As the City of Seattle begins to transform the entire Seattle central waterfront, EnviroIssues is strategically and creatively leading the outreach and public engagement effort. Tagged Waterfront Seattle, the project includes a range of efforts, from engaging with nearby neighbors in an historic neighborhood to growing project awareness throughout Seattle’s diverse communities.
Waterfront Seattle is about business, tourism and a huge economic engine…but it’s also about play. To get people excited and involved, we’ve used a little yellow paint, some chairs, a photo booth, and a ping pong table to bring people into a conversation about one of Seattle’s outdoor treasures – the waterfront.
We painted a huge Waterfront Seattle logo on Pier 62/63. Although we told very few people and hardly provided an explanation, it got people talking, which was the goal. Next, we put bright yellow Adirondack chairs on the pier to invite folks to take a load off, enjoy the view and maybe see the waterfront from a new perspective.
But what about engaging those folks that don't access the waterfront because they think it's too far away, too hard to park or only for tourists? Well, we blanketed area fairs and festivals and put up an old-fashioned photo booth and invited people to literally see themselves on the future waterfront, using props and backgrounds to pose for photos. We also branded some ping pong tables to highlight the connection between the waterfront and play and set them up at community centers around town. What better way to get people thinking about future play on the waterfront than to set up a table and invite them to a game of ping pong?
