10 Part Research Proposal Outline

1. Introduction:
As a resident of San Francisco for more than five years I realize that San Francisco Community Gardens can become a better know activity.  Greening the city streets with a degree of education can be very beneficial to all residents. Such goal can be achieved by sharing resources and knowledge to the community at large maximizing the amount of collaborators. SFGRO is a small volunteer based organization that aims to provide information and create a membership base. At this point SFGRO provides only the information, but the organization plans to expand to a space of community engagement.

2. Problem Statement
:
The San Francisco Garden Resource Organization website does not create a bridge between the user, the garden and the community. The interface used difficult navigability, specially when searching for community gardens around San Francisco.



Purpose Statement:
The purpose of this study is to improve the way the information is displayed and help users make the connection between the garden with the surrounding neighborhood fostering social engagement.

3. Sub-Problems:
Growing gardens and non native plants may increase the water problem.
Community gardens are usually full. Newcomers need to wait to get access to a plot.
Permits with the city of San Francisco and bureaucracy involved.

4. Hypothesis:
Create a advertising campaign with the San Francisco Department of Public Works in order to increase awareness about the possibilities of community gardening.
Use maps both online and paper showing the community gardens in the city and relevant information.
Website with user interaction.

5. Statement of the Delimitation:
The project of greening a city has several solutions and different implementations. The research will be focused on the democratization of information about community gardens. Also inside the scope of the research are the different methods that such goal can be achieved.

6. Definition of Terms

Community Garden - a single piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people.
Gardening - the practice of growing plants by a gardener. Plants can be ornamental, for consumption or medicinal use.
Community - a group of interactive species sharing a populated environment. In human communities a series of conditions are present to be common to the group, affecting identity of members and creating cohesion.

7. The Assumptions:
There is no unifying resource that compiles information about the gardens and at the same time provides a space for sharing.
Community gardens in San Francisco are seen as a underground movement.
There are several gardens San Francisco.
There are repercussions for invading public/private land even though it is not in use. 
San Francisco residents would take part in starting a garden if they had more stimulus from organizations.

8. The Statement of Importance
:
This study promotes a community activity which benefits include greening of San Francisco, forming identity to communities, creating pride among residents.

9.Conclusion:
The research should lead the design process to solutions that will be most efficient in spreading the word about community gardens, creating a community based space and involving current participators in information exchange.

Refinement of Problem Statement

1.Problem Statement 1:
The San Francisco Garden Resource Organization website does not create a bridge between the user, the garden and the community. The methodology used difficults navigability, specially when searching for community gardens around San Francisco.

Purpose Statement1:
The purpose of this study is to find out an improved way to display information and help users make the connection between the garden with the surrounding neighborhood fostering social engagement.

Users/Beneficiaries/Stakeholders:
San Francisco residents, future gardeners/farmers, people who live nearby the gardens, current farmers/gardeners, students and shcools.

Environmental/location factors:
Improvement in the amount of poeple interested in using the facilities for both working on the space and sharing the space as a garden.
Beautification of small parts of the city.
Creation of new gardens on empty lots around the city of San Francisco.

Resources/References/Comparative info/sources:
San Francisco Garden Resource Organization,  San Francisco Recreation and Parks, San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance, Designers, urban farmers, neighboors of park.

Justification:
The project focuses on the well being of the community at large with the idea of increasing the amount of green space in the city of San Francisco and creating a greater tigher regional community.

2.Architectural Foundation of San Francisco
Problem Statement2:
Recruit people for the Build San Francisco program is a marketing challenge that the Architectural Foundation acknowledges the need for help.

Purpose Statement2:
The purpose of the project is to develop a marketing campaign that will disseminate the message of the program in a coherent method.

Users/Beneficiaries/Stakeholders:
Students interested in design, construction engineering and architecture. San Francisco Unified School District, more than two dozen major San Francisco firms such as KMD Architects, Plant Construction, Rollo and Ridley, Teknion and Treadwell & Rollo. Mentors who volunteer their time to the program.

Environmental/location factors:
Improvement will take place opn the recruiting and dissemination of the information. There will be clearer understanding about conditions, goals and expectations of the program.

Resources/References/Comparative info/sources:
Closely work with Architectural Foundation of San Francisco, designers, architects, educators, pedagoges. San Francisco School Distric. Professors in the field of deisgn, architechture, engineer.

 
Justification:
The Architectural Foundation of San Francisco provides a community service that focus on youth and education. Improving the colateral material for the organization will ultimatelly strenghten the educational program possibily affecting the community at large.

 


3.American Friends Service Committee - not yet refined
Problem Statement3:
Necessity for having better outreach materials that support the goals of the organization.

Purpose Statement3:
The study focus on strategies to increase visibility in flyers, brochures and outreach.

Problem Solving Exercise

Kishanti likes to eat healthy and enjoy cooking vegetarian food at home. His problem is that he cooks a lot of the same food over and over again. Making cooking boring at times. In order to get Kishanti to explore new horizons in the kitchen I proposed the construction of a chart that he will interact with on a daily basis.

This is how the solution was planned:

Once a month, Kishanti is to get out of his comfort zone and go to the library to research about vegetarian food that he does not know about. He can take clips out of books and magazines and stick that to the chart.
Once a week, he can go to friends and family house to look for specific recipes. He will then bring more ideas and clips to stick to the board.
On the board he then creates a shopping list for the week. This shopping list should already demonstrate some progress, because he will buy some food items that he wouldn't buy otherwise.
On the daily slots of the chart, Kishanti can then write what he wants to cook on each day of the week.
By the end of the month he can erase/throw away all his research, or put his favorite recipes and discoveries on the archives in a folder.
As soon as the new month starts, Kishanti will be back to the library to explore and learn about food and culture.

An alternative to the chart is to sign up for a CSA (community supported agriculture) and improvise with whatever he receives on the box. This requires less time, demonstrating greater flexibility.

Vulgarity vs Beauty

Debbie Millman for Design Observer, interviews Massimo Vignelli, who shares his ideas about beauty and vulgarity among other things.

DB: 

What do you think design is really about?

MV:
Number one, design is a profession that takes care of everything around us. Politicians take care of the nation and fix things — at least they are supposed to. Architects take care of buildings. Designers take care of everything around us. Everything that is around us, this table, this chair, this lamp, this pen has been designed. All of these things, everything has been designed by somebody.

I think that it is my responsibility to make the work better than it is. That is my number one priority. The second priority is to decrease the amount of vulgarity around by replacing the vulgarity with things that are more refined. 

When we work with clients, we make it quite clear from the beginning that we don’t intend to create vulgar things. Most of the time we don’t even have to say this; when a client comes in, they know what we are doing, and they want us to do things for them in this way. So we don’t have too much to fight over! But even in the client discussions, they can see that this is what we want to do. 

So what is design all about? It is to decrease the amount of vulgarity in the world. It is to make the world a better place to be. But everything is relative. There is a certain amount of latitude between what is good, what is elegant, and what is refined that can take many, many manifestations. It doesn’t have to be one style. We’re not talking about style, we’re talking about quality. Style is tangible, quality is intangible. I am talking about giving to everything that surrounds us a level of quality.

DM:
You use the word elegance in contrast to vulgarity. Where does beauty fit in this?

MV:
On the elegant side.

DM:
Do you feel that they’re intertwined?

MV:
Absolutely. They are simultaneous. There is no beauty in vulgarity. There can be fascination in vulgarity but there is no beauty. A vulgar woman is never beautiful.

DM:
Do you think there are equal amounts of fascination in vulgarity and beauty?

MV:
I’m not fascinated by vulgarity ever, but some people certainly are. A lot of people are. Take the phenomenon of Las Vegas. It’s fascinating, but the fascination is its vulgarity. Nevertheless, it’s fascinating. I swore that I would never go to Las Vegas, and when I went, I never wanted to leave.

DM:
Why do you think people are fascinated by vulgarity?

MV:
Because it is easier to absorb. Elegance is about education and refinement, and it is a by-product of a continual search for the best and for the sublime. And it is a continuous refusal of indulging in anything that is vulgar. It’s a job. 

to read the full interview go to Design Observer: Interview with Massimo Vignelli

Draft 3 Problems

San Francisco Garden Resource Organization User Interface:
Problem Statement:
The San Francisco Garden Resource Organization website does not take full advantage of user interface and navigability, specially when searching for community gardens around San Francisco.

Purpose Statement:
The purpose of this study is to find out alternate ways to display information and help users make the connection between the garden with the surrounding neighborhood.


Architectural Foundation of San Francisco
Problem Statement:
The AFSF needs a toolkit in electronic and print format to recruit people for Build San Francisco program.

Purpose Statement:
The purpose of the project is develop ways that will disseminate the message of the program in a coherent method.


American Friends Service Committee
Problem Statement:
Necessity for having better outreach materials that support the goals of the organization.

Purpose Statement:
The study focus on strategies to increase visibility in flyers, brochures and outreach.

Family activity chart

Meet Julio

Julio is 87 years old. He's healthy for his age, but uses a cane at times. After a long hardworking life, Julio wants to spend time with his family and his few friends that are still alive. He had to cut down on alcohol and cigarettes, now he has one drink and one smoke a day - at the same time of course. He has cataract on both eyes. Julio operated one of the eyes already, and soon will be back at the hospital to fix the right eye. His passions are to go on a walk and to eat fresh fruits.

He's usually dressed more casual, but still likes to put his best outfit for special occasion.

photo by Richard Avedon, New Mexico 1980

Student Info Sheet

About me: DAI Visual Communications, on the last semester after a long path through
different schools in two countries.

Inspirations: weather, daily life, Brazilian music, learning new things. “To design is to
communicate clearly by whatever means you can control or master.” Milton Glaser. “I'm
always mentally photographing everything as practice.” Minor White.

Influences: photojournalism, the decisive moment, modernism, people, patterns in nature.

Vision: to find meaningful solutions.

Key Words: curious, anxious, new, volatile.