I need to be involved in their reality before making suggestions for change.

Habits are based on attitudes. Designers should be circumspect when using media as the tool to
change either.

Witnessing cases of abuse firsthand makes it difficult not to be judgmental of people. Separating and focusing on my role as a media designer became difficult.

What role does a designer play when the media delivered doesn't show an organization in a good light?

Can the process of reflection through media provide the actionable insights that can lead to meaningful
and sustainable behavioral change over time?

Designers have to be careful not to fall down the slippery slope of "slacktivism" and should embed themselves in situations before designing for them.

When representing the world from a variety of vantage points through media that an organization lives and functions within, that group is then able to evaluate and start discussions amongst themselves about how to adapt their practice. They are guided to see the realities of the situations they deal with, think differently about them, and cultivate creative solutions to possible issues. When a media designer identifies common principals or schemes that are inherent in collected media and reveals them back to the group interesting discussions start to take place. This process serves to answer questions and provide solutions that had not been previously seen or approached by the organization. It also stirs up some concerns for the design researcher working on the project. At what point do you know you are involved enough in the organizations reality before making suggestions for change? To help change habits, you must first change the attitudes that they are based on, and using media as the tool to do this should be approached with awareness.

For the project Media for Advocacy I made sure to attend and participate in several events with the group before I started recording film or taking photos. I could tell that the group was not completely sure of my intentions of wanting to work with them. For them to first get to know me as a person helping them gave the confidence for the group to feel comfortable in my documenting them. Once I had gained their confidence and showed an appreciation for their work, they were excited to start to receive the media I was documenting. They started to anticipate the images and videos and started to call me to come and document events. We formed a relationship that became systematic and productive. However, I learned that to help start discussion and facilitate change though media I had to take my time introducing the group to the process. Being respectful of their organization before making suggestions was a crucial part of this project. This mutual respect helps the group in providing their own insight and suggestions of how the designer can assist their organization in any changes they want to investigate or implement in the future.