CIRCUS SURVEY

In order to get an overall view of people's opinions when it comes to the circus, I decided to send out a survey made up of 8 questions.

I wanted to get some responses to a range of different aspects of the circus, including the acts themselves, imagery and opinions on the banning of animals.

All of the questions asked will hopefully be able to contribute towards making design decisions.

1. Have you been to the circus before? If yes, what was your favourite act?

2. If you have never been to a circus, would you like to go? OR if you have, would you go again? If not, then why not?

3. In June of last year, a vote was passed to ban the use of wild animals in the circus. What are your views on this?

4. How long do you think the circus has been around for?

5. Would you purchase sweets/snacks if you were to visit the circus?

6. How long do you think popcorn has been around for?

7. What colours would you usually associate with the circus?

8. List five pieces of imagery that you would associate with the circus. e.g. tent

Unfortunately, the biggest disadvantage of surveys is the response rate. I sent my survey out to a broad audience of a mixed gender, aged between 16 and 23. Out of the 30 people I sent my survey to, only 9 actually bothered to respond, which hasn't given me the greatest range of answers, but hopefully it will aid my project. 

I used a mix of closed and open ended questions in order to gain a mix of data.

This is quite an interesting response to see from the question 'what was your favourite act?' It would appear that although a form of animal cruelty, animals were in fact people's favourite. This is something to look in to as it may be the case that not a lot of people know this, or are unaware of how animals are treated within the circus. 

These responses show the popularity of the circus, and that people are willing to visit or even visit again.

The majority of responses here show that people agree with the banning of wild animals in circuses, despite them being certain people's favourite acts. A handful believe that it is ok as long as the animals are well looked after. However, this is something that is hard to monitor, and therefore couldn't be an option.

The circus is in fact 2,000 years old. By including this, from the responses, I can assume that many people would be quite surprised at the answer. Many facts about the circus are unknown and are in fact extremely intriguing. These are the types of things I want to be able to include in my work.

This shows that people would be willing to purchase confectionery as something to enjoy whilst at the circus. 100% would do so, therefore this may be an interesting direction to take.

Whilst these are the colours that an audience would usually associate with the circus, I am keen to venture away from this. I want to produce something with a bit of a different feel to it, to make my products stand out. I am hoping to look more into the colour schemes associated more with vintage circus and carnival events, which are much more likely to be using softer, pastel shades, which I would prefer to work with. 

These responses should aid me greatly when it comes to designing my products. If these are the things that people associate with the circus, then at some point they should be featured on my products. This will help strengthen my theme, making sure they are visually appropriate.