The mechanized life has essentially brought all information well within our hands, but it has deprived us of the simple act of quietly enjoying nature.
We tend to use only a fraction of our senses to explore the technosphere; whereas, as natural beings, we are created to make full use of our senses and indulge in our natural ecosystem. Since we tend to put the technosphere above the biosphere, we are faced with a myriad of mental and health-related problem (disturbed sleep cycle, higher stress, sleep-related problem, etc), mostly because we fail to recognize our place in the ecosystem.
As a designer, I find it necessary to tackle the problem through technosphere and gently nudge my target audience to incorporate nature back into their lives.
I appreciate the concept of Louv’s “The Nature Principle”: Balance. Louv does not ask his readers to eliminate technology and becomes a primitive hunter, rather he simply asks that they balance the time between nature and technology. If the readers are investing x hours on technology, they should spend x hours with Nature, just to balance the techno-sphere and biosphere out. The concept of my entire thesis is “topophilia”. A word with Greek etymology, which combines “strong sense of place- often becomes mixed with the sense of cultural identity among people and a love of certain aspects of a place."
My concept, for an awareness campaign, forms around the lines of topophilia: where I show my target audience how systematically all their consequent health issues can be countered by the addition of one thing only. For people who complain of having no time left, after working hours trying to keep their lives, mental and physical health afloat, I had to device a solution-oriented item that would inform them of the easy and accessible ways Nature can help their health I also want to rouse their senses in a pleasant way with this item.
I was searching for a good way to bring nature to my T.A, while solving their health problems, simulating their senses, nudging them towards sensuality and providing a workable solution, I realized my final outcome had to be tabletop. Since my audience spends most part of their day on a desk, the outcome needs to be handy and reusable and should make them aware of the solutions to their problems. At this point, I was thinking of mini sculptures or small installations that could fulfill all my aims. After lots of experimenting with form and structure, a teacher pointed out that everything I was doing had the attributes of a book. I was quite struck. The book checked all the boxes and I could include technology, as well as natural elements. It is of utmost importance that there be a good balance of technosphere and biosphere in my design. So, my final item was an interactive multisensory tabletop experience for a sensory deprived target audience.
The book Cover with real flowers, leaves, seeds, pebbles, etc embedded in Clear Epoxy Resin.
