GARDEN TILE DESIGN
Below are a few sketches I made for the garden stepping-stone tiles we built for the elementary school. Before we started sketching, we knew that the requirements were that it was going to be painted on recycled wood decks in the shape of hexagons, and that they had to include a statistic or striking fact about a food issue while being supported by a strong image. It was very difficult designing it at first because, we had to make it simple and understandable to elementary schoolers, while still making it intriguing enough for older ages, like parents and visitors. It was especially challenging, considering we had to convey complex ideas through limited amount of text and monochromatic imaging.
My first sketch was actually based on the statistic of availability to gyms or recreational centers, until I realized that it was more relevant for the elementary schoolers to know how much activity they should be participating in each day. My next sketch was of a man chasing a clock. I chose to use a man running as a symbol of exercise, because I noticed that most of the second graders associated this with healthy activity. After analyzing my first few drafts to see if I could go I a different direction, I also thought that the elementary schoolers, might not identify what an alarm clock looks like, so I left it as a man running instead. Later I got critique from my teacher, when he asked about what my main idea of my topic was, which was metabolism and how healthy eating in conjunction to regular exercise leads to a well-rounded lifestyle. He then suggested, that I could incorporate food into the design by having a running vegetable. I then settled on my sketch of the running carrot.
When I was thinking more about the purpose of the project, I noticed that no one in the entire design team had created one informing people about food deserts. I thought that food deserts were an important topic to bring up, so I talked to my teacher about making an extra garden tile and letting it be not closely related to my focus topic. I found the statistic for food deserts in America, and thought it would be easy to represent this through a cactus and tumbleweed until I discovered how difficult it is to draw those things in very little detailed single color images. I also wanted to more closely connect food and the interpretation of deserts. So I then came up with the idea of using an apple core for my symbol, because it represented how fresh food is either depleted or inaccessible in a specific area, and that relates to how the apple core is skinny and already eaten.
During this process, I learned a lot about the connotative and denotative qualities of propaganda. Using these garden tiles as a way of positive propaganda was definitely different than the way I've studied propaganda in the past years. Denotative is basically exactly what is shown in a visual representation, while connotative is the feelings it evokes due to a person's preconceived notions and experiences. I had to use a good combination of these to qualities, to fully communicate my idea. Especially trying to predict how someone my interpret the connotation of the piece. I also learned about the importance of being aware of the audience who is going to be viewing your work and being able to adapt to their needs.
My first sketch was actually based on the statistic of availability to gyms or recreational centers, until I realized that it was more relevant for the elementary schoolers to know how much activity they should be participating in each day. My next sketch was of a man chasing a clock. I chose to use a man running as a symbol of exercise, because I noticed that most of the second graders associated this with healthy activity. After analyzing my first few drafts to see if I could go I a different direction, I also thought that the elementary schoolers, might not identify what an alarm clock looks like, so I left it as a man running instead. Later I got critique from my teacher, when he asked about what my main idea of my topic was, which was metabolism and how healthy eating in conjunction to regular exercise leads to a well-rounded lifestyle. He then suggested, that I could incorporate food into the design by having a running vegetable. I then settled on my sketch of the running carrot.
When I was thinking more about the purpose of the project, I noticed that no one in the entire design team had created one informing people about food deserts. I thought that food deserts were an important topic to bring up, so I talked to my teacher about making an extra garden tile and letting it be not closely related to my focus topic. I found the statistic for food deserts in America, and thought it would be easy to represent this through a cactus and tumbleweed until I discovered how difficult it is to draw those things in very little detailed single color images. I also wanted to more closely connect food and the interpretation of deserts. So I then came up with the idea of using an apple core for my symbol, because it represented how fresh food is either depleted or inaccessible in a specific area, and that relates to how the apple core is skinny and already eaten.
During this process, I learned a lot about the connotative and denotative qualities of propaganda. Using these garden tiles as a way of positive propaganda was definitely different than the way I've studied propaganda in the past years. Denotative is basically exactly what is shown in a visual representation, while connotative is the feelings it evokes due to a person's preconceived notions and experiences. I had to use a good combination of these to qualities, to fully communicate my idea. Especially trying to predict how someone my interpret the connotation of the piece. I also learned about the importance of being aware of the audience who is going to be viewing your work and being able to adapt to their needs.