The creation of this project was inspired by various documentaries. Each of them addresses different topics and subjects. The foundation of the project was built on the issues that were raised in those films.
1. Earthlings
This documentary was posted on YouTube to raise people’s awareness toward issues relating to animal cruelty. The film discussed various subjects and has exposed our unnecessary and cruel dependence on animals for food, clothing, experimentation and entertainment.
The film argues that the nature, animals and humankind are connected all together. It is believed that what human have done to the animals has caused a great impact on our environment and eventually we or our next generation will need to pay for the damages we have caused.
2. Home
I was also highly inspired by another film called ‘home’. This film is the main reason I have decided to broaden my project to include more environmental related issue rather than addressing animal welfare related subjects only.
This film has one simple message: We have upset the balance of the planet and people should be more aware of the extent of our spoliation of Earth’s riches and change our patterns of consumption.
3. FOOD Inc.
The film suggests that the way we eat has changed the planet more in the last 50 years than the previous 10,000 years. It has tackled the issue using a different approach by exposing the way US food industry is operating with the consent of US government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. It is argued that the US food supply is controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health,the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of their workers and our own environment. In the film it shows all the benefits the American are receiving under their current regulation as well as all the illness that are caused by such a system.
It spent a fair amount of time addressing the illness such as diabetes as well as heart problem among the younger children in US nowadays.
Reference:
Earthling. (2007). Directed by Shaun Monson.
Home. (2009). Directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.
Food Inc. (2009) Directed by Robert Kenner.
DESIGN PROBLEM //
Global warming has been a big issue in the past few years, especially with the Copenhagen climate talks which took place last December. It is difficult not to think about what I can do as a designer or as an individual to help make the world a better place to live in.
I intend to design this project by presenting to my project participants the amount of resources they could save collectively. However, each participant has various consumption behaviours. Some eats more meats than the others and some visit toilets more often than the others. If I request each participant to input their individual data so to gather an overall outcome, the system would not be user friendly enough to have the users consistently coming back for their self evaluation. This is because the system would request the user for their login information every time the user wants to run a self evaluation. It would also require a very large database to gather the user information. It is realized that to make this project user friendly, I would not be able to gather accurate information of each individual and I can only work on the information design using the average consumption rate. These challenges will be discussed more explicitly later on as well as in my critical appraisal.
PROBLEM SOLUTION //
WHAT is -1/5?
-1/5 is a new life style concept.
This concept promotes consuming 1/5 less than normal daily levels.
Keep -1/5 in your mind, we can make a big difference. Go with -1/5 life style and make your life and the world better.
WHY -1/5?
According to Pareto’s Principle, the 80/20 Rule says that 20 percent of
something is always responsible for 80 percent of the results.
Recognizing this principle has inspired me to promote -1/5 concept in our daily life. If we work on those simple actions in our daily life and work hard together, I believe we can improve our world together.
HOW to measure -1/5?
-1/5 is a concept, not a number.
It is a simple way of examining one’s own daily behaviour by asking oneself
if s/he has tried to reduce the amount of energy consumed.
POTENTIAL OUTCOME //
I planned to create a video to convey this idea and to broadcast the video on YouTube.
If people like the concept and think they can do their part to save the world, they will join a Facebook community and visit a specially designed website.
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