A step by step creative process about the design of a toolbox for farmers within the EU project iSAGE - Innovation for Sustainable Sheep and Goat Production in Europe

1. iSAGE Toolbox
How to design it step by step
ChiaraTuoni, Lisa Arguile, Marion Johnson | ORGANIC RESEARCH CENTRE

2. RESEARCH
DESIGN
IT
A diverse team
whose collective
knowledge
encompassed three
distinct areas
required within the
creation of the
Toolbox
The team behind the Toolbox

3. RESEARCH
DESIGN
IT
The creativity behind
the product stems
from our inhouse
Research
Communicator
The design behind the Toolbox

4. What is a toolbox? What should our toolbox do?
• let’s start with the task description
• identify the concept hints
• identify the design hints
• merge it with the ORC’s PG Tool
• shaping the idea
• address the target
Design steps

5. Design - task description
Task 1.4: Toolbox development
Partners involved: 30 (ORC - leader), 12 (UNIVPM), 16 (CSIC).
Review the results of tasks 1.2 and 1.3 and use the results to develop recommendations and advice on tools for
practical decision-making. These will be made available online. The toolbox will be available in English, Italian,
Greek and Spanish. The activities and workshops in this WP involving stakeholders will be utilised to ensure that the
toolbox is user-friendly and the recommendations are relevant to industry stakeholders. This activity will be
coordinated through WP6 to avoid overlap of requests from other WPs and ensure efficient collection of data.
The outcome of this task will be a tool box of recommendations regarding indicators (especially for social, economic
and animal welfare) and tools suitable for practical decision-making. This toolbox will be translated into Spanish,
Italian and Greek as well as being available in English.
Extract from the iSAGE project contract

6. What is a toolbox? What should our toolbox do?
• let’s start with the task description
• identify the concept hints
• identify the design hints
• merge it with the ORC’s PG Tool
• shaping the idea
• address the target
Design steps

7. Design - identify the concept hints
Task 1.4: Toolbox development
Partners involved: 30 (ORC - leader), 12 (UNIVPM), 16 (CSIC).
Review the results of tasks 1.2 and 1.3 and use the results to develop recommendations and advice on tools for
practical decision-making. These will be made available online. The toolbox will be available in English, Italian,
Greek and Spanish. The activities and workshops in this WP involving stakeholders will be utilised to ensure that the
toolbox is user-friendly and the recommendations are relevant to industry stakeholders. This activity will be
coordinated through WP6 to avoid overlap of requests from other WPs and ensure efficient collection of data.
The outcome of this task will be a tool box of recommendations regarding indicators (especially for social, economic
and animal welfare) and tools suitable for practical decision-making. This toolbox will be translated into Spanish,
Italian and Greek as well as being available in English.

8. What is a toolbox? What should our toolbox do?
• let’s start with the task description
• identify the concept hints
• identify the design hints
• merge it with the ORC’s PG Tool
• shaping the idea
• address the target
Design steps

9. Design - identify the design hints
Task 1.4: Toolbox development
Partners involved: 30 (ORC - leader), 12 (UNIVPM), 16 (CSIC).
Review the results of tasks 1.2 and 1.3 and use the results to develop recommendations and advice on tools for
practical decision-making. These will be made available online. The toolbox will be available in English, Italian,
Greek and Spanish. The activities and workshops in this WP involving stakeholders will be utilised to ensure that the
toolbox is user-friendly and the recommendations are relevant to industry stakeholders. This activity will be
coordinated through WP6 to avoid overlap of requests from other WPs and ensure efficient collection of data.
The outcome of this task will be a tool box of recommendations regarding indicators (especially for social, economic
and animal welfare) and tools suitable for practical decision-making. This toolbox will be translated into Spanish,
Italian and Greek as well as being available in English.

10. To summarise the aim of the Toolbox task is to create
an online user friendly tool for industry stakeholders
(included farmers), providing recommendations and advice
Design - concept + design hints

11. What is a toolbox? What should our toolbox do?
• let’s start with the task description
• identify the concept hints
• identify the design hints
• merge it with the ORC’s PG Tool
• shaping the idea
• address the target
Design steps

12. The toolbox task is to draw upon ORC’s Public Goods (PG)
Tool:
an Excel based assessment, that was adapted during the
iSAGE project
to assess the holistic sustainability of sheep and goat farms
across Europe, identifying strengths and weaknesses within
sustainability themes clustered under four overarching
dimensions
-Environmental integrity, Economic resilience, Social wellbeing and Good
Good governance-
Design - ORC’s PG Tool

13.  The PG tool provides the reference content for the iSAGEToolbox
 it is a huge(!) Excel worksheet
 it contains a list of indicators (e.g. ‘Erosion’) nested within a list of topics,
divided into themes and subthemes (e.g. ‘Ecological’ and ‘Soil’), that are
that are nested in a list of dimensions (e.g. ‘Environmental integrity’)
 It consists mostly of recommendations, a few direct questions and
some tips for practical decision-making
Design - PG Tool: a design point of view

14. What is a toolbox? What should our toolbox do?
• let’s start with the task description
• identify the concept hints
• identify the design hints
• merge it with the ORC’s PG Tool
• shaping the idea
• address the target
Design steps

15. How do we match content with container?
Design - shaping the idea
And function with functionality (=features)?
PG Tool
user*-
friendly
practical decision
making
Toolbox
1.4
FARMER
user*

16. What is a toolbox? What should our toolbox do?
• let’s start with the task description
• identify the concept hints
• identify the design hints
• merge it with the ORC’s PG Tool
• shaping the idea
• address the target
Design steps

17. How do we match content with container?
Design - address the target
And function with functionality (=features)?
recommendations and
advice
portability
practical decision
making
Toolbox
1.4FARMER
target
CARDS
in a
wheel

18.  The concept. If you have a smartphone or a penknife in
your pocket, you can have Sageguard Cards as well,
keyring
 The meaning. Not to study, not to just play with, you can
use these cards as a starting point towards a sustainable
 The symbol. Both playing cards -a game- and the tarot -
as a way to tell a story- are ancient symbols and a part of
life for many cultures
Design - SAGEGUARD is born!

19. 1. SIGNPOSTS TO SUSTAINABILITY
AN ONLINE ‘QUICK’ SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT FOR SHEEP AND GOAT
2. SAGEGUARD
2.1 SAGEGUARD CARDS
AN OFFLINE RESOURCE FOR FARMERS TO USE IN THE FIELD
2.2 SAGEGUARD.NET
ONLINE PLATFORM THAT FORMS THE EPICENTRE OF THE TOOLBOX
...and the Toolbox’ components as
well!

20. Design
first draft

21. Design
final version

22. Design
finished
product

23. Design
finished product

24.  Each dimension (e.g. ‘Livestock’) has a colour (e.g. ‘oxblood’).
Each subtheme (e.g. ‘Soil’) has an icon to improve visualisation.
Each indicator card (e.g. ‘Erosion-Compaction-Quality’) has a number to aid
and reduce duration of future searches
 At the end of every dimension there is a QR code that links directly to the iSAGE
website. At the bottom of every indicator card there is the link to
the sageguard.net website
 The pattern of lines and circles echoes the paths / furrows
and the moon / crop rotation, or the notes (lines) we can jot
down to intercept the farm’s world closed system (circles)
Design - SAGEGUARD graphics

25. Toolbox: SAGEGUARD CARDS
 An offline set of cards arranged
under a selection of
sustainability dimensions,
themes and subthemes
 In a similar manner to our quick
online sustainability assessment
‘Signposts to Sustainability’
 Designed to provoke thought
and discussion

26. Toolbox: SAGEGUARD CARDS

27. Adapting SAGEGUARD CARDS for online use,
applied a series of steps to retain user-friendly characteristics
in the SAGEGUARD.NET two-dimensional environment
Design - SAGEGUARD online adaptation

28.  The subtheme cards became single posts, each one within their respective
categories (dimension and theme) and tags (keywords for searchability)
searchability)
 The categories became pages displayed in the breadcrumbs (online pathway
visible at the top of each page) and in the navigation menu
 The questions in the indicator cards were replaced with links, that directly or
indirectly provided information on guidelines towards sustainability
 The dimension patterns displayed on Sageguard Cards became buttons that
click through to each topic
 Icons of each subtheme became full size images displayed alongside the links
Design - from SAGEGUARD CARDS to SAGEGUARD.NET

29.  The homepage describes
how to use theToolbox
 From here you can choose
where to start, by:
• exploring dimensions or themes
• finding help with an issue using the
links provided
Toolbox: SAGEGUARD.NET

30. A walk through of the website
 Exploring the Dimension
Environmental integrity
 Theme
Ecological
Toolbox: SAGEGUARD.NET

31. A walk through of the
website
 Dimension
Environmental integrity
 Theme
Ecological
 Subtheme
Soil
Toolbox: SAGEGUARD.NET

32. Toolbox: SAGEGUARD.NET
A walk through…
 Indicator question
Erosion
 Selected links to
help
 Responsive design
for mobile viewing

33. …Do you understand the name?
recommendation
s
a starting point towards a sustainable
system
an ancient symbol
the moon / crop
rotation
guidelines towards sustainability
SAGEGUARD
F

34. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research
and innovation programme under gran agreement No. 679302.
The views expressed in this presentation are the sole responsibility of the
presenters(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.
research@organicresearchcentre.com
chiara.t@organicresearchcentre.com
lisa.a@organicresearchcentre.com
marion.j@organicresearchcentre.com
Further information