Work with: Abhipsha Ray, Brando Luca Guerreri, Jaewoo Jang, Mae White,
About the project
The Big Issue has helped many vendors get back up.
Firstly, the Big Issue gives vendors a “job”, a reason for being on the streets.
Secondly, the flexibility to choose what time and days to work.
And thirdly, The Big Issue Foundation’s systemic support to vendors.
Problem definition
The Big Issue is underdelivering in many aspects. The three main reasons for this are:
1. The fact that every vendor is unique. Trying to provide support for such a diverse group is very challenging
2. The Big Issue’s baseline of a print magazine is outdated with current ways of media consumption.
3. While the foundation’s support is important, too many vendors are in the dark as to the kind of help they can receive, contributing to the 50% drop-off rate for vendors after day 1
After speaking to many vendors, we started to notice a difference between systemic and organic support systems. Systemic support is those that you qualify for like housing benefits and foundation support. Organic support is the help we receive from friends, family and our community.
While systemic support is important, these can quickly drop off when one no longer qualifies. Organic support, such as acts of kindness, resides in the relationships and emotions that are shared between people and are more resilient to change
Design direction
We’re not creating a new behaviour. We’re making a natural behaviour scalable
How might we encourage a digital space of kindness and transparency so as to encourage customers to be generous towards vendors until they feel emotionally ready to start pursuing their goals again?
Project results
The Pitch Project - a new digital hub that will be home to The Big Issue’s digital editions and community
In place of a single-shot, one-dimensional form of support that is dependent on right timing and limited channels, we propose a digital platform that promotes engagement with social topics and incentives action
This Digital platform aims to create a bond between content consumption, community engagement and local action via vendor support
It is the new baseline. The Big Issue’s insightful content will act as a medium to attract users from the outside. This will breathe life into the original magazine content by curating and presenting it to individual interests.
Furthermore, we can create a platform to share and create actionable options for solving specific social issues the community cares about.
The dream pitch, channels the community to support their local vendors through more than just the orthodox ways of giving (through money or food)
Value proposition
A community-driven platform to create real change by re-establishing meaningful connections through meaningful actions.
Instead of the current system, where value is linear and players are detached from one another, we have created an interconnected system where different players are linked in different ways
Business model
In Summary
We cannot prevent bad weather, but we can empower people who want to hold up an umbrella for those who can’t
By creating a new baseline of a platform for the big issue, we can foster a community of likeminded readers who are eager to make a difference in the real world
We channel the reader's enthusiasm toward making meaningful connections with vendors and helping them establish their own organic support networks
