GD Capstone 09

BACKGROUND:

1. 09 CAPSTONE BRIEF

PROJECT TITLE: Alternatives
Reflecting on who we are and who we are not in this hot, flat and crowded planet

We are living in a place and time that imperatively requires the most urgent care for our planet, nations, and cities due to Climate Change. The UAE has the highest ecological footprint according to Living Planet Report 2006. This complex and discomforting news is a call for designers to exercise their social responsibilities. We designers have done much horrific harm to the planet with toxic materials, structures, processes, and developments that are not eco-friendly or harmful to both humans and nature alike. It’s time to examine the problems surmounted in front of us and to ponder potential solutions; in order to initiate positive changes in our lives. A promising solution, and perhaps the most vital, is to begin by educating the public with a creative communication of addressing these issues; whether they be immense or trivial.

This project focuses on redefining sustainable living and reflecting a current brand image of Dubai. Currently Dubai images have been established by a diverse range of people and perspectives; this project grants a chance for young Emirati designers to take ownership of shaping Dubai branding and envision a scenario of holistic city lifestyles covering various aspects of Dubai culture and urban living. It is a process of actively engaging in our duties as designers as we understand and exam contemporary definitions of Tradition, Fusion, and Vision of Dubai as a place and people.

This project aims 1)to understand sustainability problems and solutions 2)to envision city images and formulate customized solutions to address environmental issues specifically in Dubai from an Emirati perspective 3)to develop a campaign interacting with the public to participate in proposed campaign activities.
A design solution can be a campaign poster series as well as a media campaign to raise the awareness of the problems, or a more complex systematic design process. The final products include branding, promotional media and/or print products. Students will exercise their creativity, research skills, execution capacities, time management, and responsibilities through their unique stories and designs reflecting their creative solutions as a graphic designer.

2. GENERAL SUSTAINABLE DESIGN RESEARCH

Masdar city
As the first major hydrocarbon-producing economy to take such a step, Abu Dhabi has established its leadership position by launching the Masdar Initiative. The Masdar Initiative driven by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala) is a global cooperative platform for the open engagement in the search for solutions to some of mankind’s most pressing issues: energy security, climate change and the development of human expertise in sustainability.
Abu Dhabi is leveraging its substantial resources and experience in global energy markets into the technologies of the future. One key objective of Masdar is to position Abu Dhabi as a world-class research and development hub for new energy technologies, effectively balancing its strong position in an evolving world energy market.
A related objective is to drive the commercialization and adoption of these and other technologies in sustainable energy, carbon management and water conservation. In doing so, Masdar will play a decisive role in Abu Dhabi’s transition from technology consumer to technology producer.
The goal is the establishment of an entirely new economic sector in Abu Dhabi around these new industries, which will assist economic diversification and the development of knowledge-based industries, while enhancing Abu Dhabi’s existing record of environmental stewardship and its contribution to the global community.

3. EMOTIONAL STATEMENT

Growing up, I was very close to my grandmother since she used to take me with her wherever she goes, I think that she wanted to pass her wisdom to me, and I did somehow. Sickness in my grandmother’s dictionary can only be cured with and only by local medicines, she refuses to take things that she dose not know what it is made of. I remember a huge metal box in her room containing tots of herbs and wild plants; I was amazed she had the cure for everything. I believe she is right, even if it would not cure it will not her, she always say. So, you can say I had this huge thing for wild plants since I was a young girl and it is an amazing opportunity to educate and aware people about this wisdom.

4. INSPIRATIONS

My first inspiration came from my grandmother, after knowing the wisdom that the old ¬people have and because I want to preserve it.
I was also inspired with the book cradle to cradle since we read it at the beginning of the semester, I thought that I know about the problems that the environment is facing, but unfortunately I knew just small things. After reading the book, I felt so frustrated and sad, but these things that made me wanting to make a difference. I was amazed with the information that I got and the ideas that popped in my mind after reading that amazing book. I was also inspired with the design book Arabesque. It had amazing ideas that can be developed by Arabic calligraphy.
Another book that was very useful to me, to my research specifically is the comprehensive guide to the: wild plants of the United Arab Emirates. It has all the plants that grow in the UAE, and the uses of these plants.

CAPSTONE BRIEF:

The earth is the only place that we have got to live on, if it is gone the human existence will be vanished, and the earth will become a huge, red, extremely hot plant. That will occur if we did not care for this caring plant. The amazing thing is that nature can cure it self slowly but in steady steps, we as humans must be ashamed of our actions, actions that are although affecting nature, it is healing it self although all the damage. We as humans must start to learn form this mind-blowing planet.
Since our project is about Dubai branding, I must say that it is heart breaking when I see a big huge bulldozer removing the plants, from a “construction” area, never thinking of the plants as a living thing. That is why I feel so passionate about nature.
We have a long journey to fixing the damage but step-by-step we will reach the goal. I believe that many people are now caring about the environment, which is a good sign, don’t you think!
I started researching about the common environmental problems that we are facing in Dubai to have a background of the environmental issues that Dubai is facing.
Bar’rie is an awareness campaign that aware and teach different people from different nationalities about the environmental problem that faces the wild plants in the region and specifically in Dubai. Bar’rie main goal is to increase the awareness about the extinction of specific kinds of wild plants that have been used in our heritage by the old people many years ago, which is also known as their wisdom. This campaign comes as reflect to protecting the wild plants before they extinct and no longer is found, which would be unfortunate to us locals. My dream is to keep this wisdom alive for years to come, to let the generations that follows use know how important these plants to use.

RESEARCH:

1. PROJECT SPECIFIC RESEARCH
-PROBLEMS
The problem that I wanted to solve is that there are few people knowing about local medicine and the uses and they are mostly the old people. We as citizens unfortunately don’t have enough information about the local medicines. The other problem is that no one is trying to save the wild plants from vanishing due to climate change and the constructional sites that destroy the areas that the plants grow in.

Despite our reliance on plants, we are at a crisis point. It is thought that 60,000 to 100,000 plant species are under threat. Direct threats to plant survival are climate change, habitat loss, invasive alien species, and over-exploitation. The root causes of these threats are difficult to control and include human population growth and socio-economic factors.
Plants provide us with food, medicine, fibers, fuel, building materials and many other products. Plants also provide essential ecosystem services. For example, plants provide us with oxygen and recycle the carbon dioxide, which we exhale. In addition, plants hold great cultural meaning for peoples all over the world. Their individual beauty as well as the gardens and landscapes, in which they grow, provide us with one of life’s greatest pleasures.
“The Center for Biological Diversity reports that about 15,000 medicinal plants across the globe are at risk from habitat destruction, over harvesting, and big business.”

2. CASE STUDY PROJECTS
-SOLUTIONS
The thing that frustrated me the most is that I could not find any case study related to my project in Dubai, the UAE, or the whole Arabic world. I found some amazing programs that are taking place in the US and Europe, they really are trying so hard to protect the wild plants.
But the amazing thing is the idea of having a seed bank; it would really save our wisdom. So, here is my solution for the problem above and to my frustration. My solution is to engage the audience in my project, letting them know and allowing them to help in collecting the wisdom of the old people.
My BIG solution is to construct a seed bank in Dubai.
-Why save seeds by making seed bank?
All life on earth depends on plants. Plants are the basis of ecosystems in which all animals, including humans, live, survive and grow. By saving seeds we can save the planet.

Seed banks provide an insurance policy against the extinction of plants in the wild and provide options for their future use. They complement in situ conservation methods, which conserve plants and animals directly in the wild. The Seed Bank would hold seeds from species thought to be extinct in the wild. In addition, seed banks provide a controlled source of plant material for research, provide skills and knowledge that support wider plant conservation aims, and contribute to education and public awareness about plant conservation.
I learned that the first step to make something work, especially if it was a campaign project, I have to make the audience love it as well. By this thing I would guarantee that my campaign will not be for nothing.

3. DESIGNERS

4. VISUAL COMMUNICATION STYLES

In the visual communication styles, I used text in both the posters and the video because I believe that words have a stronger message. In addition I used the silhouette of the plants to make it easier for the viewer to know what is my posters and video are about.
Here are some examples of posters that inspired me:

5. SURVEY

The survey was remarkable to me I wanted to know the feedback of the audience as quickly as possible. I wrote the questions and posted them and waited and waited until someone answered my survey. It was shocking to me to know that few or almost a couple of them knew what local medicine was, and the bigger shock was that they were willing to learn it, interesting huh. Here are the questions with the answers of my survey:

“BA’RY, WILD”
1. How old are you? * (18-25)
2. How often do you use herbs as medicine? *(2-once a month)(5-never)
3. Do you have any idea about local medicine? *(4-no) (3yes)
4. Would you like to learn about this topic? *(6-yes)(1-maybe)
5. Are you willing to use this kind of medicine? *(6-yes)(1-maybe.
6. Do you know that global warming and pollution are affecting the growth of wild plants? *(3-yes)(4-no)
7. Do you know that it is not only a medicine; it is also good for your health? *(2-no)(5-yes)
8. Do you know that the plants that are used in local medicine are in danger? *(3-yes)(4-no)
9. Are you willing to know more about this matter? *(7-yes)
10. Do you believe that local medicine is actually the wisdom of old people? *(7-yes)

11. Will you take an action to save this wisdom? *(5-yes)(2-maybe)
12. Do you believe that this wisdom is a part of our local tradition? *(7-yes)
13. Do you have any suggestions for this project? *mostly no comment just good luck!.

ART DIRECTION:

1. CONCEPT.
My big idea is to make a campaign about the importance of the wild plants in our life, and being a part of our heritage.

2. BRANDING:
-NAMING
“ Bar’rie, Wild “
I choose Bar’rie, which is an Arabic word for wild to represent the wild plants that I am protecting and saving in my campaign.

-LOGO
I wanted the logo to be simple yet bold and easy to figure. I chose to use Arabic calligraphy in my logo. In the Arabic calligraphy there are lots of fonts that are really amazing but I specifically chose the Kufi style, being bold and geometric. The reason behind using the Kufi, is that I wanted to have a geometric shape by Arabic words.
I wanted to represent the wilderness by geometrical shapes.

-SYMBOL:
My symbol would be floral in a geometrical way. But its not finalized yet.

-TAG LINE:
For the tag line I wanted it to be easy to be remembered yet has a strong message, that why I chose: Saving Indigenous wisdom.

3. STYLE:
I want the look and feel of be as if the viewer is entering another dimension. Even though that when you hear the word wild most likely you would feel row in the materials used. But for me the other dimension that I want the viewer to feel and look is the geometrical shapes and how stunning geometrical shapes can look when added to another texture or kept as it is as I did. I wanted to make it similar to floral design BUT using geometrical text, which I think that the Kufi is perfect for the style.
I was inspired with these floral designs because I felt that it was the way to go, but I chose to do it in a different way, my way.

4. TYPOGRAPHY:

5. COLOR:
At the beginning, I felt very earthy because my project is about the plants. At first I chose colors from nature like light green or light creamy brown.

But I realized that it needs a boost to make it attractive to the viewer. So, I decided to make it colorful and joyful. I added the red for energy, determination, and passion.

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT: (FROM SKETCHES TO FINAL)

1.    SKETCHES:

Sketching was my favorite part; I started sketching my ideas so that I know where to head, sometimes seeing the ideas in your head would be different from having them on a paper. In my project I wanted to use the thing that I have always been amazed of, the Arabic calligraphy. It is amazing how the calligraphy can be shaped and designed to produce a floral and geometrical shapes. Since I was working with the two words: wisdom and wild, I had to come up with shapes to represent them. So, the wisdom was represented with lines since the wisdom=old=”wrinkles” -> lines.
And also for the: wild=something unusual=”text” -> geometric shapes.

2. ELECTRONIC VERSIONS.
After knowing the things I want to do with my design, I started sketching digitally.
Here are some of the sketches showing the versions 1,2,and 3.

2.    FINAL VERSION
In process.

CAMPAIGN APPLICATIONS:

1. POSTERS:
* ART DIRECTION
Focusing on Arabic typography, trying to show the beauty of the Arabic fonts.

* DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

* FINAL 3 POSTERS

2. MEDIA: PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN ADVERTISEMENT
* STORY
In the media I wanted to engage the viewer with my own story, because I believe that telling stories are like telling wisdoms, especially when the old people tell the stories.

So, I wanted to share my story with my grandmother.

* ART DIRECTION

* DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

* FINAL SCREEN SHOTS 3-6 IMAGES

3. OTHERS:

4. CAMPAIGN EVENT:
* WHAT
My project is going to take a step in saving our heritage, by saving wild plants. Wild plants are not only important to use as humans but also to the earth. My big idea is to make a seed bank that collects the seeds of the wild plants in the UAE. To promote this idea I want to make an awareness campaign for the people in Dubai.

* WHY
Promoting this idea (seed bank) would save a lot of effort of saving the wild plants. We would have healthy seeds grown by the bank to insure that it would survive the environmental crisis, and to plant these wild plants across the UAE.

* WHEN

* WHO
My target audiences are mainly the people of Dubai who are caring about the environment and the heritage of this land. I am also going to target the children to make them understand more about this crisis and to learn the wisdom of the old people.

* WHERE
* HOW
To promote my idea I decided to make 3 poster series showing the crisis that the wild plants are facing. Another way is to make a movie about this topic.

EPILOGUE: (REFLECTION SUMMARY)