A Fall 2018 DLab Case Study
This Design Lab team is very passionate about helping Treasure Valley police. In particular, they want officers to have a more enjoyable and safe work environment.
Over the course of the term, they connected with law enforcement officers several times to try to understand some of the challenges police officers face day-to-day on the job. Through empathy and understanding work, they decided to focus on how the public perceives and treats officers (specifically, food service workers).
To address this, the team formed the following How Might We question: How might we reduce the stigma that police officers face from the public on a daily basis? The team conducted several rounds of interviews with food service workers to try and gain a better understanding of why they might like or dislike police officers. From the team’s brainstormed potential solutions, they created Project W.H.Y. (“We Heart You”). Project W.H.Y. includes an Instagram account, a slogan, and a sticker to help share a message about positive actions of our local police. They created prototypes and went out into the public to see if people would follow their page, buy the stickers, or otherwise support the slogan and cause. After launching their first story, they saw an increase in followers and are working to measure the outcome of their solution.
Design Team: Duanavan J., Mia R., Joie G., and Elliot S.
