Team effort by students who planned and realized an exhibit design project in a course at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design using a Three Rivers Parks as their community client, Kevin Byrne, Instructor.

1. MCAD:Vis Studio
Grey Team
for
Three Rivers Park District

2. Problem
The Three Rivers Park patrons come to the park to experi-
ence the outdoors; their commitment to the environment
does not necessarily extend beyond the parkʼs borders
into their own homes, they are unaware the negative envi-
ronmental impact is a negative impact on the park; care
for the environment at home has no borders.
Client Meetings

3. Creative Brief
Objective
“To inspire, educate, and communicate the ecological preservation of our
citiesʼ park with emphasis on waste reduction delivered via creative messag-
ing, and physical
displays.”
Goal
“Utilizing already available research and conducting new research, Team
Grey will engage patrons of Silverwood Park and Gale Woods Farm Parks on
the topic of waste reduction.”

4. Research

5. Silverwood Park
- Family based
- Trails/walking/active
- Arts/installations

6. Gale Woods Farm
- Sustainable
- Educational
- Children focused

7. Installations
- Accessibility
- Clarity
- Purpose
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

8. Desired Brand Character:
Descriptive Words
These four words represent our visual goal for the project as a whole:
Appealing, rustic, sustainable, and pristine.

9. Demographics
Couples were in their 30’s – late 40’s, their
likes included: “I love being a grandma” or “I
love my kids” indicating their priority is
family. Most were well educated, living in
comfortable homes, able to a ord lavish va-
cations from school and work. They never
missed one soccer game or piano recital.
Family always comes rst.
Facebook and Blogs

10. Archetype Wendy and Michael are in their late 30ʼs and have a child Jeremy
who is seven years old. They make the 5-minute trip to the Three
Rivers Park for a family outing. The family enjoys spending time
together learning and being active. They get coffee and ice cream at
the cafe. They join a class at the park to learn about apple cider. The
family has some apple trees in the their yard and wants to learn more
ways to utilize and collect the fruit. Wendy and Michael are interested
in the environment and sustainability. Jeremy likes to mash apples and
is getting excited about the prospect of making apple cider at
home.The park has been a destination for recreation outings even
before the addition to the family. Wendy works as an administrator at
an elementary school and the father has an office in the cities. They
admire the Parksʼ practice of recycling and composting, but they are
not fully aware of all the benefits available in their own household,
especially composting. When they go to dispose of their coffee cups
to be continued.
Creative Brief, Park Visits

11. Competitive/SWOT
Forest Park
(Portland, OR)
Discovery Park (Seattle, WA)
Millennium Park (Chicago, IL)
City park sites, Yelp, Facebook

12. Options
The three options midway through the project were : a puzzle style game, a
scale installation and unusual/bold signage. We narrowed down to two
options; the scale as our interactive installation and signs that would be used
at park held weddings.

13. Mechanical Drawings
The three options midway through the project were : a puzzle style
game, a scale installation and unusual/bold signage. We nar-
rowed down to two options; the scale as our interactive installation
and signs that would be used at park held weddings.

14. Weights
The weights are separated between positive and negative by color.
We chose the Color Red to Represent the negative weights and
blue for the positive side. Immediate reaction to red is to stop
while blue is a calming color associated with nature. The user sorts
through each color, the weights that apply are placed in the appro-
priate bucket. The weights symbolize behaviors in every category
of the 3 Rʼs and composting. Each weight has a visual symbol and
copy.

15. Infographics
KEEPING BALANCED IMBALANCED
“The mission of Three Rivers Park District is to promote environmental stewardship Throwing a glass bottle, a soda can or an apple core into the trashcan is often an
through recreation and education in a natural resources-based park system.” unconscious act. But these unconscious acts have consequences hidden from view:
unnecessary over-use of natural resources, growth of landfills and the expenditure of
In order to uphold this mission; Three Rivers Park district seeks to protect its natural re- massive amounts of energy that result green house gas emissions and climate change.
sources with sustainable practices including recycling, reducing, reusing and composting
at all park locations. This is what reducing waste can do: 1.3 tons recyclables are thrown out on average every year.
Since 1980, municipal solid waste has grown by 60% - nearly 246 million tons per year.
10 = =C
6,893,868 GLOBAL
WARMING
2
LANDFILLS TREES What does your family do as stewards of the environment?
PREVENTED. SAVED. Weigh what you do at home and discover ways to find balance.
Source: Recycling Association of MN – RAM Resources Source: Green Headquarter U.S. Statistics

16. Pins: Take Away,
Not ThrowAway
Including a take away pin is a way to continue the lessons from the
scale to the household as a reminder and a statement that can
keep the message going outward.
I THINK BEFORE
YOU THROW.
I
DO YOU?
RECYCLING
MATTERS

17. Wedding Signs
Weddings are the parkʼs biggest contributor to the landfill. Owning to the fact
they are large gatherings of people where proper waste disposal is the last
thing on everyoneʼs minds. The design for the signs are meant to be unobtru-
sive but impactful, a gentle reminder that would stick.