Solving a design problem: the middle

So what would the animal hero look like?

Well, here are just of few of the many (many) ideas that were developed, tweaked, redesigned, redone, cut up, glued, re-glued, rearranged — you name it.

Polar bears...

Brown bears...

Foxes...

and more foxes...

I like the fox. He is intelligent, quick, stunning, funny, characterful and had great prominent features to play with like a pointy nose, a big fluffy tail, and black arms and legs. He isn't fragile, nor was he big and imposing.

Solving a design problem: the beginning

Having been exposed to the research on the value of traditional food through my work with the CBHSSJB (Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay), I felt that my FMP brief needed to be "real". It needed to be part of solution that reconnects people with food. As a former chef and foodie and huge proponent of the importance of good food in our lives, I wanted to push my graphic design skills to be part of something fun that would reconnect the Cree youth with their culture's wonderfully healthy food traditions and practices.

The research was already out there....

“Cree food is the best for the Cree population ...Food is tradition: it makes you who you are and shapes your cultural identity”. creehealth.org, 2014

"Traditional Aboriginal foods offer cultural, social and nutritional benefits that contribute to the health of Aboriginal peoples and communities through a variety of complex pathways. Among the highlights: Evidence indicates a link between dietary factors — such as omega-3, folate, and vitamin B12 — and the mental health of circumpolar people. Studies also show that, although the amount of traditional food consumed over time has declined, groups such as Elders and older Aboriginal people consume ‘country food’ more than younger people, and hunting and trapping remains a way of life for a third of James Bay Cree". National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health. www.nccah-ccnsa.ca

...so was the inspiration...

and I needed to focus on the audience.

This was something that I had found in the very first year of study that has stuck with me, so I thought I would include it here. For this project, it is so important that I always keep my audience in mind.

What would inspire 10-13 year olds? After a LOT of thinking, more research and more discussions with friends, colleagues and the IDI, I decided to focus on the idea of an animal-hero: someone that was smart about food choices, fun, quick, keen, strong, memorable, and with a strong link to nature. 

Graphic design and miyupimaatisiiun

December 19, 2014

In one month I will have completed five years of learning so much more about the value of graphic design. And I guess it's no surprise that the last two courses have been the most difficult, as I have pushed myself to tackle how the world of graphic design might connect with and give voice to Canada's First Nations communities. Through the constant morphing of my professional design practice with my school work, and vice versa, I have learned an incredible amount about the power of the visual message, about the importance of respecting audience intelligence, and the role of graphic design in changing the way we think about the world we live in.

My Final Major Project (FMP) has been about how graphic design can help reconnect Canadian Cree youth with the traditional knowledge that has always existed within their culture, specifically, knowledge about traditional food practices. There is a need to facilitate accessing this traditional food knowledge. My FMP's aim is to create, for an audience of Cree youth aged 10-13 years old, a tool that speaks to the promotion of Cree culture and the empowerment of Cree youth: collectible trading cards that are creative, colourful and fun and highlight the traditional food knowledge and practices that are a key ingredient to maintaining 'miyupimaatisiiun' or 'living well'.