Wilderness Access Process Book

FA N N I E K O

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04433994

ACA DEMY OF A RT UNIVERSITY G R A D UAT E S C H O O L GR 600

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FA L L 2 0 1 6

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SF

Graphic Design

Visual Communications Lab

Table of Contents

This is an intimate dive into my mind. You will learn how I make sense of the world in order to make an impact within it.

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I N T R O D U C T I O N 4 LAB 1

• Topics For Investigation

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LAB 2

• Words + Pics = Meaning

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RESEARCH EXERCISE LAB 3

• Opinion Posters

RESEARCH EXERCISE LAB 4

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• Film 50 52

• Expert 60

• Archetype Cards

RESEARCH EXERCISE LAB 7

• Book 30

• Connections Map

RESEARCH EXERCISE LAB 6

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• Socratic Questioning

RESEARCH EXERCISE LAB 5

• Blog 20

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• Wildcard 68

• Event 70

RESEARCH EXERCISE

• Stakeholder 84

LAB 8

• 40 Ideas

VIDEO

• Voice-over 96

VIDEO

• Stills 98

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C O N C L U S I O N 100 C I T A T I O N S 102

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Introduction

This book aims to help you understand how I took my experiences, thoughts, and learnings, and turned it into a problem, solvable through the process of design.

G OA L

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This is the development of my thesis proposal. It involves academic, professional, and personal experiences beyond the contents of this course. My process is to learn, to challenge myself, challenge design, and challenge society. I want to take you alongside that journey. I want to make you think, to challenge me, and to help me make a stronger impact in this world.

Topic insights end with this color block. â– Design insights end with this color block. â–

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I believe we can make the wilderness accessible to everyone.

V I S I O N

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Why? Because I am lucky. I have a childhood where my parents worked hard, seven days a week, 10-14 hours a day to provide me with food and education and sometimes even a present on my birthday. I had the privilege of going to college and I was lucky to have stumbled upon an opportunity to experience the wilderness for the first time. I was in awe at the beauty of nature, the wonders of weather, the powers of time, and how small it made me feel. I questioned my place in the world, the place of the human race, and I thought about things in ways I never did before. I reflected. The wilderness exercised my mind and my body.

I looked back and wondered. Why didn’t my family ever go camping or even hiking?

Throughout this process, I’ve found many of those reasons. I discovered what being “lucky” meant. So I have proposed to improve the “luck” of marginalized people who will normally not get a chance to experience the powers of the wilderness. ■

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Topics For Investigation

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o find a topic that to commit to for a year

#NoDAPL. I had a lot of neuroscience books

to the rest of my life, I needed to find a

and graphic novels on my bookshelf. I asked

passion. Whether I knew what that was, it

questions, looked to Google to try and find

was something I knew I would be diving deep

answers, and had conversations with people.

into. I looked at the things that I was already doing. On Instagram, I posted a lot of backpacking and hiking photographs and I liked a lot of puppy videos and memes. I read a lot of

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articles on Facebook about Donald Trump and

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And then I reflected and I wrote. I realized that with these questions, when I couldn’t find the answers, these were the problems that I could be and should be solving. They became my topics for investigation.

When I asked questions and couldn't find the answers, I knew these were the problems I should be solving.

I N S I G H T

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Insights & Outcome

Diverse news channels can build empathy.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

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People of different

Fear of the unknown hinders travel.

T R AV E L A N X I E T Y

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People avoid

People

do not know enough about psychology.

the other side. Social media companies

ing a foreign language, disgusting food,

Psychology studies everything a person

have algorithms that feed the users

getting lost, and lots more unknown

thinks and does. As social creatures,

only the things they typically click on.

scares. In the article, "Trying New Things"

understanding the basics of psychology

Especially with how news is consumed

by Alex Lickerman M.D. in Psychology

can help people build empathy, communi-

on the internet today, this polarizes the

Today, the author points out that people

cate, reduce stress, build relationships, and

public's political leanings, leading to nar-

are typically afraid of the unknown. That,

build self-confidence. Using design, I want

row mindedness and extremists. I want

combined with a perceived threat of

to explore ways to share the basic ideas

to investigate how to increase exposure

harm, prevents many people from trying

of behavioral psychology to help people

to diverse news sources for social media

new things. However, when he does try

improve their lives.

users using graphic design.

something new, it almost always brings

so that people can overcome their fears to explore and learn new cultures.

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traveling because they fear not know-

to investigate how to reduce travel anxiety

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THE BRAIN'S AMBIGUITY

political beliefs often avoid learning about

him something good. Using design, I want

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Psychology basics can reduce stress.

Through the writing activities, I was able to realize my areas of interest.

I then distill those down into several distinct areas with problems that could potentially be solved through design.

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Insights & Outcome

Graphic novels can improve student literacy.

GRA PHIC NOVELS

• The negative stigma attached to comics

Wilderness learning teaches mindfulness.

B A C K PA C K I N G

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The backpacking culture and community

and graphic novels prevent students from accessing the effective

involve some of the most mindful and environmentally-conscious

learning tool. Comics were originally created as the funny-pages.

people I know. In a study done by the U.S. Forest Service between

The humor gave way to action and fantasy, mostly aimed at

2008-2012, 80% of the visitors were white. Backpacking can be an

children. The genre continued to evolve and branch out to graphic

important and life-changing experience that should be available to

novels, which involved more artistic innovation and literary qual-

all demographics. These are qualities that can be developed dur-

ity. Graphic novels as a form of literature is still a relatively new

ing a backpacking experience, but the process has a high starting

idea and it still has the for-children stigma. Using design, I will

investment and a steep learning curve that deters beginner nature-

investigate how to increase the level of academic interest in graphic

lovers from taking that first step. Using design, I want to explore

novels as a educational tool to improve student literacy.

how to make wilderness backpacking more inviting and accessible

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to minority nature-lovers.

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Based off of the feedback from my classmates and instructors, Phil and Sandra, I narrowed my topics down to Wilderness Access and Graphic Novels. These two topics were the clearest and had more foreseeable design opportunities.

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Words + Pics = Meaning

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ord association. Inspired by the great Bob Dylan, this lab empowered us to

go outside of our routines. We had to select a

Fortunately for me, I love going places. I walked about 4 miles around my town, I walked a couple more miles in San Francisco,

set of words and find different associations

I went to the airport, I went to the California

that could redefine the word in different con-

Academy of Scienes, I went to the park, the

texts and situations.

library, and all the places in between. My words were: universal, story, history, access,

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commodified, and space.

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I could incorporate what I love about graphic novels into what I love about the wilderness and social justice.

I N S I G H T

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Insights & Outcome

Presentation matters, even if it's for feedback MAKING A DECISION

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At this point, I was still debating between

the two topics, Graphic Novels and Wilderness Access. I created a word maps for each topic and aimed to use this lab to decide on a topic. The words I selected for Graphic Novels were mainly about storytelling— story, perspective, language, context, etc. My word map for Wilderness Access was a lot more profound and meaningful with words such as—comfort, equity, ownership, access—which, after speaking with

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Word maps for each of my top two topics.

R Based off of the feedback from my classmates and instructors, Phil and Sandra, I narrowed my topics down to Wilderness Access and Graphic Novels. These two topics were the clearest and had more foreseeable design opportunities.

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Sandra, I realized that I could incorporate what I love about graphic novels into what I love about the wilderness and social justice. ■ During the feedback session, seeing the cards of my peers, I recognized the importance of good photography. Despite the fact that these were explorations of a topic, as a graphic designer, presentation matters, even if it is to get feedback. Poor craft distracts from the content of the work. ■

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Research Exercise

The Outdoor Project BLOG

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The Outdoor Project is a

501(c)(3) that supports and promotes other non-profit groups doing critical work in the areas of outdoor conservation and environmental education and creates inspired and enriching outdoor educational content. Their blog consists of inspiring hikes to go on, upcoming

People currently in the outdoor space are talking about the “30 Best Hikes," but not about how to get there. Are there fees?

Permits? What equipment would you need?

Where can you find this information? ■

events such as a lunar eclipse to watch out for, conservation methods, and environmental efforts.

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Opinion Posters

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he assignment was to figure out how to

I asked myself the following questions: I am

convey our opinions through the form of

a backpacker, but why? And why does it matter

three posters. With limited words, how could

to me? Why is it important? And why should

I grab somebody’s attention and get them to

somebody else care?

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understand me?

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In designing posters, convey feeling first and message second.

I N S I G H T

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Borrow the equity of another designer.

VERNAC ULA R

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The visual styles, tones, and messages were all

very different. I received positive conceptual reactions to the Words and Burger posters and positive visual reactions to the Getting- Away poster. It could have been that the Getting-Away poster had a familiar vernacular (Michael Schwab) or that the colors were more pleasing. I learned the immense value of feedback and that people enjoyed being challenged, but only if they felt invited. â–

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Insights & Outcome

People enjoyed being challenged INITIAL REAC TION

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I tend to lean towards ideas that are jar-

ring or make people think, “What is this?” So, I made posters that I hoped would solicit that response. I tried three different styles, conveying what I thought were the benefits of being in the wilderness. I attempted to show that nature can provide amazing learning

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opportunities not replicable in a classroom. ■

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L,M These are a few pages out of my sketchbook illustrating some of my thinking during this process.

I wrote down a few distinct concepts and went on to sketch those ideas. R Class critique is crucial. I printed small versions of the posters to take notes on. It helps remembering the feedback people say in reference to particular parts of the poster.

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Research Exercise

Black Faces, White Spaces BLOG

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The ideas in this book had

been my driving force for this project. It has been a constant reminder that the documented, known, history of our country is not a complete history. The history we learned in school which lead us to the government we have today are disproportionately written by and for the privileged,

What we have today, the structures of National Parks, the way cities are zoned, the textbooks we read, do not accurately reflect the people in this country, especially disenfranchised people of color. â–

which are mostly white men. In this book, the author dives into these concepts in the space of environmental politics.

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Socratic Questioning

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n an unending series of questions that

This was, by far, my favorite lab. It validated

aimed to get to deeper insights, my inter-

my 3AM internet rabbit-hole journeys. I felt

pretation of this assignment was simply to

okay about reading 30 articles and having

keep asking, to continue wondering, in hopes

50 tabs open my Google Chrome, with each

to generate a full 3600 understanding of what

website relating to the previous, but straying

exactly is the wilderness.

further and further away from my initial question. But somehow, the stories keep com-

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ing back around.

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My strength is in asking questions and subsequently questioning those questions.

I N S I G H T

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Before this assignment, I already had a list of questions. And these questions incited further questions. I tried asking questions from perspectives of the outdoor commercial industry, the government, the wanderer, and other potential lenses.

I then filtered the questions down to those that I found could extend to further research. And from there, I selected six questions to examine closer.

Those six insights are shown within the

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Socratic Questioning booklet.

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Beyond my own scope of knowledge, what is my topic really about? Who are the players?

What are the rules? What are they doing?

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Insights & Outcome U P T H E R I V E R, D OW N T H E R I V E R

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That was the name of the class critique where

our classmates placed all of our work in the order they though was best to worst with selfprescribed criteria. It’s incredibly stress-inducing watching my project move up and down the river as each group does their evaluation. I placed 3rd with classmate praises on the hand-drawn illustrations. The markings are from Phil and Sandra a week later.

Moving forward, I needed to invest in higher quality paper and maintain consistency in my design elements.

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Insights & Outcome

The most important feedback came when I least expected it.

B R O - I F I C AT I O N

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I had assumed that the idea was solid and

accepted since I didn't receive any negative feedback during class critique. Then, I had a conversation my classmate, Harry, several weeks after this assignment. I told him how I felt it reflected the outdoor commercial industry. Immediately he responded with a kind of shock. And in response, I was shocked. I looked more into this idea and found that this was actually not a widely used terminology.

The prefix, "bro" already has some connotation to it that differed for Harry. He thought of college frat boys chugging down beer, not a Tahoe snowboarder. While I felt that the referenced demographic

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I narrowed down the top insights from the questionnaire and started sketching out ideas for illustrations to put on the booklet. R The term "bro-ification" stood out to me while I was exploring the concept of gear.

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could have been the same people, I realized that these terms may have different meanings for different people. ■

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Research Exercise

photo by Quanghuy Le

Mile...

Mile & A Half MOVIE

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I searched for an outdoor

from work, they had extended family to

film that didn’t have a white lead actor

take care of their children, and they knew

or actress.

how to plan for it. I also learned that the

Five friends, cameramen, a photographer, sound specialists, and producers, document their backpacking journey through the John Muir Trail from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney. I learned that these folks were able to make this journey because they were physically fit, had the equipment, they were able to take a few weeks off

women felt more comfortable when they traveled together because they shared the same struggles. They learned responsible stewardship along the way. And the smallest things such as crossing a bridge helped bring up the morale. I talked to a friend

I looked all over and couldn’t find a film that featured a person of color.

Is there a lack of representation? ■

who introduced this film to me and he didn't notice the things that I did. I learned that I could be biased in my research.

I could be biased in my own research. ■

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Connections Map

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his was likely one of my favorite

This lab was to make a brainstorm map,

lectures. I had learned about lateral-

starting with our topic and branching off

thinking this past summer at my internship

from there like a web with six different top-

at IDEO.org. We had brainstorming ses-

ics. I kept jotting down ideas that branched

sions where everybody had a Post-It pad

off into another idea and posted it up on the

and a sharpie. A question was posed. Any

wall. In the end, I had a 5'x5' connections

and all ideas were jotted down and posted

map. From an idea on one end, I would draw

up, whether it made sense or not. If it made

a line to an idea on the other end and write

sense to one person, they had made some

down why those two ideas were related. And

kind of connection that had to the potential

from those connections, I applied it to a pho-

to be explored.

tograph to visually convey the idea.

Making C o nne c t io ns

If it makes sense to one person, then it's worth exploring.

I N S I G H T

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N T

reat that e change n our world is nent.

es, we need to put that on the top of hing to be concerned about, not the uggles for power.

ED U C AT IO N

Our existing education curriculum is very limiting and does not include exposure to nature.

The existing education system attempts to place each child into a cookie-cutter mold.

EN V IR O N M EN T

John Francis is an important black environmentalist that you probably haven’t heard about.

I learned about him through Carolyn Finney Ph.D. who brings exposure to black people that deserve representation within the space of environmental politics.

P O L I TI C S

PO LIT I CS

The constitution was written by a group of white men.

Politics is about making the best decision for the majority of people within a community.

But, does that mean the United States of America does not include the stories of other people that live here?

Often times, policy-making involves the clash different interests and different perspectives a tough to know which one is the best.

IN D U S T RY

There is a lot that goes into planning a backcountry trip.

The outdoor recreation industry capitalizes on the process urban people take to go to the backcountry.

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Insights & Outcome

KEY QUESTIONS

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There were three key insights that I found

particularly fascinating, in which I turned into questions.

How can we make planning a backpacking trip easier? ■ How can we meld conservation, environmentalism, and backpacking? ■ •

A close-up of the connections map shows the words I used to represent connections. R Taking in feedback from my classmates and instructors, I worked to improve photography quality, craft, and maintain the handwriting element in my designs.

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How can we start writing in the stories of marginalized groups into the outdoor narrative? ■ During the feedback session, the handwriting element was still a big hit. But, the photography needed to be edited and refined, especially the white balance. ■

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Research Exercise

photo by Ron Schulz

Carolyn Finney, Ph.D EXPERT

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From the book, Black Faces,

White Spaces, I started doing research on the author, Carolyn Finney. I watched her interviews and speeches. I visited her website, and checked her credentials. The story

One of the reasons we don’t see a lot of people of color in the wilderness is because they’ve been historically written out of the narrative. ■

she begins her book with, and many of her talks is of her personal experience growing up in a mansion. The mansion belonged to a wealthy man who would come by a couple times a year. Her father was the home’s groundkeeper for 40 years. He was the one that tended the landscape, he knew the uneven steps, the creaks in the doors, and the sounds of the leaves. When this house became a historical landmark, the person who was credited with its maintenance was the owner and her father was left completely out of the story.

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Archetype Cards

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rchetypes are idealized persons of

In this lab, I created nine archetypes under

which designers create to have

the curve of who could use my project. Of

somebody to design for. They generally

types. In fact, I was in a little bit of all of my

age, gender, income, location, etc. The eth-

archetypes. Then, I selected a vernacular that

nographic characteristics of an archetype is

could be associated with the wilderness. â–

what’s more useful, though. What does this person do for fun? Why do they drink coffee at 6:00AM every morning? Why are they

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going to Home Depot to buy a rake?

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course I was included within these arche-

include demographic information such as

Arc het y p es

Maybe I'm a bit narcissistic, but I saw a bit of myself in each one of the archetypes.

I N S I G H T

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Borrowing from the vernacular of classic U.S. 50 States postcards, I illustrated the names of each of my archetypes and inserted photos of things that would represent them.

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Insights & Outcome

Know when to take shortcuts.

YOUTUBE

• I had this insight at the end of making the postcards. I

had hand illustrated, scanned, and traced almost all of the names and designed the postcards in Adobe Illustrator. But, when it came to creating a postcard for myself, I found a tutorial on YouTube that showed exactly how I could have easily created the same style for the names using existing fonts. Whilst it was fun, instead of spending several hours on each name, I created the last postcard within one hour. ■

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L Each name was sketched out, scanned, digitized, and refined.

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Research Exercise

Havasupai WILDCARD

• On October 2-5, I had

to REI and other outdoor shops. We were

an opportunity of a lifetime. My back-

able to borrow a pack from another friend

packing group had been planning a trip

and I didn't hear from her for several weeks.

to Havasupai since 2015. We had one spot

I had expected an anxious greenhorn with

available left and I saw that this could be a

all the wrong gear having a miserable time

chance to take somebody on an incredible

carrying 60 lbs on a 10-mile hike. Boy, was I

journey as I had hoped my thesis would do.

wrong. She brought hiking boots, but hiked

I invited my friend, Shay, who has never

better in her tennis shoes. Her girlfriend

been backpacking before, but going to

packed her some trail mix and sandwiches

Havasupai had been on her bucket list.

so she didn't need any overpriced dehydrated

She booked her flight.

Prior to the trip, I introduced her to all the equipment she would need to obtain—backpack, boots, Camelback, dehydrated meals, wool socks, a hat, hiking pants, etc. We went

You don't need expensive supplies or equipment to go backpacking. ■

meals. She didn't buy a hat because none would fit her hair. She was comfortable in basketball shorts and khakis.

And by the end of the 4-day trip, I was the one with blisters and sunburns.

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Focus Group Event

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n October 22–23, I took some folks hik-

I approached this lab rather differently than

ing. A couple of folks that fell under my

the others. This lab was assigned on October

audience curve, ages 22–50’s from teachers,

14. The deliverables for this lab were 7a:

to engineers, to jobless, from low-income to

Invitation, 7b: program, and 7c: Report. All

well-paid folks, and beginner and experi-

three of them were due on October 28. As for

enced hikers.

the design vernacular, I chose the Field Notes

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series designed by Aaron Draplin.

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Make connections, talk about the wilderness, network, embody the topic and people will help.

I N S I G H T

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Insights & Outcome

Form followed function.

I N V I TAT I O N

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Louis Sullivan, an American architect coined the

phrase, "Form follows function," where I learned from one of my first design courses taught by Paul Drohan, a designer in San Diego. This phrase also taught me to make sacrifices to form if the function was time sensitive, such as with the invitation and program. When tasked with designing an invitation, it was far more effective for me to quickly create a Facebook invitation so people had time to respond, rather than a well designed invitation later through Paperless Post. ■

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L I retroactively created Paperless Post invitations with some illustrations as an exploration to branding the rest of this lab.

R The program was designed with the function of it being in my pocket most of the time. I used heavy paper as I would be pulling it in and out of my pocket and unfolding it with sweaty hands.

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Insights & Outcome

The outdoor space is already being accessed by more and more young people.

I N S TA G R A M

• Social media is already changing the world in ways I

never would have predicted. Prior to this event, I incorrectly assumed that I wouldn't see a lot of people of color on this hike, as that has been my experience in other hikes. During our discussions, I learned that apps such as Instagram and Yelp are already changing that dynamic.

90% of Instagram users are younger than 35 with National Geographic as the most followed user at 58.5 million followers. ■

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L The Alamere Falls hike was very successful.

A group of people from diverse backgrounds showed up and discussed their outdoor experiences growing up.

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Insights & Outcome

Starting a system began with designing one item.

FIELD NOTES

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I learned that if I can get one item designed well,

the rest will follow. In this case, I looked at what I had, which was an event and some invitations. Following the invitations I created, I began to build out the participant field notes, in which I wanted them to be small with a pencil attached. Next, was the program for myself to run the event, also needed to be small and durable. Lastly, utilizing many of the same design elements, I created the event report. ■

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L From the field notebooks, participants gave me their responses. R I distilled those notes for insights and laid them out into a report.

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Research Exercise

Oakland Composite S TA K E H O L D E R

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During the

When they were finishing up, one of my par-

Joaquin Miller Hike I hosted for lab 7, we

ticipants yelled out, "Where are all the girls?"

stopped at this staging area to conduct

Mitch smiled and came over to us. It turned

a facilitated discussion. While we were

out that he has been trying to recruit girls

there, a group of about 20 mountain

for a long time. If I remember correctly, their

bikers, mostly teenage boys and men

team is reaching about 30% girls, one of the

and maybe about three girls and women

highest in the area. He had tried putting up

showed up. It was a school for mountain

flyers at schools, but the numbers still aren't

bikers and as we were finishing up with

where he would like.

our discussion, we watched the instructor, Mitch, teach some techniques for riding.

He showed everyone why it was important to keep your butt high and knees loose and had each student do a short ride showing

How do we increase female ridership and get more girls participating in outdoor sports? â–

We discussed after their lesson that a way to bring more female riders would be to create that space, that community, a separate team of female riders.

that technique.

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40 Ideas

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or the first ten weeks of this course, we

everything we gathered from the first ten

had been doing explorative, divergent

weeks and realize forty distinct ideas of which

research—going out to the world and asking

we would make cards from. The cards should

questions. Lab 8 was the start of conver-

resemble screenshots of a video. On the back

gent thinking. The assignment was to take

of the card exists the voiceover or narrative of

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that particular idea.

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Storytelling isn't just about providing information, it's about creating a cohesive narrative.

I N S I G H T

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Having recreational access to the wilderness is a privilege.

Having the ability to get into the wilderness, whether it means having money, transportation, or knowledge, is a privilege. But this privilege doesn’t mean it’s your duty to make others go into the wilderness. But you should acknowledge it and support others.

paola Speech-Language Pathologist

LAB 04: SOCRATIC ANSWERS (1)

http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr210/psw_gtr210_123.pdf

Different cultures seek different outdoor experiences.

While you may look for a great place to exercise in a state park, others might look for a family-friendly place or a quiet escape from their work. We should look explore ways to make the wilderness experience valuable to different cultures.

LAB 4: SOCRATIC ANSWERS (3)

Anderson, William, and Clive Hicks. Green man : the archetype of our oneness with the Earth. Fakenham: Compass, 1998. Print.

John Muir is the “the archetype of our oneness with the earth.”

As a pioneer for wilderness preservation, John Muir inspired many influential people, including Ansel Adams, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and President Theodore Roosevelt who, during his presidency, placed 230 million acres of land under public protection.

The engagement and interest in outdoor learning usually begins during childhood.

Leave No Trace is a set of backcountry principles that can be applied to life.

The Tetons and the Snake River Ansel Adams

LAB 05: MIND MAP CONNECTIONS (1)

LAB 05: MIND MAP CONNECTIONS (3)

LAB 05: MIND MAP CONNECTIONS (4)

John Francis is an important black environmentalist that you probably haven’t heard about.

Does canoing look fun?

Representation is important. Carolyn Finney is an advocate for black representation in environmental policy making. She identified John Francis, nicknamed the “planetwalker,” John Francis who spent 22 years protesting the use of motorized vehicle.

Carolyn Finney Author, “Black Faces, White Spaces”

LAB 05: MIND MAP CONNECTIONS (2)

Black Faces, White Spaces: African-Americans and the Great Outdoors by Carolyn Finney

What are the associations of different cultures to nature?

Negative associations with the outdoors can deter somebody from going outdoors. If what you know about the rivers are floods or about the desert is escaping a drug war, would you want to go rafting on a river or camping in the desert?

LAB 04: SOCRATIC QUESTIONS (2)

Why should people go backpacking?

Backpacking, the sensations you get from being in the wilderness, the freedom, looking at the stars, breathing fresh air, exercise, these are all incredible experiences you can learn and take it back into your life. It will make you more self-aware, happier.

LAB 04: SOCRATIC QUESTIONS (3)

Who are the people that have defined U.S. environmental and wilderness policies?

Riley, the experience-seeker.

Riley studies political science at a four-year University. She cares about the world and hopes to make a real impact once she graduates. She likes to hang out with friends and smokes and drinks socially at parties. She is a city gal who loves going on adventures.

The political design of the wilderness has been shaped by white men. Only until recent years, environmental policies didn’t include the perspectives and experiences of minority groups.

LAB 04: SOCRATIC QUESTIONS (1)

LAB 06: ARCHETYPES (5)

In regards to gear, “I rely on friends, since they’re a lot more knowledgeable.”

Fannie, the design student.

That’s me.

Nelson

LAB 07: EVENT QUOTES (1)

LAB 06: ARCHETYPES (7)

Darrell, the family man.

https://ask.census.gov/faq.php?id=5000&faqId=5971

Wilderness recreation is not intuitive.

access

About 80% of the U.S. population live in urban areas. Those who grew up there are probably used to the conveniences of city life.

By comparison, the remote and desolate wilderness can feel uncomfortable, dirty, and even scary.

80% of the U.S. population live in urban areas

Darrell immigrated to the United States 15 years ago, but hasn’t had a chance to formally learn English, yet. He has 3 children ages 6-14.

He works 70 hours/week, but still tries to help his kids with homework at night. On weekends where he doesn’t work, he likes to take his kids to soccer practice or go on family outings with his sister and her kids.

LAB 04: SOCRATIC ANSWERS (2)

LAB 06: ARCHETYPES (2)

Shot: photographs of the different public land spaces http://www.blm.gov/public_land_statistics/pls15/pls2015.pdf

Commercial industries such as mining and farming compete with park services in public land usage.

Ralph, the back-in-my-day guy.

Timothy, the hermit.

Ralph used to go to the backcountry all the time when he was younger. He has outdated gear, but they should still work fine. He remembers when trails were unmarked, there were no designated campsites, and you just slept on a pile of leaves under a tree. He’s a bit nostalgic about his old backcountry days, but he’s also a bit reluctant to go back with all the new laws.

Timothy Is a night owl because he is playing multi-player games with people from different time zones. Sometimes he forgets the concept of day/night. He often disregards his general well being (i.e. going to the bathroom) for the sake of finishing a campaign. He Is great at computer and technology-related things. He loves star wars and tries to attend comic-con every year

LAB 05: MIND MAP CONNECTIONS (5)

LAB 06: ARCHETYPES (6)

LAB 06: ARCHETYPES (1)

The wilderness serves as a space for people to feel free.

Awe makes the world a better place.

Many people opt to go outdoors as an escape, a change of pace, or a temporary freedom from the daily grind.

LAB 07: EVENT INSIGHTS (3)

Shot: person looking at the sky.

Transition: then fading to blur with quote. http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/dacherkeltner/docs/shiota.2007.pdf

The experience of awe from the can make the world more altruistic.

The feeling of awe brings an transcendental feeling. We come to realize our smallness—the idea that we are a part of something bigger. This sensation takes a load of our shoulders, we suddenly feel connected, bringing about a sense of altruism and community.

PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE

Technology and social media have been resources and inspirations for people to go outdoors.

Apps such as Yelp help people find trail heads for hiking. Instagram has created a platform for many nature photographers to inspire others to go outdoors and find those views.

LAB 07: EVENT INSIGHTS (2)

Anna, the philosopher.

Ron, the mainstream.

Anna is an English teacher, a thinker, and a writer. She often sits on her patio, looking at the stars, and ponders her existence. She always carries with her a little notebook and a pencil in case she gets inspired by nature. She likes to question her students and get them to think deeper.

Ron goes to the yoga studio 5-days/week and stops at Starbucks every morning. He goes on a hike with friends about once a month for socializing. He often posts on Instagram amazing foods he’s tried recently. He has a beard and drinks craft beer.

LAB 06: ARCHETYPES (4)

LAB 06: ARCHETYPES (3)

Access to gear can determine access to the wilderness.

LAB 07: EVENT INSIGHTS (1)

Nickolas, the planner.

Nickolas enjoys his job because he has flexible hours and makes plenty of money. He is very meticulous and planned out. He enjoys indulging in his hobbies, such as photography, surfing, and piano.

He occasionally wakes u before dawn to catch the lighting for a perfect sunrise photograph.

LAB 06: ARCHETYPES (8)

Jane, the bushcraft expert.

Jane always wears boots and a quick-dry long sleeve shirt. She doesn’t style her hair because it will always get messed up. She never wears make-up or deodorant, but always has chapstick handy. She is always late to fads and trends, but she can survive a zombie apocalypse. She’s a very practical person and doesn’t make any lucrative purchases. Every little thing counts,.

LAB 06: ARCHETYPES (9)

Caucasian Hispanic

A beginner backpacking guide that helps people go from hikers to backpackers.

A resource that will engage parents/teachers and children on how to provide a positive outdoor experience for kids.

African-American Asian

Trail on a topographic map/Itinerary of backpacking trip.

Many current outdoor enthusiasts recalled memorable childhood experiences with being outdoors. Idea: geocaching

OPPORTUNITY GAP (5)

“I do follow nature photographers + travel bloggers on Instagram and I love that people can tag locations... It does spark an interest in places I may not be familiar with.”

INFOGRAPHIC (3)

Inspirationally fun sequence of people enjoying the outdoor space.

Puthea

LAB 07: EVENT QUOTES (3)

WILDCARD (1)

http://www.outdoorfoundation.org/pdf/ParticipationStudy2006Hiking.pdf

Demographic of people doing outdoor activities.

A line of products geared toward making the experience fun for families.

Cost of backpacking gear.

INFOGRAPHIC (2)

INFOGRAPHIC (1)

Imagine if everyone can experience awe

“I feel really safe when I’m hiking.

I feel I can say what’s on my mind without being judged. Opening up is allowed. Maybe it’s because you know you’re gonna be doing it (hiking together) for a while.”

Pauline

LAB 07: EVENT QUOTES (5)

“I remember loving watching campfire. Loved being dirty + felt free because of that!”

Emma

LAB 07: EVENT QUOTES (4)

An app with alternative “hacks” for backpacking gear

History of outdoor politics.

A film festival highlighting underrepresented demographics in the outdoors.

The festival would increase representation, bring exposure, and provide a space for minorities to exist in the wilderness conversation.

WILDCARD (2)

The history of the wilderness in the United States is not known very well. This will just be a quick lesson.

WILDCARD (3)

video montage and voiceover description of each idea

Gear Hack: an app that gives users alternative ways to substitute for expensive backpacking gear.

A social campaign to promote the Leave No Trace principles

The sources are there. People enjoy creating innovative solutions for outdoor gear, this app would consolidate that information and provided for those who could benefit from them.

OPPORTUNITY GAP (1)

“Using a certain brand is a reflection of where you place your values so I think it’s important that the lifestyle of my outdoor gear correlates to the lifestyle of my outdoor habits.”

in the wilderness.

A social campaign to promote the Leave No Trace principles.

Reframing of the “negative” outdoor experience (fear, hygiene, discomfort) towards the more positive outdoor associations.

Riley

LAB 07: EVENT QUOTES (2)

OPPORTUNITY GAP (2)

A beginner backpacking guide that helps people go from hikers to backpackers.

A lot of people I’ve asked have expressed that the main reason they haven’t gone backpacking is because they don’t know how or where to start.

OPPORTUNITY GAP (4)

Types of outdoor activities: hiking, camping, backpacking, climbing, biking, canoeing, kayaking, birdwatching, etc.

WILDCARD (4)

Wilderness Access.

Insights & Outcome

If I wanted to inspire people to go outdoors, I needed to show them the outdoors. So I needed to learn how to film.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

• This is where my interest in graphic novels

come in—storytelling. A large portion of design is figuring out how to tell a story. I utilized the forty cards to build a narrative. As with convergent thinking, ideas were parsed out and the deck thinned to create a clear concept.

We were recommended to look at Kickstarter videos for inspiration.

And I did. I was inspired by the videography. In fact, during class, it was strange for me to see cards that were so filled with graphics and animations. I figure that if I wanted to inspire people to go outdoors, I needed to show the reality of the beauty that is the outdoors. I wanted to learn how to film.

These cards aren't a storyboard. They don't show a narrative, but they provided me an understanding of what good cinema looked like and

LAB

8

how to create a compelling narrative. ■

92

•

L Much like the connections map, I created a word map with all of the topics that I covered during my research. R From those topics, photos were associated with them to create stills that could potentially be in my proposal video.

•

93

Competitors

G ADVENTURES

•

NAT I O NA L G EO G R A P H I C

•

A small group adventure travel

A non-profit scientific and educational

company that offers socially and

institution that promotes environmen-

environmentally sensitive travel.

tal and historical conservation and the study of world culture and history.

N AT I O N A L PA R K S E RV I C E

OUTDOOR AFRO

•

A U.S. agency that manages all U.S.

A community that reconnects African-

national parks. They are also responsible

Americans with natural spaces and

for preserving the ecological and histori-

one another through recreational

cal integrity of particular lands while

activities such as camping, hiking, bik-

also making them available and acces-

ing, and more.

sible for public use and enjoyment.

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•

BAC K PAC K E R M AGA Z I N E

•

#OPTOUTSIDE

•

NAT I O NA L G EO G R A P H I C

•

An publication that features information

A marketing campaign by REI that

An environmental preservation orga-

on wilderness hiking and adventure.

urges people to spend the annual

nization founded by John Muir that

Black Friday outdoors instead of in

promotes green politics and organizes

a mall shopping.

outdoor recreation activities.

GIRL SCOUTS

•

OUTDOOR PROJECT

•

DON'T BUY THIS JACKET

•

A youth organization that empow-

A platform aimed at providing a

A marketing campaign by Patagonia

ers girls through activities including

resource for outdoor enthusiasts to

that encourages consumers to recycle

camping, community service, learning

plan outdoor adventures and protect

or repair their own clothes.

first aid, and practical skills.

the world.

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The Final Voice-over

0:0 0

Awe is an indescribable emotion, a powerful understanding of grandeur.

It helps us see beyond ourselves and can make us more altruistic.

It enhances our mental and physical health.

Awe is the ability to lose ourselves in wonder.

0:25

Imagine if everyone can experience awe.

0:30

"Thousands of tired, nerveshaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity" John muir 0:45

However, not everyone has had the privilege of accessing the wilderness.

In 2015, The National Park Services had 307 million visitors. But, less than 20% of them were people of color.

Why is that?

96

1:05

1:20

The U.S. Forest Services conducted a study on groups of Asian Americans, Latino Americans, and African Americans.

[Greg's interview]

Reasons include:

An interactive platform that provides alternative access to outdoor gear and equipment,

1:50

I believe we can help somebody like Greg gain access to the wilderness.

And a film festival highlighting underrepresented demographics in the outdoors space.

1:55

The unfamiliarity with navigating the State and Federal Park Services, Heavy costs of equipment and planning, And a lack of media representation in the outdoor space.

2:30

I propose to design: A social campaign that informs people how to access the wilderness in a respectful way,

I love backpacking and I love being in nature. I feel so unbounded and free.

People want to be in awe, and I want to help them get there.

97

98

Final Video

99

I must keep vigilant . There is still so much to learn about the wilderness.

C O N C L US I O N

100

My understanding about the wilderness, design, and myself continues to change. I went into this topic believing that everybody should go backpacking with me and the world would be a better place. I thought a lot of work still needed to be done, but I realized that so much has already been done. There are already people like me out in the world doing amazing things in this space. Is it my path to join them?

To find a new perspective? We'll see.

101

Citations

10

psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-in-world/201004/trying-new-things

12 fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr210/psw_gtr210_123.pdf 21 outdoorproject.com/blog-news 30

Finney, Carolyn, Ph.D. Black Faces, White Spaces:

Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors.

Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2014.

49 adventure-journal.com/2016/07/the-disturbing-bro-ification-of-outdoor-recreation 51 themuirproject.com 61 humansandnature.org/carolyn-finney 67 youtube.com/watch?v=jUJY9Cdw6n4 70 draplin.com/1998/01/field_notes_brand_memo_books.html 73 paperlesspost.com 77 britannica.com/biography/Louis-Sullivan 83 brandwatch.com/blog/37-instagram-stats-2016 85 oaktowncomp.com 92 kickstarter.com/projects/631970180/the-winnebago-workshop

102

COMPETITORS

PHOTOGRAPHY

94-95

50

Quanghuy Le

gadventures.com

60

Ron Schulz

nationalgeographic.com

40-45, 56-57, 88-91

nps.gov/index.htm

These photos were used only for research

outdoorafro.com

and exploration. I do not own the rights to

backpacker.com

any of these photographs.

rei.com/opt-outside sierraclub.org

All other photographs are by Fannie Ko

• Voice-over

girlscouts.org

VIDEO

outdoorproject.com

Fannie Ko, Douglas Marchetti

patagonia.com/worn-wear.html

VIDEO

• Stills

Emma Leyden, Pauline Capote, Gregory Plater, Fannie Ko

103

SPECIAL THANKS

Phillip Hamlet, Sandra Isla, Bob Slote, Kathrin Blatter, Megan Ko, Harry Kim, Pauline Capote, Douglas Marchetti, Yvonne Anaya, Russ Fenstermaker, Todd Poirier, Emma Leyden, Gregory Plater, Paola Alvarez, Puthea Chea, Riley Gish, Parmita Dalal, Morgan Fletcher, Carolina De Bartolo, Anthony Jagoda, Dana Van Etten, Shay Williams, Jeff Wang, Ron Schulz, Jeffy Can, Quanghuy Le, Karin Tran, Cathy Qu, and my supportive dog, Hercules.

104