Project Hiu: Raising Awareness
MY ROLE:
Researcher, illustrator, designer.
SCOPE:
Ethnographic research, publication design, illustration.
TONE:
Coastal, mindful.
YEAR: 2023
In my second year of university, I was part of a group of design students who had the opportunity to go to Lombok under the New Colombo Plan Scholarships Program. The NCP students are given the chance to study in the Indo-Pacific region. During our trip, we worked with Project Hiu, a shark conservation project that strives to provide shark fishermen on Maringkik Island with alternative incomes through eco-tourism.
Our goal was to develop effective design solutions that could provide educational opportunities for leisure tourists, who make up much of Project Hiu’s customer base. Each team member was in charge of developing different touchpoints. My focus was an activity book.
Activity books could enhance a Leisure Tourist’s experiences with Project Hiu, lasting them longer than the few days they spend on their trip. There are opportunities for fun, deepening an appreciation for sharks and raising awareness of why Project Hiu’s work is important.
Ethnographic Research
During our two-week stay, we conducted ethnographic research. We visited Maringkik island, the fishing island where Project Hiu works and talked to the people who live there, as they are the people whom we wanted to help through the work we proposed. An important detail about the shark fishermen that many people don’t realise is that shark fishing is not something that they want to do, nor is it rooted in any cultural beliefs. Instead, they rely on shark fishing as there aren’t many other options for income. Through Project Hiu, the shark fishermen can re-purpose their boats for tourists to go out on day trips rather than use them for dangerous and arduous shark fishing.
Possible Solutions
In addition to ethnographic research, our team discussed and brainstormed the issues we discovered when visiting Maringkik. At the beginning of our trip, we did not know exactly what we were designing or what our goal would be other than helping Project Hiu. We could have delved into many issues on the island, from hygiene issues to animal segregation and job sources. Eventually, we decided to focus on leisure tourism. We wanted to find ways to attract more people to Project Hiu and raise awareness about their cause to help them generate more funding to continue running the boats on tourist trips rather than shark fishing trips.
The Activity Book
Raising awareness about environmental or societal issues can be challenging, and many people might not be aware of certain things because they may not fully interest them. As a team, we realised that we could engage more people and encourage them to learn by making it fun, which can be done through games! Games can be used to build positive associations around Project Hiu, encouraging more people to become familiar with the Project and open to what they have to say. Activity books are easily portable, don’t weigh very much, and have room for various playable activities whether you remember everything you learned on a tour or not. They can provide relaxing, fun, competitive, and learning experiences. These can all work together to raise awareness of Project Hiu’s purpose.
The activity book was designed for people 18+, due to the age requirement Project Hiu has for their trips. The design style was inspired by their existing merchandise and murals we saw around Maringkik.
Activity Book Identity
The activity book was styled to look similar to some of the murals and merchandise that Project Hiu already had, including many mandalas and shark-inspired motifs. Pragmatica is Project Hiu’s brand typeface, so making it the body copy made sense. Amantic, the heading/accent typeface, was chosen to compliment the hand-drawn elements in the book.
The book is black and white, including the cover, so readers can personalise it as much as they like. The detailed linework leaves lots of space for readers to colour in the pages. Having space to mindfully colour in pages will give them time to reflect on their experience with Project Hiu and what they read in the book.
