Water Conservation

Why its of concern: Community
- California is experiencing a serious drought due to three consecutive dry years.
- The state population is growing, and it is believed that California will be the home to 60 million people by the year 2050.
- Even during years of no drought, it is often difficult for areas of California to keel all demands for needs for water.

What the Community Should do:
- Reduce the amount of water wasted by sprinklers.
- Do not leave water running through hose for excessive period of time.
- Place restrictions as to the amount of water waste allowed per individual.



Why its of concern: Family Households
- Overloading sewer systems can cause untreated sewage to flow to lakes and rivers.
- Water is an essential part of a lot of the technology found in households.
- Wasting water increases the amount of ones utility bill.

Solutions:
- Installing water conserving equipment such as water saving shower heads.
- Using technology to its fullest advantage - Ex: Use washing machine for full loads only.
- Check for leaks in any household equipment.



Why you should care:
- No water means bad hygiene and decline in health.

- Reducing water waste will save you money and ensure the ability to afford future generations.

- Lack of water results in stricter government laws that will force it upon you to conserve more than you would like should the problem become more prominent.

Solutions:

- Waste less water and time in the shower.

- Don't use the toilet as a trash can.

- Don't overwater plants/grass.

Web Links:

http://www.saveourh2o.org/content/conservation-why-and-how

http://eartheasy.com/live_water_saving.htm

http://www.seametrics.com/blog/why-care-about-water-conservation/

This is a poster design intended to persuade people to conserve water. It uses several methods to achieve this and does so in way that not only shows how, but also informs individuals as to why the drought in California can affect them personally. The newspaper states that California water levels are extremely low, which is then aided by a dry desert in apparent through the window. The painting on the side if a symbol of how life use to be - filled with greens and life. Where as if we choose to continue down the same path, life will be filled with death and dryness. The spilled water represents the last of the water, and the water that could have been conserved, but was instead wasted. It is this connection and deep meaning, while at the same time providing understanding and interpretation with a quick glance that I chose this as my final concept when creating the design.

My original idea was to make a design in which the image portrayed a man stranded on what appeared to be a desert; no fresh water in sight and dead fish as a result of such conditions. However, I eventually morphed the idea to what the final design is now. The reason being is that I chose a path that would allow the message to hit closer to home. Still taking the influence and overall idea from my original plans, I was able to come up with an effective design that easily conveyed the importance of conserving water while at the same time providing an effective wake up call as to how loss of water can greatly affect every person as an individual.

Pictograph - People and Technology

My progression through this project was driven with more changes than I normally found myself making. The original idea upon creating my pictographs was to make unique designs based solely on items relating to technology and display them with a hexagonal background. I began my drawing units by hand with the idea that I would eventually transfer those exact same concepts to the a digital form with illustrator.

However, after a discussion, I deemed it best to change my initial topic and fuse both technology and people- that is, how people and technology interact. With my idea set, I created a blocky character I would use to interact with the technology (the character symbolized a human being). I then began making the items from my original ideas and blended them with an interaction made by the character. Later on, I advanced my idea by deciding to make the background canvas resemble that of a typical smartphone. Once that was said and done, i had to come up with three different colors to bring life to my creation.

As seen on the left, I chose white, gray, and light brown. I felt that these colors complimented each other in a favorable way. In addition, the gray and white are typical colors found in many forms of electronics. I originally included black, however i decided that i needed a lighter color for the inside of the background canvas, I therefore had to sacrifice black and substitute it with the light brown. It was from that I began filling in my drawings.

My final results are shown here. I chose the best twelve of my initial hand drawings, fused them with the character, and completed a pictograph for each of them. To reiterate, the idea was demonstrate the interaction a human being has with the technology he/she may use- a sharp contrast from the original thought of simply having the technology itself. All in all, the design turned out better than I believed it would. I feel as though the canvas promotes the notion of technology, as it is an easily identifiable sketch of a smartphone.