Menace Collective is a group of Minneapolis-based journalists, writers, & community organizers looking to reshape the narrative on who the menace is in society. With a vision to amplify the voices of people of color, and those who hail from historically marginalized communities, the client approached us for design recommendations for an initial launch of a digital media platform.

My team and I had the benefit of an extensive stakeholder interview, lasting upwards of two hours. We reviewed the client’s vision board providing cues for the design aesthetic they were hoping for.

The client posed the following questions:

1. What makes content engaging?

2. How do people prefer to consume local news & content?

3. What sparks people to get involved in their communities, in order to make meaningful change?

To answer these questions we conducted a comparator analysis of other media platforms and potential sources of local news and media. As a team we drafted and distributed a robust digital survey, to gauge the target audiences current behavior & media consumption habits.

My team and I also drafted a research protocol for remote interviews with target users, namely folks who identify as hailing from a marginalized community. I moderated a session and acted as notetaker for another.

Having an intuitive site navigation and taxonomy were important to get the client closer to achieving the objective launching this media platform.

I spearheaded research efforts in this area, designing and conducting remote card sorting & tree-testing activities.

A brief summary of my approach:

Card Sort:

The words used for the cards in this activity were those representing concepts derived from all available Menace Collective members published writings, as well as from the initial stakeholder meeting.

Tree Test:

Utilizing specific types of subjects (articles, works, etc.) that Menace Collective members plan to submit to be published on the upcoming site.

Each member of the team created “style tiles” or mini visual mock-ups that each encapsulate a slightly different aesthetic approach, all based on the clients original mood board. We presented these designs to users in the form of a “word-association”survey, and asked them to choose which words most closely described how the designs made them feel.

Through a combination of targeted surveys & user interviews, my team and I got closer to understanding how the target audience of this media platform currently consumes media, and also a better sense of what types of media spurs those folks to get involved in important issues in their community.

Our research showed us most folks get their local news online, from trusted sources in their circles on social media. Similarly, what has spurred people to get involved in issues relevant to them in their communities was something they read on social media, a post from friend, a petition, or an event such as a march or rally.

Most of our participants also found that the major social media platforms are simply not safe spaces for constructive dialogue and discussion, especially for those hailing from marginalized communities.

With our research complete, we refined our wireframes & mock ups, creating a visual identity that resonates with users. We developed a full content strategy, including a site architecture diagram and proposed taxonomy and navigation. That content strategy included recommendations to create engagement, that demonstrate that the Menace Collective site itself is a safe space, through accessible features, like transcribed audio, WCAG AAA-approved color palate, & a code of conduct that clearly spells out the vision and values of Menace.

The whole team worked together to seamlessly package all our deliverables together in a way that brought the client’s vision to life.

2020 was a difficult year for so many folks, though it was especially difficult for people of color, and those who hail from marginalized communities. Between the economic impact of Covid-19, and the social upheaval witnessed, as the result of years of systemic social inequities, 2020 has saw a lot of pain. It has also seen an awakening by many.

Throughout my research on this project, in talking to folks in the community, I can clearly see a desire and a need for what the Menace Collective is envisioning. Their aim is to uplift and tell the stories that are often untold, from the perspective of those who are unjustly painted a “Menace” by many in traditionally dominant roles in society. While the recommendations we are making are a first step to get them to launch, I see a bright future for Menace Collective.

Next Steps

For next steps in this project I would love to see a local non-for-profit development team take a look at our full project and feature set, and perhaps help the Menace Collective implement some of features we recommended that were currently out of scope for the clients budget. If you, or someone you know is a developer who would be interested in discussing this further, please feel free to reach out via my CONTACT page. I’d be happy to put you in touch.