PUBLIC HARVEST
A project that utilizes public libraries to address food insecurity in urban areas.
PUBLIC HARVEST
Hybrid Product & Program Design
Created independently in Summer 2020
OVERVIEW
A project that utilizes public libraries to address food insecurity in urban areas. Public Harvest has two major components; a physical aquaponic system to be located in an indoor public area (such as a library), and an app that allows users to see what is being grown, see days and times where they could pick up produce, and even request a delivery of produce to their place of residence.
TOOLS
For my contribution to Public Harvest, I used...
​
Pen & pencil for initial sketches
Adobe Photoshop for icon design
Adobe Illustrator for logo design
Adobe XD for application layout
Rhinoceros 5 for 3D modeling
Keyshot 8 for 3D rendering
​
WHAT I LEARNED
The main lessons I learned with this project was how to combine product and program design into one cohesive project. Most of the time, I find myself focusing on one or the other; this was the first time I truly embraced both.
​
I also found myself reading about aquaponics and government grants for food insecurity. I am passionate about gardening as a hobby, and was very excited to apply some of that passion to a project.
DESIGN PROCESS
What led up to the final product
Background
This project has a very straight-forward background. The prompt I was following was to address a topic that I am passionate about, and I chose food insecurity. I narrowed it down to food insecurity in urban areas for the sake of specificity. The following decisions were all made after researching.
​
Research
My research began with reading about food insecurity in general; what are the main causes, and what are related issues that could be addressed? After speaking with a soup kitchen coordinator, I realized the importance of creating a program. So many of the issues that cause people to go to soup kitchens are cyclical, and need more than a technological fix. I also realized the importance of elements such as location in food insecurity, not just cost (in other words, food deserts). This is why I decided upon focusing on libraries, because they are located in very central areas in cities. As a result, busy individuals who may not have the time to travel to the outskirts of a city could have access to the program. Also, upon speaking with a few library volunteers, I found that many had indicated that this program could feasibly exist in their space.
​
After deciding to focus on libraries, I wanted to create a physical product to pair with the program. I started to consider an indoor community garden. After researching a few different methods of indoor gardening, I decided that aquaponics would work well for my goals. I also researched community gardens in general at this stage in the project, and I learned that many people who are food insecure do not benefit from some community gardens because they do not have the time to partake. This is what led to my creation of an app with a delivery system. This way, people who can't directly interact with the garden can still be involved and reap the benefits.
​
Prototyping
For the product element of this project, I created an aquaponic system. I designed the aquaponic system in such a way that it would comply by the specifications that were laid out by the librarians (e.x. no permanent damage to furniture, etc). The shelves in the aquaponic system could be removed from the bookcase when needed, so that no permanent damage will be done.
​
For the program element of this project, I created an application. This application has 4 main sections. They are 1. a delivery section, where users could either fulfill or request deliveries 2. a garden section, where users can see what is being grown 3. a resources panel, with pages such as how to get on food stamps and a forum, and 4. a suggestions panel, where users can communicate with the administrators of the app.