new articles, a survey link to a blank page and written responses to an “Intifada” test that would better thrive on a discussion board. The only existent campaign is relating to redundant news articles and seems to be outdated. The education programs available to the Arab youth are also outdated. A major issue that this site faces is the lack of professionalism. The site has no real focus and appears very outdated, in addition to previously mentioned flaws. The organization

has also been facing accusations that it has ties to terrorist groups overseas (Cohler-Esses, 2007). Due to an unpro-fessional looking website, any rebuttalsmade to this claim will be less likely accepted. Furthermore, supporters,contributors and investors will less likely take little heed to the organiza-tion’s attempts and may feel uncertain about giving any funding or sponsorships to the organization for aid. Members are not being supported or showcased on this site and would less likely revisit the page and may lose interest in the organization and its mission. Barriers of entry for organization with a professional page and focused site are wide open to takethe market position at the top.Competitors and top non-profit organizations would then probably remove links to the site and will begin relationships with the replacement organization. To combat all the proposed flaws andunprofessional appearance, branding will be combined with appealing graphics and colors to make this site a widely accepted and visited page. Newsfeeds, Twitter timelines, and blog feeds will be implemented on the homepage and will be linked to through correlating links. There will be no

need for a news section of the site. The “Press Room” will act as an archivefor press and old news items of importance. An “About Us” section will implement mission and vision statements, organizational history and board persons, contact informa-tion and links to social networking sites, which will be created shortly after site design. “Terms of Service” and “Privacy Policies” will be added to eliminate any potential “ties” with visitors of the site, members of the organization and the organization, itself, from any terrorist groups overseas.

Social Implementation & Community Empowerment

Social networking is of high impor-tance to non-profit organizations for a few reasons. These reasons include marketing opportunity, member support and announcements, recruiting and act as a sign for innovation. Social networking has proven to be a means to connect with friends, family, associates and peers through the Internet to share interests and make conversation. It is suggested that AWAAM adopt a social presence on the AWAAM.org website.

A social presence will add support and appreciation to all members of



the AWAAM site and will allow that the mission be conquered and the vi-sion becomes a milestone. It will allow members to communicate amongst each other, empower one another and collaborate. Users will be allowed to upload social media content to the site to showcase their works, giving AWAAM unlimited access to user cre-ated content that will keep interest of users on that site through positive participation. It will show that AWAAM is a legit organization with an actual member base through this presence. Blogs, forums, and chats could be used to connect members of older age groups with those of younger ages. This will allow for unity to take place amongst older and youngergenerations to help strengthen the youth for the industries of art and media. Professionalism tips, counseling, career information, college and scholarship information, and other arts and media programs could lend a hand at helping achieve the mission set forth by AWAAM. These items of interest would all be site generated or user-contributed and would all hold the ability to include meaningful discussion about the topic at mention. Rumors about the organization could be combated here and could easily be monitored on a regular basis, leading to more professionalism on behalf of AWAAM.

Implementing Change & Future Projections

Through the use of professional site design, implementations of social networking and successful branding practices, AWAAM should see change come immediately. The impression left upon first-time visitors and organizational loyalists will lead to much needed content, as related to the organization’s mission, that

reflects support and dedication to AWAAM members. Through this, viral spread of user-generated and brand-generated content will lead to more site visits, supporters, contributors and members. Word of mouth marketing will follow, providing the site visitors from “Offline” sources. Both of these methods bring in new members and supporters with less need for marketing budgets. Saved finances could go into server and program upgrades with the growing member base and could also be spent on campaigns that will truly make a difference to the community that it serves. Negative reputation would also be combated, and contributors will have less hesitation and more faith in an organization with such feats. Within six months, AWAAM may begin to see a large boost in member participation and support, positive press, higher donations and a larger demand in the Arab American community.

ConclusionIn conclusion to all that is present-ed to AWAAM through the proposed branding and design principles, web standards and expectations, as well as industry trends, it is highly advisable that AWAAM implement these changes immediately in order to better serve the current member base and future additions to the AWAAM interactive community. A reminder is given that as technology evolves, the platform interface of AWAAM.org should as well, especially in keeping up-to-date with those industry tends and stanards. It is imperative in the process of engaging consumers in active participation within the organization. Branding, web redesign and social implementation seem almost necessary and current practice in keeping member support and in finding further successes for the organization and in preparation of future campaigns. Brand identityand awareness will be depicted and

executed through advanced branding principles and is sure to leave a lasting and steadfast impression upon visitors, who may now differentiate the organi-zation from any other organization related to their target market in the Arab American community. Web redesign will give the organization an improved, user-friendly yet professional edge to AWAAM’s current database with an unlimited amount of content contributions being submitted by AWAAM members on a daily basis, and who now feel a sense of privilege by having their work displayed for others to see. Social branding will now allow members to embrace the sisterhood of AWAAM and to empower each other through support, encoragement and collaboration. Finally, the organization’s mission will become achievable through a solid and unified vision that is to be shared by all members of the AWAAM organization. (See Reference Section for Citations.)



To analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of this organization’s branding and web presence, as it reflects and deters the brand’s messaging and objectives directly.

SWOT OBJECTIVE

STRENGTHSArab Americans demonstrate a great need for an organization like AWAAM, because there is NO OTHER ORGANIZATION in the market of its kind. As it relates specifically to the “young, Arab American woman” aged 14 and older, it fills the void of non-supporters by many in the community that do not believe in the independency of the Arab woman. While this is so, the Arab American community, top Non Profit Organizations (NPOs) and even competitors within the Arab American community support this organization, bringing unity to the different “colors” of the Arab world giving distinctive identity and support to the many that are often confused as “Black,” “White” and of “Latin” descent with no other source for support.

THREATSBecause competitor sites are more aesthetic in appearance and have a more professional feeling through branding, contributors and supporters may choose to fund competitor NPOs over AWAAM. These supportive competitors may eliminate links if the site continues to go without branding and without conquering the mission that is set in place. They may not want to be affiliated with a site that can be confused as unprofessional, boring, fraudulent and/or outdated. They may also eliminate links due to bad press of AWAAM concluding that the NPO is linked to Islamic hate groups, which is not counteracted through the appearance of thecurrent web state. New organizations may also form, fulfilling the obvious voids NOT being executed by AWAAM. Through the support of competitors, these sites may now become the premier source for Arab American women active in the arts and media.

OPPORTUNITIESRebranding could set new limits for this organization and bring about the possibilities for this brand to reach broader areas within the market of the Arab American community. Because this organization is the only NPO still in existence for this specific sector of the Arab American community, AWAAM continues to be the “goto” choice for the Arab American woman who is active in the arts and media. The members would remain faithful in the time of the branding transition and would even have Social Media content to contribute to the site, bringing loyalty and personalization to the brand.

Through rebranding and site redesign, supporters, contributors and those in charge of funding grants would feel more comfortable donating to the organization. More funding would become available through grants based on the topics of “arts” and “media.” Due to the support from the competitors’ sites and top NPOs, it is obviousthat the community WANTS to be involved. Rebranding would help to retract bad reviews made and counterattack the bad press through a more professional approach to execute the mission.

WEAKNESSESBecause there is no sign of actual branding present, the organization appears to be outdated, inactive and unprofessional. This holds the organization back from a lot of possibilities in its current state. Lack of branding leaves the organi-zation unmemorable or undesirable for return. Additionally, there are no features added to the site that can reflect the mission of the organization. Showcasing the work of the members will bring the website content and bring unity amongst site users. Lack thereof hinders the organization and support by members.

Redundancy in the site categories deter from the professionalism and the brand’s full potential. Because the site deals less with the brand’s mission and more or less with ONE particular news item of racial controversy that happened in 2009, the site doesn’t seem to benefit the organization’s structure whatsoever or fight all claims that this organization is part of some terroristic Jihad mission. Finally, more redundant issues that pertain to the site also reflect misjudgment in page design. The “News” section found to the right of the webpage could be completely ignored due to its uncanny similarities to Google’s AdSense program.



BRAND ATTRIBUTES•Artistic•Passionate•Feminine•Arab American•Creative•Encouraging•Empowering•Supportive•Social •Educational

• Industry: Arab American Organizations (Women in the Arts and Media)• Established: 2006• Current Logo: Little Girl with a Microphone• Branding: NONE• Social Presence: NONE• Web Design: POOR• Content: OUTDATED• Demand: HIGH (Virtually no other organizations like this)

• Support: Top Non Profit Organizations (NPOs), Religious Groups, Schools, Arab Americans, etc.• Social Barriers: Arab American women aren’t necessarily supported as independent women, artists and in the media due to cultural and religious beliefs. AWAAM shows support to these women.• AWAAM encourages young, Arab American women to become active in the arts and media and become professionals and leaders in this industry.

OVERVIEW OF AWAAM’S ORGANIZATION

FEATURES & BENEFITSEmpowerment to young, Arab American Women.Benefit: Supports a group of young women who may not have found support at home or within their immediate communities in order to pursuit their dreams in the Arts and Media with positive influences and preparation for such an industry.

Branding will bring about Media Implementation.Benefit: Increased support of Arab American women and others interested in the arts and media. Showcasing the work of members shows support and appreciation, brings site content and encourages new content creation.

Web Redesign.Benefit: Provides a professional attachment to the minds of audience members, supporters, and contributors. Less reluctancy would be involved in sending donations to an organization with a professional presence and content.

Social Network and Presence.Benefit: Reaches newer audiences and ensures the return of current members through personalized interaction and content conversation. A social network on the actual site would allow members to communicate, collaborate and share information.

Culture & ValuesAWAAM embraces and supports the womanhood of the modern day Arab American woman and her rights, passions, and moral obligations. While AWAAM does not deter members from traditional practices, culture, religion and moral beliefs, AWAAM does feel that it is important to support the Arab American woman who has no support at home or in her immediatecommunity, as related to her pursuits in the Industry of Art and Media. AWAAM takes time to mentor the young, Arab woman and prepare her for such a role in a professional, creative and modern world without detracting her from the innocent and conservative behaviors valued in women of the Arab culture.

“It’s like we’re family...”



The target audience that makes up AWAAM consists of Arab American

women around the United States that are of the ages 14 and up and are

active, or would like to be active, in the industries of Arts and Media.

The Arab American woman is of any heritage and nation of origin belonging to

the Middle East and consists of the religious beliefs of Islam and Christianity

She is family-oriented and may live at home, while she is unable to find support at home or within her community. She may be of strict household ideology, feel self-isolation, tradition and/or community oppression. She may also be looking for sisterhood amongst those in her own culture, whereas the alternative would be categorizing herself with a sisterhood amongst those who have similar skin color to her own. Arab American women come in many shades and colors.

She must be engaged or would like to be engaged in music creation, filmmaking, interactive web fomats, painting, sculpting, acting, writing, modeling, artistry and any of the other in-demand art forms.

She craves empowerment and support, is supportive and kind to others, can take constructive criticism, and is ready to take a leap of faith!

She is “tech-saavy” and has the desire to learn,

be social and acheive her goals and aspirations.

PSYCHOGRAPHICS

HOME&COMMUNITY

BRAIN POWER

ARTS ACTIVITY

PASSION IN LIFE

RE-BRANDING

WEBSITERE-DESIGN

SOCIAL IMPLEMENTATION



•Inspiration•Community•Sisterhood•Empowerment

•Discussion•Forums•Collaboration•Encouragement•Messaging•Blogging•Media Share•News Share•Interactive Widgets

KEY TENETS

SOCIAL NEEDS

“Painting our future... TOGETHER!”

UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION:AWAAM is the ONLY surviving NPO that supports the artsand media of Arab American WOMEN. There is no organization to support men AND women in this niche. This is the only organization to target young, Arab American women in the positive light, as it is often taboo for women of Arab descent to become engaged in matters outside of the home.

•AWAAM is an organization supported by TOP NPOs in the Arab American Community, including competitor organizations due to its unique traits.

•Appears to be a TOP NPO, itself. But, branding and activity within the organization does not reflect this.

•Remains the “go to” organizationfor women active in the Arts and Media within the Arab American community, because it is the ONLY arts and media organization dedicated to that community.

BRAND POSITIONING

“Living, Breathing Culture. AWAAM is Art!”

“Embrace the drama within...”

“Join the Sisterhood...”

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DESIGN STRATEGY: |# #

| DESIGN STRATEGY



Finally exploration of current video trends through social media, awareness campaigns and banner ads allowed for the creation of a 45-second Public Service Announcement that will be included at the end of this project book. In this section, you will particu-larly find it interesting that three types of awareness campaigns were actu-ally explored. These were a 5-second flash web-banner, a 20-second com-mercial, and a 30-second PSA. The PSA was extended to 45-seconds due to its ability to capture the audience’s attention and equally bring vision to the eyes of that audience over AWAAM’s existence. This particular selection had been redesigned three times in order to bring about a more lasting impression on the audience member.

Therefore, website wireframes have been designed through sketch and composed to further develop top layouts in order to depict the best possible outcome for this organization in the current campaign. These potential “pages” may or may not be included in the final web design. Landing pages were also imperative to this process.

Landing pages will allow the organization to direct web traffic to specific sections of the websiteand create mini campaigns that will be enhanced through Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing, other wise known as pay-per-click advertising. These landing pageshave been designed around print designs, as well. The reason behind this is that each design holds a particular subject and/or element related to where the organization wishes to direct traffic.

The following section consists of a va-riety of sketches and designs for ex-ploration that allowed for the branding and redesign of AWAAM in the current campaign. These designs were based on collected data and analysis of successful campaigns in different industries, as well as other organizations in the Arab American world. Many of these designs were thoroughly thought, planned and even executed only to be eliminated from the process and campaign. Those that were eliminated were eliminated on grounds that they did not match the campaign’s focus, the organization’s mission or branding. They may or may not be able to be used in future campaigns or directives.

The first part of the process actually began with mood boards that focused on more specific target markets. The first and third mood board didn’t fulfill a majority reach, while the second one did. It actually targets the full target market in a very unique way. It hints on the creative, dramatic side of Arab American sisterhood and art. This is the exact direc-tion that AWAAM wanted to take the organization into rebranding and redesign.

Dramatic colors, imagery, and textures were used alongside “Arabesque” typography and fonts. The sec-ond mood board went on to be implemented into the organization’s

branding. Transformation into a single style guide can be seen in the next section of this project book along with logo exploration that was next to take place in the design process. For redundancy issues, the section on logo exploration has been depicted and expanded upon where more personalization with AWAAM’s branding could be envisioned.

The most important sections on the design of the current campaign has been based on the “full circle” of elements brought upon through the style guide and print designs. Other than branding, website redesign fit with Social Implementation is the most important step in this process.

Living, breathing culture. AWAAM is art!”

| DESIGN STRATEGY



Mood Board #2: DramaticMood Board #1: Youth

| DESIGN STRATEGY



Mood Board #3: Independence

| DESIGN STRATEGY



The “About Us” section of the website needs to be easy to read and access. Here the audience will find numerous options for each item of interest. This particular section is very important to those in decision-making positions, including supporters, contributors and potential members. This is the section of the site that AWAAM will tell the brand’s story and combat any negative ideals“outsiders” may have about the o r g a n i z a t i o n and its objectives. This is also the section of the site that will encourage audience members to embrace AWAAM’s message, execu-tions and platform, while supporting the Arab American woman in her journey through the industries of arts and media. The idea here is to keep the face “professional,” yet “fun,” while delivering the most importanti n f o r m a t i o n that will be found on this website.

| DESIGN STRATEGY



These pages, “Showcase,” and “Find a Member” will more than likely be the most accessed pages, next to the social network, itself. These pages will constantly be updated and amongst many of the pages that will receive new additions on a daily basis. Pages like this include: Events, Showcase, Members, etc. It was important to allwow for these pages to be flexible in delivery and functionality. They had to be legible and professional while holding the power of converting visitors into active members. Because these pages will be updated on a constant basis, these pages need to be paid great attention to. These pages will be templates in and out of themselves for updated content.

| DESIGN STRATEGY



SLIDE 1: “Living, Breathing Culture...” 1 second frame fades to next frame*In the background of slides 1-5, different Arab American women’s faces of dif-ferent colors, dress styles and countries of origin will flash in a fast transition.**Loops 5 times, clickable to: http://www.awaam.orgNO SOUND

SLIDE 2: “AWAAM is...” 1 second frame fade to the next

SLIDE 3: “Love...” .5 second frame fades to the next

SLIDE 4: “Sisterhood...” .5 second frame fades to next

SLIDE 5: “ART” 1 second fame fades to the next

SLIDE 6: LOGO AND TAGLINE CENTERED WITH WEB ADDRESS AT BOTTOM ON BLACK BACKGROUND 2 second frame

5-Second Flash Banner Ad

| DESIGN STRATEGY



*Live action scenes throughout SLIDE 1 (2 Sec): Black Background. “Living, Breathing Culture” Fades to next.Sound: “Sawah” - Ishtar Alabina

SLIDE 2 (2 Sec): Black Background “AWAAM is Art” Fades to next

SLIDE 3 (4 Sec): Dramatic movie scene of someone lying on the ground and a woman crying with a text overlay – “ EMBRACE... “ and a sliding to form sentence“the Drama.” Fades to next slide.

SLIDE 4 (4 Sec): Two women represent sisterhood and paint together with a text overlay of “PAINT THE FUTURE” with a sliding “of Arab American Art” to form a sentence. Fades to next.

SLIDE 5 (4 Sec): A band plays with a text overlay of “JOIN THE SISTER-HOOD.” Fades to next. Music is realized to have came from this slide.

SLIDE 6 (4 Sec): Black background with centered AWAAM logo and tagline with www.awaam.org call to action. Fade to black.

20-Second Commercial

45-Second PSA

| DESIGN STRATEGY



SCENE 1: Starts with background music (“Sawah” - Ishtar Alabina, signifying “together”... Plays whole PSA with soundbytes about AWAAM.) in background quiet and fading into movie scene. Movie scene from “AmericanEast” plays a dramatic scene with an Egyptian girl. “So, I don’t have a whole lot of options you mean? Because, I am a Muslim... I should go back to Egypt?TOTAL: 10 Seconds TRANSITION: Fades to black and into next scene.

SCENE 2-SCENE 4: Faces of Arab American women (with emphasis on eyes) flash behind words of “Love” and “Sister-hood.” TOTAL: 3 SecondsTRANSITIONS: Fades to black and into next scene.

SCENES 4-6: Arab woman art in background with emphasis on eyes with words “AWAAM IS” and corresponding voice over byte. TRANSITIONS TOGETHER IN A BLENDTRANSITIONS: Fades to black and into next scene.TOTAL: 2 Seconds

SCENE7: Black background with glowing”Art” with continued sound from previous scenes. TOTAL: 1 secondTRANSITIONS; Fade to black then into next scene.

SCENE 8: Clip from “Caramel” an Arab film with “Americanized” Arab Women (DISCLAIMER: Not an Arab-American Film but beloved by this category). “EMBRACE...” comes from the upper-right side of the screen. “Act” flashes in from the bottom. TOTAL: 8 seconds

SCENE 9: Video clip in fast Motion of painting/creation process. Arab woman is drawn. “PAINT...” slides in from left, while “Create” flashes in from bottom-right.TOTAL: 7 secondsTRANSITION: Fades to black then into next scene.(No sound from the movie is played... continues from previous scenes.)

SCENE 10: Scene from “Dhoom 2” plays of “Americanized” women (see disclaimer) dance together with pride and certainty. “JOIN...” slides from bottom-left, while “Harmonize” flashes into location. (DISCLAIMER: New Placement of words will be modified to fit the entire motion graphic. It may or may not remain as is. Also, there were no film or video clips to be found of Arab women creating music together. So, this scene of Punjabi and Arab women was used from a Bollywood film, as the two are commonly accepted intermingled in “Americanized-Arab/Indian” culture.)TOTAL: 6 secondsTRANSITION: Fades to black then into next scene.(No sound from the movie is played... continues from previous scenes.)

SCENE 11: Call to Action: “BE EMPOWERED.” on black background.TOTAL: 3 secondsTRANSITION: Fades to black then into next scene.(No sound from the movie is played... continues from previous scenes.)

SCENE 12: AWAAM logo with website sliding in from left.TOTAL: 4 secondsTRANSITION: Fades to blackMusic fades out as scene begins. Soundbyte of woman laughing at end.

This peice was created without sketches and brainstorming to cater to the needs of the youth mood board in the exploratory phase. While it is aesthetic, the testing stage proved that this is not what our target markets want. They do not want to read the copy, while they would gladly hang the artwork as a poster.

| DESIGN STRATEGY



This piece was created in the art forms of photography, film and acting. This was to depict the drama within thatis encountered on a day-to-day basisthrough art. “Embracing the dramawithin” seemed a bit depressing for this particular campaign. However, this piece may be effective in the future.

These prints were designed through the idea of “sisterhood” between a Muslim and Non-Muslim of the Arab American Community. They both appear to want to unveil themselves. But, they may want to unveil themselves in separate ways. The unveiled model wants to unveil her beauty through fashion and artistry, while the other unveils herself in a more subtle means.

| DESIGN STRATEGY

UPGRADING AWAAM: Campaign for Branding, Website Re-design and Social Implementation

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This concept appears to “hit home” more on the basis of AWAAM’s focus and mission. This particular peice was focussed on sisterhood through collaboratory efors to support and em-power each other. As you can see, the chosen sketch depicts a veiled woman hiding in order to listen to and critique music. This peice is very dramatic and fulfills the branding of AWAAM.


DESIGN STRATEGY: | #

|DESIGN STRATEGY: STYLE GUIDE






Living, breathing culture. AWAAM is art!”




THE LOGOThe logo of AWAAM is that of a stacked nature. The anagram for “Arab Women Active in the Arts and Media” remains the same through the rebranding campaign as it has always been. This will continue to attract brand loyalists while creating a new awareness to those potential members that exist in the Arab American community.

To reach the target audiences, a strong logo choice was selected. Because the Arab and Middle Eastern culture provides the world with a sense of mysticism, enchantment and richness, it is understood that most deliverables released by AWAAM would be that of a dark, as well as deep-colored and highly textured, nature. It is also to be made known that AWAAM is the strength behind sisterhood, empowerment and support for the Arab American woman engaging in such industries as the arts and media. With pun lying in the midst a statement could be made, “there is no black and white about the strength of the organization.” Therefore, the color selection for the logo design was black and white. With white as an outer glow for the brand’s name and tagline, black counteracts with the letters of “AWAAM” spelling out the anagram for the organization and centering attention on a veiled set of eyes that represents AWAAM’s target market.

Due to its simplicity and abbreviated nature, the tagline may also never be separated from the organization. This will draw awareness to the brand and will also provide a deeperunderstanding as to what AWAAM’s existence encompasses. The color may never change, and the tagline may never be tampered with, although the color of the tagline may become black if placed on a light background to ensure visability. If such a thing happens, branding may lose its stronghold and may counteract with other elements of branding found within this project book.

The following section will include many examples of just how logo design works for the organization’s branding and a step in the right direction for reaching the organization’s goals through this branding.

DERIVIATION OF A LOGO:1. Study and analysis of successful logos, incuding but not limited to successful logos in the Arab American marketplace, was executed.

2. Brainstorming and thumbnail sketches of logo possibilities took place through logo exploration.

3. The most succesful logo designs were gathered for future exploration.

4. A logo was selected and developed futher to represent the organization’s objectives.

5. In this instance, the tagline was added to the logo design to further explain the organizations’ purpose and objective.

6. The logo was tested amongst backgrounds and imagery dedicated to the organization and developing branding.

Living, breathing culture. AWAAM is art!



LOGO FACT:AWAAM is centered around the unveiled eyes of an Arab woman (between W and M).







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ing the Rules):

THIS LOGO SHALL:

• Remain the same proportional size to scale of product placement.

• Contain the anagram lettering of “AWAAM” in black followed by white outer glows.

• Contain the tagline, “Living, breathing culture. AWAAM is art!” under the stacked logo design, unless a special circumstance should occur.

SHALL NEVER:

• Be skewed, pixelated nor blurred.• Include a new design or color decoration.• Be found on anything that doesn’t reflect the essence of AWAAM.

EXCEPTIONS INCLUDE:

• Tagline may change to adapt to background or surrounding image choice, but may only adapt with the colors of white or black in usage.

White Tagline on LIGHT Background

No Tagline.

Black Tagline on DARK Background.

LOGO FACT: This logo was hand drawn, but the tagline was written in Helvetica Bold font.

ADDING THE LOGO TO TANGIBLE ITEMS AND IMAGERYIn comparison to the actual logo, the tagline font should be sized 12 Helvetica Bold.

Spacing for placement around the logo and attached tagline should equate to the equal amount of space around the total piece. This space is the size of the center of the first lowercased-a, representing the left eye. The spacing starts at the first “A” in “AWAAM” on the tip of the black portion of the logo and follows across the logo, while the bottom spacing begins directly under the logo. This does not include letters that exceed the line, such as “y,” “g,” “p,”etc. Side padding will begin at the beginning and end of the first and last letter.

Please compare the new logo to the current one. Notice the flexibility, as well as the improvements and possibilities.


CURRENT LOGO:




Typography for AWAAM has been selected based upon research findings. Tra-ditional-style fonts Helvetica and Abadi MT Condensed Bold have been select-ed for body text. Professional letters and interactions must include this type in or-der to be read legibly amongst deliverables and distributed products. However, Aladdin font and Arabella are used for decorative lettering in marketing materials.

Aladdin is used most often as title font, while Arabella may be used for subtitle purposes depending on the need. Abadi MT is also used as subtitle font and for headings in a professional work. Helvetica is always used for body copy.

IMPORTANT RULES FOR FONT USEAGE: Aladdin and Arabella fonts may never be ALL CAPS (i.e. ALADDIN is notacceptable. It would be Aladdin.). The reason is that it is not legible or aestheticallyappealing, regardless of leaders used.

Helvetica and Abadi fonts may appear in ALL CAPS at times, especially in heading fonts. Abadi’s fontage height and width is much smaller than that of Helvetica. For this reason, it must be increased in size to match that of Helvetica. However, as a heading font, it will naturally be enlarged much more. In comparison, Helvetica size 12 is equivalent to Abadi size 14. Helvetica must be bold when using it for the Tagline.

Textures to be found in AWAAM are in majority that of fabric (silk or satin), brick & stone, sand, and wood. These textures represent femininity, strength, support, traditional, cultural,Middle Eastern, mystic, beauty and softness. They also represent sisterhood through multiplicity in the grains of sand and bricks on a wall. These textures can be found as a majority in imagery, graphic choices, backgrounds and marketing themes for AWAAM.

FABRIC

SAND

BRICK/STONE

FABRIC

• Mysticism• Femininity• Softness• Warmth• Beauty

• Tradition• Cultural• Middle Eastern• Mysticism• Sisterhood

• Strength• Support• Tradition• Middle Eastern• Cultural• Sisterhood

• Independence• Tradition• Cultural• Middle Eastern• Mysticism

“Living, breathing culture...”

“... AWAAM is art!”




Used for border lines, gradient blends and very occasional text, such as in print and marketing.

Used for border lines, gradient blends and very occasional text, such as in print and marketing.

Used for border lines, gradient blends, alternative body text based on imagery and theme, boxes, and marketing copy.

Used for border lines, subheaders, gradient blends and very occasional text, such as in print and marketing.

Used for border lines, boxes, gradient blends and very occasional text, such as in print and marketing.

Used for marking “important text,” blending effects, dividers, boxes and borders.

Used for title text and headers. This is also used for borders.

Used for body text, titles and text boxes. This often is blended with other colors on this palette for effects in titles to correlate with imagery.

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF HEADERon a dark texured background with this body text. Normally, there would be shadow involved. Notice the white text here. This is also another color used, as well as black.

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF HEADERon a dark texured background with this body text. Normally, there would be shadow in-volved. This is the alternative choice for body.

This imagery includes”traditional” and “mature” bonding and sisterhood ideals. They depict “mysticism,” because expression is looked upon as forbidden and taboo. It includes pictorials of Arab women of different colors and backgrounds bounding in sisterhood unity, in front of a heart of love. The art supplies are self-explanatory, but they also represent many ways to create. The photograph of art supplies with Arab font and splatter celebrates collaboration. The one photograph of the makeup artist celebrates bonding, empowerment and coaching, as well as a way to express. The textures used in the “Islamic Rock” picture are found throughout the moodboard and are rough and balanced with the texture of silk. These textures represent struggle and turmoil balanced out by femininity, peace, happiness and class. The “Arabesque” door represents home, belonging, welcoming and family.



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HOMEPAGE: 1024px / 1400px Web Layout

SHOWCASE: 1024px / 1086 px Web Layout

Keywords: Arab American Women, femininity, culture, tradition, drama, suspense, arts, sisterhood, collaboration, taboo, forbidden, bonding, acceptance, empowerment, support, welcoming, warmth, enchanting, mystique, independence, encouragement, talent

•Logo is chosen for a dark background.

• Hues selected to match color palette while not the color palette selections necessarily. They are blends.

• Abadi is used for headlines, Helvetica for body text. In the text, the headings are colored C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=0; and the texts are C= 14 M=23 Y=68 K=0 or RGB for white of 255, 255, 255 and RGB for beige as 222, 190, 10.

• Imagery reflects that of AWAAM’s branding.

RESEARCH |


FINAL DESIGNS:WEB DESIGNHOME & ABOUT



SOCIAL ARENA: MENUS AND OPTIONS

FINAL DESIGNS:WEB DESIGNREADS & MEDIA



SOCIAL DESIGNS: TWITTER AND FACEBOOKSOCIAL ARENA: PROFILE LAYOUT



LANDING PAGESSOCIAL DESIGNS:MYSPACE AND YOUTUBE



WIDGETS/ADS

PRINTS/FLYERS



FINAL WORDS: SUMMARY

VIDEO ADS



CONTACT THE DESIGNER:

Jessica Abraham for Shorty ProdukshinsOrlando, FL 32826

(407) [email protected]

ShortyProdukshins.comArabWomenEmpowered.org

REFERENCES



BACK COVER

new book - 2nd jessica abraham

Documents

arab american community

social media

arab american woman

social networking

website redesign

arab women

web design

site design