CW 1 Weekly Research
WEEK 1
26 JUL- 1 AUG
Mind Map:
Why the focus on the Environment? Ask 5 times.
- Everyone depends on the environment for survival
- Due to Climate change islands in Maldives are eroding and the reefs are dying
- When the reef environment is not suitable the fishes die
- When the fishes die, the whole fishing hierarchy is destroyed
- Natural beauty is destroyed
Why is sea pollution an issue for the Environment? Ask 5 times.
- Plastic pollution kills the sea creatures in the environment
- It becomes part of our diet through micro plastics when we consume sea food
- Plastic discarded carelessly and takes a lot of time to biodegrade
- Excessive amounts of polluted areas unsafe for humans and animals
- If the ocean dies, we all die. The ocean allows us to have fresh water.
Problem Statement:
Water is a necessity in our everyday lives. A household usually buys mineral water bottles especially in urban dense spaces. Water is bought in cases and stacked up for usage for each month. Most of these bottles are plastic bottles.
The plastic bottle only serves its purpose of storing the water. After it’s empty, it is simply discarded. Even in the city area where people are more aware of problems, are ignorant of how to separate the trash. People don’t really take their time to think on the long-term effects.
We need to think of more sustainable ways we can minimize plastic waste that comes with our water. How can we minimize the wastage of plastic water bottles a person order each month?
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How can we find a solution for this single use plastic bottle?
Opting for Glass water bottles as a sustainable method to
minimize single use Plastic water bottle waste
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Solution Ideas:
Just like how plastic water bottles are ordered these companies can make glass water bottles. Glass water bottles are ordered each month and the empty bottles are not discarded like the plastic bottles but rather stacked and exchanged for a new batch of glass water bottles.
This system of exchange reduces the amount of plastic water bottles that end up in the sea or elsewhere. Moreover, the water bottles are reused as water bottles. Plastic is less reliable compared to glass when it comes to reusing.
The water company can take in the empty glass bottles in exchange for full glass bottles. This way the consumer does not have to thoroughly think of what is going to happen with their bottles as they know their bottles are being reused.
But on the other hand, if the consumer is a plastic water bottle user, they often don’t have the full guarantee that their bottles are being held ethically responsible way to the environment.
About Disposable Plastic bottle
Inexpensive disposable water bottles are made of plastic #1 or PET. PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, is the lightweight, clear plastic that is widely used for packaging foods and beverages.
Some people try to wash these bottles out and reuse them, but bottles made from plastic #1 are not reusable. Bottles made of plastic #1 are not durable enough to withstand use, cleaning, and reuse without losing their integrity.
Cracks can form in these bottles and bacteria can easily grow. This is especially true if the bottle is stored in a warm area like a garage or a car.
https://www.aquasana.com/info/bottle-battle-pd.html
Why Glass Water bottles?
Glass is the boss in the reusable water bottle category. It is the safest and best way to store both food and liquids for several reasons.
Water in glass bottles isn’t affected by any flavor from the container, giving it a “purity of taste” benefit when compared to plastic bottles and other options. Glass also offers peace of mind.
References
https://www.aquasana.com/info/bottle-battle-pd.html
https://www.glassallianceeurope.eu/en/environment
Compostable packaging:
https://theecobahn.com/packaging/sustainable-mushroom-packaging-the-magical-mushroom-company/
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WEEK 2
Make problem statement from your raw data from the interviews. More valuable.
Things to do: REAL PEOPLE, REAL DATA : Pictures and Audio recordings
- Research Direction
- Preliminary problem statement
- Desk research: preparatory research, secondary research (key information search: user experience)
- Planning on the research data: who you want to involve in your research, consent letter, ethics apply risk etc.
- Construct the questions (interviews, questionnaires)
- Blog entry/ weekly reflection
1.Research Direction
This research project is about raising awareness using digital design solutions about sustainability, lifestyle, and effects of waste pollution among Maldivian people. Moreover, it can help educate people how to be better for the environment and the future generations to come
Sustainable packaging which can minimize environmental pollution and yet still help us in our daily lives
Whether it be by sourcing biodegradable materials for furniture and packaging, or helping to spread a message through effective graphics and digital media techniques
Helping to decipher dense statistics and information around the environment. By being empathetic in visual and reflect that emotion rather than preachy and angry visuals.
- From rising temperature
- Sea levels
- Plastic Pollution and
- The number & type of species and habitats becoming extinct.
Find the key insights
- Conduct interviews to avoid being biased
- You don’t need to know the solution yet
- You just need to understand why she is still doing that
- What happens if she chooses to ignore it
Questions for interview with Zero Waste MV
Questions for interview with Zana Shiraz ( Marine Biologist)
INTERVIEW 3
Questions for interview with Firass Afeef
Survey to Swimmers and people of Maldives that often go swimming
References
Website of Parley Maldives
https://www.maldives.parley.tv
Documentary of Parley Maldives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_jvCwNVp68
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WEEK 3
For this week I have prepared questions for both the survey and interview. I contacted one the participants for the interview and set an appointment. Moreover, I prepared the survey form for my audience.
Since most of my work is based on the environment effects and lifestyle swimmers are one of the categories that face a lot of pollution in the Maldives. The natural environment often is a place we must constantly take care of. Often currents bring in plastic bottles or other type of plastic waste floating around. Some days the sea, the area they swim in looks clean. Other days it doesn’t look that clean.
This is an observation I did and for that reason I felt these swimmers would be the perfect audience for me to survey on. I got an appointment with a swimming coach working for Maldives Lifeguard Association (MLA). I am looking forward to receiving more insights from a person experiencing and tackling such pollution in the life daily.
1. Title of Project
Project Waste pollution Awareness Packaging
2. Problem Statement
briefly addressing: What is the problem that your research will address?
- consist of the description of an issue/problem currently existing that needs to be addressed.
Plastic has been part of our everyday lifestyle. We use them for shopping, storing liquids but most of these plastics still end up in the trash much sooner than expected. Not only that but most of these plastics take ages to decompose.
The plastic bottle only serves its purpose of storing the water. After it’s empty, it is simply discarded. Even in the city area where people are more aware of problems, are ignorant of how to separate the trash. People don’t really take their time to think on the long-term effects.
It becomes a problem when plastic and other packaging is
- Wastage (not biodegradable)
- Harms wildlife, especially sea creatures
- Micro plastics through food are harmful to the body
3. Background Introduction
- Research description: what is the research about?
- facts (statistics, quotes, etc)
- cause of the "problem"
In Maldives, sea pollution in the capital area is especially bad. The capital is packed with many buildings and people. Plastic pollution issue has been an issue in the Maldives. The pictures you see that promote tourism is true too but not entirely. Often the other side of the bright sunny side of Maldives is an issue of plastic pollution.
According to a study by UNICEF 280,000 plastic bottles are used and discarded daily in the capital city of Malé alone, and 104 million plastic bags were imported to the Maldives in 2018 (Jennifer Kester, 2019).
Not much awareness about the long-term effects of plastic pollution. Most of the time if sea pollution directly doesn’t affect a person they don’t really bother.
4. Research Objectives
- what & how is to be accomplished
- your expectations of the research (not too much detail)
To create awareness through the commonly or everyday used packaging by people of the community. Most people are not aware of how it effects the people in the long term and their individual responsibilities
Through conducting interviews and surveys to understand how severe the waste pollution is and how to generate awareness by the insight received
5. Research Questions
- should cover: the general intentions of your research/ desired outcomes (endpoints)
- power phrases: https://blog.wordvice.com/recommended-verbs-for-research-writing/
Conduct an In-depth Interview – Pre-interview preparation
1.Existing assumptions about the person and the problem:
- Environment conscious as he is tackling sea pollution as part his everyday job.
- Despite the sea pollution showing up for practice in hopes of having a good time
- Want little kids to fall in love with ocean
2.How might I build a relationship with the interviewee in order to give him/her such a good feeling that he/she shares personal stories in the context of the problem?
- Letting him know that through this project I am trying to raise awareness and hopefully find a design solution that would benefit the environment and the people around us. As the world is moving into this digital era specially to find digital design solutions through traditional physical packaging.
3.Key questions for the exploration of stories:
- Describe what it would be like If you didn’t choose to care about the environment as an individual how do you think it will affect your life?
-Since people buy things every day, do you think we can raise awareness about these issues we face through product packaging to educate them about the way we can discard it?
4.Keywords and topics in connection with the emotions shown:
- How waste is handled
- How does it affect their life personally
- How they tackle situations especially young kids are part of the environment
5.Outline of the story about the interviewee when encountering the problem (based on your assumptions after background research):
- Overwhelming disappointment with the society as the waste pollution is not just one person’s misdoing but a collective society.
5. Research Methods
Proposed methods (interview, case study, survery, context, observation , etc)
References
Jennifer Kester. (24 July, 2019). How A Hotel In the Maldives Is Fighting Plastic Pollution. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestravelguide/2019/07/24/how-a-hotel-in-the-maldives-is-fighting-plastic-pollution/?sh=636181674687
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WEEK 4
This week I was able to interview 3 people. These people have been actively working to help protect the environment in multiples ways ranging from raising awareness to protecting the reefs. I received multiple insights through these interviews which will help understand and create personas for my project.
The first interview was with an NGO called zero waste mv. It is a nonprofit organization trying to implement sustainable methods of leading a lifestyle to reduce waste. The second interview was with a marine biologist. She was actively working in the field to check the health of the reefs. The third person I interviewed was with a swim teacher. He actively works at the sea.
All these people shared a common thing. That was the excessive pollution in Maldives. This allowed me to create and understand what I can do to help raise awareness in a way that is relevant to the people in Maldives
Morning:
- User Profiles (raw data: survey, interviews)
- Personas (wk7: 3-8)
Afternoon:
- Check Personas
- Developing Insights:
> Key Insights
> JTBD
> User Stories
- How Might We
Tomorrow:
- User Scenerios (draft)
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WEEK 5
This week, i planned the presentation and the sequence. I compiled all the data i collected in order for me to find my information in one space when i design the slides. After planning i also continued to make slides as in week 6 we have a rehearsal round of the proposal presentation.
I am not able to completely finish the presentation but the overall idea for this project will be clear. My tasks and the amount of prototypes i will be making will also be clear in this project proposal.
1.Project Description
This project will help raise awareness on issues related to sustainability, lifestyle, and effects of waste pollution among people through interactive digital story as a medium.
Why blue earth vision?
Everyone living on earth ultimately wants a green and clean environment. This name will try to evoke that feeling as the awareness is spread through interactive digital story as a medium.
2.Problem
People are not aware of the damage they do to the environment with plastic waste and leading unsustainable lifestyles.
Plastic has been part of our everyday lifestyle. We use them for shopping, storing liquids but most of these plastics still end up in the trash much sooner than expected. Not only that but most of these plastics take ages to decompose.
The plastic bottle only serves its purpose of storing the water. After it’s empty, it is simply discarded. Even in the city area where people are more aware of problems, people are ignorant of how to separate the trash. People don’t really take their time to think on the long-term effects.
It becomes a problem when plastic and other packaging is
- - Wastage (not biodegradable)
- - Harms wildlife, especially sea creatures
- - Micro plastics through food are harmful to the body
(GSM Association, 2021)
3.Can you picture a life that is so dull & polluted?
Pictures of reefs, and shores without pollution comparison with heavily polluted areas.
4.Objective
To use interactive digital storytelling to show multiple outcomes of a scenario. These scenarios will help raise awareness about issues related to sustainability, lifestyle, and effects of waste pollution.
Example:
Black Mirror Bandersnatch is an Interactive Netflix Movie That Lets You Choose Your Own Adventure (Techeblog, 2018)
Blue Earth Vision
Why Blue Earth Vision?
Everyone ultimately want’s the earth to be healthy and live in a clean, green environment.
According to NASA the ocean’s color is determined by the interaction of surface waters with sunlight, and surface waters can contain any number of different particles and dissolved substances, which could then change the color (NASA, 2005).
This name will try to evoke that feeling of awareness through interactive digital story as a medium
6. Research Questions
Can we raise awareness about the waste pollution and it’s effect on the people? The emotions associated along with the types of waste collected or often spotted
7. Research Method
Quantative Research: Survey, interviews
Qualitative Research online research
8. Research Questions
8. User Persona
9. User Scenario
User flow
- • Relate the user’s frustration in the digital story
As a <type of user>, I
want to <action> so that <outcome>.
As I practice waste sorting at home i
want to people to be educated so that
they are more aware of how to sort their waste
5. The Digital story:
On a sunny day when you were on walk to do you daily errands you receive a message from earth. The message goes. “Dear 7 billion people of earth. We have one Earth to live in. Let’s take care of it together?” The next scenario is choosing to ignore or making a change.
During their errands the person that clicked ignore will be using plastic and not even picking up the a trash even if they see it floating. Moreover, they don’t even try to be sustainable until one day the earth itself gives up. That’s when the person who chose the ignore decisions life turns out.
The person that ignores sees the environment polluted until the end they decide to change. But that person has the chance to make a change much further down the line.
But the one that chose to work with nature excelled and moved forward in a less polluted story plot as they are practicing sustainability and managing their waste.
The moral to bring awareness on how this could be easily the audience’s life and how these habits impact the
Blue earth vision
Let your choices show your destiny. It's your adventure!
Walking to do your chores the phone vibrates
Blink blink
Good morning, You have received a message from the Earth. “Dear 7 billion people of earth. We have one Earth to live in. Let’s take care of it together?”
Ignore message | Choose to make a change |
Look around the environment |
References
About interactive videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkGI4OHSjA0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1acjqraXMhs
Netflix movie
First person point of view
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTEVRSdcn6U
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WEEK 6
References
Techeblog, 2018. Black Mirror Bandersnatch is an Interactive Netflix Movie That Lets You Choose Your Own Adventure. [Online] Available at: https://www.techeblog.com/black-mirror-bandersnatch-is-an-interactive-netflix-movie-that-lets-you-choose-your-own-adventure/ [Accessed 26 August 2021].
GSM Association, 2021. Digital Dividends in Plastic Recycling. [Online] Available at: https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ClimateTech_Plastic_R_WebSingles2.pdf [Accessed 30 August 2021].
Aishath Thuhufa Nazim, 2021. Final Project Research - Susutainability, lifestyle & effects of waste pollution. [Online] Available at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hyOYJggvU7BUBrx_hP7a8v70CyXLhFH_zb36Ddoxzjs/edit#responses [Accessed 30 August 2021].
NASA, 2005. Then Why Do They Call Earth the Blue Planet?. [Online] Available at: https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2005/er_1.html [Accessed 30 August 2021].
Sivan, A., 2011. New perspectives in plastic biodegradation. Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 22(3), p. 422–426. Ujeh, K. C., 2021. The negative environmental effects of plastic shopping bags. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ibanet.org/article/76F8D2A9-1A1D-4A2F-8A6F-0A70149FD4D5 [Accessed 26 August 2021].
Hamsha, A., 2021. What zero waste mv helps in a society to establish sustainable ways to lead a life [Interview] (20 August 2021).
Shiraz, Z., 2021. Observations about plastic pollution as a marine biologist [Interview] (21 August 2021).
Afeef, A. F., 2021. Challenges faced with waste pollution as a swim teacher in Maldives [Interview] (26 August 2021).
Eco- Warriors, 2019. Eco- Warriors. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ecowarriors.app
[Accessed 20 August 2021].
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