Establishing Design Methods

In order to address my topic with design methods, I try to come up with different ways I can tackle the issue.


1. Irony / Satire - contradicting common perceptions of gardening
(ie. high maintenance, hippy. challenging, time consuming, etc.)

2. Humour - where can you see GREEN in your space that will make you think?

3. Senses - Stimulate sensual impacts using sense of touch, smell, vision, etc.

All these approaches are valid and effective if use appropriately. The directions I choose will determine how I will approach the problem, and come up with a visual form.

Criteria Breakdown

After finishing with design brief, I started a series of literary explorations, using words and descriptions to define what I want to achieve with my design. These descriptive criteria and detailed factors are mainly based on information gathered throughout my research process. Such as what people prefer to have, how they prefer to use the products, where it may be used, and what would it be for.

I try to provide a visual reference, something that would portray the concept of these factors.

Design Brief

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been compiling the research results from different methods of research to put together the Design Brief. I'm still trying to define more specifically regarding some of the project criteria. Time's ticking fast though, a lot of work still ahead. I need to narrow down my focus ASAP, to get into the design phase.

The Design Brief can be viewed HERE.
Changes and additional info might be added as the project progresses.

MOBY Visit

Thursday afternoon, I visited the community garden MOBY (My Own Back Yard), originally started by ECU ID graduate Jason few years ago. The community garden is located on 11th and commercial, with approximately 30 plots, and 5 accessible plots for seniors, people with disability, pregnant women, and etc.

Tina, was generous and extremely helpful. :) I was very fortunate to get her feedback and suggestions on my research and design directions. She mentioned, as an urban gardener, the reasons for self food production are much more than simply reducing food cost, but rather, to regain the connection with nature, the pleasure and gratification of being self-sufficient.

People don't seem to know where their food come from anymore. We take food for granted. We choose to ignore, and neglect the process which it takes from farm land to get to our dinner plate.

This makes me re-think about my project. Providing a design solution that enables urban agriculture is NOT enough.. it takes a lot more for people to change their behaviours than simply presenting them what's possible. I want to be able to communicate the gratification, the satisfaction, and the pride which urban gardeners like Tina value, to people that have yet to decide to participate in such activities.

Lately I've been focusing on developing my Project Design Brief, which will be uploaded in the next post. This is a milestone, marking the crossing from our analytical phase, to the chaotic, yet innovative stage.. :)

1st Hand Research Study Report & Project Focus

This week's class included a 5-minute presentation from each student on research study results and project directions. It's pretty damn exciting to see all the different research methods incorporated. The probing method was contradictory in terms of purpose and focus, but fascinating in terms of feedback and responses of the users.

My 1st Hand Research Study Report can be found HERE.


The following 2 weeks will be dedicated for information analysis and data organizations, in order to put together the Design Brief. I still need to figure out a clear and effective way to present my data in a measurable presentation. Perhaps a graph, or a diagram would be useful.

After meeting with my instructor, Tom Bechor, I started to re-think about my project. Tom mentioned, it's critical to define the THEME, FOCUS, and MEDIUM of my project. By determining the differences and the definitions of each, the design criteria and my approach will be clear. What is my theme? it can be well-being.. gardening.. food production.. or even sustainability. Maybe, gardening in a limited space is ONLY the medium of my project, in order to communicate my theme of well-being. However I define it, will definitely determine how I approach this project. Honestly, this is the first time since I started this project, that I'm starting to think that the final solution can go WAY beyond balconies, patios, or window counters.. maybe, it can even be an installation piece? a performance?

Strathcona Community Garden Visit

On Sunday morning, me and Jhon visited the Strathcona Community Garden in downtown for some documentation and a short interview with the General Coordinator Mark.

Luckily, it was the monthly work party day for the community garden, so a lot of people came out to work on the space for some harvest/cleaning. We were both very amazed to see something like this to be promoted and practiced by a collective community.

During the interview, Mark explained a little a bit about the organization and history of the garden, the commitment expected of each participant, and also gave some general tips on designing for gardening spaces. The community garden was divided into different sections - individual lots, herb garden, compost area, espaliers, and the fruit trees area.

It's my first time visiting a community garden, I must say, I find the garden space and the work that has been put in over all these years truly admirable and inspiring. It's very reassuring to see people in the local community participating in such activities. This validates our concepts, and the growing demand of design developments dedicated for such users. It is up to us now to come up with ideations and concepts for higher convenience, better organizations, and more suitable solutions to integrate with users' own living spaces.

My Own Little Green

For the purpose of research, I've decided to approach my 1st hand research process as a potential user. While planning my interviews and focus group session with participants in different fields of expertise, I also want to put myself in the position of the user, and experience possible concerns, and difficulties included in the activity of gardening.

I went to the market, and got myself a Little Green- a small pot of Basil plant.
My LG was initially plotted by the NHS industries in Langley, and brought to Vancouver for sale and distribution. By doing so, I also met Beverly, a nice lady who sold me my LG, who was extremely generous and helpful. She was nice enough to put up with my non-stop questioning. She agreed to participate as a professional consultant throughout the project. This is something really unexpected, yet extremely valuable and appreciated.

Even with just one small pot of basil, a serious amount of work is still required to ensure proper growth. I have no previous experience of gardening, other than growing red beans on cotton beds back in elementary. Over the next couple weeks, I will have to feed my LG with compost, separate bunches for more root space, and continue my regular watering schedule.
Hopefully, this little pot of basil, will give me tons of first hand experience, and continue to grow happily and beautifully.