Studio one:Wastage of Water / Documentation

Studio 1: Wastage of Water at NID

Gargee Thakkur | PGDPD Graphic Design | S1001114 Guide: Tarun Deep Girdher National Institute of Design

Studio One | Gargee Thakkur | PGDPD Graphic Design | S1001114 | Guide: Tarun Deep Girdher | NID

Acknowledgment:

M

y profound thanks to my family and friends, my guide Tarun Deep Girdher, other faculty members M.P. Ranjan, Immanuel Suresh, Praveen Nahar, Sanjeev Bothra.

Thanks to Dhwani, Poshika, Varun Shyam, Abhisek Behra, Rahul, Lalith, Amrit, Sujata and Mrinalini. I would also like to thank Sunil bhai (Campus Supervisor, CEPT), Nikhil bhai (Senior Engineer, NID), Dinesh Sharma (Product designer), Raghu bhai (head plumber, NID), Hitesh bhai (plumber).and Ahmedabad Muncipal Corporation.

Contents 01

Introduction

02

Research

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03

Analysis

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04

Conceptualization & Visualization

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05

Execution

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Introduction:

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Introduction to the project

O

ur studio one started with the theme given to us ‘Water’. We all started with a brain-storming session where we listed down all the terms/words related to ‘water’ and made a mind map. Later on we categorized them under main keywords.

This brainstorming session helped us making the connections, open options and understand the prospects for the project. We also enlisted various graphic solutions.

Now we could see that how graphic design can provide a solution. I also did a mind mapping for myself to get a clearer picture of the thoughts floating in my mind.

Our coordinator for the project, Tarun suggested that look for a problem which you observed, experienced or saw related to the theme given ‘Water’. And then research and analysis regarding the problem would result in content generation, which would later define the medium (poster, campaign, brochure, installation, etc).

Mind Mapping

Mind Mapping

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Location Ahmedabad School/ Institutes Malls/ theatres/ Public places

Offices

Home/ Apartments

People

Middle class

Upper middle class

Public toilets

Parents/adults

Children Age groups

24X7 Water Supply

Tap Water Supply Underground/Overhead tank

Borewell Colleges Hostels

Home/Apartments

School

Home/Apartments Offices

School/college

Public places

Muncipal Taps

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Picking up a subject

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e had to think of a problem related to water that we had observed or experienced anywhere in our surroundings. ‘Water Shortage’ was one of the subjects which I was concerned about. Due to water supply problems at my own city (Ajmer) made me think about the subject. Being from Rajasthan where drought condition prevail in many villages made me more perceptive towards the subject. On the other hand, I also observed scenarios where there is ample of water and people seemed to be wasting it since they are either not aware of it or they are careless about the resource which is easily accessible to them.

The subject was vast so I had to narrow it down to a particular area/audience. It was also important to keep in mind that whatever topic we choose should be such that we should be able access information. Thus our coordinator for the project also suggested us to take a subject where accessing information is within our reach. So my research began with observing around that if there is a problem I could take up, also parallel to this I had an uncertainty that how can a message or information that a graphic solution can give which can bring in a change in habit or stimulate people to action. Later, I did a Mind Map of people, locations, etc to figure out the problem.

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A

s many cities, towns and villages are facing this problem of scarcity of water and on the other hand people who have ample of water do not value it. Looking at it in a bigger scenario I figured out the possibilities and areas where water can get wasted. I narrowed it down to wastage of water in educational institutes where water is used in hostels, institutional area etc.

Also while going through the newspapers on World Water day (22 March 2011) I found out that Cherapunji which receives

the largest amount of rainfall went under water crisis in other months while Jaiselmer which receives rainfall for hardly 4-5 days in an year had water conservation system which would provide water year, so I also mind mapped the places where water is accessible 24X7 and where the supply is limited. All with mind mapping and what I had observed in campus I finally proposed to take up Wastage of Water in Institutes.

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Project Proposal:

INTRODUCTION Though India is surrounded by water bodies on three sides, house of rivers, largest river island (Majuli), highest rainfall yet we face water shortage every year. In India water shortage is particularly serious simply because consumption of water the margin between actual water consumption and survival is so precarious.

Availability of drinking water is scarce. Thus I figured out that wastage of water can be issue to work upon. As many cities, towns and villages are facing this problem of scarcity of water and on the other side people who have ample of water do not value it. Looking at it in a bigger scenario I figured out the possibilities and areas where water can get wasted and narrowed it down to wastage of water in educational institutes where water is used in hostels, institutional area etc.

OBJECTIVE Creating awareness amongst people about wastage of water and making them understand not to waste it.

Target Audience: People at educational institutes in Ahmedabad( Institutes as in IIM, CEPT, NID,Gujarat University), eg students, faculties, peons, etc.

SCOPE OF WORK Week 1: Research Study various areas where water gets wasted.

Study the target audience.

Week 2: Structuring the data Analyse and structure information.

Examine the stakeholders and understanding the scope of project.

Refine the problem further

Week 3: Conceptualizing and visualization Develop a visual language for the target audience.

Understand the best solution for the issue to be addressed.

Week 4: Execution of the design solution Carry out the solution in a tangible format.

Observe the response of the target audience.

Documentation.

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Research:

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GUIDE MEETING:

My Take:

I chose Tarun Deep Girdher as my guide, I had a talk with him regarding the subject. He suggested me to start my research at NID and CEPT (Center for Environmental Planning and Technology) campus so that I can get a slice of information which further can be applied to other institutes also.

He also suggested to get information about the water resource at these institutes. How the water supply system works at NID and CEPT, collect basic information like what is the main source of water supply, what are the various resources of water in campus/ hostel area, how much water is consumed/used in a day. Talk to people, administration in both the campuses (NID and CEPT).

I started my research with NID. To begin with I again listed up what I already knew about the resources of water at NID. I made a map of the locations wherever water supply was there.

Parallel to this I also gathered information about how the water supply system works at CEPT. I met Sunil bhai (Campus Supervisor), he gave me information about the bore well system there. I structured all the data of the water supply, tanks and the capacity of the tanks and took pictures of the water coolers, washrooms, taps, etc. I figured out that the taps had no leakage, washrooms and coolers had a push button system which get shut automatically. Also the hostels were not in the campus area.

Borewell at CEPT

Tank 2

Tank 1 15000 litres

Tank 3 6000 litres

6000 litres

Administration Building

Interior design building

Canteen

Supplies water to the overhead tank

Gardening Washrooms

1000 litres Overhead tank (1)

1500 litres Overhead tank (2)

Water Usage at NID Hostel

Institute

Ceramics

Staff Residence

Dying Department

Washrooms

Front Lawns Watercoolers

Taps

Washrooms

Backfields Watercoolers

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Campus of Centre of Environmental Planning and Technology

Underground water reservoir at CEPT

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Meeting people at NID Campus Nikhil Bhai: Senior engineer (Administration) at NID I met Nikhil Bhai who is a Senior Engineer (Administration) at NID. He explained me about the borewell system in NID. There is a reservoir with the capacity of 1,75, 000 litres which is always filled with 1,60,000 litres of water. And since Sabarmati river is beside the campus, we do not face water shortage. Major water consumption happens in the hostels and dyeing and ceramics department in the institute area.

Prof. M.P. Ranjan: Design Thinker and educator I gave a brief about my project to Professor M.P. Ranjan. He asked me the reason why I chose this project. I told him that we designers talk about sustainable products and resources, and on the other hand we consume water,electricity etc extravagantly and we still do not have any conservation or sustainable design system for anything in institute itself, which made me feel that I could take up this project. I asked for his suggestion regarding the project. He liked the subject and said that the project has a lot of potential. He suggested me to bring the data from AMC (Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation) to see how water table is decreasing day by day, he also asked me to get data related to the rainfall in Ahmedabad. Also look at the number of students,

Washroom at CEPT

staff, etc staying in NID and the water level in Paldi, which present the facts about water level going down. He told me that the water level has gone to 400 metres deep which was 4 times more than from the time when the borewell was installed. He also suggested me to meet Dinesh Sharma (Product design, NID alumini), who designed rain water harvesting system for ‘Furaat Systems’.

Dinesh Sharma: Product designer, NID alumni I met Dinesh Sharma who had designed Rain Water Harvesting system for Furaat. I asked him about the possibilities of installation of a rain water harvesting system at NID and the cost of it. He described how borewell is installed and since NID has huge terrace ‘Rain Water Harvesting System’ is possible.

There can be two types of such systems one where the water gets filtered and can be used, the other one in which water can be directed to the underground. Cost of such a system in which water directly goes underground is not much.

Hitesh bhai, Raghu bhai: Plumber

Watercooler at CEPT

I had a talk with the Plumber, Hitesh bhai who takes care of the water supply and borewell system. He told me that there are two borewells in NID. I asked them how many times do they check

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and repair taps and flushes in the institute. He told me that they come every weekend to check the taps, flushes et otherwise there is a complaint register to which they respond whenever they get a call. I also talked to the head of the plumbing department Raghu Bhai who told me that the borewell runs from 5:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and the smaller borewell runs from 7:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. The smaller one is for dyeing, photography, ceramics department and gardening and the larger one is for washrooms, watercoolers and all the other usage.

GUIDE MEETING: I met my guide and discuss about proposing a rain water harvesting system. I calculated the approximate amount of rain water that could be collected. With the rainfall at an average of 700mm received per annum in Ahmedabad and the catchment area of approx. 81, 400 sq. ft, NID could return back up to 5, 69,80, 000 litres of water every year to the soil.

But my guide suggested me to first focus on the information that could be given on a primary level to make people understand the scenario and later at secondary level the idea of a Rain Water Harvesting System could be proposed. He asked me to collect data and information like how much water gets wasted and whether the water is getting wasted in real or that much of water is really needed. He also asked me to observe in what ways water is consumed, in various areas hostels, institute, etc.

MY TAKE: I started with the ‘fly on the wall’ research method, which we had learned during our module of Research Methodology. As the title suggests this method includes observing people without letting them know. This method helped me to figure out the behavioural pattern of the usage as well as wastage of water. I observed that water cooler taps are left open and also noticed that the push buttons do not work properly, to shut that you have to push the tap button sideways.

I listed down how many times tap/flush is left open in the washrooms and drinking water area in hostel and institute. It occurred to me that though the problem is everywhere but more often it happens in the hostel area. I calculated the rate of water wastage happening at a slow rate by leakage (tap left open), it was 7.2 litres of water gets wasted per day, which was the minimum amount of wastage happening. I also found ‘post-its’ and ‘handmade posters’ stuck by students near the taps, on the washroom doors and walls which suggested that people already aware of the fact that water is getting wasted. Still after the post it near the taps they weren’t shut properly, also suggests that people are careless and the message goes unnoticed. I checked out the complaint register I found that out of 20 complaints registered, ten were regarding water leakage.

Taps near Foundation: NID

Watercooler in the textile department: NID

Watercooler tap found leaking: NID

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Water supply in Mess

Hand-made poster in the washroom

Flush left open: NID

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Analysis:

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ince this was a social issue, I had my doubts about if graphic design could give a solution. I met Sanjeev Bothra (NID Alumni and visiting faculty at NID) while I was doing research to refine on the target audience, and talked about how to understand the scenario and to figure out the target audience.

As I was gradually moving ahead in my research, I could see that the solution which were effective, were the solutions which had a product requirement (for example rain water harvesting system). and all graphic design could do was ‘inform’ or ‘remind’ the stakeholders which would may or may not lead to make a move. I was also trying to look at the situation by keeping myself in the position of the stakeholder, and my concern was that since this information is something that we already know about it and it doesn’t fall into the list of our priorities, so we tend to take no notice of it or neglect it knowingly.

And later the reminder of that message becomes so repetitive that we do not respond to it at all. To this Sanjeev Bothra explained that since we as a graphic designers have the tool of informing the people, a poster can help in building an opinion.

He gave an example of a war explaining that the way the soldiers in the war have weapons, our tool is graphic design which can

build opinions, change opinions. And remains the question of your own response to such a situation, he suggested to first try to bring that behavioural change in you and you will find the way out to convey the message to others.

Another doubt was how to decide your target audience. I had the observations and research now. According to the research there were many stakeholders like students which were more in number, Administration: who make the decisions and are in power; then the others like the plumbers and care takers like maids and gardener who use water more often and the staff.

He emphasized on building a mind map of whatever I had researched so far and build connections of the water usage or wastage happening around. Since all the information is on different layers coming from research, the need is to put all the information on a single layer to see and compare. When everything is on one layer, it can be easily seen that how can it influence other connections. Another advantage is since you make a mind map of keywords one connecting the other, you can also understand that what type of target audience can it be conveyed to. I made a mind map of the all the information I had.

Mind map to narrow down the target audience

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I

saw the maximum wastage of water happening by the leakage of taps, showers, flushes, etc in the hostels. The students were also more in number and were the link between the administration, staff and other stakeholders like plumber, gardener. I figured out that if a solution is given for students then it may have an impact on other stakeholders.

Secondly, students here were future designers who were to set examples like this for the society, thus they were the one who need to understand the necessity of if not saving then atleast not wasting the resources. Also in comparison with other stakeholders like administration, faculty or staff, students seemed to be more receptive to the message given.

GUIDE MEETING Now I had students as my target audience and I gave emphasis on doing a graphic for promoting a rain water harvesting system in campus. But my guide suggested that before proposing the a system like this first introduce them to the problem, then later

this could be another project stating the prospect. Tarun also asked me to make a questionnaire to understand the behavioural pattern of how the water is used by them. I made a questionnaire and circulated it amongst students.

Questionnaire: Student Name: Age: Discipline: City (you belong to): What is the source of water supply at your home?

How many hours is water supply at your home?

How many time in a day do you brush your teeth? a) Once b) twice How much time do you take to brush?

How many times in a month do you clean or get your room cleaned with water?

How many times do you take bath in a day? how much time do you take to bathe?

Do you use shower or bucket while bathing?

How many times in a month do you take head bath?

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How many times in a month do you wash clothes in a month?

If you are a guy, do you use water while shaving? a) Yes b) No if yes, how many times in a month do you shave?

Do you use tap or a mug while shaving ?

How do you wash your clothes? a) Manually b) Washing machine c) Laundry If you use washing machine, mention the options under which you wash clothes. eg. crease care , bio care etc; spin: 400, 800, 1200, no spin, etc : temperature: cold, 30,40, etc.

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ne of my batchmate Varun Shyam later helped me to prepare an online form. We prepared an online form and circulated it through mail. In this way I could get more number of responses. Though the research method of ‘questionnaire’ seemed a little biased, but it turned out to be a useful method

to know people’s perception, also to understand the pattern of the usage of water. The survey result conveyed the difference in the opinion of the students and the facts that I observed while doing research.

Online questionnaire

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Result of the questionnaire

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N

ow I had the information and also the consumer behavioural pattern. Now the next step was to structure the information. I had to gather data at one place and see the flow of information. How the information should be conveyed? What and how much information can be given? What information can be more effective. Also I had to understand

the easiest and most accessible way to make my audience take a step and bring a possible behavioural change. I rewrote the information again and separated out the information I thought could be the content for my target audience. This was the data I thought could be used in to give information:

Data: NID has its own borewell which supplies water to the NID community.

Water level has gone down to 400m which is 4 times of what it was when the borewell was installed at NID.

Water goes up in a tank of capacity from where water is supplied to institute/hostel/residential.

Installing a low faucet aerator or fixture. installing a low faucet aerator can cost as little as Rs. 50 and use upto 50% less water.

We hardly face shortage of water at NID as sabarmati river is situated besides the institute.

A tap left open can waste upto 15 litres of water every minute, minimum rate of water leaking from the tap could get upto 7.2 litres of water wasted every day. Twisting the knob tightly could save minimum of 216 litres of water Tightening the knobs properly can save minimum of 7.2 litres of water in a day.

Closing the tap while brushing can save upto 8L of water per minute, Someone in slum may only get 30L for all their daily needs.

In hostels 23 out of 30 days a flush is left open by which 144L of water flows off unused every 24 hours. On the top of which the water goes through the gutter pipeline which can’t be permeated to the soil.

With the rainfall at an average of 700mm recieved per annum in Ahmedabad and the catchment area of about 81,400 sq. ft, NID could return back upto 5,69,80,000L of water every year to the soil.

Per person water consumption at NID is 200L of water per day.

More than 30 countries suffer from serious chronic water shortage, and groundwater is increasingly being used to cover the demand. Groundwater is used by about two billion people worldwide, making it the single most used natural resource

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Conceptualization and Visualization:

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Deciding on the medium On the basis of the information I narrowed down, I came up with the mediums. The mediums were: Information Graphics: Where I can keep facts contrasting with the result of the questionnaire. For example there was a huge number who consider themselves as water conversant, now this could be put in contrast with the fact that 23 out of 30 days, the tap isn’t shut properly. Also the information of grey water/rain water harvesting system can be put together with the facts that we do have catchment area and unlike ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) we do not have such system. And it also leaves them open with the option of what action they could take.

Installation: I had a talk with Praveen Nahar (Product Design Faculty) about my project. My query was that since we are design students, we already know that water is a resource which is getting wasted and would be a repetitive attempt to give the same information again. He explained that wastage of water is such a subject that those connections are to be shown, it is necessary for them to see the skeleton of how the water reaches to you and how the consumption of the same is happening. He also suggested me to see ‘story of stuff of bottled water’. I thought of an installation of only the water pipelines right from the resource to where it drains out. Revealing those connections could make people

A rough visualization of the solution proposed

aware of how it is getting wasted. It could be also represented that how turning the taps properly can save a lot of water. It would also an interesting way to put information in that manner.

There was need for reminding this message which was already redundant, so it was important to see that it should be conveyed in a fashion which would make it attention grabbing.

GUIDE MEETING: I had a talk with my guide about both the medium. Tarun agreed on the second medium, installation. Since creating an installation was going beyond the scope of the project, Tarun suggested to do the graphics for the panels that would have facts and information.

MY TAKE: I started segregating information accordingly, and I needed a skeleton, a rough idea of what the installation would look like. I did a few visuals of the panels that were to be put on the installation and met my guide Tarun. He asked me to make it more interesting. He asked me to make the copy vernacular which connects with the NID audience.

A rough visualization of the solution proposed

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I

gave a critical thought to the idea of the installation. Few critical considerations were that the installation had to be of the whole institute with all taps and other water resources, and there were certain pieces of information or facts which were related to water leakage from the tap or shower so all tap carried the same information which was making it repetitive. Another was that though doing an installation of the whole institute was an exciting idea but even if I would have thought of doing it for real, it would have again ended up in excessive usage of other resources. And the result would have nullified the cause itself.

The third thing was that since the project could have been ‘live’, it seemed pointless to do a hypothetical model just presenting an idea of what can be done when I had opportunity to make it live.

I thought of putting up an exhibition. The most important part in the exhibition was to see the flow of the exhibition. I thought that there could also be a take away that people get in the end of the exhibition which gives more information about the subject.

And then to bring people(target audience) in action or to see the effect of the message I decided that a band or sticker in return could be given with the take away, which they could tie or stick around the leaking tap. This would help them to remind them of closing the tap properly. I clicked the pictures of the foyer and kept all of them together to get an idea of entry, exit and the flow of the exhibition. Then I made a few rough sketches of how an exhibition would look like, where it can happen.

Location of the Exhibition (Foyer)

Location of the Exhibition (Foyer)

A rough visualization of the solution

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I

discussed it with few of my classmates for their opinion.

Dhwani (Graphic design student, NID) suggested me that since the display would be in the foyer, it would not get unnoticed but the message should be interestingly told. It also needs to be visually rich enough to bring the audience. Even if it is a map of taps and other water resources at NID, the map could be done in a way which holds the audience to see it till the end. I also got a suggestion to look for the loopholes in the display.

Another classmate, Abhisek Behra mentioned that the idea of tying band around would not work because even if there would be bands around the taps it will again become redundant since all of them will have the bands around. Thus it wouldn’t remind and the cause would again fall flat.

It was also more important to see that the message is not getting lost in the urge of making it more interesting. I figured out that this solution was also flawed. First of all there was a big gap between the message conveyed and the location (washrooms and drinking water area) where the action (tying bands around the taps as reminder) was to be taken. Because of this large void, again the motive was getting dissipated.

Again I looked at the scenario carefully. In the urge of covering up a larger number of audience and solving various problems at once, I was giving a solution which was not solving any of the problems. I again went through my research and tried to look at the problem which as a graphic designer I can solve and incase if I could go further, then what could be the prospects in NID which can save water.

So this time, I realized that the first step can be that of resolving the problem of leaking taps/showers etc in the hostel and institute area. Here the root cause was either the taps were not in good condition so they kept on leaking, another thing was the students were not cautious enough to shut the taps/shower/ flush properly. Since previously also I knew the problem but my solutions were taking a different direction widening the focus and reaching no where. So this time I thought to rather focus on giving solution to a smaller problem than not solving any.

Now to decrease the void between the message reaching the audience and the response, I thought that the message could be in the washrooms and near drinking water facility. And to cut out the redundancy I thought of replacing the bands/sticker with tags with different visuals, which can be hung around or stuck near the taps/Shower/flush taps.

Another advantage of making tags was that in bathrooms or washrooms (toilets in particular), nobody has a choice but to stare at the wall, so the information would definitely reach the target audience.

Now the tags also had to give the message interestingly and also relate to the students. And to make it relate to the audience I thought that can be in the form of conversations/dialogues which pictures an NIDian.

The redundancy because of the solution proposed

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GUIDE MEETING I met my guide with few scribbles and sketches, giving a rough idea of what I was suggesting now, scrapping the previous idea.

The information I had collected, had a difference in the opinion of the students and the facts that I gathered during research).

I used that information to support the visuals. I talked about the reason why the previous idea was not feasible (the previous solution to the problem had more ‘noise’ in the media I chose to give the message and secondly the action expected was getting redundant). To relate to my target audience, I suggested that I could do small tags/stickers, and can include the attributes, character or traits of an NIDian. That would connect them and

build a situation which stimulates them. And now this stimulation should lead to something, so there could be a facebook page or a blog link on the tags/sticker which will have more facts and information and also would have a suggestion to put band around the taps and inform the plumber about it. Tarun agreed to this and said that the facebook link or the blog could also include people participation, inviting them to make such tags or comment or ideas on saving water. He also suggested that there could also be some kind of badges which can be given to that particular floor which is more responsible towards saving water.

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Rough sketch of the solution proposed

Rough sketch of the solution proposed

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Execution:

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Character Explorations:

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Media Explorations:

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Final Medium and its Explorations and Refinement:

While refining the visuals, I simultaneously started testing different typefaces that would fit in with the visual.

I wanted a handwritten typeface to give a personal feel. I looked for a typeface that could be used later for dialogues which go with the informal and vernacular NID lingo to fit in.

Tarun asked me to not to keep all caps type since it is not readable. And usually people do not wear spectacles when they go to washroom so the type chosen should be spaced properly. I chose ‘Sunday comic bb’ for the text.

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Final Medium and its Explorations and Refinement:

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Final Medium and its Explorations and Refinement:

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Final Medium and its Explorations and Refinement:

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Final Medium and its Explorations and Refinement:

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Final Medium and its Explorations and Refinement:

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Explorations for fact pages on facebook:

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y conversation with one of my classmate Amrit made me reconsider my idea again. He suggested that the facts and the message to tie a band on the leaking taps need not to be on another link, making it complicated and inconvenient for the user. To stimulate the audience, the message should be loud and at the same location. I later decided to put a final poster on the main door of the washrooms and a sachet of bands beside it saying that put it around the tap if found leaking and call the plumber.

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Fact stickers:

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Exploration for the Poster (Reminder) to call the plumber:

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made a small sticker at first but later I thought that since this one is to stimulate the target audience to take action so it should be loud, so I made a poster instead. I thought to rather make this one black and white which saved the printing cost.

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Costing: Total number of stickers: 5 Fact stickers; 6 Shut the tap stickers; 1 Poster

A-Hostel: 6 Washrooms, 6 main doors B-Hostel: 6 Washrooms, 6 main doors C-Hostel: 8 Washrooms, 8 main doors

Total 20 Doors (20 poster and 20 bands)

Each washroom has 3 toilets 3 bathrooms 3 washbasins Thus each washroom needs 8 stickers Number of stickers in hostel A Number of stickers in hostel B Number of stickers in hostel C Number of stickers for mess, institute etc Total number of stickers

8X6=48 8X6=48 8X8=64 20 =160

Digital Printing cost: Cost of Cartridge sheets Rs. 2/A3 ; Re. 1/A4 Cost of 24 A3s and 20 A4s Rs. 46+Rs. 20 =Rs. 66 Fact stickers & Shut the tap stickers 24 A3 coloured prints (190 stickers); Rs. 20 per print

+ 20 A4 B&W prints (20 posters); Re. 1 per print Cost of total stickers = Rs. 566 Cost of lamination = Approx. Rs. 440 Including the cost of other material (Pouches, tapes, industrial adhesive and bands)=approx. 200

Total Cost Rs. 566+440+200

= Approx. Rs. 1206

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Implementation:

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I got the stickers laminated to prevent them from moisture in the washroom. I cut rings out of balloons to make bands and put them in a sachet, sticking the sachet on the washroom door along with the poster for calling the plumber. The stickers were stuck in the washrooms in A and the C hostel to observe the response.

The maindoor of the washroom also had a comment/suggestion envelope for the feedbacks.

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Feedback:

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Learning:

This is my first project I did at NID. I took an environment related issue as my first project. I wanted myself to be assured that graphic design can solve a problem and not just make things aesthetically better adding monetary value to it.

While I was going through research, I learned that graphic design’s function is to either inform or remind you of a certain issue. It may or may not stimulate you to solve the problem. It is actually another signifier making the signified heavier. And these small messages in a way affect us as they reoccur. Though repetitive hammering may sometimes result in making people thick skinned and the message is then no more a warning or a threat but a subdued low spirited information.

But then that is one challenge for the designer to see how to make it work. As I went deeper into it, I figured that graphic design is all around us which goes unnoticed but would effect us if it was not there. Each design decision like readability, legibility, hierarchy, composition, visuals all combine to give shape to the design solution. This may not show all the research you have did but would act as noise in the decoding of the message if it lacked in any of the decisions above.

At the same time it doesn’t let me deny that many of the graphic design solutions adds more of an aesthetic and monetary value than function. Apart from this I also learned that the message holds no significance if the medium fails to deliver the message to the right audience. I got an opportunity to learn and explore design softwares (Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Indesign) during this project.

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Bibliography

Information anxiety Visible Signs: An Introduction to Semiotics by David Crow http://www.charitywater.org/ http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/ http://water.org/ http://www.storyofstuff.org/

Typeface used Frutiger | 14pt Perpetua | 10pt