UpRooted Reflection Paper
Our team was faced with the issue of: the depletion of soil/soil erosion in rural areas, and how to respond to that issue with a positive solution that integrated behavioral science principles and other methods of persuasion. After deliberation, we took that wicked problem and narrowed it down to a depth that we could better address. Our refined problem statement was to ask how we can give people living in food deserts, and therefore who are dependent on mass produced crops (by way of monocropping) and on the meat industry access to more nutritious crops? And, in doing so, educate them on the effects of monocropping on soil erosion, and promote healthier farming practices (for both ourselves and the planet),
The first framework by which to view this project is as a system. Our design response to the problem of soil erosion was to create a system that integrates nudges and other behavioral science principles all throughout it. This is what, we believe, gave our design a strong foundation to be built upon, and allows it to be taken further in the future. Having a strong brand identity, for one, unites the different aspects of our solution–the truck, pamphlet, and seed packets. On a similar note, while our design response zeroed in on a specific area–San Antonio, Texas–it can be applied to food deserts all around the United States, each area with its own specific cultural characteristics and response to our design. But, at its core, the design is catered to our early adopters group, low-income families with children living in food deserts. This is especially clear through the nudges we employ in the pamphlet and seed packet, which are immediately followed by information about monocropping vs intercropping, or about harmful farming practices and the nutritional loss you get from grocery store crops–this information is all presented in a clear, digestible way, with the aim to educate parents and their children about this wicked problem. At the same time, we employed trialability within our seed packet–when it opens, it becomes a planter box where children with their families can learn how to grow a crop sustainably, but in a way which is accessible to them–because many families don’t have access to gardening spaces.
The key aspect of this design, however, which is supported by all the other assets, is the farmer’s market food truck, and especially how it is mobile. In our research into positive deviance cases, we found that the biggest issue for low-income families is the proximity and availability of high value foods that can be found in farmers markets–especially for those living in food deserts. The goal is for our truck is to go directly from the nearest farm to these communities, addressing this exact issue.
In terms of additional research, we would have to understand how we can most efficiently get these local crops from farms to the communities that need them–in contrast to the many days of travel it takes crops to get to grocery stores, leading to even greater nutrient loss. This comes down to the infrastructure of a region, and also to understanding the kinds of residents that live there. Another big reason for the persistence of food deserts is a lack of access to transportation by its residents–so in order to allow our project to succeed, we would need to take UpRooted where it is needed most, and allow its mission to disseminate. By first providing immediate access to healthy, local crops, we introduce residents to a more nutritious lifestyle. Then, with the help of the pamphlet and the resources it offers, we can hope to educate residents on why the agricultural and meat industry is unsustainable to both us and the planet, and how to take steps toward creating community gardens which can support them and their families nutritionally, as well as the planet in the long run.
Pamphlet Process:
We began to curate our brand identity by collecting inspiration images that we thought fit the brand image. We then each starred elements from each other’s boards that we liked and wanted to incorporate into the final brand identity.
From there, we used the inspiration images to narrow down how we wanted UpRooted to look. We decided to keep the neutral colors and incorporated brighter tones to keep the brand feeling playful yet organic.
We then laid out the pamphlet design according to the topics we wanted to cover. The layout of the pamphlet evolved as we determined the flow the reader would go through as they opened the pamphlet.
Above is our final seed pack design.
