Make A Mark
a one day creative make-a-thon
connecting non-profits and creatives.
I was happy to be part of the first Brussels chapter of Make A Mark in 2019 as one of the creatives. It was great to experience the first Make A Mark outside of the US.
Big thanks to Gwen Gwentibold Dubois and her co-organizers.
I was teamed with Fiona and Hélène. Fiona is a creative strategist based in London with whom I share some mutuals, Hélène makes beautiful illustrations.
our non-profit
Point Stalingrad
Point Stalingrad wants to be a meeting point for people living in the Avenue Stalingrad area.
A team of volunteer organises a yearly flea market and got the city of Brussels to install a book case where neighbours can exchange books,
have a read on the bench attached to the book case, or simply meet up.
our challenge
Making Point Stalingrad a meeting point for locals
& enabling active participation
Before we started thinking about the solution, we focussed on defining the challenge.
This helped us getting some important insight we could then use as requirements for the solution.
Considerations
The neighbourhood is very diverse.
There are a lot of different cultures, languages, ages, …Communicating off line is very important.
Insights
Getting started is important, everything can be perfected in a later phase
Activity will awaken curiosity
Enable people to join from the beginning and always keep this in mind
A modular future proof solution is needed
our proposed solution
An A3 printed calendar
We let our minds run wild in a brain storm and were happy to have set some requirements to help us sort through the ideas.
Deciding was then pretty easy as the calendar idea ticked all boxes:
✔️ Off line communication
The print is both a poster and calendar while also serving as a flyer and information brochure.
It features more information about the initiative and how neighbours can join,
extra explanation about planned events and space for own ideas
✔️ Multilingual
We used symbols in the calendar to save some space. On the back, those are explained.
All texts are written in 4 languages: NL, FR, EN and Arabic.
✔️ Future proof
We chose the have the calendar spread over 3 months. This way, a new calendar can be spread 4 times per year.
This allows for consistency while also serving as a 3 monthly reminder. The colour palette can change between calendars,
while the base will stay the same so it’s immediately recognisable while also being something fresh.
✔️ Modular
Thanks to the volunteers’ Adobe knowledge, we were able to make everything in such away that
the team of volunteers can make the future prints themselves.
✔️ Allows for a quick start
Last but not least, the calendar allows the volunteers to start small and quick.
Planning a few activities, adding them to the calendar and they’re set to spread the calendar.
