Design study, Technology
Civic Hackathon
A self-initiated design study: Bring residents and technologists together for a weekend to prototype tools that improve public services.
These are self-initiated studies, not client work. Each is a fictional campaign; none was commissioned by, produced for, or approved by any agency or organization.
The brief
- Line of business
- Technology
- Audience
- Developers, designers, students, and residents with ideas who want to fix everyday city problems.
- Objective
- Bring residents and technologists together for a weekend to prototype tools that improve public services.
- When and where
- November 13 and 14 | All weekend, Bayfront Plaza Hall
Concept A: Build Your City 12
Invites residents to turn daily frustrations, a confusing form or a broken bus app, into something they help fix. Type style.
Concept B: Real Data 12
Lists what teams get, open city data, staff mentors, and real challenges, so the weekend feels worth it. Scene style.
Concept C: Fix What Bugs You 12
Uses a coder's pun to invite everyone, coder or not, to bring the city problem that annoys them most. Grid style.
Spanish adaptation of Build Your City 12
The first direction adapted rather than translated: the headline, supporting line, and call to action rewritten in Spanish, with the layout reflowed for the longer text. Type style.
What was checked
Every one of the 48 pieces was checked as it was composed. The lowest text contrast measured anywhere in this study is 4.74 to 1, against a minimum of 4.5 to 1. Type sizes are in the units of each format: pixels for digital formats, and for print, units of the drawing at the sizes shown.
| Format | Minimum type size | Smallest set | Lowest contrast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poster, 18 by 24 inches | 11 | 13.2 | 4.74 to 1 |
| Flyer, letter | 11 | 13.5 | 4.74 to 1 |
| Social story, vertical | 13 | 13.0 | 4.74 to 1 |
| Retractable banner | 10 | 10.0 | 4.74 to 1 |
| Display ad, 160 by 600 | 10 | 10.0 | 4.74 to 1 |
| Social post, square | 13 | 13.2 | 4.74 to 1 |
| Display ad, 300 by 250 | 10 | 10.0 | 4.74 to 1 |
| Postcard, 6 by 4 inches | 13 | 13.2 | 4.74 to 1 |
| Event cover | 12 | 12.0 | 4.74 to 1 |
| Billboard | 12 | 12.0 | 4.74 to 1 |
| Email header | 11 | 11.0 | 4.74 to 1 |
| Display ad, 728 by 90 | 10 | 10.0 | 4.74 to 1 |