2018 ASLA COMMUNICATIONS AWARD OF HONOR: VanPlay: Plan to Play

“该项目展示了具有特定身份的公共机构如何突破自我并扭转局面。公共机构做出的全新尝试本身就充满趣味。
– 2018年评审委员会

“It shows a way for public agencies that have a certain identity to turn things around. It’s interesting to see a public agency take a fresh approach.”
– 2018 Awards Jury

来自 ASLA 对gooood的分享。
VanPlay: Plan to Play by Design Workshop – Denver/Aspen

项目概述
PROJECT STATEMENT

在当今时代，公园和文娱设施如何作为一个品牌进行自我重塑，以成功面对下一个世纪的变革？温哥华公园与娱乐管理委员会希望突破这种以“蓝与绿”为主题的传统公园模式，寻找设计团队来打造一个全新的品牌，并将公众的热情与好奇心引向这一为期超过25年的、全系统的总体规划当中。

温哥华拥有1300公顷的绿地、28公里长的海堤以及175个社区，该项目试图利用这一潜能巨大的网络基础来构建一个充满活力的品牌形象，使其能够涵盖并代表城市中各类卓越而先进的设施和服务——从麻将游戏，到为流浪者准备的温暖的休息站。

VanPlay作为全新升级的品牌，在项目实施后的六个月内便实现了超过一百万次数字展示，并将帮助温哥华市创建一个包容性的框架，以应对包括海平面上升、基础设施老化以及社会不平等加剧在内的各种各样的挑战。

How does a parks and recreation department recast itself as a relevant brand today that can successfully face the next century of change? Seeking a vision beyond the typical ‘blue and green’ parks motif, the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation challenged the design team to craft a brand to spark the public’s curiosity in the first systemwide master plan in over 25 years.

Curlers to coyotes roam and recreate in Vancouver’s network of 1,300 hectares of parkland, 28 kilometers of seawall and 175 neighborhood facilities. The resulting brand draws from this energy to forge a vibrant identity agile enough to represent the breadth of exceptional and progressive services offered—from mahjong to warming stations for the homeless.

VanPlay, the reenvisioned brand, garnered over 1 million digital impressions in its first six months and is helping the city create a framework for inclusivity and welcome in the face of challenges that range from sea level rise, aging infrastructure and rising social inequality.

▲VanPlay是“温哥华公园娱乐计划2040”的内容之一：它是一个大胆的品牌形象，象征着城市的顽强生命力，并将为城市公园和娱乐系统的未来发展打下基础。VanPlay is the vision for Parks+Rec in Vancouver, 2040：VanPlay is a bold branding identity to embody the city’s tenacity and to set the stage for the future of the city’s parks and recreation system.

项目说明
PROJECT NARRATIVE

品牌形象的困境

由温哥华公园与娱乐管理委员会发起的“全市公园及娱乐总体规划”已实施25年，自那时起，温哥华增加了16万人口，居民总人数已经超过63万。预计在未来的25年，市内人口还将增长12%，城市的公园系统也因此面临着一系列新的挑战，包括人口老龄化、文化多元化以及据市民反映的不断加重的社会隔离问题。基于这一现状，房地产开发商通过不断增建现代化的塔楼来使街区变得更加密集，并因此促进了城市中230个公园以及24个社区中心的使用。

考虑到不断增长的使用需求以及持续变化的目标群体，管理委员会开始实施新的总体规划，并借助本次规划来创建一个令人瞩目的品牌项目，并将其与社区从内部层面连接起来。沟通需要充分地明确整体规划的目标以及制定的步骤。品牌项目将完整地记录为期18个月的整体规划流程，并将吸引众多曾经参与过其他十余个城市规划项目的工作人员、利益相关者以及公众的关注。

让设计带来巧思

作为项目的起始点，客户团队要求设计师突破公园和娱乐设施的传统模式。他们表达出了一个强烈的愿望：使品牌容纳并彰显温哥华人的多样背景，同时涵盖管理委员会提供的大量服务，不断拓宽传统公园和娱乐设施的边界。

初期的品牌塑造和身份探索工作通过两次研讨会得以推进。第一次研讨会通过探讨“我们希望公众对整体规划过程产生怎样的想法和感受”等焦点问题，为品牌的构建提出了一系列可能的“主题集群”：

· 重要的/有意义的项目和流程
· 
避免遗漏，要充分激发人们的兴趣
· 具有创新性的方案
· 未来的线路地图
· 由市民驱动的规划和流程
· 包容性，为所有人服务
· 合理性，以数据和实施为基础
· 健康/活跃的人群和场所
· 我的街区，我的公园（对我来说它是什么）

在第二次研讨会中，项目团队在两个关键点上达成一致：其一，品牌需要以一种无法以数据和事实替代的“充满情感”的方式与人们建立连接。随后，讨论小组重点关注了温哥华公园和娱乐设施所包含的独特且多样化的功能。对话探讨了项目能够为城市、社区和个人带来的各种益处。最后一轮的讨论集中在能够帮助促进连接的措辞和语句上，并得出了以下列表：

· 你会为什么事情感动？什么事情感动了你？
· 它们使你感动的点在哪里？
· 共同的目标；连接
· 粗糙；不完整；非正式；野生
· 普通人；易于接近；非企业的；无障碍
· 动态；充满活力

VanPlay和Playbook

设计团队在任务会议上进行了一系列品牌宣传活动，并借此为整体规划流程（Van Play）和规划方案（Playbook）选定名称，彰显与运动、活力和健康相关的内涵。宣传材料的颜色并未采用象征传统公园和休闲空间的绿色，而是选择了能够反映温哥华景观的鲜艳色彩以及尺度。平面设计元素也都来自于温哥华市的花园、海滩、公园以及娱乐设施。

设计团队对社交媒体和现场观察进行了分析，随后建立了一个具有代表性的社区模型，以便在整个设计过程中起演示作用。最后一个步骤是VanScene的设立，它是一个能够在所有平台上使用的模块化场景，描绘了以城市天际线和社区中心为背景的VanPlay社区生活。

品牌手册确保了VanPlay的品牌特征能够被每个参与规划的人使用，以便设计师、公司以及各个城市部门能够迅速地识别出那些“属于VanPlay”的事物。在过去的一年中，VanPlay计划已经创建了超过1000个独立内容，它们在具备明显“VanPlay”特征的同时也获得了股东和公众的广泛认可。

从认同到参与

VanPlay品牌规划的下一个阶段是将这些想法传遍世界，以供全球的温哥华人阅读、观看、讨论和游戏。以各类游戏和活动的创意为灵感，团队创建了一系列符合国际公众参与协会条例（IAP2 – 信息告知、咨询、参与、合作、授权）的社区型活动。早期的参与活动包括：

· 设计团队在所有社交平台上发布信息图表和背景文件，以强调和分享VanPlay的关键信息和数据（IAP2“信息告知”。）开放的网络是VanPlay品牌规划流程的一个关键特征。

· VanPlay活动还结合了高品质的花絮视频制作，通过一系列“VanScene”（Van场景）将温哥华的日常生活生动地展示出来。该视频还强调了管理委员会对温哥华市的广泛影响力，同时为线上调查以及VanPlay巡回活动进行了宣传（IAP2“信息告知”）。

· 在规划中，离线信息的获取常常受到忽视。客户和设计团队希望人们能够尽可能地注意到和品牌规划相关的信息，因此他们将宣传广告印在游览车上，相当于在城市道路上设置了移动的广告牌。VanTour巡回活动遵循了策略性的路线，以便覆盖尽可能多的、来自各个收入层级的多样化的群体（IAP2：信息告知和参与）。

· 巡回游览车内部包含了一个蓝色的“想象力游乐场”，旨在吸引人们的注意，并鼓励市民以家庭为单位参与活动（IAP2：信息告知和咨询）。

· 项目花费了六周时间进行全系统观察研究。该研究记录了超过18000位（来自不同收入层级和背景）居民对公园和娱乐设施的使用情况，并以此来为品牌发展计划提供事实依据（IAP2：信息告知）。

· 开展全市范围的在线调查，捕获各种创意点子，同时收集社区对公园和娱乐设施的需求和建议（IAP2：信息告知和咨询）。

· 围绕以上调查结果，举办由北美各行专家主持的SmartCity讲座，同时开展社区问答环节，制定工作说明表（IAP2：信息告知和参与）。

品牌改造成果

VanPlay品牌计划带动了丰富的社区活动以及面向官员和职员的高水平演讲。客户的宣传负责人一致认为项目的材料十分具有活力和吸引力。该计划为客户和社区创造了一个能够促使他们了解当下和未来挑战的空间，并在此基础上去共同构建公园和娱乐设施的美好未来。

VanPlay品牌和信息的质量评判标准包括以下几点：

· 超过一百万次数字展示；
· 通过VanTour巡回活动和“想象力游乐场”建立了4000个节点；
· 超过200个组织的参与；
· 1万次视频浏览和转发；
· 1万次在线参与链接访问
· 平面形象获得100%的公园理事会授权
· 受访者的成年人和儿童人数比例达到了理想的50%

该项目标志着公园和娱乐部门在品牌和形象塑造方面的示范性转变。通过创建通用且有效的形象，该项目证明了品牌定制不仅能够体现客户的目标与价值观，还能够帮助社区表达和分享关于未来的美好构想。借助丰富的互动活动以及便于用户使用的工具，该品牌发挥出了自己的生命力，前所未有地激发了人与人之间的联系和热情。

▲聚焦未来：面对人口增长和气候变化等各种挑战，VanPlay品牌塑造计划聚焦于以下问题：“未来的公园和娱乐设施会是什么样子？”All Eyes on the Future：With challenges including rapid population growth and climate change, the VanPlay campaign and master plan centered on the question: what do the parks and recreation of tomorrow look like?

▲让设计带来巧思：温哥华公园和娱乐管理委员会要求设计师突破公园和娱乐设施的传统模式，打造一个能够彰显温哥华特质的品牌形象。Thinking Different (by Design): The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation challenged the design team to think beyond traditional parks and recreation brands and develop an identity that spoke to the core of what it means to be a Vancouverite.

▲超前地思考一切：本次计划还将引导温哥华政府以及公园管理部门发挥其先进和包容的作用，包括各种革新性的社会和文化服务，例如为流浪者准备的温暖的休息站。Forward Thinking Everything：The campaign also must channel the progressive and inclusive nature of Vancouver and its Park Board, such as the unique and innovative, social and cultural services from childcare warming stations for the homeless.

▲源于温哥华的活力：设计团队从温哥华生机勃勃的自然环境中找到灵感，精选了数百张能够反映色彩和文化特征的照片，并将其应用为品牌形象的主色调。Vancouver-Inspired Vibrancy：The team sought inspiration in the vibrant nature of Vancouver, visually and culturally. Hundreds of photographs representing color and culture were curated to become the brand’s color palette.

▲品牌标识呈现为一个自由奔放的跳跃者的形象。秉持着包容性的基本原则，该计划还开发了一套补充性的形象和角色，以代表居住在温哥华的形形色色的人群。The logo ultimately centered on a free-spirited character jumping through the air. With a founding principle of inclusivity, the supplemental cast of characters and resulting brand assets were developed to represent the full spectrum of Vancouverites.

▲为了扩大品牌的影响力，设计团队开发了一套完整的设计标准手册，以确保VanPlay的品牌特征能够被每个参与规划的人使用，从而保持统一而富有凝聚力的视觉形象。To expand the reach of the brand, the team developed a complete design standards manual to enable anyone and everyone involved in the planning process to design assets for public release, which maintained a cohesive and unified visual identity.

▲公园管理委员会和设计团队还以独特的叙事形式来鼓励社区互动，激发人们对品牌的兴趣，从而积极地参与到城市公园的规划过程当中。Next, the Park Board and design team developed a set of novel forms of community engagement that would not only spark interest in the plan but encourage people to get active in the city’s parks and the planning process.

▲位置，位置，位置：离线信息的获取常常受到忽视。为了深入来自各个收入层级的多样化的社区，项目团队对公园的活动设施进行了全系统的观察，并组织了VanTour巡回活动来促进社区参与。Location, Location, Location: Off-line, outdoor awareness is often underused in planning. To reach neighborhoods with diversity of income and cultures, the team conducted observational studies of recreation in parks systemwide and organized the ‘VanTour,’ a mobile community engagement effort.

▲离线，上路：受到1970年代温哥华公园汽车的启发，项目团队为VanTour巡回活动开发了一款旅行房车，并在其中置入一个“想象力游乐场”。旅行房车就如同移动的广告牌一般，大量地吸引了人们的注意。Off-Line, On-Road: Inspired by a 1970’s Vancouver Park Mobile, the team developed a tour van for the VanTour. The Van hauls the Imagination Playground and functions as a moving billboard to generate and maintain top-of-mind attention on the campaign.

▲他们的努力让我们玩得开心：温哥华公园和娱乐管理委员会是历史最悠久的市政部门之一。VanTour巡回活动为委员们提供了与社区居民愉快互动的机会。They work hard so we can play hard: The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation is one the oldest politically elected parks boards. The VanTour offered opportunities for the commissioners to engage in person with their community in a fun and relaxed setting.

▲未来的人，建造未来：为了吸引温哥华的年轻人，VanTour巡回活动带来了一个“想象力游乐场”，它可以被改造成数千种场景和配置，充分激发了年轻人的想象力和创造力。People of the Future, Building The Future: To engage Vancouver’s youngest demographic, the Van Tour included an ‘Imagination Playground’ that can be shaped and reformed into thousands of configurations, sparking youth’s imaginations.

▲你的#VanPlay行动：借助社交媒体，社区成员得以表达和分享自身的创意、照片和视频，全面地展示出每个温哥华人独有的#VanPlay方式。This Is How You #VanPlay: Through social media, the community furthered the campaign’s reach by posting thousands of their own thoughts, photos and videos to share how Vancouverites #vanplay.

▲线上VanPlay：待在家里的人们可以观看由VanPlay出品的优质电影。它记录了温哥华日常生活的情景，加深并拓宽了人们对于公园和娱乐系统的认知。If You’re VanPlaying Online…For those playing along at home, VanPlay debuted a highly-produced film of life in Vancouver, bringing the “day in the life” VanScene to life. The film reinforces the breadth scope of the parks and recreation system.

▲VanPlay智慧城市讲座海报：“重新思考智慧城市：城市生活”。策划者为UBC建筑和景观学院，以及温哥华公园和娱乐管理委员会。VanBranded: VanPlay Smart City Talks posters: ReThink The Smart City Talks: Urbanarium, UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.

▲成果数据：超过100万次数字展示；成年人和儿童的参与比重为50%/50%；100%的公园理事会授权率；4000多个VanTour巡回活动节点；1万次视频浏览和转发；超过200个组织的参与；1万8000多名被研究对象。 Metrics of Success (metric labels used as caption): 1M+ Impressions; Achieved a 50%/50% adult and youth response; 100% Board approval of campaign; 4K+ VanTour connections; 10K Views and Mentions/10K Visits to online engagement; 200+ Organizations Engaged; 18,000+ People observed during recreation studies.

PROJECT NARRATIVE

The Branding Dilemma

It has been over 25 years since the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation conducted a citywide master plan for parks and recreation. Since that time, the population has grown by 160,000 people to over 630,000 residents. Looking 25 years into the future, the city is expected to grow by 12 percent and with this growth, the parks system faces changing demands including an aging population, diversification of cultures, and increased social isolation reported by residents. Igniting this growth, real-estate development has erected towers of steel and glass, densifying neighborhoods and increasing the use of the city’s 230 parks and 24 community centres.

Given the challenge of increased use and changing customer needs, the Park Board embarked on a parks and recreation master plan and with it, the task of generating a compelling brand for the project to connect the process to the community on a visceral level. The communication had to adequately address both the master plan and inform the process of making it. The brand shaped the documentation of the plan as well as an 18-month process that captured the attention of staff, stakeholders and members of the public who are involved in over a dozen other city planning initiatives.

Thinking Different (By Design)

As an origin point for the project, the client team challenged the designers to think beyond the traditional motifs we associate with parks and recreation. They expressed a strong desire for the brand to not only encapsulate the great diversity of Vancouverites but also the vast array of services that the Park Board provides, stretching the bounds of conventional parks and recreation.

Initial branding and identity exploration work took place in two workshops. The first used focus questions such as “what do we want the audience to THINK and FEEL about the master plan process” to generate a set of possible “thematic clusters” for branding:

· Important/meaningful project and process
· Don’t miss out, exciting and fun
· An innovative plan
· A road map to the future
· Citizen driven plan and process
· Inclusive, providing access for all
· Rational, data and fact-based
· Healthy / active people and places
· My neighborhood, my parks (what’s in it for me)

In the second, the group agreed on two key takeaways: first that the brand needed to emotionally connect with people in a way that data and facts would not. The group then focused its discussion on the unique and varied functions of Vancouver’s parks and recreational facilities, programs and services. The conversation explored the myriad benefits offered to the city, to neighbour­hoods, and to individuals. The closing round of discussion focused on words and phrases that would help develop an approach around purpose and connection. The following list was generated:

· What makes you move? What moves you?
· Why do they care (what moves you emotionally?)
· Shared purpose; Connection
· Rough; incompleteness; informal; wild
· Average people; approachable; not corporate; accessible
· Dynamic, vibrant

VanPlay and the Playbook

From the design brief meetings, the team executed a series of branding exercises to develop a name for the master plan process (VanPlay) and resulting master plan (the Playbook) that connoted movement, vitality and health. The colors of the communication materials moved away from traditional parks and recreation greens to reflect the vibrant colors and dimensions of the landscapes of Vancouver. Silhouettes used in graphic communication pulled from the gardens, beaches, parks and recreation activities of the city and its residents.

The design team analyzed social media and in situ observation to develop a representative community to use throughout the identity. The final piece of the identity was the VanScene, a modular hero scene of silhouettes and background used across all platforms. It imagined the life of the VanPlay community against the city skyline and a community centre in a background.

The brand book ensures that the VanPlay identity is usable by anyone and everyone involved in the planning process so that they can design assets that are immediately identifiable as being “of VanPlay” regardless of designer, firm or city department involved. Over the past year, over 1,000 individual pieces of content have been designed and created for the VanPlay project, all of which are undeniably “of VanPlay” and recognizable to shareholders and the public.

From Identity to Engagement

The next phase of the VanPlay process involved taking these ideas out into world for Vancouverites to read, view, discuss and play. The team created a suite of engagement activities inspired by the identity ideas of playfulness, inclusivity and movement. The activities aligned with the International Association of for Public Participation (IAP2) spectrum of community engagement (Inform, Consult, Involve, Collaborate, Empower). Early engagement activities included:

· The design team designed and launched infographics and background papers across social media platforms to highlight and share the key facts and figures of VanPlay (IAP2 Spectrum: Inform). An open network of sharing is a key trait of the VanPlay process.

· The greater VanPlay campaign incorporated a highly-produced video of vignettes showcasing life in Vancouver, bringing our “day in the life” VanScene to life. This video also reinforced the breadth of the Park Boards’ influence in Vancouver, promoted the online survey and VanPlay tour events (IAP2 Spectrum: Inform).

· Offline awareness is often overlooked and underused in planning. The client and design team wanted as much top-of-mind attention on the plan as possible, so they wrapped a city vehicle as a moving billboard advertising the plan. The engagement events on the VanTour were strategically scheduled for locations that allowed the team to reach the most diverse audience possible in various income areas (IAP2 Spectrum: Inform & Involve).

· The tour van included a blue “imagination playground” set to catch people’s attention and encourage family participation in the engagement activities (IAP2 Spectrum: Inform & Consult).

· A systemwide observation study took place over six weeks in the summer and documented how over 18,000 people used parks and recreation in neighborhoods of varying income and diversity. Results informed the current state engagement (IAP2 Spectrum: Inform).

· A citywide online survey was deployed to capture big ideas and parks and recreation needs from the community (IAP2 Spectrum: Inform & Consult).

· SmartCity Lectures around key topics identified through the survey (including park equity) were hosted by various North American expertswith community question-and-answer sessions and work sheet captures (IAP2 Spectrum: Inform & Involve).

Transformative Results

The VanPlay brand infused community engagement activities as well as high-level presentations to city officials and staff. Anecdotally, the client’s corporate communication head lauded the project materials for their vibrancy and appeal. The campaign has created a space for the client and community to acknowledge current and future challenges and collectively imagine a brighter future for parks and recreation.

The metrics of success and uptake of the VanPlay brand and message include:

· Over 1 million digital impressions to the campaign;
· 4,000 connections through the VanTour and imagination playground;
· Over 200 organizations engaged;
· 10,000 video views and mentions;
· 10,000 visits to online engagement tools;
· 100 percent Park Board approval of graphic identity;
· VanPlay achieved an ideal 50 percent split between adult and child respondents to date.

This project ultimately marks a paradigm shift in how parks and recreation departments brand and identify themselves. By creating a versatile and useable identity, this project shows that custom brands can both embody the client’s values and goals and empower the community to share their own dreams for the future. By staging engagement activities that built momentum with user-friendly tools—from hashtags to design standards—the brand took on its own vitality, catalyzing connection and excitement that would not have been possible without it.

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