Aim of the project The core aim of the project is to teach children the fundamentals of sustainability. Understanding how important the natural environment is at a younger age will lead to greater appreciation and responsibility in the future. The conservation of invertebrates is a great way to introduce children to the natural world in a way that provokes both their curiosity and imagination, and engages them in an activity that revolves around environmental responsibility.
The importance of this project Rather than providing statistics to justify this project, I am using these two quotes that have originated from both reliable and respectable sources. They refer to invertebrate conservation and encouraging children to interact with the natural world, highlighting just how important they are to taking responsibility for this world and why this project has credibility.
Inspect: The retail kit The retail kit is designed for children and families to be used at home. Included within are a range of products which come with both short and long term activities, all designed to provide children with the opportunity to build, grow, collect, explore, record and most importantly, learn outside in the natural world.
Inspect Retail Kit: Contents
Inspect: Application Included in the commercial kit is the opportunity to download the Inspect app, which is designed to be both an educational yet entertaining way to maintain the child’s interest. Whilst the app is primarily used as a way for Inspect to share data with Buglife, it includes plenty of other features to help keep the user engaged with invertebrate conservation.
Collect and Upload The different invertebrates found in the wild can be uploaded to a personal collection which the user can view, whilst learning facts such as number of species and threat level. This provides the child with a collection of achievements whilst offering a competitive edge amongst friends to find the most.
Learn and play Initially, there will be a number of interactive lessons and corresponding games to play. Each will be linked to the national curriculum to help bolster the users knowledge on invertebrate conservation. As the user levels up, they can unlock more content and take on harder challenges.
Story Writing This is another educational feature to help children be more creative in their writing. They can add bugs as new guests to their virtual hotel where they are prompted to write a short story. This allows the child to build their own world within the Inspect Bug hotel.
Inspect: The Education kit The educational kit will be offered to teachers at different education facilities throughout the UK. There will be two kits available - Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 - where the content will vary based on the selected level. Included in the kits is a project planner to help plan and organise lessons. The activity cards and exercises help the teacher tailor each lesson to their needs, including the log sheet which acts as a data recording sheet which children can fill out. Seed labels are provided for when children need to take ownership of their conservation area in a communal school garden. Inspect online provides teachers with an access point to use particular features similar to the Inspect app. From here, they can download new lesson plans, order educational resources or upload the data collected by their class on the activity sheets.
Inspect: The service Inspect offers a multi-perspective service down two routes; Retail and Educational. Inspect shares a working relationship with Buglife, who uses its existing connections with schools, local authorities and corporate partners to help introduce Inspect to its target consumers. From there, users can go through their journey (highlighted by the pictures) using their respective kits to learn and practise the conservation of invertebrates. Using the equipment provided and online platforms, consumers can collect and upload data which can be shared with the charity Buglife to help them in their efforts with invertebrate conservation.
Inspect: Benefits to Stakeholders Inspect involves various stakeholders through the mutli-perspective service who will receive a number of benefits.
B SE EE ED S W IL D FL Pla OW n he t th E e l p R ou se h SE t th an ED eb dp ee ick S ’s i ed n y se ou eds rg ard and en
End of CJ 01 At the end of CJ01, I had constructed a well developed brief that proposed to design a service which would deliver two kits through retail and educational routes, with the aim to encourage children to learn and practise the conservation of invertebrates. Neil Smith “Concentrate on developing the retail kit. The educational one can still be powerfully illustrated through your presentation material�. Having been concerned with the amount of deliverables I had set, I think it was sensible that Neil and I agreed that I focus on developing the retail kit in the time available.
Brand development Before my major interim, I wanted to develop a fun and playful brand that appealed to children, whilst capturing the essence of exploring and discovering invertebrates.
I had quickly settled on the name Inspect for various reasons; It is short, punchy & playful. The definition - ‘to look carefully at or over; view
closely and critically’ fits the concept of exploring and discovery. Inspect = Insect. This adds to the playfulness and gives the name a witty alternative meaning.
Brand development cont. Using Adobe Illustrator, I created different designs for the logo. The feedback from my validators overwhelmingly favoured one particular design. Paul Hetherington “Love the branding idea with the different insects as letters”. Laura Dobson “I love the last logo, it summarises your project without being too childish”. Leah Phelan “The last logo is so cool, I love all the little insects”. The feedback helped me settle on the logo design quickly and I was extremely pleased with the outcome. It met my criteria of being simple, playful and clearly relevant to insects.
Major Interim (15/03/17) I presented my prototype kit and service map along with development work as professionally as possible to receive clear and constructive feedback from the tutors. Simon Scott-Harden “You need to highlight and illustrate how it will maintain the user’s interest”. Laura Warwick “Think about how the educational part will work and how Buglife will collect the data”. Ian Hewitt “It looks a bit bland. Ensure the kit will appeal to and include the parents as much as the child”. The feedback was very positive and gave me the confidence to move forward taking their comments on board.
Bug Hotel: Development After the interim, I immediately continued developing my bug hotel, experimenting with the ways it could be flat-packed and assembled. Neil Smith “I like how it slots together, however it still looks rather bland. How can you separate each room in a way that will spark the child’s imagination”? The shelves slotting in to create different compartments was definitely worth carrying forward, however for the edges, it wasn’t strong enough.
Bug Hotel: Development Taking inspiration from existing Bug Hotels that have separated ‘rooms’, I mocked up different acrylic slips that slot into the side of the product to visualise this. I thought the slips made the hotel look far more creative and provided more potential for the child to use their imagination with the different compartments.
Bug Hotel: User testing I wanted to see how the hotel would work in the hands of the child, so I let Leah play with the model to gage her reaction. Leah really liked the idea of having separate rooms for different bugs as this let her imagination go wild. This was something I should definitely build on. However, Leah did struggle on how it all worked so I realised I needed to deliver instructions to accompany the product.
Bug Hotel: Testing wooden joints Due to the previous model being weak on the joints, I decided to test different dowels around the edges for simplicity and strength. The prototype held together very well, and it proved simple enough to assemble. I decided this would be my core structure, with the shelves slotting in as shown in the previous model.
Bug Hotel: CAD & Material selection To help with the process, I created my model on Solidworks to ensure every hole and slot was positioned correctly. Following a visit to Jewson, I purchased a premium redwood board a wood which was light in colour and easy to cut. I liked the feel and look of the redwood as the lighter colour looked more child-friendly, however my choice of wood selection turned out to be a poor one (continue for further information).
Bug Hotel: Making the model With technical drawings to hand, I began manufacturing my hotel. During the making of the hotel, one of my pieces broke due to a weak point, causing complete panic. David O’Leary “Rather than starting again, you can make a minor adjustment (refer to Solidworks picture) so the slips slide in like a drawer”. Although David’s advice paid off, it highlighted that I should have made a fully working prototype beforehand to iron out any issues with the hotel’s design.
Bug Hotel: Adding Colour I began searching for colours to be added to the hotel, in reference to the comments made in my major interim about the kit looking bland. I compared some palettes from local garden centre’s and unique child’s toys for inspiration. I really liked the colour combination shown the pictures. It all seemed very natural and environmentally friendly, without being too vibrant for garden use. I ordered several sheets of acrylic online get a better idea of colour combinations.
Bug Hotel: Finishing the model These were the colours that worked best for the acrylic sheets. In order to be consistent, I decided to use this colour scheme through my other products.
Each piece from the bug hotel was cut, however a problem had arisen. The wood I had used had warped due to the climate in the design building, causing all the pieces to shrink and slightly bend - completely throwing all measurements out the window. Neil Smith / Ian Hewitt Both tutors agreed that glueing the hotel together would be the best option with the time available. Just ensure I highlight how it can be delivered flat-packed and built up on my presentation boards. Once again, I proved my lack of knowledge in choosing the wrong material. Although this was only for display purposes, it showed that this wood would have to be treated for any potential outdoor use.
Bug Hotel: Instructions For developing the instructions, I took inspiration from Lego manuals and online tutorials to create folded booklets, then used Solidworks drawings to create exploded views. I really liked how the drawings were coming out, however it took me a few attempts to the right fold and layout. Using Photoshop helped make the drawings more playful and easy to follow.
Bug Hotel: Testing the hotel and Instructions As I had to break up my filming into parts, this was a good opportunity for me to see how Leah interacts with instructions and bug hotel parts (pre-glued) . Leah found the instructions really easy to follow and understood how the hotel would fit together. She enjoyed the simple pictures that illustrated how each piece went together.
Bug Hotel: Assembling & Finishing Once the hotel has been glued, I had to spend a large amount of time sanding down the edges which weren’t level to bring the hotel up to the highest possible standard. Due to my mistakes, I could not make the hotel look as sleek as I had imagined. This was a harsh but valuable lesson learned in the world of model making.
Magnetic Bug Viewer: 3D printing Having previously tested successful models of using the magnets in the bug viewer, I moved onto 3D printing to experiment with the size and strength of magnets. The bug viewer came out well in the 3D print and the material didn’t seem to reduce the strength of the magnets.
Magnetic Bug Viewer: Developing the transparent pot Once I got the right 3D print, I moved onto the lathe to produce a number of models for the transparent pot. After a few adjustments and practise vac forms, I was ready to create the final mould. I wanted to ensure the pot was large enough for most bugs and firm enough to allow the bug viewer stand up on its own. I went with 2mm plastic as this fitted around my 3D printed model the best.
Magnetic Bug Viewer: User testing Once glued and filled, I took the opportunity to test it with Leah to see how she would interact with it. She initially didn’t realise it was magnetic at first, but was happily surprised when she found out. She spent about 15 minutes going around her garden picking up woodlice and looking at them.
Magnetic Bug Viewer: Finishing touches Due to the vast number of deliverables I had to produce, I needed to move swiftly in the process. Once filled and sanded, I spray painted my bug viewer. I decided that the predominant colour for my kit would be the lime green which matches one of the slips on the hotel. This was because I felt the colour represented nature the most and would easily catch the eye of potential users.
Resource Bag: Development Taking inspiration from existing mesh bags, I sketched different ways the bag could be shaped. Neil Smith “Think about how the bag will be tied up, carried and used on the journey to ensure its easy and simple�. I liked the idea of having the bag with a drawstring function and having it hung outdoors for drying.
Resource Bag: Comparing size and material I ordered a pre-made drawstring mesh bag online as I wanted to compare the size, material and how its sewn together. I also quickly tested this prototype with Leah. The bag helped me get an idea for shape and size, along with sew lines. Seeing Leah interact with it told me it should be larger to increase capacity and ease of use. Additionally, I wanted a Hessian material which wasn’t as thick to make it more breathable.
Resource Bag: Sewing the bag Once I had the right type of Hessian mesh material, I visited my girlfriend’s grandma Jean for help on sewing the bag. I measured out the material I needed based on the measurements I’d previously decided on. Using the sewing machine was surprisingly easy, however due to the machine being faulty, the bag took much longer than expected to complete. However, with Jean’s help, the bag came out well and fully functional.
Resource Bag: The Final touches To make the bag a more tactile experience, I decided to add the wooden bead on the drawstring to make it easier when closing up the bag. Once done, I tested how it would be hung on a hook. It took several attempts to get the right sized hole cut out through the wooden beads. Once done, it was really simple to hook over the door to be hung. I had to be careful with the amount of rope needed to ensure the bag didn’t hang too low.
Wildflower Seeds: Development Initially, I focussed on ensuring the seeds packaging was graphically appropriate for its desired context. I liked the simple layout of the packs, with clear instructions on the back for the user to follow. Using these sketches, I took them onto illustrator for further development.
Tear along this line to open
HOW TO USE
FIND A SUNNY PATCH OF SOIL AND SPRINKLE THE SEEDS. GENTLY PRESS THE SEEDS INTO THE SOIL
Wildflower seeds for
BUMBLEBEES
WATER THE SEEDS THOROUGHLY, BEFORE WAITING FOR THE SUN TO DO ITS WORK
WATCH THE SEEDS GROW INTO FLOWERS WHICH WILL HELP ATTRACT BUMBLEBEE’S TO YOUR GARDEN
SOW AND GROW YOUR SEEDS SO THEY CAN ATTRACT BUMBLEBEES TO YOUR OWN GARDEN!
Tear along this line to open
HOW TO USE
FIND A SUNNY PATCH OF SOIL AND SPRINKLE THE SEEDS. GENTLY PRESS THE SEEDS INTO THE SOIL
Wildflower seeds for
butterflies
WATER THE SEEDS THOROUGHLY, BEFORE WAITING FOR THE SUN TO DO ITS WORK
WATCH THE SEEDS GROW INTO FLOWERS WHICH WILL HELP ATTRACT BUtterflies TO YOUR GARDEN
SOW AND GROW YOUR SEEDS SO THEY CAN ATTRACT Butterflies TO YOUR OWN GARDEN!
Wildflower Seeds: Packaging With a graphic layout quickly developed, I began working on the packs net design and how it would be opened. The simple tear away strip worked well and seemed suitable for a child. The test pieces allowed me to make some final modifications to the packs.
Wildflower Seeds: Final Packaging Selecting a material to print the final graphic design onto was important as I wanted the seeds to seem completely authentic and fit in with the rest of the kit. I decided to go with the brown card due to its natural and environmental feel. I was delighted with how the prints came out with the final graphics. In some early photography with Simon Scott-Harden’s daughter, it was great to see her interact with the pack which she enjoyed reading.
Log Book: Development Developing the right questions down on each log sheet was key to creating a filtering down system. I decided to speak with Paul from Buglife for advice on approaching this particular product. Paul Hetherington “My advice would be going down an in app ID, then where was it found as first question leading to a series of routes for questions, as on the keys on our website such as number of legs, number of wings. Then at the end, the app could offer a selection of most likely species to choose from”.
Going through Buglife’s existing identification sheets helped me note the most important and distinctive features to look for when identifying different bugs. This allowed me to draft the first initial set of questions.
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Log book: Final Prototypes I quickly settled on an interior layout for the log book,
90
using multiple choice questions which can be answered by colouring in a circle as the system. I went with this format because I knew the technology is there. It also made it more simple for the child to interact with, whilst providing them with an opportunity to guess the answer, testing their knowledge.
Packaging: Initial Stages Taking inspiration from existing packaging, I quickly mocked up my own. I then sent over some drawing files to the packaging company Smurfit Kappa Ltd to discuss what I wanted to achieve. Michelle, Smurfit Kappa Ltd. “I think a match box style with a sleeve would work. Otherwise you risk your design being over packaged”. As I wanted my kit to be sustainable and low cost, I went with Michelle’s advice and quickly moved on to develop stronger mock ups.
Packaging: Developed Mock ups I started producing more detailed mock ups and graphic layouts. Prior to the final design, I did a photo session with my tutor’s daughter for the packaging display. This was a great way to ensure the packaging was the right size for all the products and how the layout would work for the box and inside lid. I was happy with the layout as I wanted it to be a special experience for the user when they open the box.
Interior layout: W:120mm H: 220mm D: 75mm
Inspect is the ultimate kit to help children learn and practise the conservationn of invertebrates. Inspect gives your child the freedom to build, explore and play outside using their imagination and curiosity with the natural world, whilst learning the values of conservation for the different species of invertebrates that exist
Box layout W:380mm H: 220mm D: 120mm
Packaging Cover
Packaging: Sending files to Smurfit Kappa Ltd. Once I had completed the graphics of the packaging, I sent Smurtfit Kappa an illustrator file as requested. This allowed them cut and print out the packaging design I desired. Having the packaging produced by them gave it a very professional look and feel which I was very pleased with. Unfortunately, there were a couple of mistakes on the final packaging, highlighting how important communication and thoroughness is.
Application: Developing a wireframe I mocked up a wireframe to see what features I was including and how each page would link together. Neil Smith “Make sure that the app will maintain the interest of the user. Having a story writing feature and progressive levels will give the app an extra value�.
Although I knew the primary use of the app was to collect invertebrates found, I was struggling on what other beneficial features it could have. Neil’s suggestions were really helpful and made sense to add.
Application: Initial layout design Creating an app to be used by a child was proving to be difficult. Fortunately, I found an extremely useful article which helped give me some guidelines on how I should go about the layout design. Tanya Unger Although I did not get in direct contact until later with Tanya, it was her article that helped me so much in developing the app screens. My initial pages helped me get the app going, however once I had clear guidelines to hand, this helped me clean up the original pages and create a more appropriately designed app.
Application: The Key features Rather than making the whole app, I only created the screens necessary to show the story of each feature. Using the guidelines really helped to create the eventual layout. Keeping the multiple screens consistent and including potential interactions meant the app would be easy to mock up for the video.
Filming, Photography & editing I created a simple storyboard of what video shots I needed to illustrate the retail kit user journey. I then spent the weekend at Leah’s house directing the video for the project, and taking photographs of the products in use. I then edited my films using iMovie to create the user journey experience of Inspect. Laura Warwick “If you’re only filming the retail kit, make sure you clearly highlight each step and how it works”. Filming at Leah’s own house gave Inspect a more realistic feel where you could visualise how the user journey would unfold in the right context. Having a video was definitely essential to my project in terms of understanding how the kit and app correspond with each other.
Photography Studio Shortly before the hand-in, I took my retail kit to a studio to take some high quality pictures of the kit as a whole. I enjoyed the experience of using the camera and studio lights, whilst having the kit together in one photo was essential to be presented on my final boards.
KEY STAGE 1: INVERTEBRATE CONSERVATION
KEY STAGE 2: INVERTEBRATE CONSERVATION
The Education Kit: Development Although the educational kit was to be illustrated, I was keen to develop a number of deliverables to help bring this side of the project to life. Looking back at what I proposed in the interim, I decided that I should move forward in developing a project planner for a teacher and resources that can be used by the students. Additionally, an online platform should be available for teachers to upload the data collected in their lessons.
The Education Kit: Developing lesson plans and activities To help develop a lesson plan and activities for students, kit, I spoke to Paula Stanbridge from Ipswich Preparatory School. Paula Stanbridge “There are so many different pre-set lesson plans! It would be great to have ones you could personalise and keep in a booklet so individual sheets don’t go astray”.
Paula’s feedback was useful and let me start developing a project planner for the kit. I liked the idea of having activity cards which could be used to personalise each lesson to the teachers needs. Additionally, using the existing lesson plans Paula sent helped me understand the content and language used.
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LESSON PLAN: identifying invertebrates DATE:
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DD / MM / YY
key stage 1
subject: science
year:
lesson objective ed in the range of habitats.
them on how they can be identiÞ
learning outcomes ESTIMATED TIME: (25 MINS)
ESTIMATED TIME: (25 MINS)
NAME: Aim:
activity:
RVATIO
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PLANTING WILDFLOWERS
Aim:
Learn how to PLANT WILDFLOWER SCHOOL GARDEN
activity:
CONSE
RVATIO
BUG HUNT
Aim:
Learn how to find and identify invertebrates in the school grounds.
activity:
Resources:
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SEEDS Resources:
pack of wildflower seeds (per group)
invertebrate I-D
NAME: Aim:
Invertebrate
activity:
magnifying glass (per pair) log sheet (per pair)
Resources:
Water
Identify Sustainability
Insect
Land
Pollinators
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Habitat
activities
look Learn about what features to for when identifying different invertebrates
IDENTIF
using Pair up the children, have one to the magnifying glass and the other way, get fill out the log sheet. At half them to swap over
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Key words
Species ESTIMATED TIME: (20 MINS)
ED TIME: (30 MINS)
NAME:
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GROUPS OF GET THE CHILDREN INTO DIFFERENT POLLINATORS E.G BEETLES, BEES, LADYBIRDS TO EACH ETC. ALLOCATE THE PACK OF SEEDS THE GROUP AND GET THEM TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS AND PLANT THEIR WILDFLOWER
design my hotel worksheet (Per pupil)
IDENESTIMAT TIFY
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The Education Kit: Developing other contents Following on from the project planner, I developed activity sheets for children could use to easily record data, which could later be uploaded by the teacher. Converting my log book to an activity school sheet was relatively simple. It was developing these activity sheets that allowed me to create three further examples of the activities that could be found in the project planner.
The Education Kit: Inspect Online I needed to create multiple screens for Inspect online to illustrate the different features that would be available on this platform, especially how data can be uploaded. Neil Smith “Consider who the user of the platform will be. Is it just used by teachers? If so, include some features that will help them�. I decided that Inspect Online would only be used by teachers as that coincided with the features I wanted such as downloading lessons plans and ordering more educational equipment. It also allowed me to create a more mature looking layout compared to the app.
The Education Kit: Final deliverables I was fortunate to arrange a visit to Ipswich Preparatory school to see Paul Stanbridge, where I could take several photographs of the deliverables I had produced. Putting my products into context really brought the picture to life. Rather than just illustrating the educational kit, it looks a lot stronger having several pictures of the contents in use.
Service Map : Data collection With all my products developed, I was able to quickly illustrate my service map and how it benefits the involved stakeholders. However the way how Inspect would share data with Buglife was still unclear. Neil Smith “Look at how the RSBP went about collecting their consumers data. Inspect’s process could be very similar”. Understanding how the RSBP collected their data through a 5 step process allowed me to apply a similar approach to Inspect’s service, giving it both validation and confirmation that consumer data can be collected and used within charities.
Personal Reflection
Reflecting on Service touchpoints
Carey Hunt (Creative Projects manager, Seven Stories)