IS THE PRICE REALLY RIGHT?
PROJECT SCOPE
SYSTEMS THINKING
PROJECT TIMELINE
4 MONTHS
TEAM
MARISA WONG
JOCELYN BAKER
AUDIENCE
ENVISIONID EXHIBITION ATTENDEES
MY ROLES
RESEARCHER / DESIGNER
SKILLS
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY / FIELD RESEARCH / SUBJECT MATTER INTERVIEWS / SYSTEM MAPPING / GRAPHIC DESIGN / EXHIBITION DESIGN
HOW MUCH DO YOUTH KNOW ABOUT FINANCES?
HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT FINANCES?
THE CHALLENGE
Financial illiteracy is a complex and far-reaching issue that affects individuals, families, and communities. This systems thinking project aims to address the impact that financial illiteracy has on marginalized Albertan high school students by taking a holistic approach and examining the root causes and interconnected factors that contribute to this problem.
EXPLORING THE IMPACTS OF FINANCIAL ILLITERACY ON MARGINALIZED YOUTH
Our team addressed the impact that financial illiteracy has on marginalized Albertan high school students and the multiple barriers they can face when trying to improve their understanding in this area.
This work was done for the System-thinking and Changemaking Capstone, an undergraduate-level course offered through the Information Design program at Mount Royal University.
GOAL
Gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors that contribute to financial illiteracy, including cultural attitudes, educational systems, and access to financial resources, and present our findings and recommendations at the Envisionid Exhibition.
MAR WITH DESIGNS
IDENTIFYING THE CORE ISSUES
Our system map provided us with a process in which we could illustrate the nuances of how systemic power and stakeholders can influence issues and impact youth in regard to financial illiteracy.
Barriers and challenges that emerged during our research:
-
Distribution of financial literacy resources that are welcoming, engaging, and relevant for marginalized youth
-
Distrust of organizations, financial institutions, and adults due to lack of support and negative experiences
-
Lack of diversity and acknowledgment of systemic issues in existing financial literacy resources in marginalized communities
DESIGN DECISIONS
DISPLAYING AND EXPLAINING THE PROBLEM
We directed our visioning and design efforts to be presented at the Information Design program Envisionid Exhibition. The goal was to create a booth that was aimed to engage people into understanding and having conversations about our problem.
RESEARCH PROCESS
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
To approach this problem, we determined these steps:
Focus on those residing in Alberta and the age groups of 14 to 18.
1. SCOPE THE PROBLEM
Conduct secondary research encompassing academic literature, provincial resources, subject-matter expert interviews, and field research.
2. SECONDARY RESEARCH
Apply affinity mapping techniques, determined scale, and highlighted variants of cause and effect relationships across the categories
3. AGGREGATE & ANALYZE DATA
RETROSPECTIVE
This project pushed my way of thinking as systems thinking has allowed me to think more broadly and systemically, which has assisted the way I now consider my designs' future implications and how they may impact people and their behaviour.
TAKEAWAY 1
I enjoy thinking about complex problems and solutions as pieces of a larger solution strategy.
Thinking about the impacts of design solutions has helped me consider the future implications of products and has reframed the way I design to consider how insights drive the design of a solution and how products may shape and alter our future.
TAKEAWAY 2
People are willing to talk and educate themselves on problems, it’s just a matter of presentation and engagement.
During the exhibition, many people were interested in learning more about our WICKED problem and figuring out solutions that would help to address the problem. Many individuals connected with our topic on an empathetic level.