Dig In
Senior Capstone
Dig In explores the benefits of home gardening and strives to convinces people gardening is a valuable and accessible activity everyone can engage with. The project draws upon history and research around both the tangible benefits of gardening and experiential learning theories to inform and develop the desired outcomes for the audience. The goal of Dig In is to, expand young people's interest in gardening and encourage them to try it themselves.
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Visual Identity
The Dig In project is designed to remove people from the distractions of the modern world and encourage them to connect to nature and gardening, the logo reflects this. Early iterations of the logo used hand done type surrounded by geometric shapes or lines, but in the sketches this felt very out of place. Eventually the current design with a more natural feeling shape and all caps for the text was developed. The Dig in logo uses a hand drawn version of sans serif type, to increase the tactile feel of the project. To emphasize the idea of digging in, the type is set over an oval with a slight texture to it.
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Website
Several deliverables were created for the Dig In project; a website, seed cards, and a poster. The goal of the website is to convince young adults that gardening is a valuable and worthwhile activity to spend their leisure time engaged in. The design starts with reasons why gardening is beneficial to catch reader’s interest. This will be followed by sections including technical information, historical value and application, tangible benefits and a call to action. Sections will include pop up overlays and links to outside resources. Information accessibility is key to any campaign. While booklets and other small handouts promote to more targeted audiences, a website is easily shared and accessible to people unable to visit the places or events were physical deliverables would be handed out.
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Cards
There are two physical handouts for the Dig In project that can be distributed at events and meeting places. The first of these is a small card printed on seeded paper with the Dig In logo as well as a short set of planting instructions. These cards remove some of the impediments to digging right in to gardening and provide people with an easily accessible experiential learning experience. The seeded paper is also tactilely engaging and draws people in, encouraging them to learn more about the campaign and get involved.
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Poster
The second physical handout is an innovatively folded poster that targets people who are might be resistant to the idea of gardening. The poster offers an overview of the benefits of gardening and an explanation of some easy entry points. Since Dig In is trying to create new habits and behaviors, explaining the tangible benefits and offering straight forward and engaging ways to begin gardening is critical. The primary goal of physical handouts is to offer guidance and inspire intrinsic motivation around gardening rather than cookie cutter solutions. The seed cards and poster can be used to reach young adults who might not come across the website on their own.
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Final Outcome:
The design strategy for Dig In displays facts and short bits of information to create situational interest and inspire the audience to take action. The educational aspect of the design offers facts and research to create a balance between the informational and emotional arguments of the campaign. Crafting factual and more technical information in a way that appeals to busy young adults is vital, information should be accessible and inviting while also commanding attention. In order to connect to the audience the design uses arguments that they are able to relate to on a personal level, such as the feeling of stress and a desire to be connected to nature. The design communicates the importance of gardening and offers a variety of entry points into gardening. The goal is to empower the audience with tools and information and foster an intrinsic motivation that leaves the audience wanting to explore gardening in more detail. The identity of Dig In with welcoming colors, engaging language, and visuals, will sustain the attention of young adults in order to communicate the value of gardening, make them consider its potential importance in their personal life, and convince them to take the first step to create their own garden.
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