Image Credit : Nico Keenan
www.nicophotography.com.au
Project Overview
A sure way to give kids a feeling for the joy and value of nature is to take them out of the classroom and involve them in the natural environment first-hand.
In partnership with Melbourne Water, Maribyrnong City Council wanted to create a natural environment for frogs that was durable, safe and engaging for kindergarten aged children.
The imperative was to create an educational experience that would encourage the 300+ children and families that attend the kindergarten to actively engage with a frog friendly habitat garden.
Melbourne Water and Maribyrnong City Council initially coordinated a community environmental educational event to demonstrate how to design and construct a frog friendly habitat garden. From this, a frog friendly habitat garden was created at Dobson Kindergarten, Maidstone.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Maribyrnong City Council:
Sasha Roos
Sustainability Officer- Environmental Education
Melbourne Water (Project partner):
James Frazer
Waterwatch Coordinator
GrowCreative:
Graphic Design/Illustration - Glen Rowbottom
TSFM (The Sign Factory Melbourne):
Fabrication and Installation - Brett Prentice & Shannon Culakovski
Project Brief
GrowCreative was engaged by Maribyrnong City Council to create elements that would link all signage elements to the frog habitat.
We saw the opportunity to create a strong visual approach that would appeal to kids and develop an innovative approach to communicating information.
Project Innovation/Need
The audience consisted of kindergarten students aged 4-5 years, kindergarten families and kindergarten teachers. This meant that effective communication and safety were both high priority.
Melbourne Water and Maribyrnong City Council also wanted to promote and encourage participation in Melbourne Water’s Frog Census. This is a series of events across greater Melbourne to determine frog populations. Information about the Census was included within the signage - as well as ways to take actions to help frogs.
The site of the frog friendly habitat garden adjoined a foot/bike path where children needed to move quickly.
The key intention of the design elements was to slow the flow of traffic around the site to create a destination for learning and reflection - rather than just be part of the scenery. These elements were also used as an educational tool around road safety.
The new design elements developed included an interpretive sign, a give-way sign and a frog crossing decal which were strategically placed to provide strong visual links to the frog friendly habitat garden to encourage the children to stop and reflect within the space.
Design Challenge
The imperative was to create an educational experience and encourage kindergarten students and families to actively engage with the frog friendly habitat garden.
The materials needed to be durable enough to withstand the weather and long-lasting to minimise maintenance/access to the site. They also had to be positioned at a height to discourage being sat or stepped on.
Effectiveness
The project was so successful that it has become the prototype for a series of frog friendly habitats - and generated a demand for additional signage along the same theme.
The key objective of creating an on-going education experience that kept kids, teachers and parents engaged has been met and created a fresh approach to play and learning.
The official launch for this project coincided with World Environment Day. The frog friendly habitat garden and supporting creative was launched by Maribyrnong City Council mayor, and included a day of educational activities with all kindergarten students and project partners.
The initial signage has been expanded with four frog friendly habitat signs produced and installed at other habitat gardens to raise awareness and educate the general public.
We believe this project shows the value of client and designer working together to refine our understanding of the audience. It creates the confidence to produce strong graphic solutions that meet design and educational criteria.
Graphic Design - Environmental
This award celebrates creativity and innovation in the intersection of communication design and the built environment, and is concerned with the visual aspects of wayfinding, communication identity and brands, information design and shaping the idea of place. Consideration given to clarity of communication and the matching of information style to audience.
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