Inspiration and Research

Day Project

In order to understand the task that was being asked we were to research 3 brands or initiatives that help to reconnect humanity with nature. This was just a day research task to get in the mind set to tackle the main brief. At this stage I felt unsure about how I would tackle the topic. However, I had some reassurance from previous work I had done in college which was similar. I had worked on a sustainability project, where I made an infographic that made people stop and think about waste.

When looking into companies that are good for nature I wanted to look into smaller, less known organisations. The first industry I researched was the plant-based food industry. I found a growing brand Beyond Meat, a company that creates products which mimics meat e.g. burgers. Beyond Meat markets itself as an environmentally friendly alternative to animal meat, as well as being better for human health. Specifically, they combine information about the benefits of their products with bright and modern graphics, as well as drool worthy photos of meals using their items, to create exciting advertisements, packaging and a website.

The next company I found was Naava. The first thing that grabbed my attention was their eye catching website with high quality images. They have an interactive element in the website that makes it more fun and provides more information. The way Navva works is to purify the air of harmful chemicals. By using the Navva’s own technology, the purification system absorbs the air through the plants and the soil-less medium. A fan then returns the new air back into the room. Naava also constantly is reminding us that “Everyone has the right to breathe nature’s air” through their marketing.

The final company Energime University, educates people on solving the important problems, with their slogan,”Empower students to save our planet”. The focus on developing young peoples skills in a way that will help the world’s environmental problems. Skills such as: extracting clean water from atmospheric moisture, turning algae into food and fuel, how to raise nutritious high density organic produce, and many more. They continue to emphasise on their website that, “Technology itself can only do so much. It’s up to us to pass the knowledge on how to use it to make a better tomorrow.”

These companies are all different but with the same goal in mind – to help our planet and reconnect with nature. By researching for a day it opened my mind to what the brief could represent. It inspired me to think out of the box and really dive deep into the problem, which is that we as a species are losing our connection with nature, and then before we know it there won’t be any left. Overall, the companies I researched provided a positive outlook on the theme for this project and I realised the possibilities for the module.

The Brief

Once the day project was completed, we were given the second part of the module which continues on with the theme ‘reconnecting with nature’. However, now we were asked to look at it from different perspectives. Designers from different disciplines may look at a problem differently from one another. We had to take the same issue and create a concept board for each discipline, from the mindset of a Interior Designer, Interaction Designer and Product Designer. Each with a direction that said designer would be taking in their line of work. This gave us help in having somewhere to start researching and finding out what is already in the world today.

This led to researching other companies that have a green theme behind them. Except now, I focused my researched into exploring how each would tackle the brief of ‘reconnecting with nature’.I always find this part of the entire project to be the most helpful. I get inspired by projects that are out in the world today. Projects that help reduce waste, pollution and environmental degradation.

When I have previously worked on modules I found it hard to get into the correct mindset for that product or idea, however with this module we had the opportunity to explore Tentsmuir Forest allowing us insight to how inspiring nature can be. This beautiful location just outside Dundee near Tayport, where we had a chance to immerse ourselves in nature. Other than shooting some breathtaking photographs of the area, another objective was to collect materials that we found on the ground. This could be natural materials or man-made materials, but it had to be something we could attempt to turn into something else. This trip allowed us to get out of the classroom and into the beautiful outdoors where we could get creative with nature. Here are some photos I took of the area depicting how mesmerising planet earth can be.