Seattle Audubon, a bird-focused conservatory group, was looking to diversify its membership. They needed to make a difference in more neighborhoods then they were currently reaching. Our team had a meeting with the department heads at Seattle Audubon. We asked each member what they did, problems they saw, and what they believed success looked like.
The first event I observed was a bird walk open to the public. I wrote down my experience at the event in a journal, then did a short group interview with the participants at the end of the event. The bird watch guide was able to give me a less formal expert interview as well. The second event I went to was a drawing class for members, following the same process.
Demographic Observation:
40+, 4 men, 7 women, 2 indian, 2 asian.
How did you decide to come to the walk today? How did you hear about the walk?
Most said they came because it was nearby.
Most found the walk through member email, or because they check the website for events, or word of mouth from a member who was a friend
Two new participants found it because the guide posted on Facebook.
The Indian couple were members of another city's Audubon and used google to find it (In town for wedding)
How did you get here today?
Nearly everyone drove with a few walking. The trip took less than 15 minutes.One of the women came from over 30 minutes away, taking two buses and then biking. It was her 1st bird walk in Seattle, she probably would not come just for a walk due to the trip. But she was happy to have gone on the walk with her friend (a member) and they were planning to have an early lunch.
What is the normal demographic and size of groups for bird walks?
Walks were mostly older white women, she was surprised when I mentioned the make-up of our group and hadn’t noticed it. Most groups were between 6 to 18 people, with large groups being hard to be a guide for.
Was the demographic different on weekends or for later walks?
All of her walks were morning weekdays.
How do people hear about the walks?
Finding it on the website, word of mouth, or facebook posts by guides. She mentioned her facebook post was reposted in more older white social circles.
Anything that happened that took away from the experience?
Members could get more instructive about bird watching and have non-inclusive conversations others could not follow which she tried to reign in on her walks. She heard about some members being rude to non-white ethnicities in other groups.
Seattle Audubon did not feel comfortable collecting demographic information from their users. In addition they felt questions might disrupt existing partnerships with Outdoor Afro and Outdoor Asian. With these considerations, we had to eliminate ethnicity as an audience differentiator. A heat map showed less members in Southern Seattle, and we knew the group did not include many younger adults.
I paired with a UX designer to ask scripted questions and record answers. We mostly encountered white people, the single Asian group we saw declined to be interviewed.
Summary of 4 interviewees:
Demographic: 25-40, White men/women
Motivation: Enjoy the outdoors, meeting people
Location: Close-by, traveled less than 10 min
Discoverability: Internet search, signage in the area, word of mouth, social media
We met as a group and utilized affinity diagrams to organize our thoughts and identify intersecting ideas. This carried over into a second session of brainstorming solutions for our refined design goal to Help Seattle Audubon remove barriers and authentically engage with a more diverse group in South Seattle. In the end we built upon my safer idea.
We targeted the park, local coffe shops, and an online paper as places we could reach our audience. The event was going to:
I worked with our copywriter to create advertising that was friendly in tone and spoke to being part of an outdoor group. It eased concerns of cost and being only for those who already knew about birds. It also provided the practical matters such as what to bring, where and when the event would be.
The poster is designed to draw attention on a wall with its bright color from the Seattle Audubon brand. Pictures give an idea of what will happen at the event. The title is legible at a distance and the simple pair of circles represent binoculars. Closer inspection lays out the details.
