A Day With The Minis Development Book

Studio Project “A Day With Mini...”

Development Booklet Toh Yi Qing / 1303130G Visual Communication

1.

Research & Analysis

Brief Chosen NParks

Objective

• Positions its parks and reserves as an enjoyable destination for both the young and old by highlighting the various activities and attractions the parks offer.

• Create a greater awareness of NParks’ constant effort on nature conservation and biodiversity.

Identify target audience or problem first?

Research: Trends among people in spore in general

Since i couldnt find statistics on no. of ppl who bothers visiting parks & nature reserves in singapore, i conducted my own mini survey, to find out on the current perception people have of nparks.

Among a group of 27 surveyees, 44% of them do not visit parks and nature reserves during their leisure time, for reasons such as lazy to go and no time The 56% of them who visits points out that visiting parks allows them to relax and take a break from their busy city life.

When asked if they will exercise in the parks, 75% of them say no.

When asked what living in a “City in a Garden” means to them, some feedbacks given are: - to be living in a place filled with greenery around us - a city that’s not only filled with buildings and concrete - urbanisation - feel more homely From my survey, it shows that there is a large group of people who doesnt visit parks mainly for the reasons of “lazy to go” , “no time” , “rather stay indoors”.

Many are not aware of the interesting activities parks and nature reserves has to offer. (eg. mountain biking) Therefore, I thought that my solution would be more of promoting the parks and nature reserves in an exciting way that would motivate people to visit (in their own will and not being forced) Generally people are happy with singapore being a place of greens, hence i thought that if i could also promote the “behind the scenes” (eg. stories behind our garden city , the people who made our garden city possible), it would allow people to appreciate our parks and nature reserves more.

National Health Survey findings: Leisure-time physical activity participation status The survey found that among Singapore residents aged 18 to 69 years, nearly one-fifth (19%) exercised regularly, 27% exercised occasionally, and about half (54%) did not exercise at all.

Reasons for not doing any leisure-time physical activity No time due to work/family commitment (58%) Too lazy (13.3%) No interest (8.1%) Many of us find it difficult to find time to exercise regularly due to our busy schedules. In fact, about 40% of Singaporeans (18-69 years old) do not exercise enough to meet minimum guidelines for good health.

One trend among singaporeans in recent years is that: it is evident that most people are not exercising enough to maintain a healthy living from the statistics due to time constraints,laziness and no interest.

I thought it would be relavant to link “healthy living” with NParks since most of the activities and facilities in the parks & nature reserves does promotes physical activity

Research: On NParks

Their goal is moving forward to a “City in a Garden”, rather than just a “Garden City” “In the past, many decisions about greenery were ‘top down’. That will be different in the future. We must be in tune with what people want and how lifestyle expectations are changing. To engage the community is absolutely critical.

Future planning must reflect that kind of thinking.”

“Looking at nature gives you an appreciation of a slower pace of life. It’s easy to go into the virtual world, making friends online. It’s more difficult to slow down your pace of life and actually have an awareness of your surroundings.

But if you take a walk, and examine the birds and the insects all around, you can really connect. This is NOW.” Chua Siew Chin, NParks volunteer Change in inevitable, since returning to rural life is unreal for most of us, we should make nature a part of our urban lives.

Problem identified

Significant group of singaporeans don’t see the need to spend time in parks and nature reserves. They will rather stay indoors than getting sweaty. They find parks and nature reserves boring because they are not aware of the acitivites they can do there. Also, a lot of people don’t exercise on a regular basis, with reasons like “no time”, “too lazy”, “no interest” and “anti-insects, rather stay indoors”. With this being said, there is also an increasing trend of obesity among singaporeans over the years and people are not exercising enough .

Target Audience

since the brief says that my project has to cater to both the young and old, i thought maybe i would narrow down my target audience not in terms of age group, but in terms of characteristics?

• People who don’t exercise • Doesn’t visit parks and nature reserves because of “no time”, “too lazy”, “no interest” and “anti-insects, rather stay indoors” • Targetting at families • Alternatively, it can be targetted at couples too, who wants to go on dates but want to avoid the crowded urban buildings? ( or maybe targetting at groups, and not going solo )

Project strategy/Objective

• To encourage people to visit the parks and nature reserves so as to engage themselves into physical activites. (promoting healthy living through visiting these places) • Physical activites includes not just the facilities in fitness corner, but also interesting activities like mountain biking.

• At the same time, they will learn to appreciate the greens through learning about NParks’ constant effort in constructing a “City in a Garden” (nature conservation and biodiversity).

• By targetting at “families”, encouraging bonding and improving relationships. Visit the parks together as a family instead of alone(will be more memorable) (encouraging families to go together) • Preferably a whole package kit that can be mailed to each families?

2.

Concept & Design Direction

Idea 1: Bring out the life in you • The things you can do to lead a more fulfiling and energetic life + allow you to take a break from the busy city life • Importance of engaging ourselves into physical activities regularly Advantages of engaging in physical activities in parks 1) Parks provide people with contact with nature, known to confer certain health benefits and enhance well-being. (green exercise) 2) Physical activity opportunities in parks help to increase fitness and reduce obesity.

3) Parks resources can mitigate climate, air, and water pollution impacts on public health.

4) Cities need to provide all types of parks, to provide their various citizen groups with a range of health benefits. (https://www.planning.org/cityparks/briefingpapers/physicalactivity.htm)

Idea 2: The Explorer • Explore Singapore in 365 days • Explore the exciting things you can do in parks and nature reserves • Living in singapore is not just about embracing the urban life (shopping malls, cinemas, using high technology gadgets, etc • In the midst of all these urbanisation, we should not forget that there still many places in singapore that is worth exploring • Nostalgic themed References:

• Encouraging target audience to explore the various locations during their free time / family days • For this concept, the target audience can not just be families, but also individuals who enjoys exploring new places • To-do-list/checklist of the places to explore

Idea 3: Adventure in Singapore • Hidden trails in singapore • Secrets of nparks uncovered • Allow yourself to get lost in singapore. Begin on an adventure that you have never experienced before here.

• For this concept, the target audience can not just be families, but also individuals who loves adventures

• To-do-list/checklist of the adventures • I thought of creating an illustration-based “adventure book” for the kids • as for the adults, simple brochures that they could bring around with them while adventuring • Besides being about adventuring, it will also touch on the benefits of nature : 1. Being In Nature Fights Depression, Improves Mental Health And Well-Being 2. Exposure to forests boosts our immune system 3. Spending time in nature helps you focus.

4. In children, attention fatigue causes an inability to pay attention and control impulses.

5. Patients recover from surgery faster and better when they have a “green” view. http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/90720.html

Idea 4: The Tropical Island Singapore is not just about greens everywhere. In this “City in a Garden”, Spore has blended modern facilities with nature so that we can have “an all-embracing living and working environment” Before Singapore was named “Garden City” , it was first named “Singapore, the most surprising tropical island on earth” in 1979 The term “tropical island” inspired me for this concept, which is to view Singapore as a “tropical island”.

• View singapore in a completely different perspective • getaway from city life and enter the greens • Change people’s perspective of singapore as an urban city into a “tropical island” • View the NParks it as a getaway/holiday/fun, instead of just being “green”.

• Singapore in a different perspective (not just urban city, but an island filled with filled with fun activities just like a holiday tropical island) • When ppl see the greens , they will also be reminded of the efforts done by NParks over the decades.

Reference:

The idea of being in a “Tropical island”, you can go : • camping • cycling • jogging • adventuring in park connectors (https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/park-connector-network) • watching the sunset • fishing etc

the whole idea is to view singapore in a different view.

Idea 5: Snake and ladder

This concept evolves around the idea of a boardgame, “snake and ladder”

IDEA 6: Let’s go sunbathing /

Get into the sun / GET UNDER THE SUN /Get some warmth “Living in this age, there is no reason for us to throw away the modern comforts that we have long grown accustomed to. But we cannot help but feel anxious and doubtful, when we catch up with ourselves, that perhaps, there is something lacking, and that thing is warmth.”

• this concept promotes the mindset of getting some “warmth” by engaging in outdoor activites in NParks.

• we should not be too caught up with our urban life that we forget about spending quality time(with the people around us) • the “warmth” in this concept refers to: 1. the sun 2. family time while in parks/nature reserves • promotes the mindset that sweating out can also be a form of relaxation from the busy urban life Why Getting Outside is So Good for You as little as five minutes exercising in a park, working in a backyard garden, hiking on a nature trail, or even sitting in a plant-filled setting will benefit your mental health. (http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/wellness_articles.asp?id=1680&page=2)

Idea 7: Treasure Hunt • Hunt for the species of plants/trees/species/etc • When they manage to spot them, they can take a photo of themselves with the species & upload it to instagram to stand a chance to win attractive prizes References :

Idea 8: Take a Break “Sometimes, you just need a break. In a beautiful place. Alone. To figure everything out.”

“The hustle and bustle of city life may sometimes be too overwhelming, and your sanity hinges on regular doses of serenity, far away from the madding crowd.”

“Looking at nature gives you an appreciation of a slower pace of life. It’s easy to go into the virtual world, making friends online. It’s more difficult to slow down your pace of life and actually have an awareness of your surroundings.

But if you take a walk, and examine the birds and the insects all around, you can really connect. This is NOW.” Chua Siew Chin, NParks volunteer • the concept is to encourage singaporeans to take a break from the urban city life and engage themselves into the beauty of nature • as you take a break from urban life, you will begin to discover the another side of singapore, a side that you have never seen before. there are many places to relax in nparks.

*Updated Problem Strategy After Consultation* Problem Identified

Based on a survey of 40 participants that I have conducted , 43% of teens (aged 13-19) do not spend time in parks and nature reserves. The most common reasons being - “lazy to go”, “no time”, “boring” and “rather stay indoors than getting sweaty”. Living in a city that is summer all-year-round with a hot and humid weather, teenagers will rather stay indoors (malls/cinemas/etc) than going to the park and get sweaty.

Target Audience

Primary Target Audience - Young adults Aged between 13-19. They are full-time students who spend more than 35 hours in school. They spend most of their time studying, doing assignments and on extra curriculums. Being students, they have a tight financial since they dont work. They spend their weekends in the shopping malls, cinemas, or staying at home doing school work playing computer. Growing in the era of technology (mostly Generation Y), they are tech savvy and smart phones are part of their lives. They don’t make an effort to visit parks and nature reserves because they dont see a need in heading into the sun and getting warm and sweaty.

Secondary Target Audience - Older adults Aged 30 and above. Most of these group have families and spend their weekend at home with their kids. They do not visit parks or nature reserves as they prefer spending their off-days at home resting and rejuvenating.

Project Objective

To encourage people to visit the parks and nature reserves during their leisure time (instead of malls/cinemas/ restaurants indoors). At the same time, they will learn to appreciate the greens through learning about NParks’ constant effort in constructing a “City in a Garden”.

Strategy 1:

Encourage people into the nature during their leisure time by showing the benefits of NParks Benefits of visiting parks / nature reserves 1. Sweating (help clean your pores amd detoxify your body) 2. Improve mental health (reduce stress, lower blood pressure, improves mood) 3. Boost immune system 4. Help you focus better 5. Increase fitness & reduce obseity (facilities) 6. Increase quality of sleep 7. A break from technology (reduce stress of busy life) 8. Patients reecover faster with green 9. Get to see a wide range of biodiversity! idea 1: more than just greens (activities-based ) nparks are more than just beautiful greenery everywhere. there are so many benefits of going to the parks. ways to enjoy the benefits of nature some activities shortlisted Activity 1: Biking, running (Park Connector) Activity 2: Hiking Activity 3: Adventure courses Activity 4: Fishing Activity 5: Short getaway at Sisters Island/St Johns Island Activity 6: Watersports Activity 7: Dining with an awesome view Activity 8: “Playground” for kids “Climbing rocks is more fun than climbing trees – but climbing trees is more fun than boring playground equipment.”

These words came from a kindergarten boy.

Examples: Hiking : boost your mood Exposure to green in parks : improve mental health Biking : Quality time with friends and family idea 2: JUST relax! portrays nparks as a place to relax by showing the benefits of nparks when we feel like we are suffocating from school/work/etc, just visit a park and relax. for example : 1. Feeling suffocated from the heavy workload but cannot afford to take a long break? ---> Just take a short break at a park. Seeing more greens helps improve mental health (reduce stress , improves mood ,etc) 2. Feeling in a really bad mood and unmotivated? ---> Just go on a max. 3 hours hike at any of the nature reserves and see your mood boost almost instantly after the hike.

3. Tired of shopping malls and high-class restaurants ? ---> Just embark on mountain biking at bukit timah bike trail .

Spend quality time with your friends and family and furthermore, you get to burn those fats away!

Strategy 2:

Show ppl the interesting parts of NParks that ppl don’t know (emphasising that they are all FOC,since teens dont really have a lot of money to spend) Fun Things you cannot do anywhere, except in parks idea 1: activities-based short getaway in SG (since teens do not have a lot of leisure time due to school) interesting things you can do in NParks. (for less than $50? / for free?)

1. Sisters Island (15 mins boat ride from sg) 2. Mountain Biking (Bukit Timah MTB Trail) http://www.mbasg.org/bukit-timah-mtb-trail.html 3. Hiking (Macritchie Treetop Walk) 4. Watersports (Bedok Reservoir Park) https://www.nparks.gov.sg/activities/fitness-sport-and-wellness/water-sports 5. Treetop adventure (https://forestadventure.com.sg/) 6. Japanese Garden 7. Camping (west coast park) escape from the stresses from the work and study by having an extremely short getaway in SG for just a few hours. need a (short) getaway/break? . Often, tourists visit town, USS, etc.....

10 underated places you didnt know you can getaway to in Sg singapore in a different perspective? idea 2: a tropical island (singapore greens in a different perspective) • most teenagers visit malls/cinemas/restaurents with family and friends during their leisure time.

• this concept places teenagers’ perception of nparks in a different perspective • current perception : merely nature and animals , “bush walking”, etc • this concept places nparks in an interesting perspective such that nparks is not just about greens, but there are actually many opportunities for family&friends outings • these “opportunities” are waiting to be discovered by them • portray singapore as a “tropical island” instead of an urban city idea 3: an adventure diary ( in singapore) references from online:

Just like the target audience(teenagers), the person writing this diary would be a typical teenager living in singapore.

Grown in the era of technology i am still thinking of the storyline, but what i have in mind is something like : Let’s say the character name is “winter”. During her annual school break, she decided not to take on any part time jobs as she wants to take a break from her hectic life. Singapore, being such a small country, she is curious to find out if there are any interesting places that are worth exploring.

From there, she embark on a “30 days of adventure” with a few of her friends? .... sharing her thoughts and views after visiting the several interesting nparks places.

1. Sisters Island (15 mins boat ride from sg) 2. Mountain Biking (Bukit Timah MTB Trail) http://www.mbasg.org/bukit-timah-mtb-trail.html 3. Hiking (Macritchie Treetop Walk) 4. Watersports (Bedok Reservoir Park) https://www.nparks.gov.sg/activities/fitness-sport-and-wellness/water-sports 5. Treetop adventure (https://forestadventure.com.sg/) the idea is to give the readers a form of excitement and make them encouraged to explore those places on their own too. i’m not sure if this concept is alright for the target audience, but i thought it would be a fun project to work on as i can put in own thoughts as compared to my other concepts that are more factual content-based? i thought maybe i could personally visit those places and put in my own thoughts upon visiting the places. (as i fall under the target group too) and i was thinking if this concept might work for strategy 1 too.

STRATEGY 3

showcase how planning and organising visit to nparks can be easier than they think / an ideal activity to do to escape from urban life for just a few hours. idea 1: EASIER THAN YOU THINK (to get close to nature) • Teens find it troublesome to visit parks and nature reserves and often gave reasons like “no time”.

• this concept promotes the mindset that it is actually not that troublesome to get in touch with nature and interesting activites are everywhere and all over singapore for example 1. sisters island (15 mins boat ride off singapore’s shore) 2. macritchie treetop walk ( reaching the peak of trees in just 3 hours hike) 3. picnic with family and friends (for people living in west, the Chinese Garden is just 5 mins walk away from the mrt station!)

4. park connector ( you can almost spot a park connecter no matter where you go. All you have to do is to get ready your bike and start cycling.)

3.

Chosen Concept

“A Day With Mini...�

Combining strategy 1 & 2 together, showing the benefits of going to the parks as well as the interesting places that people do not know about NParks.

Characters-based style, different characters targetting at different people.

4.

Concept Development

Illustrations Inspirations

Illustration/Character Development

* Have to make it less realistic and more cartoonish * Flat style

* Mixing real images

Resources from online Stamp chop http://commonwealthstampsopinion.blogspot.sg/2013/04/230-why-dont-philatelic-bureaux-use.html Illustration texture http://www.deviantart.com/art/Soft-Texture-97354896 http://lostandtaken.com/blog/2011/5/3/18-essential-grunge-textures.html Grass texture http://bgfons.com/download/899 Sand texture http://thesilentnight.deviantart.com/art/Playground-Sand-texture-220357329 Sea texture http://www.all-hd-wallpapers.com/wallpaper/textures/texture-water-sea/521542#.VNb7LVOUduo Sky texture http://www.texturex.com/Sky-Textures/sky+texture+perfect+day+blue+white+fluffy+clouds+wallpaper+background. jpg.php Grass texture http://goodtextures.deviantart.com/art/Green-Grass-Texture-01-155704377 http://goodtextures.deviantart.com/art/Grass-is-Grass-22138469 http://goodtextures.deviantart.com/art/Green-grass-134434959 Sister’s island: http://biodiversitysingapore.blogspot.sg/2010/08/big-sister-island-subar-laut.html Red egg crab https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=red+egg+crab&es_ sm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=x_7WVLvuEYTkuQTliIIg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1037&bih =669#q=red+egg+crab&tbm=isch&tbs=isz:l&imgdii=_&imgrc=qRtpi6eI3M-61M%253A%3BlP4Uaqhbiw2i wM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fs.ecrater.com%252Fstores%252F235380%252F545aef8743bf3_235380b. jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.ecrater.co.uk%252Fp%252F21441866%252Fred-egg-crab-atergatisintegerrimus-938%3B1500%3B1005