Engaging the public

As part of the Environmental Connection project, BA (Hons) Graphic Design students were tasked with proposing speculative responses that enable people to build a deeper connection to the living world. The brief highlighted the importance of exploring people’s relationship to the land, inequalities of access to the landscape as well as considering rights and responsibilities in relation to the environment.

Projects ranged from interactive concepts based on the Wood Wide Web that explore how we might communicate with trees to how gamification might help develop new sustainable communities to design activist approaches that uncover the environmental cost behind much of the food we eat.

An aspect of each of the graphic design projects was exhibited as an augmented reality (AR) poster as part of the Interior Architecture and Design students’ installation. Whilst the event took place, students were available with iPads to demonstrate the Augmented Reality (AR) and talk about the project.

Green Realities

People are becoming more disconnected from nature. Green Realities explores how we can engage people to make better use of underused green spaces in city contexts. This could help people to get in touch with nature, explore locally and subsequently help them to become future ambassadors of the living world. Our intention is to create a shift to a more utopian future where we live in harmony for mutual benefit.

Foraging Together

Team: Tiegan Caulfield, Ella Cottrell, Ness Gagnon and Savoy O’Connor

Research suggests that during the past sixty years people in the UK have become more distanced from nature and its subsequent benefits. Our ancestors were hunter-gatherers and foraging was a way of life. For this project the team have explored how foraging could help build a deeper connection to the living world and inspire people to live more sustainably as they come to appreciate spending time in nature and learning about flora and fauna. ‘Foraging Together’ is a journey into the joys of urban and suburban foraging.

The Urban Veg Project

Team: Hollie Collins, Ali El-Hawary, George Griffiths and Lauren Sutch

One In five London households doesn’t have a garden. Feeling connected to nature is essential for our mental health and can inspire us to live more sustainable lives.

The Urban Veg Project encourages city dwellers to grow their own food using limited available spaces. The project aims to create more appealing natural environments as well as provide satisfaction in growing your own food.

Grey to Green

Team:

Research shows that people on a lower income or from a minority group tend to have less access to green space. This is a problem as not having access to nature can have a detrimental effect on one’s health and wellbeing. This project is about reclaiming unused areas to create more green spaces. Football is universally understood and can be played in the smallest of spaces: rooftops, inactive streets and alleys can all provide a pitch and help promote a sense of community and a deeper connection to nature.

Dr Emilie Giles

Senior Lecturer BA (Hons) Graphic Design