A Call to Action

Having discovered that soil is a significant contributor to carbon emissions from last week’s research, we dug deeper into the effects of chemical fertilisers on soil health and their harmful longterm use impact on the environment. The goal was to complete the initial planning and production of the installation with in the week.

Thinking it through

Following last week’s feedback into out a transmedia experience, we gained a deeper understanding about what it means to deliver one. Based on this, we geared towards designing a community platform using different forms of media. The installation would then serve as a catalyst or portal into this community platform with a vision of users being able to interact with it, generating interest in the topic and leading them to the platform to learn more.

Harm from long-term use of fertilisers

The runoff from chemical fertilisers can contaminate waterways and aquatic ecosystems, leading to harmful algal blooms, fish kills, and other negative environmental impacts.

The production of chemical fertilisers requires large amounts of energy and resources, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

Chemical fertilisers can also lead to soil erosion, as they often do not provide the same level of soil structure and stability as organic matter.

Video reference

We made further research about the harmful effects of fertilisers on soil activity, soil moisture, worms, and the pollution of water by fertilisers using visual references in videos from YouTube. Here are some of the videos we referred to:

Drafting a sketch

We took the some of the experiments applied from the video references into making our prototype that would deliver the experience of visualising how soil has been polluted. Below is a sketch of the installation prototype - a physical interactive soil poster. Our aim was not only to visually compare organic and natural soil with fertiliser-contaminated soil, but also to encourage interaction with the soil and for people who would through a website learn more about it.

3D prototype modelling

We visualised the sketches into a 3D scene using Blender and Adobe Photoshop for one-dimensional modifications. Below are rendered concepts for the installation that would be placed in open space preferrably a supermarket or grocery store. The installation consisted of two parts with the left hand side displaying organic natural soil and the right side composed of soil contaminated with chemical fertilisers. In the middle, a QR code situated to link to our website for further information about soil health in conjuction with Climate Change action.

Prototype materialisation

We managed to find a transparent container for the soil to be visible enough. This would be aesthetically important to match the see through liquid containers that would be placed at the bottom.

Physical prototype

On the left hand side of the prototype is soil from street-side and on the right hand side is organic composite soil containing nutrients from organic matter. The transparent container helps them to observe the changes in the vitality of the worms in the soil and the difference between traditional and organic soil. The containers at the bottom were all filled with clear water but as fertiliser makes the water turbid, this allows a visual experience of the changes in water quality.

Climate action video

To further add weight to the transmedia experience, we made a video using clips from Shutterstock, a premium stock video website about the effects of Climate Change on the planet and if we were truly doomed as planet inhabitors!

Website concept

Using Figma for concept drafting and later HTML, CSS and Javascript for an online hosted website, we made a online hub that would be visited on QR code scan. It would provide information about soil health to raise awareness about its connection with Climate Change and a forum section where people all over the globe would discuss Climate Change related issues.

• Think about positivity.
• Should be hope filled not necessary in a way that provides solutions.
• Bio organic farming and how we can encourage positive behaviour.
• Make it attractive e.g adding flowers.
• Think of who we’re targeting e.g middle class, the system... and how we can inform change in behaviour.
• Get a foundation on which our project is built on.
• Build a narrative.
• Think about what a platform actually is.
• How could we make it more engaging.
• Could discuss the challenges we met and how we attempted to solve them.
• Add deeper levels of complexity.
• Where else could we find contrast apart from just soil kinds.
• Have different ways for people to interact with the design in a way that is convincing.

After the feedback from this mid-term presentation, we realised that there are still many parts that required modification. So, we will continue to think about how to make the design more interesting and positive, and think in more detail about the other parts of the media.