Shopping Bag Design

Here is the final design for the shopping bad. These may be produced as special prizes for community outreach events, pending approval from the marketing and budget departments.

It could be screen-printed with two colors as shown, or all in black to lower production costs.

Keychain Card Design

Here is the final design for the keychain card. These may be produced as special prizes for community outreach events, pending approval from the marketing and budget departments.

Tri-fold Design

Here is the final design for the tri-fold brochure. It will be printed in-house, to be placed in various doctor's offices and handed out at community outreach events.

Keychain Card Ideation

This is the keychain card in its current state. I am still waiting for feedback from my panel of experts, but any comments would be appreciated.

The graphic, color scheme and typefaces are consistent with the brochure to create a unified set of educational materials.

Tri-Fold Ideation

Here are images of the tri-fold brochure in its current state. I have so far gotten feedback from experts Cindy Mar-Williams and Jennifer Pearce about the content of the brochure. I am still waiting to get feedback from expert Collete Lee about its effectiveness as a health literacy tool. Expert Heather Guilford will provide feedback form a design and marketing standpoint.

I expect to take some photos of my own at my local farmer's market this Saturday, so hopefully I will get a more appropriate image to replace the one of bread.

Solution Framework

Based on my research, I have decided to create a tri-fold brochure for Eden to use in their doctor's offices and at outreach events as the primary means of communication. In addition, I am going to create a keychain card and reusable tote bag to be handed out at outreach events. Although they may not have the budget to produce these items, one of my panel expressed an interest in having a prototype to show to their marketing department.

I've become increasingly passionate about this subject, and want to continue working on it even after 505. I feel that eating local organic foods is the solution for problems caused by a diet of processed foods - it is more sustainable for the environment, and more nutritious (and flavorful) for human beings. My research has shown that most people would prefer a Web site to printed materials. I hope that in the future I can create a Web site (or perhaps a blog) on this topic and somehow offer keychain cards and reusable totes through the site as well.

I'm so excited about the possibilities, but I need to reign myself in to finish my 505 materials in the few short weeks I have left.

Report Card

I've been inspired by the idea of a report card for buying food. Natural foods would have an A, while entirely processed foods would have an F. I feel that a simple guide like this would help people make healthy choices quickly instead of spending a great deal of time puzzling over a product's nutrition information and list of ingredients. I've noticed in my observations that people often don't look at all, or if they do they tend to look confused. I remember feeling this way myself before all my research, and I'd love to help end that confusion.

Scope for Moving Forward

In my research I have learned so many disgusting and deceptive facts about the food industry that I wish I could tackle the whole thing. I feel that all unnatural additives, from Yellow #5 to gluten to MSG, are incredibly unhealthy and the public needs to know. However, a topic this broad would probably require more than one semester's worth of work, unless I can figure out a simpler focus.

That said, I need to figure out what sort of materials to produce to convey the information that I've learned. Over 70% of my survey respondents said that they would prefer perusing a Web site rather than printed materials. There are a few problems with creating a Web site though:

1. How would I let Eden Medical Center's patients know about it? I would also have to create a printed handout for Eden volunteers to hand out at outreach events to lead people to the Web site. Would I have enough time to design all of this?
2. A Web site would require a lot more information than a booklet or poster. Would I have enough time to write all that copy? Would I be able to keep the Web site updated?
3. And finally, I have far less experience in Web design than I do in print. I would be more likely to run into technical problems with this route.

Right now I feel like I'm closing in on a solution, but it's not quite clear yet.

Bibliography (so far)

1. Minich, Deanna, Ph.D. (2009). An a-z guide to food additives, never eat what you can’t pronounce. San Francisco, CA: Conari press.
2.Pringle, Peter. (2003). Food,iInc. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
3.Nestle, Marion. (2002). Food politics. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
4.Wangen, Dr. Stephen. (2009). Healthier without wheat: a new understanding of wheat allergies, celiac disease, and non-celiac gluten intolerance. Seattle, WA: Innate Health Publishing.
5.Popkin, Barry. (2009). The world is fat: the fads, trends, policies, and products that are fattening the human race. New York, NY: The Penguin Group.
6.Simon, Michelle. (2006). Appetite for profit: how the food industry undermines our health and how to fight back. New York, NY: Nation Books.
7.Roberts, Paul. (2008). The end of food. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.
8.Trudeau, Kevin. (2004). Natural cures “they” don’t want you to know about. Elk Grove Village, IL: Alliance Publishing Group, Inc.
9.Ettlinger, Steve. (2007). Twinkie, deconstructed. New York, NY: The Penguin Group.
10.Schlosser, Eric. (2002). Fast food nation. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
11.Schwarcz, Joe, Ph.D. (2009). An apple a day: the myths, misconceptions, and truths about the foods we eat. New York, NY: Other Press.
12.Perucca, F, & Pouradier, G. (1996). The rubbish on our plates. London, England: Prion Books.
13.Community Assessment, Planning, Education, and Evaluation (CAPE) Unit. (2010). The Health of Alameda County Cities and Places: A Report for the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.acphd.org/user/data/DataRep_ListbyCat.asp?DataRepdivId=2&DataRepdivcatid=70
14.http://www.sweetsurprise.com/
15.Niles, Meredith Ph.D. (2008, June 27). Corn tries to look a little too sweet. Message posted to www.grist.org
16.Bocarsly, Miriam E. , Powell, Elyse S., Avena, Nicole M., Hoebel, Bartley G. (2010). High-fructose corn syrup causes characteristics of obesity in rats: Increased body weight, body fat and triglyceride levels. Retrieved from Princeton University, Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior Web site: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/525485/description#description
17.US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Health and Human Services. (2010). Dietary guideline for Americans 2010. 7th Edition, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office . Retrieved from www.dietaryguidelines.gov
18.Woolf, A. (Producer/Director/Writer. (2007). King Corn [Documentary]. United States: Mosaic Films.
19.Stanhope, Kimber L. (2010). Fructose consumption: recent results and their potential implications. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1190, 15-24. http://0-onlinelibrary.wiley.com.opac.sfsu.edu/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05266.x/pdf
20.Suzanne Vranica. (2008, June 23). High Fructose Corn Syrup Mixes It Up; Sweetener Advocate, Soured by Obesity Links, Targets Moms in Ads. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. B.7. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1498923741).
21.Schoonover, Heather and Muller, Mark. (2006). Food without thought: how US farm policy contributes to obesity. Retrieved from IATP Environment and Agriculture Program Web site: http://www.iatp.org/search.cfm?q=food+without+thought

Survey!!!

I have a short survey to help me in my research. I would really appreciate it if you could take a moment to fill it out:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MSVX9P5

Refocused

When the people at Eden wanted me to focus on the wider topic of obesity, at first it made sense as that is obviously a big problem in the US.

After meeting with my professor, however, I realized the problem: once again, medical professionals wanted to urge people to follow the same old guidelines, despite the fact that this approach is not working.

So, I'm back to focusing on added sweeteners, specifically high fructose corn syrup. Depending on the type of communication I decide to use, I may also include gluten and other food additives, as my research continues to show that all processed food is incredibly unnatural and unhealthy.

New P&P Statements

After talking to Colette Lee about what patients in Alameda County would most benefit from, we determined that focusing on HFCS would be a little too specific to benefit the majority of people. Colette suggested focusing on the general topic of obesity and heart disease, as in most of Alameda County the rate of obesity among children is roughly 35%, and heart disease is the #1 killer of Americans today. This is a topic that I am very passionate about, so I have decided to refocus my study in order to benefit the largest number of people possible.

Problem Statement: Obesity and related health issues such as heart disease and Type II diabetes are on the rise among Americans, yet many patients of Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, CA, are unaware of how to prevent such health issues.

Purpose Statement: The purpose of this study was to raise awareness among these patients about healthy ways to prevent heart disease, Type II diabetes, and obesity.

PERT Chart

Revised PERT chart as per Nancy's suggestions below:

Timeline

Revised timeline as per Nancy's suggestions below:

Panel of Experts

1. Lisa Quan, RN, CDE, Diabetic Coordinator
Lisa is an expert on diabetes in children and adults, and is in charge of helping to communicate her expertise to patients. She is also an expert on heart disease, obesity, etc., which are all affected by the consumption of high fructose corn syrup,

2. Colette Lee, Manager, Community Education
Colette creates health education materials that are distributed to the community. She will be very helpful with format, specifications that are required for Sutter Health publications, and the general formation of content for educational purposes.

3. Kimberly Russell, Administrative Assistant, Clinical Transformation
Kimberly has a BA in graphic design and is currently working toward her MFA. Although she generally works as an administrative assistant, she also does freelance graphic design work through the hospital and other organizations as well. Cindy Dove (see below) would be my first choice for graphics, but Kimberly would be helpful if Cindy is unable to help often or at all.

4. Cindy Mar-Williams, Chief Clinical Dietician
Cindy M. is an expert is nutrition, and would help me come up with healthy nutrition guidelines that everyone in Alameda County could benefit from.



I have also identified these two experts to round out my panel:

5. Cindy Dove, Marketing Manager, Sutter East Bay Region
Cindy D. is in charge of graphic design and marketing for Eden Medical Center, and would be my graphics expert.

6. Jennifer Pearce, Heart Failure Program Coordinator
Jennifer is an expert on heart health, health literacy, and creating documents at 3rd to 4th grade level.

I haven't heard back from them yet, but my mom works with them both and said that they had expressed an interest as well.

Final Problem and Purpose Statements

Problem Statement: High fructose corn syrup continues to play a key role in the rise of
obesity and heart disease in Americans, yet many patients of Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, CA, are unaware of the harmful effects it may have on one’s health.

Purpose Statement: The purpose of this study was to raise awareness about the harmful
effects high fructose corn syrup may have on the body and encourage these consumers to
limit their intake of foods that contain it.

About Me

My name is Kate Collett. I study graphic design at SFSU, although I just returned from a year abroad at Brunel University in West London. The more I travel, the more I want to see. As a lover of art, architecture, history and great food, nothing pleases me more than wandering around a foreign city, taking in their culture and meeting interesting new people.

Having grown up in the Bay Area, I find much of my inspiration in the nature that is all around us. I love the philosophy of John Muir, particularly his belief that everything in connected:

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." -John Muir

A philosophy which was shared by Charles Eames:

"Eventually, everything connects."

In our increasingly globalized world, no man is isolated; the actions of an individual can affect us all. I am passionate about our world, what it has to offer, and what human beings are capable of, yet it seems that many people of my generation are apathetic about our future. I hope that my design work helps people to preserve our natural resources while also encouraging them to make the most of every opportunity, to not get bogged down in apathy but to live each day with enthusiasm and joy.

My influences are many, but even more important to me than the look of visual design is the purpose and philosophy behind it. As Charles Eames said:

"Design is the appropriate combination of materials in order to solve a problem."

I hope that I can do exactly that. Solve problems to help others, without harming anyone else in the process. Because we are all connected.

A picture that describes me is this one from a tulip field in Holland. Enjoying the outdoors, exploring the world, and meeting interesting new people along the way.

I am:

empathetic
imaginative
passionate
adventurous
creative
curious