blew it

Graphical map of Boise State.

This was a tough one. It started a year ago with an old friend asking if I’d be interested in contract work. Likely as much an attempt to throw me a bone as use grant money. The needs started with a decision tree, but that felt wrong to me. At the time, I couldn’t say exactly what was wrong, but considering the possibilities, the approach felt out-dated. We got to the point you see here, had a verbal confirmation that we’re on the right track, then nothing. Lost work, lost friendship, lost opportunity.

Boise State has a federal registration for the color blue applied to turf. It’s trademarked. First installed in 1986, the turf in their stadium is recognized nationally as that of Boise State. Documents should have a dominant color of blue or orange. Boise blue and Boise orange.
Kid with a broncos shirt riding a skateboard.
In a lot of respects, the branding is similar to Penn State’s. I can comply. Graphics, though, should clarify and clearly, this doesn’t. Off the top of my head I tried a stream of suggestions- publish your phone number. Publish your email address. Let people feel that they’re talking with someone. Give help a personality. All good, but really- who would want to deal with that? Even if calls and emails reached a team or committee, it might be overwhelming. Though I seriously doubt it.

So what would help? If the conversation would have continued, if there’d been face to face discussion, I’m sure it would have come out: What’s needed is simple.
The iconic wild bronco statue. A free, introductory course called Intro to Careers in Public Health with lots of video interviews of graduates working in different fields and locations around Boise. Give people a badge if they complete the online introduction. Deciding on a career path is complex enough to require more than a graphic or chart. Exploring the online course could give potential students a low impact feel for how online courses work.

What they said they wanted.