Hui (Joy) Zhu
beefriendapp.com
BEEFRIEND
Hui (Joy) Zhu
MFA thesis
Hui (Joy) Zhu 510 708 1846 joyzhu_ca@yahoo.com huijoyzhu.com Academy of Art University S chool of Graphic Design
instructors Phil Hamlett / Carolina de Bartolo / Bob Slot title of book BeeFriend website beefriendapp.com Š 2014 All rights reser ved. No part of this publication can be reproduced without permission from Hui (Joy) Zhu.
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WHAT ’S WRONG WITH THE HONEY BEES? Def ining the problem p.06-25
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WHY NOT BECOME AN URBAN BEEKEEPER? Further research p.26-55
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SO...DO YOU THINK IT’LL WORK? Design exploration p.56-69
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HERE IS MY SOLUTION Final deliverables p.70-129
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BEEFRIEND
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Hui (Joy) Zhu
MFA thesis
how I started this project About t wo years ago, I star ted my thesis on the topic of helping people make ethical buy ing choices. I soon nar rowed down the topic to just helping boycot t unethical product s. However I found it hard to f ind the necessar y data online and found I had no exper ience in the industr y. I struggled w ith this project unt il one day I saw a picture online taken by a f r iend of mine. It was about people boycot t ing Monsanto on Golden Gate Br idge. Monsanto’s product was proven to be a main contr ibutor to honey bee colony collapse disorder. I star ted research on this problem and found that bees were a good point to invest igate f ur ther and eventually to focus on f ully. Hui (Joy) Zhu Winter 2014
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01
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CHAPTER ONE Defining the problem
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE HONEY BEES?
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BEEFRIEND
Hui (Joy) Zhu
MFA thesis
“ They were literally
falling out of the trees. It’s one of the largest bee deaths in North America. It was heartbreaking to watch. ”
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Def ining the problem
Approximately 25,000 to 50,000 bees were found dead in the summer of 2013 at a Target parking lot in Wilsonville, Oregon.
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MFA thesis
TROUBLED HONEY BEES
I was shocked to find that honey bees are in such big trouble now.
< Colony Collapse Disorder > C CD is a phenomenon in which worker bees from a European honey bee colony abruptly disappear. 10
bees are dying In 2006, beekeepers in America began noticing that their adult worker honeybees would suddenly flee the hive. They ended up dead somewhere else and it lead to the rapid loss of the colony. It is normal to loose some bees every year, but usually beekeepers only expect to lose 10% to 15% of their colony. However, over the past five years, mortality rates for commercial honey bees in the
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Def ining the problem
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BEEFRIEND
Hui (Joy) Zhu
MFA thesis
Number of honey bee colonies sourse: U.S. Department of Agricultureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Agricultural Statistics Service
4 million
3.7 million
2.7 million
1.8 million
1975
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1995
2012 2013
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Def ining the problem
1/3
of hives were lost in the winter of 2013
2 billion USD of crops has been lost since 2006
U.S. have ranged from 28% to 33%, which has shocked everyone. This syndrome was named as colony collapse disorder in conjunction with a drastic rise in the number of disappearances of honeybee colonies in North America. the problem is get ting worse Losses were first reported in California, Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas. Some also reported significant losses of more than 50%. Colony losses also were reported in five Canadian provinces, several European countries, and countries in South and Central America and Asia. In 2010, the USDA reported that data on overall honey bee
losses for 2010 indicated an estimated 34% loss, which is statistically similar to losses reported in 2007 to 2009. Simply after one year of the first reported CCD, 34 states out of 50 are af fected. Since 2006 an estimated 10 million beehives worth about $200 each have been lost, costing beekeepers some $2 billion. In There are now 2.5 million honeybee colonies in the U.S., down from 6 million 60 years ago.
(â&#x20AC;&#x153;US Sets Up Honey Bee Loss Task Forceâ&#x20AC;?, BBC News)
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There is a wide news coverage about this problem.
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Hui (Joy) Zhu
MFA thesis
BEES ARE IMPORTANT
One third of the food we eat everyday comes from crops pollinated by bees. Globally there are more honey bees than other types of bee and pollinating insects, so it is the world’s most important pollinator of food crops. It is estimated that one third of the food that we consume each day relies on pollination mainly by bees. If the problem continues to get worse, the consequences for the agricultural econo m y —a n d e v e n f o r o u r a b i l i t y t o f e e d ourselves—could be dangerous. “Currently, the sur vivorship of honeybee colonies is too low for us to be confident in our ability to meet the pollination demands of U.S. agricultural crops,” reported by USDA. Bees
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pollinate by carrying pollen on their bodies from the male part of one flower to the female part of another flower. Some dif ferent types of bees are more ef ficient than others for pollinating particular plants. If we take the time to obser ve what is happening in our gardens, we may see several dif ferent bee species pollinating our flowers, including various bumblebee species, but also solitar y bees, such as leaf cutters, mining bees, carpenter bees or mason bees. CCD can also af fect other kinds of bees.
(“Reports on the National Stakeholders Conference on Honeybee Health”)
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1 of 3 bites o f fo o d we t a ke re q u i re d h o n ey b e e s p o ll i n at i o n
$14 billion o f c ro p s i n U. S . a re p o ll i n at e d b y h o n ey b e e s e ac h ye a r
1.2 pounds o f h o n ey i s c o n s u m e d b y ave r a g e A m e r i c a n e ac h ye a r
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a grocery store campaign To raise awareness of just how crucial pollinators are to our food system, a Whole Foods store on Rhode Island removed all produce that comes from plants dependent on hone bees and other pollinators. The before-and-after photo (right) is shocking as are the statistics. Whole Foods produce team pulled from shelves 237 of 453 products â&#x20AC;&#x201D;52 percent of the normal product mix in the store department.
(wholefoodsmarket.com)
crops that rely on bee pollination fruits and nuts Almonds Apples Apricots Avocados Blueberries Boysenberries Cherries Citrus Cranberries Grapes Kiwifruit Loganberries Macadamia nuts Nectarines Olives Peaches Pears Plums/Prunes Raspberries Strawberries
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vegetables Asparagus Broccoli Carrots Cauliflower Celer y Cucumbers Cantaloupe Honeydew Onions Pumpkins Squash Watermelons field crops Alfalfa Hay Alfalfa Seed Cotton Lint Cotton Seed Legume Seed Peanuts Rapeseed Soybeans Sugar Beets Sunflowers
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MFA thesis
“ Now the survivorship of honey bee colonies is too low for us to be confident in our ability to meet the pollination demands of U.S. agricultural crops.” said USDA.
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WHAT’S KILLING BEES
Human activities such as the application of pesticides and mono cropping are large contributors to the problem. Biologists have found more than 150 kinds of chemical residues in bee pollen, a deadly “pesticide cocktail” according to University of California. Chemical companies like Bayer, Syngenta, BA SF, Dow, DuPont, and Monsanto shr ug their shoulders at the systemic complexity, as if the mystery were too complicated. They advocate no change in pesticide
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policy. After all, selling poisons to the world’s farmers is profitable. Furthermore, wild bee habitat shrinks every year as industrial agri-business converts grasslands and forest into mono-culture farms, which are then contaminated with pesticides. To reverse the world bees decline, we need to fix our dysfunctional and destructive agricultural system. Solutions exist. Common sense actions could restore and protect bees.
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pesticide overuse The excessive use of pesticide harms beeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to fly back home. It reduces their ability to collect pollen by over 50%.
colony disease For beekeepers, it is important to detect those diseases in early stage. Varroa mites are one of the biggest hazard for beekeepers.
food shortage When the area for flower and plants are replaced by mono crop plantations, bees cannot find enough food.
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The U.S. government has taken actions
Def ining the problem
President Barack Obama created a task force compr ising var ious agencies to address the issue of rapidly diminishing honey bees and other pollinators. Obama said the Env ironmental Protect ion Agency and United States Depar tment of Agr iculture w ill spearhead an ef for t to determine why honey bees, monarch but ter f lies and other pollinators are dw indling and f ind ways to boost their conser vat ion. In addit ion, Obama’s budget for nex t year recommends about $50 million for mult iple agencies to help boost research, increase the number of acres dedicated to pollinators’ conservat ion programs and boost f unding for research on pollinator losses. (CNN)
Average citizens can also help bees
become an urban beekeeper Non-commercial bees are typically healthier than commercial ones because they don’t travel hundreds miles in a truck bet ween f arms. grow bee-friendly plants It is easy to help them just by growing their food. buy local, organic honey and crops We should support local beekeepers by buying their products. reduce the amount of chemicals If you are growing crops in your garden, try not to overuse pesticide. spread the word Let more people know about the problem.
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WHY NOT BECOME AN URBAN BEEKEEPER?
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CHAPTER TWO Further Research
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Fur ther Research
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BEEFRIEND
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Urban beekeeping connects people to nature. It can also help boost bees population.
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Fur ther Research
From my previous research, urban beekeeping is one of the most frequently mentioned words. Why it is considered a good way to help the declining bee population?
< Urban beekeeping > It is the practice of keeping bee colonies in urban areas. It may also be referred to for some people as hobby beekeeping or backyard beekeeping.
bee populations are on the decline Colony Collapse Disorder has been causing mass bee deaths over recent years and it is a widely-discussed phenomenon today, however most people who are concerned about CCD and bee health say that they have no idea how to help them. Becoming a beekeeper, take care of your hive and boost the number of bees will certainly help the bees. urban bees survive bet ter Compared to commercial beekeeping, urban bees can be taken care of on a smaller scale. Typically they are used for honey har vesting rather than pollination. 31
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Humans
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Bees
Nature
bees connect human to nature Beekeepers take care of the bees, and bees go pollinate the crops and trees. We get fruit, vegetables and honey. The process makes us better understanding the importance of a healthy ecosystem as it have a huge af fect on us. Bees are more like friends than just some small animals.
Clover is a great choice. Bees love it, and clover makes attractive and robust ground cover. There are organic varieties available. Other bee-yummy plants: sage, saliva, oregano, lavender, iron weed, yarrow, yellow hyssop, alfalfa, honey wort, dragonhead, echinacea, bee balm, buttercup, goldenrod and English thyme.
beekeeping is not enough In some cities in America, the number of beekeepers are growing. For example, The number of beekeepers in the bay area of California has grown 30% during the past two years. However, the decline of bee population hasn’t stopped. That is because bees are also facing food shortage. The good news here is that bee-friendly plants are easy to grow. Scatter a variety through your yard, ensuring a good supply of pollen through the warm months. Bees prefer flowers that are blue, purple or yellow.
Flowering trees are also attractive to bees. Try tulip poplars, tupelo, oranges and sour woods. Don’t forget that bees need sources of shallow water. Nichols Garden Nursery has several items to help foster mason bees, an increasingly important variety in view of the domestic honeybee’s troubles. The other thing to remember, is that you should not use pesticides that will af fect bees. Scientists already found that neonicotinoids are one of the mean causes for Colony Collapse Disorder.
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Fur ther Research
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Now I need to figure out how much people know about urban beekeeping survey 1. Have you spotted any beehive in the city? 2. What do you know about bees and beekeeping? 3. Will you consider becoming a beekeeper? 4. What would you think if your neighbor was keeping bees?
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Any thoughts about bees and urban beekeeping?
It doesn’t sound interesting to me... I like bees and I hope I can help the beekeepers. That sounds scary.
I would like to try but I don’t think I’ll have time to do this.
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You sure we can do that? It seems like a big set up. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to keep bees in the city... it might cause troubles. I like honey and honey wine!
Is it legal? I might need approval from the government.
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survey result From the results, the reason is clear why none of the people that I know are keeping bees. Three of the people have their own backyard but the rest live in apartment buildings. Some of them know that bees are in trouble and they are important to us. I think there is potential for graphic designers to help.
50%
barely know about urban beekeeping
30%
are scared of bees
80%
have no time to keep bees
90%
donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legal
80%
know that bees are in trouble
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BEEFRIEND
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MFA thesis
in local farm
on roof top
in backyard
If we follow the rules, urban beekeeping is not as dangerous as most people think. Bee stings are usually neighbors’ biggest concern. City beekeepers must take special care so their bees do not become a hazard to neighbors, or even appear to be a problem. in the backyard / local farm A Fence is important for most backyard beekeepers. A six foot high fence or shrubbery can force the bees flight path above people’s heads. Bees normally travel in a straight path to their hive, and a fence raises their flight path up over everyone’s head. A fence reduces the chance that a bee will accidentally collide with someone nearby. “out of sight-out of mind. Some people may be overly concerned about bees in the neighborhood. A fence hides most evidence that managed bees are in the neighborhood. Honey bees need 42
to collect water. Bees can be fussy about where they collect water. They seem to love small ponds and creeks. The bees may also drink from a dog’s drinking bowl, or a neighbor’s bird bath or swimming pool. To deter bees from going to a neighbor’s yard for a drink, the suburban beekeeper should provide enough water for their bees. on the roof top There are some hotels in America trying rooftop beekeeping and are happy with the outcome. Fairmont hotel in San Francisco installed 4 beehives in its 1,000-square-foot onsite culinary garden in June 2010. The bees came from nearby Marshall’s Farm and now dine on the hotel’s lavender and herbs to create delicious local honey.
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Tools and equipment hive lif ter tool As bees glue everything in the hive together with their resin-like propolis, lifter is to help pry up the boxes and inspect your colonies. smoker The smoker is used to subdue the bees by both making it difficult for them to communicate, and also causing them to gorge on honey in preparation for a fire. jacket and gloves Bees seem to sense ner vousness and conf idence and a ner vous beekeeper of ten makes mistakes and gets stung. As a new
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beekeeper it isn’t likely that you w ill be overly comfortable with your unprotected hands and face at first. bee brush It can be used to gently move the bees of f combs or other places you don’t want them to be. beehive The beauty of boxed hive system is that is allowed beekeepers to monitor the hives. Boxed hives are made of multiple pieces. It’s built from the bottom up, and functions like apartment building.
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MFA thesis
Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s go meet Charlie Blevins, the president of San Francisco beekeeper association. Not too long after I wrote him an email, Charlie invited me and my friend Sandy to his bee hives in a city park. It was a very nice day. We all put on beekeeper suits. Our task that day was to take out the frames that were filled up with honey and replace them with the empty ones that we carried up. It was the first time I got so close to a real beehive and saw all the things which I had been researching for the past few months. 46
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Charlie had a very good har vest that day. He told me that in a busy season like this, he can har vest once every few weeks. Usually a full frame contains 5 pounds of honey. He also told me the duty of a beekeeper was not to â&#x20AC;&#x153;look after the beesâ&#x20AC;?, but to make sure that the hive is free of diseases and other threatening insects. 51
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interview with charlie How did you start beekeeping? I used to be a cop in Oregon before I retired, then I moved here and started gardening. At first I was very bad at it. Nothing grew well(laugh). So I installed a beehive just to help my garden grow better. However, the bees turned out better than the garden, and I found beekeeping so interesting. So I just switched to become a beekeeper.
Are most of your members seniors? Well, actually most beekeepers are seniors it’s true. But we also have some younger folks like you come to our events. They are interested but don’t have time.
Do you think more people should become beekeepers? What do you think about the decline of bee population? My opinion on this is that, CCD is mostly an issue of commercial bees coz they are the ones who don’t have enough food resources due to the mono cropping, and they are directly exposed to all kinds of pesticides. However, beekeeping is a way to help this issue because it certainly helps boost their population. It is very interesting.
What does beekeeping mean to you? I usually sell my honey to manufactures but the reason I’m doing it is not for money but because it is what I like to do. It’s a very good interaction with animals and nature. Just like now where we are in a park breathing fresh air.
Do you think it possible that people can start beekeeping by themselves with the help of a beekeeper starter kit? No. If you have no experience in beekeeping, you should take the 101 class to go through the process under the instructions of experienced beekeepers.
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I think beekeeping can be made more popular. There seems to be an opportunity for graphic design to help.
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Possible design objectives are among the following Eliminate peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unnecessary fear of bees. Let more people know about beesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; trouble. Promote urban beekeeping. Help newbies to start beekeeping. Call for growing bee-friendly crops. Help collect donations for local beekeepers Help build up a bee-friendly community.
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DO YOU THINK IT CAN WORK?
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CHAPTER THREE Design Exploration
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Project names and logo sketches Now I’m looking for a name for my project— it needs to be appropriate for my topic and easy to remember. I started brainstorming by finding the connections among key words. Finally, CityBee and BeeFriend made into my final list. After talking with friends and teachers, BeeFriend became my project name.
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How about a “beebook”that you can take to the hive to check its health condition? During my research, I learned that as beekeepers, the most important job is to examine the hives according to a checklist to make sure that the bees are free from diseases. So I prototyped a “beebook checklist”.
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Should I make an interactive website to introduce the project and how bees work? As I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to have people learn whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happening, I want to create a website that is interactive to the users about how bees work and the trouble they are facing with. I created some illustrations to make it easy to be understood.
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How about an voice recording app to track hive conditions as beekeepers run through their checklist? To work with the website for introduction and “beebook” for measurement, I think it’ll be practical to have an app for recording the measurement taken from the site. It can be like Siri on iPhone, which enables beekeepers to record without touching the phone or papers with sticky hands.
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Now it’s time to talk to the beekeepers to see what they think of my ideas. ( participants: Charlie, Stephen, Greg, Tammy, Geary )
Do you think the “beebook” can help beekeeping beginners? charlie: Well, it’s really hard to teach people how to get started unless they see the hive in person. I think every beginner should go to beekeeper 101 classes at least.
So what are the main problems for beginners? tammy: When I started beekeeping, just like what Charlie says, I went to classes and talked to people. I haven’t experienced too much troubles at the beginning. stephen: I think people usually start with books, then go to classes.
What difficulties are you facing now? greg: I would say, when you have too many hives, it’s hard sometimes to track the hives and remember which is which. I’m using color to mark my hives, but sometimes I still have problem on that. charlie: Have you checked an app called “Hive Tracker”? It’s handy to solve that problem. geary: Nah...I don’t like to use that app. It’s just so frustrating to record the datas after I come back for a while.
What do you think of the voice recording app? charlie: I think it’s a good idea to use voice recording. Some technology like Google glass may help so I don’t have to touch my phone with sticky hands.
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It seems hard to develop a tool for beekeepers, as I have no experience in beekeeping myself. It might not be a good way to go :(
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CHAPTER 4 Final deliverables
Chapter
Def ining the problem
HERE IS MY SOLUTION.
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Expected outcomes
Make people love bees and be aware of the problem
Collect donations for local beekeeper associations
Promote urban beekeeping
Build up a bee-friendly community
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Final deliverables
I want to evoke love for honey bees and promote the idea of urban beekeeping.
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Project deliverables I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better to focus on only one product and other deliverables are for promotions. I think an app is a good choice. A short video and website for introducing the project. Posters and outdoor ads are for drawing attention, and a beekeeper bucket includes some merchandises ser ves as a gif t bag for people who join the events.
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product
Final deliverables
introducing project
App Website
rewards
Video
Merchandise
Promotion ads 75
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A mobile app can be an easy and interactive way to get people engaged in the project.
Fun
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Simulated
Informative
Connected
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The target audience
People who play games on their phone
People who are interested in becoming beekeepers
People who care about bees and nature
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User 1
steve Retired
Steve is interested in beekeeping. However, he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how the process goes and how much trouble he might need to face with. By using the app, Steve knows what to be expected in the process. He decides to become an urban beekeeper, and joins the community and get connected to other beekeepers.
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awareness
donation
beekeeping
community
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User 2
jessica Student
Jessica canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t live without her phone. She uses her phone to get connected with friends and downloads a lot of games. By using the app, Jessica starts to like bees and knows about their trouble. She makes in-app purchases to unlock some features and supports the local beekeeper community.
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awareness
donation
beekeeping
community
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User 3
danny
Programmer Danny spends most of his time working with computers. He likes the outdoors but his job keeps him from it. By using the app, Danny gets interested in bees. He goes to beekeeperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s events and gets to know some real beekeepers. He decides to become a beekeeper himself.
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awareness
donation
beekeeping
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App flow chart
loading
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app tour
app initiation
introduce br ief ly the problem
choose location and build up f irst hive
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Final deliverables
main menu
my hive
beekeeper log
my hive map
hive condition
events
event list
calendar
add event
account
profile
stickers
coin shop
about
the project
urban beekeeping 87
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I prototyped my designs and showed them to my designer friends for suggestions.
Cute design! It’s a good idea! Beekeeping is way more complicated, but I like how you simplify it.
—Kim, graphic designer
—Greg, experienced beekeeper
Would it be easier for me to choose if the tool list goes full screen instead of just stick on the bottom? —Phil, UI designer
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These are good illustrations. It’s a pity if the user cannot see them just because they made another choice on the previous step. —Josh, game developer
User needs to know where they are at any time. —John, graphic designer / UI designer
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App design research I tried more than 60 mobile apps. I took special note of their designs on user interface, user experience, user flow, visual style and methods of donation.
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Visual style
Simulation
Beekeeping
Tamagotchi
Environment
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Logotype
R61 G176 B161 C71 M7 Y44 K0 C0 M0 Y0 K90 R237 G145 B0 C5 M50 Y100 K0
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The BeeFriend logotype is formed by the hexagon from hive comb. The letters form a wavy shape which add a sense of playfulness to the logo.
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Illustrations All my illustrations are done from a 60 degree perspective grid so all of them remain in the same visual style.
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The virtual hive is fully structured like the real one. All parts can be separated.
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Final deliverables
Players can virtually experience almost all the common beekeeping tasks on their phones with appropriate tools and equipment.
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Players can also get rewards by har vesting their honey.
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The app Introducing BeeFriend app. Now you can become a virtual beekeeper on your phone.
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To get started, choose a hive location on the actual map.
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Go through the process of building up your hive.
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main menu
log / all hives / data level / honey / coins
main area
tools and equipment
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You can switch between your hives, view their stats, or add a new one to the map.
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Grow plants to feed your bees.
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Join community events.
Collect stickers and make donations 113
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Hui (Joy) Zhu
MFA thesis
Hive background color indicates its health conditions. Red is a sign of danger. Maintain your hive properly to keep the background in the green or blue.
good
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warning
danger
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BEEFRIEND
Hui (Joy) Zhu
Website
MFA thesis
www.beefriendapp.com
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BEEFRIEND
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Hui (Joy) Zhu
MFA thesis
Chapter
Final deliverables
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BEEFRIEND
Hui (Joy) Zhu
MFA thesis
Merchandise When people go to the events, they will receive a BeeFriend Bucket which includes a poster, honey samples, toys and a notebook.
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BEEFRIEND
Hui (Joy) Zhu
MFA thesis
beefriendapp.com
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BEEFRIEND
Hui (Joy) Zhu
MFA thesis
The app in sight
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BEEFRIEND
Hui (Joy) Zhu
MFA thesis
A short introductory video
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Final deliverables
https://vimeo.com/106340281
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Thank you! I want to express my deepest gratitude to my dearest family, friends and instructors for being supportive and encouraging to me during my study in the past four years.
Family Mom, Dad you are the best parents in the world! I love you guys forever! Dear Grandma, I really wish you were here see what Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve accomplished so far. Friends Jemin Fang, Andre Carnevale, Manjia Zhao, Guille Ruiz, Nina Huang, Ann Tsai, Julian Kuo, Nick Lee, Sandy Frank, Jana Heyer, DaMo He, Betty Cai, Charlie Blevins and last but not least, Joshua McCready <3. Instructors Phil Hamlett, Carolina de Bartolo and Bob Slote.
Title The Joy of Design Photography Hui(Joy) Zhu Typeface Tarzana Narrow / Signika Printing Blurb.com Paper Proline uncoated Cover Image wrap Time December 2014