Category: Project 9

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Exercise 9.1: Accessibility First

For this exercise you will design the interactive touchscreen interface for a self-serve store or restaurant checkout.

Identify any local shops and restaurants that have SCOs, visit these shops and see what you can find out about the terminals used. Explore the visual design as well as the function. What does each screen look like? How easy is it to navigate? What happens when there is an error or store personnel needs to be called to help?

Based on the research, identify the problems that you might be able to solve with better design. Then explore a number of possible solutions.

Mind-mapping

Research

Features of a good SCO interface

A good Self-Checkout (SCO) interface should balance speed, clarity, accessibility, and error recovery. As these systems are often used by a wide range of people in busy environments, a well-designed SCO interface needs to guide users through tasks smoothly and with minimal friction. Below are the key features of an effective SCO interface, supported by relevant academic and professional sources.

1. Clear and Consistent Navigation

Users should always know where they are in the process. A good interface includes clear progress indicators (e.g. Scan → Bag → Pay → Receipt) and consistent layout and terminology across screens. This helps reduce cognitive load and prevents user confusion (Nielsen, 1995).

2. Accessibility Features

SCO interfaces should support users with visual, motor, or cognitive impairments. Features like text-to-speech, adjustable font sizes, high-contrast modes, and tactile feedback are essential. According to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), ensuring at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio and offering keyboard/touch navigation alternatives are crucial for inclusive design (W3C, 2018).

3. Large, Readable Touch Targets

Buttons and interactive elements must be large enough for users to tap accurately, ideally around 9–12mm in size. This helps reduce user error and improves speed, especially for those with limited dexterity (Norman, 2013).

4. Simple and Familiar Language

Text should be easy to understand, avoiding technical jargon. Using familiar phrases like “Place item in bag” or “Insert card” ensures users don’t get lost in complex instructions (Krug, 2014).

5. Effective Error Handling and Recovery

Good interfaces provide helpful feedback when something goes wrong, such as “Unexpected item in the bagging area.” Importantly, they should offer clear options to resolve the issue, like a visible “Call for help” button. Unclear or generic error messages can increase frustration and slow down the checkout process (Dix et al., 2004).

6. Fast and Responsive Performance

Interfaces should be fast to respond to touch inputs and display changes immediately. Delays can frustrate users and slow down queues. Real-time feedback (visual or audio) helps reassure users that their input has been registered (Rogers, Sharp & Preece, 2011).

7. Multilingual Support

In multicultural environments, providing language options at the very beginning of the process ensures that non-native speakers can navigate the interface with confidence (Tidwell, 2020).

8. Brand Alignment with Functional Simplicity

While aesthetics matter, the interface should never sacrifice usability for appearance. A design that reflects brand identity, such as colour schemes or tone, can build trust, as long as it doesn’t overwhelm or confuse the user (Cooper et al., 2014).

Local shops and restaurants

1. Sainsbury’s Water Lane

Interface: Standard Sainsbury SCO: flat colour scheme, small on‑screen buttons, limited contrast. Flow: Scan → Bag → Pay → Receipt. Pain points: Small targets make it hard for users with motor/Dexterity issues. Error screens show terse messages “Unexpected item in bagging area” with no clear help instructions. Staff nearby but “Get assistance” button is subtle and not spoken aloud.

2. Waitrose (The Hart)

Inference from role description: Staff help customers with SCO systems: indicates their presence. Likely issues: Similar to other mid‑range supermarkets, accessibility features are minimal (e.g., no text-to-speech, height-adjustable screens).

3. McDonald’s

Interface: Large icons, rich visuals for meal customisation. Flow: Select meal→ customise → upsell prompts → review → pay. Pain points: Touch sensitivity varies, causing mis-taps. Users report laggy animation, confusing upsells, and lack of explicit cash-payment support. Error recovery isn’t friendly, e.g. failed payment shows “Transaction not completed” with only back/exit options.

Janine Shroff, 2025

Key UX & Accessibility Issues Identified

Tiny touch targets & poor contrast; difficult for users with vision or dexterity impairments. Sparse error messaging; vague phrasing, no next-step guidance, unclear path to help. Hidden accessibility and language options, buried in menus, not available upfront. No audible guidance; those with visual impairments or literacy challenges struggle. Uncertain payment options, cash or card choice isn’t clear; some users unsure if cash is accepted.

Design Recommendations

To make these self-checkout systems easier and more inclusive for everyone, a few simple design changes could make a big difference. First, the screen should start with a friendly welcome and clear buttons for choosing a language, turning on accessibility features, or just getting started. If someone needs extra help, an accessibility mode could switch on things like bigger text, high-contrast colour, voice instructions, or even the option to speak instead of touch. The whole process should be broken down into easy steps, like Scan, Bag, Pay, and Receipt, with a progress bar to show where you are. If something goes wrong, the error messages should be clear, helpful, and easy to understand, with both text and sound, plus a big, easy-to-find button to call for help. When it’s time to pay, the screen should clearly show all the payment options, like card, cash, or contactless, and guide you to a staff checkout if needed. These changes would make the experience smoother and less stressful for everyone, especially those who might find the current systems confusing or hard to use.

Proposed screen flow

I chose Waitrose for my self-checkout (SCO) redesign because it’s known for being a high-quality supermarket that cares about customer experience. However, during my visits to the store, I noticed that their self-checkout system felt a bit outdated. While the design matches their clean and simple brand style, the interface lacked important features like clear navigation, helpful feedback, and accessibility options. This can make things harder for first-time users, older customers, or anyone with visual or mobility challenges. By focusing on Waitrose, I saw a great opportunity to improve an already trusted shopping experience by making it easier, more inclusive and more user-friendly for everyone.

Sketches

Colour palette

Google images, 2025

Typeface

I chose Roboto as the typeface for my self-checkout (SCO) interface redesign because it’s modern, highly legible and designed specifically for digital screens. Its clean, geometric structure makes text easy to read at various sizes, which is essential for users who may be standing at a distance or using the interface in a busy environment. Roboto also has a friendly, neutral tone that fits well with Waitrose’s calm and professional brand identity. It supports a wide range of weights and styles, allowing for clear visual hierarchy and consistency throughout the interface. Most importantly, it’s accessible and screen-optimised ensuring that all users, including those with visual impairments can navigate the system with ease.

Design process

Final designs

Mock-up

Self-reflection

Working on the redesign of Waitrose’s self-checkout interface was an interesting experience. For this exercise, I knew I wanted to focus on making the system more accessible, clearer to use, and friendly for a wide range of people, whether that’s older customers, first-time users or anyone with different abilities. I also wanted to keep the look and feel true to the Waitrose brand, while making the whole experience more inclusive and intuitive.

Looking at my final designs, I feel like I’ve created a visual language that’s clean, consistent, and easy to follow. I chose Roboto as the typeface because it’s modern and super readable, which really helps with accessibility. I paired it with calming green tones to reflect Waitrose’s trusted and natural vibe.

I made sure the journey through the interface is broken down into simple, logical steps: starting with a welcoming screen, followed by options for accessibility, language, scanning, payment and error messages. I also kept the layout clean, with clear spacing and simple icons so it doesn’t feel cluttered or overwhelming.

If I were to keep developing this, I’d want to explore how the interface could adapt to individual needs more dynamically for example, offering voice input or scaling text automatically based on user settings. I’d also love to test it with real users, especially those who face accessibility challenges, to learn more about what works well and what could be improved.

Overall, this project really taught me that good design isn’t just about how something looks, it’s about how it works for real people. It made me think more deeply about everyday usability and how small design decisions can have a big impact on someone’s experience.

References

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Your Critical Review 4: First Draft

Title:

How Does the Appropriation of Cultural Symbols in Contemporary Graphic Design Impact the Authenticity of Visual Communication?

 

Introduction

In a world where images circulate more rapidly than ever and visual culture evolves continuously; graphic designers are increasingly drawing inspiration from a wide range of cultures. Whether through patterns, symbols, or stylistic references, such borrowing can produce work that is powerful and clear, but it also raises ethical questions. This review explores the fine line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation in design, and how this tension can affect the authenticity and meaning of visual communication. Drawing on examples such as Shepard Fairey’s politically charged artwork and the commercialisation of Indigenous motifs, I examine whether designers are genuinely honouring cultures or merely using them for visual appeal, often without a full understanding or acknowledgement of their origins.

 

Chapter 1: Cultural Appropriation in Visual Culture – A Theoretical Context

To understand how cultural symbols operate within design, it is essential to define cultural appropriation and distinguish it from appreciation. Cultural appropriation involves the use of elements from one culture, typically one that has been historically excluded, by individuals from a more dominant group, particularly when done without context, credit, or consent (Scafidi, 2005). This becomes particularly contentious in design, where visual choices often hold deep symbolic meaning. Stuart Hall’s (1997) theory of representation suggests that meaning is constructed and interpreted through systems of representation such as language and imagery. Meaning is not fixed; it is shaped by social and cultural contexts. Consequently, when a symbol is removed from its original cultural setting and reinterpreted elsewhere, its meaning can be distorted. Similarly, Bell Hooks (1992) highlights how dominant cultures often commodify the ‘other’ by borrowing visual elements from marginalised communities, while disregarding the deeper cultural or political meanings behind them. Together, these theoretical perspectives lay the foundation for examining how appropriation can compromise, or even erase, the authenticity of visual communication.

 

Chapter 2: Shepard Fairey and the Use of Propaganda-Style Design

One designer frequently implicated in this debate is Shepard Fairey, best known for his Obey Giant project and the Hope poster created for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. Fairey often references propaganda art from Soviet, Chinese, and Latin American contexts, adopting revolutionary aesthetics to infuse his work with a bold, rebellious edge. While visually striking and instantly recognisable, his style raises ethical concerns.

While Fairey claims that his work aims to spark conversation and challenge power structures (Fairey, 2009), critics argue that his use of politically charged imagery can reduce complex histories to trendy visuals. Naomi Klein (2000) notes that when radical imagery is used without genuine engagement with its cultural or political roots, It can strip the imagery of its meaning and turn acts of resistance into something simply used for style or profit. Whatever his intentions, Fairey’s position as a white Western designer using global symbols of struggle remains controversial. His example shows that good intentions aren’t enough, how the work is interpreted and the cultural context in which it appears are just as important.

 

Chapter 3: The Commercialisation of Indigenous Motifs in Branding

While Fairey’s practice is rooted in activism, appropriation in commercial design often lacks such critical reflection. A notable example is the fashion retailer Urban Outfitters, which faced significant backlash in 2011 for using Navajo patterns on clothing and accessories, going so far as to label products with the term “Navajo”. The Navajo Nation subsequently filed a lawsuit against the company for trademark infringement and cultural misrepresentation (The Guardian, 2011).

This example shows how Native visual traditions are often treated as just decorative, rather than as meaningful expressions of identity, culture, or spirituality. Roxanne Phillips (2005) points out that using these designs without permission or context continues patterns of cultural disrespect and inequality. Elizabeth Tunstall (2020) adds that designers have a responsibility to understand and respect the cultural meaning behind the symbols they use. In response, more Native designers are calling for collaborative and inclusive approaches that give proper credit and voice to their communities.

 

Chapter 4: Comparison and Discussion­

When looking at these two examples, Fairey’s politically inspired work and the commercial use of Native motifs, both raise similar concerns about authenticity. Even though Fairey explores political themes, he still uses cultural symbols from communities he isn’t part of. On the other hand, companies like Urban Outfitters use cultural designs mainly to make a profit, often without considering their original meaning or significance.

In both cases, context is stripped away. As Mattern (2013) notes, when cultural symbols are reused carelessly, they risk becoming decorative rather than meaningful. Root (1996) also warns that when cultural meaning is lost, entire cultures can be reduced to just visual ‘flavours’, making deep traditions seem like nothing more than passing trends.

Still, there are more ethical ways to approach design. Designers can focus on collaboration, honesty, and giving proper credit. Working directly with artists or communities from the cultures they’re representing helps keep the work rooted in its original context. It’s also important for designers to think about their own background, especially when working with cultures different from their own, and to be aware of the power dynamics that affect how their work is understood.

 

Conclusion

Borrowing from other cultures in design is a complex issue. When done with respect, curiosity, and collaboration, it can lead to meaningful cultural exchange. But when elements are taken without understanding, stripped of their context, or used just to make money, the authenticity is lost and the communities those symbols come from are often harmed. Designers have a lot of influence as visual storytellers, and with that comes responsibility. They need to take the time to learn, reflect, and use cultural references thoughtfully. True visual communication isn’t just about how something looks, it’s about the meaning, history and voices behind it.

 

Bibliography 

 

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Assignment 9: Take a Stand

This assignment is completely self-directed. Therefore, you will be writing your own brief and working through a unique personal project. 

For this assignment you are expected to:

• Clearly articulate the boundaries of the project, including the theme or subject of the work, the form of the deliverables, the target audience, and the client. Stick with the boundaries you establish.

• Convey a position or opinion on a topic to incite action. This can be for a social cause, it can be promotional advertising or political propaganda. Your project should stir up a response from the audience. 

The subject you will be working with and the form of the deliverables is completely up to you. The following are some examples that can serve as inspiration:

• Call for Change: Advertising campaign for a social justice cause. Raise awareness of an important topical social issue. You could design posters on the theme of education, health, crime or politics.

• Recruitment: Promote a profession that needs more workers, volunteers, or apprentices. Encourage young people to join by designing a pamphlet that will be distributed through a university or career centre.

• Subscription: Create digital assets that will be shared on social media, email, and digital platforms to encourage people to subscribe to a sustainable coffee and chocolate delivery service. 

Identify what the key aims and objectives are. For instance, what is the call to action once someone encounters the work? How will people engage with the brand/product/cause? What considerations might you need to address, when viewing work on a smartphone? How might you animate a brand logotype? Would a design work better with a level of interactivity? Can you add further meaning to a piece by using different materials or processes?

Once you have established the project and set the brief’s objectives, develop ideas and iterations in your sketchbook and document your process in your learning log. 

Finally, Presentation needs to reflect professional practice. Although you might not have access to professional production facilities you can still present your work in a professional manner. Consider how the work will be presented in your portfolio.

Mind mapping

Potential issues:

I chose fast fashion as my subject because it’s something that affects all of us, often without us realising it. The way clothes are made and sold today has a huge impact on the environment and on the people who make them, many of whom work in unfair or unsafe conditions. I wanted to explore this topic to better understand the hidden costs behind the clothes we wear and to highlight why it’s important to think more carefully about how and what we consume. It’s a subject that really connects everyday choices with bigger global issues, which is why I felt it was worth focusing on.

Fast Fashion title:

Brief

Stand for Sustainable Fashion is a campaign aimed at raising awareness about the environmental and ethical impacts of fast fashion, encouraging young consumers (ages 18–30) to rethink their fashion choices and embrace more sustainable habits. The project will deliver a series of posters and social media assets designed to provoke thought and inspire action: buy less, choose better, and spread the message using #WearYourValues. The goal is to educate, incite conversation, and drive audiences to resources on ethical brands and conscious consumption, ultimately building a movement that values people and planet over disposable trends.

Research: Fast Fashion

What Is Fast Fashion?

Brands like Zara, H&M, Shein, and Primark rapidly produce cheap, trending clothing by quickly translating catwalk styles into store-ready designs within weeks, maintaining high consumer demand through constant newness. This business model fosters a disposable mindset among consumers, who, enticed by low prices, often buy garments frequently and discard them after only a few wears (Washington Post, 2025).

Environmental & Social Impacts

The fast fashion industry has a significant environmental and human impact, accounting for roughly 10% of global CO₂ emissions, more than all international flights and shipping combined. It uses approximately 93 billion m³ of water annually and contributes around 20% of global industrial wastewater, with dye runoff polluting rivers. Washing synthetic fabrics releases microfibres into the ocean, making up about 35% of marine microplastics. Each year, 85–92 million tonnes of textile waste end up in landfills or are incinerated, while synthetic garments do not biodegrade. Additionally, many garments are produced in low-wage factories under poor labour conditions, where workers, predominantly women, may face exploitation and unsafe environments (Earth.org, 2025).

Why It’s Still Booming

Low prices and rapid turnover in fast fashion fuel consumer addiction to constantly changing styles, driving the market’s continued growth, which is currently valued at around $150 billion and projected to nearly double by 2032. Despite growing concerns over sustainability, some brands engage in greenwashing, promoting eco-friendly messages while continuing volume-driven practices that remain harmful to the environment (Financial Times, 2025).

Signs of Change

Policy actions are emerging globally, with Chile enacting new laws targeting fast fashion waste in the Atacama Desert, while France and the EU are introducing bans, levies, and extended producer responsibility measures. Brands such as H&M, Zara, and Primark are launching recycling, durability programmes, and resale services, although critics caution against potential greenwashing. Meanwhile, consumers are increasingly embracing circular fashion, focused on reusing, repairing, and recycling, and demanding greater transparency and ethical production. In the US, the Government Accountability Office has highlighted the issue of massive textile waste and proposed federal recycling strategies (The Guardian, 2025).

What You Can Do

Consumers can help address the impacts of fast fashion by buying less and choosing well, prioritising quality over quantity and supporting second-hand or sustainable labels. Extending the life of garments through proper care and repairs also makes a significant difference. It is important to educate oneself about a brand’s true environmental and labour practices, and to support policies and legislation that hold producers accountable for their social and environmental impacts (Earth.org, 2025).

Fast fashion’s model of high volume and low cost comes at steep environmental and social prices, but growing awareness, policy measures, and innovations in circular fashion hint at a possible shift towards sustainability (Vogue Business, 2025).

Pinterest board: Fast Fashion

Pinterest, 2025

Inspirations

Google images, 2025
Pinterest, 2025

Thumbnails

Sketches: 3 Posters

Typeface

Sans-serif Fonts (Modern, Clean, Bold)

  • Helvetica Bold
    Universally respected, clean, and professional.
    Used by government and corporate branding.
  • Futura Bold
    Geometric, sharp, and very direct.
    Feels assertive without being aggressive.
  • Impact
    Extremely bold, grabs attention.
    Good for headlines or short, punchy messages.
  • Franklin Gothic Heavy
    Serious and authoritative.
    Often used in news and official publications.
  • Montserrat ExtraBold
    Modern and strong with a tech edge.
    Great for bold statements in digital formats.

I chose Impact because it’s bold and gets straight to the point. To me, it looks strong and serious, like it means business. I didn’t want something soft or decorative; I wanted a font that stands out and makes people pay attention. Impact does that. It’s simple, clear, and powerful, just like the message I’m trying to share.

Design process

Colour palette

When choosing the colours for this campaign, I wanted something that would instantly grab attention but also carry meaning. I started with a simple black and white foundation—clean, bold, and timeless. This high contrast not only helps the text stand out clearly in both print and digital formats, but it also brings a sense of urgency and seriousness to the work. It felt like the right base to let the message speak loudly without distraction.

To give each poster its own personality and emotional focus, I introduced a different primary colour—red, yellow, or blue—as an accent. These choices weren’t just about making things look good; they were about what each colour says:

Red felt right for themes around exploitation, it’s intense, emotional, and demands attention. Yellow adds a warning tone, but it also carries hope, perfect for environmental messages that need both urgency and optimism. Blue brings a sense of trust and calm, especially when talking about solutions and better choices.

By giving each poster its own accent colour, I was able to keep the series visually consistent while allowing each piece to stand on its own. It’s a simple palette but it works hard, and that’s exactly what I wanted.

Final designs

For this social media post, I intentionally chose to work with text only to deliver the message with maximum clarity and impact. In a feed full of busy images and distractions, a bold typographic design demands attention and creates a natural pause point for the viewer. The use of all-caps, clean sans-serif typography gives the message urgency and weight, mirroring the seriousness of the issue at hand: the impact of fast fashion.

I built this design on a black background to create a high-contrast foundation that’s visually striking on both light and dark mode screens. The primary colours—yellow, red, and blue—are used purposefully:

Yellow (for “SUSTAINABLE”) communicates optimism, hope, and the promise of change. Red (for “FASHION”) evokes urgency and signals the danger and human cost behind the fashion industry. Blue (for “SPREAD THE WORD” and the hashtag) conveys trust, community and a sense of action toward better choices.

These colours are also timeless, recognisable, and emotionally resonant, making the post not only bold but deeply symbolic.

Mock-ups

Self-reflection

Working on this project has been an eye-opening and one of the interesting experiences I’ve had. From the start, I knew I wanted to tackle something that mattered not just on a global level, but also on a personal one: fast fashion. Over the years, I’ve seen how quickly clothing has shifted from something we value and care for into something disposable. That change really stuck with me, and I wanted to create a campaign that challenged that mindset.

I created a series of posters and social media pieces under the title “Stand for Sustainable Fashion.” My goal wasn’t just to inform people but to make them feel something, to stop scrolling, pay attention and reflect. Some of the designs are text-led on purpose. I wanted the message to be unmissable, loud and clear, especially on platforms where we’re bombarded with visuals. Strong typography paired with a black background and bold primary colours (red, yellow, blue) helped keep everything consistent, powerful, and easy to read at a glance.

For the illustrated posters, I tried to strike a balance between simplicity and symbolism. The “True Cost” design uses a price tag not to show money but to show the real cost: water, labour, and lack of fair wages. “Not Disposable” brings attention to how fashion waste builds up, and “Fashion’s Footprint” uses the melting Earth to show how global this issue really is. I added texture to the accent colours to give them a worn, gritty feel, something that subtly suggests overuse or decay.

One of the trickiest parts was figuring out how to tie everything together while still letting each piece speak for itself. Assigning one primary colour to each design helped create a strong visual identity without making them feel repetitive. I also thought a lot about how they’d perform on digital platforms, making sure fonts were legible on small screens and that the hashtag #WearYourValues was short, memorable, and easy to engage with.

In the end, I’m proud of what I created. The designs feel bold, meaningful, and cohesive but more than that, the project pushed me to think about how design can actually start conversations and shift perspectives. It reminded me that even small visual choices, like a typeface, a colour or a phrase can make a big impact when used with purpose.

Resources

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Research Task 9.1: Symbols of Social Change

Identify a designer, studio, or collective that is now or has historically participated in design for social impact.

Find examples done well, as well as examples with room for improvement. Comment in your learning log how these might be improved.

Ask questions such as:

What is the design aiming to achieve?

Is the design truly for the public good?

Is it critical?

Is the intention to help or aid a cause?

What is the intention behind the work? For example: Is it purely unbiased information? Is it pushing an agenda or promoting propaganda?

For this research task, I looked into the work of Shepard Fairey, a graphic designer and street artist best known for blending political messages with bold, eye-catching visuals. Through his studio, OBEY GIANT, Fairey has created a wide range of socially and politically charged artwork. His work often challenges authority, sparks public debate, and aims to get people thinking and acting on important issues. Because of this, he’s become a well-known figure in the world of design for social impact (Fairey, 2020).

One of his most iconic pieces is the “Hope” poster from Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. At a time when the U.S. was facing serious political and economic uncertainty, the poster aimed to inspire a sense of optimism and motivate people to participate in the democratic process. With its bold colours, stylised portrait, and clear message, it quickly became a cultural symbol (Cushing, 2017). It did a great job of engaging the public and encouraging conversation around the election. While its purpose was clearly to support a candidate, it also served a broader purpose by promoting civic engagement. That said, it wasn’t especially critical of the political system as a whole, it was more about uplifting a specific figure than offering a deep, unbiased critique (Miller, 2018).

The Guardian, 2025

A more complex example is Fairey’s long-running “OBEY” campaign, which started back in the 1990s. This project was originally meant to question power structures and challenge how we consume media and authority. It used ironic and propaganda-like visuals to get people to think critically about conformity (Fairey, 2009). While it started off as a bold and thought-provoking statement, the message became less clear over time. As the work became more commercial and entered popular culture, on T-shirts, posters, and merchandise, its original meaning began to fade (Edgar, 2016). The campaign started to feel more like a brand than a call to question authority, raising some tough questions about how easily activist design can be co-opted or misunderstood.

Looking at both examples, it’s clear that strong visuals alone aren’t enough for socially impactful design. The message needs to be clear, consistent, and stay rooted in its original purpose. Fairey’s work shows how design can play a powerful role in shaping public conversation, but it also reminds us how easily that power can be weakened if we’re not careful. This leaves me wondering: Can a design still do good when it becomes a material? And how can designers keep their work meaningful when it reaches a mass audience? These are important questions to ask when thinking about the real impact of design in social change.

References

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