Design Brief

Prepared by: Taylor Roman-Cohen

COM318A Writing for Visual Media
March 17, 2017

Project Overview

The Organic Now website aims to communicate the mission and values of the

local, North Carolina agricultural community as well as address the importance of local,

sustainable farming. The organizations tagline will be: Your One-Stop-Shop for All

Things Health. In addition to featuring its own organic content, the site will also link

users to other nonprofits with similar missions, thus acting as an aggregate source of

local farming resources. Additionally, the site will feature a blog that will use the

technique of comparing a healthy, local produce-filled lifestyle to that which consists

primarily of processed, junk food. In doing so, the site will draw attention to the health

risks associated with selecting processed foods by honing in on snack foods lack of

nutritional value. Specifically, the website will feature a healthy alternatives page,

which demonstrates common processed foods that can easily be substituted for local

options. Furthermore, the website will feature lists of nutritious, organic recipes paired

with short videos demonstrating how to prepare each. Finally, the website will host

rotational petitions which invested members of the community can virtually sign to

support local agriculture.

The production of the Organic Now website is necessary in that it works to

overcome the issue regarding the degree to which the greater North Carolina
community is uneducated about healthy, local food options, as well as the state of the

North Carolina farming system as a whole. (Hring, A., Dabbert, S., Offermann, F., &

Nieberg, H. (2001.) Finally, the web resource will allow the immediate, North Carolina

community insight into the degree to which the success of their local farms impacts their

daily diet. In doing so, the Organic Now website enforces the concept of local farms as

important and worthy of support. Organic Now will seek to increase brand recognition

through the widespread use of the organizations logo on its website, merchandise, and

newsletters:

Goals and Objectives

The ultimate goal of the project is to drive donations to www.organicnow.org.

Specifically, Organic Now is looking to raise at least $50,000 in donations by August of

2018. This money will be allocated towards saving two failing North Carolina farm

operations: Boy and Girl Farm and Ridgeway farm.

 Beyond its initial goal, the production of the Organic Now website has two central

objectives. First, it aims to educate the public about the dangers of selecting processed

over organic food. The degree to which the educational goal has been achieved will be

measured via an Organic Now-administered survey and questionnaire two years after

the website launches.

The second objective of the Organic Now website is to teach viewers about the

mission of the organization, which is to support and sustain the chain of North Carolina

local farms, and promote healthy communities. By communicating this message,

Organic Now hopes to drive users to sign its rotational petitions, which will submitted to

Robert Pittinger, who is the Charlotte District Officer and congressional representative

for the majority of most local North Carolina Farms. The success of this objective will be

measured by tracking the number of users who sign each petition, as well as the

amount of traction, if any, each ultimately receives in congress.

In producing the website, we are solving two of Organic Nows largest issues,

one of which pertains to communication, and the other of which relates to business.

Organic Now has several ideas about how to affect dietary and agricultural change in

the North Carolina region, but needs assistance communicating its message about the

benefits of local agriculture to the general public, and cannot do so without an

experienced advertising team that understands concepts like graphic design and

strategic content creation. (Horrigan, L., Lawrence, R. S., & Walker, P. (2002).

Furthermore, the production of the website will solve Organic Nows main

business issue, which is its lack of funding. By effectively communicating the

organizations brand, mission, and education objectives, and ultimately successfully

driving donations, the website will work to overcome the non-profits two largest

problems.

Rhetorical Appeal Types

Rational Appeal: Following OrganicNows tips for a healthy lifestyle will improve your
immediate physical health, and decrease life-threatening factors such as high
cholesterol and heart rates.

Emotional Appeal: Successfully abiding by OrganicNows advice and tips will result in
increased mental stability, which, in turn, will positively affect overall happiness and
sense of personal fulfillment.

Reputation-based Appeal: OrganicNow is the leading change-maker for the North

Carolina agricultural community, and possesses more leverage with N.C. congressmen
and women than does any other local nonprofit. Additionally, OrganicNow practices
have been adopted by fitness trainers across the country.

Target Audience(s)

Organic Nows primary target audience are parents, ages 30-50, who live in the

greater North Carolina community. These people are the focus of Organic Nows efforts

because they have the greatest interest in pursuing a healthy lifestyle, as they are

responsible for and invested in the health of their children. This group possesses

distinct psychographic characteristics that allows them to be better targeted and

defined. First and foremost, they are concerned with the well being and health of their

children. Such people typically fall in the middle-income bracket, and cannot afford to

prepare gourmet meals daily, but would respond well to fairly-priced local and organic

food options. Lastly, these people strongly value community, and respond well to

messages that emphasize benefits for the local area community.

 The second audience Organic Now should seek to target are millennials ages

16-35, who live in the greater North Carolina region and are interested in the organic

food trend. This audience is looking to eat healthy, organic produce and is less

concerned with their budget. This group would respond well to targeted blog features

and videos, particularly for the purpose of sharing these on social media. These

members respond well to messages focused on health, nutrition, and staying fit.

The tertiary target audience that the Organic Now website should seek to

address are elderly North Carolina community members, male and female, ages 60 and

onwards. These members are the most community focused, and have the most free

time. Organic Now should seek to engage this senior demographic, as they serve as

potential liaisons, or volunteers between the organization and North Carolina

congressional representatives. Furthermore, these members would be likely candidates

for assisting with Organic Now events, such as local farm dinners, or promotions at local

farm-to-table restaurants.

Competitor Profiles

The three organizations that account for Organic Nows primary competition are

1) Rural Advancement Foundation International 2) The Carolina Farm Stewardship

Association and 3) The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP.)

Particularly, The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association acts as a potential threat to

Organic Now, due to their creation of its content video, The Carolina Organic Project:

Bringing Organic Closer to Home. This is a five-segment video which communicates

CFSAs mission, goals, and impact on local produce and farming in the North Carolina

community. This media acts as a potential threat because it is especially effective in

communicating similar information as does the Organic Now website and does so in an

easily-sharable, and therefore potentially social-media viral YouTube video.

Despite these strengths, there remain aspects of CFSA and Organic Nows other

competitor media that are not entirely effective. For example, while CFSAs video are

succinct and well-developed, it is difficult to find and has therefore not received

widespread publicity. CFSA should practice SEO techniques to improve the chances

that its target audiences are exposed to the organizations work. Similarly, RAFI, which

has produced multiple videos regarding the organic North Carolina agriculture

movement, has not mastered the art of briefly communicating its message, as the

organizations videos range between 20 and 30 minutes. Finally, all three of the

nonprofits websites are less user friendly than would be optimal; individuals must

actively search for videos or content they are looking for, instead of being able to easily

find them.

Organic Nows website will stand apart from the media produced by its

competitors, because it is one of the only media sources that takes the stance of

comparing the traditionally unhealthy American lifestyle to the healthier organic and

local alternative. Drawing this comparison puts North Carolina agriculture in a new light,

by painting sustainably-grown, local produce as the best and healthiest choice.

Furthermore, the inclusion of website blog and healthy alternatives features provides

users with easy recipe demonstrations as well as simple snack alternative selections,

which will, in turn, inspire parents in particular to pick up habits such as shopping at

local organic markets.

Design Requirements

In terms of design specifications, Organic Nows website should match the non-

profits pre-existing brand visuals. This involves incorporating Organic Nows most-used

colors, which consist of earthy tones and blues. Additionally, the flourished cursive font,

Pontano, associated with Organic Nows brand should appear across the website,

specifically for linking to other non-profits such as Carolina Farm Trust and High Country

Local First. The mood board below incorporates typographic treatments, color

swatches, and thematic elements that should be worked into the final website product.

The production technologies necessary for the back-end website development include

web coding technologies such as Drupal or BlackMesh. For the front-end, a web hosting

service such as WordPress or Wix will be necessary. Additionally, graphic design

technologies such as Adobe Indesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop will be necessary for

the production of Organic Nows native website images and content.

User Journey

User Personas

User Persona #1
Taylor Roman-Cohen
Writing for Visual Media

Name: Adriana Tate Duncan

Gender: Female
Age: 22
Education: Bachelors Degree
Occupation: Student
Marital Status: Single
Location: Washington, D.C.
Motivations
Adriana Tate Duncan is a twenty-two year old graduating college student who is
interested in health and fitness. She has recently become passionate about consuming
and supporting local produce. Adrianas fitness and health goals are twofold; first,
Adriana would like to follow a media source that provides easy access to quick, healthy
recipes and fitness advice. Second, Adriana would like to affect legal policies regarding
local agriculture protection, as well as mandating sustainable farming. In addition,
Adriana is an avid social media user. She would hope that Organic Nows platform
linked to multiple other social media, so she could follow the accounts various formats
throughout the day.

Criteria for Selecting Websites

Adriana is looking for a website that allows her to optimize her fitness and health goals,
as well as impact tangible agricultural change in her region. Therefore, she is looking for
a site that will:
Provide easy, healthy recipes suited for someone on a college budget
Include an interactive map of local foods per region in the United States
Link to other similar causes or sites that Adriana can utilize
Include a blog feature that includes food and fitness pairs
Link to members of congress and digital petitions aimed at affecting agricultural
change

Frustrations with Websites

The primary frustration presented by sites similar to Organic Now is their lack of
content. Adriana is looking for a comprehensive source of fitness and health information
that is regularly updated to ensure the sites content remains current and relevant.
Additionally, Adriana is turned off by sites that are not mobile compatible, as she carries
her phone with her everywhere, and often accesses the internet via mobile. Lastly,
Adriana hopes the Organic Now site is user-friendly, graphically appealing, and not
cluttered with unnecessary information that makes her digital journey much lengthier
and more complex.

User Persona #2

Name: Daniel Whitstock

Gender: Male
Age: 35
Education: Masters Degree
Occupation: Advertising Executive
Marital Status: Married
Location: Los Angeles, California

Motivations
Daniel Whitstock is a 35-year old male living in a suburb of Los Angeles, California. He
is very busy, but is nevertheless motivated to provide himself and his family with healthy
food options. In addition, it is very important to Daniel to maintain a healthy lifestyle. He
is looking for a one-stop-shop that includes healthy recipes, fitness and nutrition
pairings, and links to healthy monthly subscription boxes. The most important thing to
Daniel is convenience, considering his limited time and schedule.

Criteria for Selecting Websites

Daniel is looking for a website that allows him to access healthy recipes, stay up-to-date
with everything health, and easily share content with his kids and wife. Therefore, he is
looking for a site that will:
Provide easy, healthy recipes suited for someone with ample spending money
Include a detailed list of fitness workouts paired with mentioned recipes
Articles dispelling common health myths, and providing fun facts
Link to members of congress and digital petitions aimed at affecting agricultural
change

Frustrations with Websites

Daniels primary frustration presented by sites similar to Organic Now is their lack of
interactive content; Daniel doesnt want to solely read articles, he wishes to submit his
own blog writing as well as comment and share recipes, and link content to his wife and
kids. Therefore, Daniel would most likely benefit from Organic Nows interactive content
features such as the blog, and the links to members of congress and other agricultural
influencers. Additionally, Daniel might find video content communicating agricultural
news helpful, considering his limited time and restricted schedule.

Social Media Samples

Organic Now will use Instagram and Facebook as its primary social outlets. Following
are five Facebook and Instagram example posts.

Instagram:
Facebook:
Promotional Flyer
Design Elements
Additional Information
Finally, it is helpful to know that if Organic Now reaches its goal of $50,000 in

online donations, it will not only help save the two previously mentioned farms from

failure, but will begin its initiative encouraging North Carolina farms to develop

sustainable agriculture techniques. This message should be pushed out to appeal to

those people with high environmental efficacy.

 References

Hring, A., Dabbert, S., Offermann, F., & Nieberg, H. (2001, May). Benefits of Organic

Farming for society. In European Conference-Organic Food and Farming,

Copenhagen.

Horrigan, L., Lawrence, R. S., & Walker, P. (2002). How sustainable agriculture can

address the environmental and human health harms of industrial

agriculture. Environmental health perspectives, 110(5), 445.