TIED is a project in response to the 2016 RSA brief 'Fair Share'. Which asked us to 'design a way to keep the sharing economy fair, so that more people participate in it.'
Renting is not the same as sharing. The defining principle of the 'Sharing economy' has changed; big companies are renting things for profit instead of actually finding ways to share things to help others.
TIED is a non-profit, location specific and web orientated platform that is run by the community, for the community. Members of the community join the TIED website and app by defining at least one skill, item or piece of knowledge that they are willing to share with other people. This in turn means that they can borrow or learn something from someone else for free. TIED is made for members of the general community but also for purely local businesses looking to build their way up the reputation ladder. Businesses who join the TIED website have agreed and have been verified to be following all the necessary rules that mean they are a fair company.
TIED connects communities and businesses together, a relationship that is based around trust and the idea of helping your local community.
The visual language of the website is based around symmetrical patterns, uniquely created for the TIED platform to show equality between all members of the community and all businesses. I also created a unique typeface for this project. The typeface was created using a grid of equals signs, again reflecting the equal nature of the platform. The lines of the typeface all link up creating a connected typographic language that reflects the beliefs of the company.