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Intellectual Embrace lifetime learning

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Acknowledgments Lisa Bartlett John Kannenberg John Marshall Lisa Shea Keith Soster Susan Stacks University of Michigan Rec Sports University Health Systems/Student Wellness Committee and those who also endured this crazy process that we call IP

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in sta ial and su with a c o S ate ips al ip Cre tionsh mutu endsh a i f l r o f e r ing nd l fee por t a p su

Franc Nunoo-Quarcoo for a year of amazing design My family for helping me to spend four incredible years at Michigan and Ryan for dealing with many IP breakdowns

Do you know what wellness is?

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financial being comfortable with your budget and how you earn and spend money

physical self-care habits, excercise, nutrition, stress reduction, sleep

Erica Mouns Integrative Project 2010 - 2011 BFA Senior Thesis University of Michigan School of Art and Design

Do You Know?

the real price.

The “Do You Know” series started as an exploration of how I could educate myself about my own habits as a student living on campus. Learning about cooking, eating, and my overall lifestyle during the past four years has created the groundwork for the rest of my life. Looking at my own experiences, I wondered what would help students to make better choices about their health.

This poster not only deals with the financial aspect of buying food at restaurants, but the price that your body pays. I am hoping to encourage students to save money by shopping for fresh food at grocery stores. Home-cooked food is almost always healthier than food from a restaurant.

See the process for this poster to the right.

DO

the real price

My solution to this problem is to create designs that challenge students to think about how particular health issues relate to their own lives. The purpose of the posters is not to overwhelm the viewer with all of the answers about how to be healthy; it is to encourage them to think about how these issues can be applied to their own actions. The information about how to live a healthy life already exists and if a person wants to learn more about it, then they can. Rather than focusing on this same information, I look at how health issues are applied to students living on the University of Michigan’s campus in Ann Arbor. Using specific topics that relate to the University of Michigan, I have created a series of posters that will encourage students to evaluate their own lifestyles.

The statistics are based on the estimated price of $9 for one meal at a restaurant once a week. This allows for the statistic to be relevant for the fast and casual restaurants that college students eat at most often. The realization that changing one meal a week could save $36 a month could be enough for students to realize the impact of small changes. They might be making this decision based on the financial factors, but other health benefits are also in effect.

YOU KNOW

of eating out

cook your own meals and know exactly what you’re putting into them

85% more fat $100 per month 69% more calories

Learn to cook. Save money. Get healthy. Find information about how to incorporate grocery stores, cooking, and healthy eating into your lifestlye. www.changecollegelifestyle.com

Information provided here are based on Panda Express orange chick and rice meal versus homecooked fresh asian noodle dish with chicken. Numbers are rounded .

the real price? Eliminate eating out once a week and save

$36

a month

Cut out that 1am sub shop trip and save about $9 a week plus the calories

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Context

how to lose one pound...

Knowing that I would use print design as my medium of expression, I focused my initial research on the conceptual aspect. Obesity is now an epidemic. It is not a disease that is affecting third world countries because of a lack of resources. It is a dominating disease in the United States and almost every other country in the developed world. It is not caused by a virus or spread through contagious germs; it is caused by choices that people make every day.

This poster addresses the physical aspects of how much work it takes to change the way your body looks and also how important exercising is. Physical benefits are one of the biggest motivating factors for people to start exercising and it was important to address this in my project.

15 in 20 Michigan students do not get Michigan the recommended 15 in 20 students

amount of excercise do not get the recommended amount of excercise

amount of the excercise do not get recommended amount of excercise

you you

Michigan students do not get enough exercise even though most students spend their day walking to and from class. 75% of undergrads at the University of Michigan do not get the recommended amout of exercise 2. The poster shows how far you have to walk to burn 100 calories by providing students a distance that they can recognize. In addition, it also gives information about how much effort it takes to lose 1 pound, showing that it is necessary to dedicate time to physical activity.

My generation has grown up with obesity being normal, almost even accepted. This way of thinking has caused substantial numbers of young people to be unhealthy and at a risk of an early death. An estimated 300,000 deaths per year may be attributable to obesity 1. This epidemic will continue to get worse as young people follow this pattern of behavior. We can look to the student body at the University of Michigan for evidence of an unhealthy youth population in our country. A huge problem within the epidemic in our society is the ignorance towards realizing that we are unhealthy. The American College Health Association released a study in 2006 showing the health status of students on our campus. 26.2% of students at the University of Michigan are considered to be overweight or obese2. Within that group, 21.2% of them do not believe that they have a weight problem. In addition, only 25.1% of all students maintain the recommended amount of physical activity (figures 1-3).

the benefits of being the benefits of being

active active

Statistic taken from UM survey thing from 2009 University of Michigan Statistic taken from UM survey thing from 2009 University of Michigan

Incorporate physical activity into your life. Get healthy. Find information about where to start your new andinto creating yourGetlifestlye. Incorporateexcercise physical plan activity your life. healthy. www.changecollegelifestyle.com Find information about where to start your new

Statistic taken from UM survey thing from 2009 University of Michigan

excercise plan and creating your lifestlye. www.changecollegelifestyle.com

Statistic taken from UM survey thing from 2009 University of Michigan

the benefits of being the benefits of being

active active

do Incorporate physical activity into your life. Get healthy. Find information about where to start your new

excercise plan creating lifestlye. Incorporate physical activity intoand your life. Getyour healthy. www.changecollegelifestyle.com Find information about where to start your new excercise plan and creating your lifestlye. www.changecollegelifestyle.com

See the process for this poster to the right.

you

15 in 20 Michigan

15 in 20 Michigan students do not get the students do not get the recommended about of recommended about of excercise excercise

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the the benefits benefits of of being being

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Statistic taken from UM survey thing from 2009 University of Michigan Statistic taken from UM survey thing from 2009 University of Michigan Incorporate physical activity into your life. Get healthy. Find information about where to start your new Incorporate physical activity into your life. Get healthy. excercise plan and creating your lifestlye. Find information about where to start your new www.changecollegelifestyle.com excercise plan and creating your lifestlye. www.changecollegelifestyle.com

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Michigan 15 in 20 Michigan students do do not not get get recommended the recommended excercise about of excercise

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26.2%

Obese and overweight students at U of M Obese and overweight students at U of M Obese and overweight students at U of M

26.2%

73.8% 73.8% 73.8%

figure 1 Graph showing percent of obese and overweightStudents studentsclassified at U of as M obese

21.2% 21.2%

or overweight who think they Students classified as obese are healthy or overweight who think they Students classified as obese are healthy or overweight who think they are healthy

21.2%

78.8% 78.8% 78.8%

figure 2 U of M students who do not get recommended amount Graph showing percent of students classified as obese/overweight who doof U of M students who do not excercise not consider themselves unhealthy 74.9%

get recommended amount of U of M students who do not excercise get recommended amount of excercise

74.9%

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With the help of UM RecSports and with support from the Division of Student Affairs, I have conducted my own survey of the UM student body to find out which areas of overall health are most important to them. I found that while most students find physical appearance to be their biggest motivating factor, they are still interested in other benefits as well. Looking at a cross section of 70 students, 82.8% of participants were motivated to improve their overall health3. While my own survey was not as extensive as the university wide survey, it helps to support the claims made in my project.

15 in 20 Michigan students do recommended 15notinget 20 the Michigan students

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figure 3 Graph showing students at U of M who do not excercise enough

1 Surgeon General, “Overweight and Obesity: Health Consequences” (Office of Surgeon General, 2007) 2 American College Health Association, “Summary of the 2006 National College Health Assessment” (University of Michigan Health Services, 2006) 3 Mouns, Erica “Student Wellness” (Winter, 2011)

2 American College Health Association, “Summary of the 2006 National College Health Assessment” (University of Michigan Health Services, 2006)

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Society and Culture

what your body needs...

Trends are coming about in our society to help fight child obesity. Jamie Oliver and his “Food Revolution” (figure 4) was one of my inspirations for choosing health issues for my project. His goal is to show people that they can make small changes in their own lives while campaigning for bigger changes on a global level. One of his main goals is to reform school cafeterias and offer healthier options to the youth of our country.

Studying for midterms and finals is one of the most stressful times in a college student’s semester. Students can give their bodies an extra boost by choosing particular foods during this time. The right choices can help them stay more alert and retain information better. I have looked at different foods that students could benefit from. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the brain and healthy carbs turn into brain energy 6. This poster puts the idea of healthy eating into the audience’s heads, but it is up to them to explore further into how the maximum benefits can be reached.

Another movement focusing on childhood obesity is the Let’s Move! Campaign started by Michelle Obama (figure 5). These campaigns focus on a younger demographic than my project, but they still provided a context for my project in our society.

See the process for this poster to the right.

Give yourself an extra advantage on the next test

Psychology of Change

what your body needs for studying?

A large part of the research behind this project included looking at the motivation that people have to create change in their lives. After interviewing several people who have made drastic changes in their lifestyle, as well as looking at my own experience, it has become clear that in most cases you can point to a single event that caused the change. People’s stories included experiences with physical pain. At a certain point our bodies take over and will no longer allow us to go on living the way we do. In addition to pain, other motivational factors that dawned on individuals in the moment of change included the influence of outsiders, a sense of responsibility to others, fear, and (probably the most common) physical appearance. While health issues in social culture have focused more on the medical downside to obesity, it is important to recognize that the majority of people care more about the physical aspects than the medical aspects. Maybe this is another pitfall of our culture, but regardless, it needs to be taken into account for this project.

Good carbs take time to break down and turn into energy for your brain. Whole Grain Bread

Brown Rice

Oatmeal

Whole Wheat Pasta

find more info: www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource

Beans

In dealing with the psychology behind decision-making and the effectiveness of campaigns, there are two different approaches that I experimented with. In Don Norman’s book Emotional Design, he introduces visceral, behavioral, and reflective design. Visceral design draws upon the “powerful emotional signals” that humans naturally get from our environments 4. Behavioral design focuses on the function of a product. Reflective design does not need the function to be immediately recognizable, but after being explained once it can be reflected upon and appreciated 5.

what your body needs for studying?

figure 3 Food Revolution, jamieoliver.com

DO YOU KNOW what your body needs to study?

figure 4 Let’s Move! Campaign. Image from letsmove.gov

4 Norman, Donald A. Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things (New York, 2004) 65 5 Norman 85.

Eat good carbohydrates that take time to break down and turn into energy for your brain. Switch your morning bagel to 100% whole wheat and look for colorful foods to eat all day long

6 Smith, Nichole. “Student Health” (Texas, 2010)

find more info: www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource

Eat good carbohydrates that take time to break down and turn into energy for your brain.

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Design Influences

what is a serving...

Major influences in the progression of my own design style have included Paula Scher, Wolfgang Weingart, and projects from previous IP students.

There is a lack of knowledge about how much food our bodies actually need. Most students overeat because they are not aware of serving/portion sizes or how much their stomach holds. According to chapter 2 of the Agricultural Fact Book published by the USDA, Americans eat 75% more food than our bodies actually need 7. “American’s activity levels have not kept pace with their increase in calorie consumption” 8.

After hearing Paula Scher give a lecture in 2009 as part of the Penny Stamps series, I have continued to use her designs as inspiration in most of my work. I am especially interested in the use of expressive typography by Scher (figure 6) and deconstructive typography by Weingart (figure 7). I am inspired to manipulate the typography while still conveying a message to the audience.

This poster asks the audience to think about the amount that they are consuming. It is important to know when you are actually hungry and when your body needs energy. Intake of food should be balanced by your physical activity, something that people often forget.

I have looked at past IP projects for a context of how to balance the importance of the design with the content. Kimmy Linux’s project ‘Faith in Type’ from 2010 (figure 8) used graphic design to express students’ stories about their faith. She did not compromise her design aesthetics when conveying her subject matter. Design can be a part of the content without overpowering the message. This gave me inspiration to incorporate design as part of the content in my own project.

See the process for this poster to the right.

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figure 6 Paula Schere Make it Bigger

we consume almost 75% more calories than our bodies need

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Switch your bagel to 100% whole wheat and look to add colorful foods to your lunch and dinner to help your body stay awake studying

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figure 7 Wolfgang Weingart Typography

figure 8 Kimmy Linux Faith in Type

7 U.S. Department of Agriculture “Profiling Food Consumption in America.” (2002) 8 U.S. Department of Agriculture 14.

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Creative Process

what you’re putting in your body

Working from Don Norman’s explanation of design levels, I explored two extreme ways that I could approach this project. My initial designs were meant to be information graphics, providing a substantial amount of information in a poster format. These could be categorized as behavioral with a large emphasis on function (figures 9-10).

Restaurant meals have up to 18% more calories in them than is displayed in the nutrition facts 9. In my own experience, most students eat out at some type of restaurant between two and five times a week. The convenience of grabbing food at a restaurant fits well into the student lifestyle, but the convenience comes at a cost to their bodies.

After developing initial sketches for this idea, I then changed directions completely and focused on the visceral aspect. Considering the visual effects that poor health has on the body, I decided to show what the fat inside the body would look like outside of the body. Referencing medical images, I created my own version of human fat. I then photographed this fat and designed magazine spreads (figure 10).

This poster encourages students to increase their knowledge of nutrition by cooking their own food more often. By making their own meals they will know exactly what they are putting in their body, rather than leaving it up to the chefs at restaurants. Once the decision is made to create this change, the next step would be to learn more about options for grocery stores on campus and how to cook easy recipes. While this option for cooking works better for students living off campus, even students living in the dorm have do-it-yourself options in the dining hall.

While this avenue did seem to be effective, it bordered on the edge of rude and offensive. It insults the viewer for their actions rather than encouraging them to make better decisions. This is not the type of design that I wanted. Instead, I have chosen to design closer to behavioral and reflective. My posters now convey less information than the info-graphics and instead encourage the audience to think about their own behavior and reflect on their lifestyle choices.

See the process for this poster to the right.

Give your body what is needs for you to keep going. Load up on CARBS!

what you’re putting in your body

Carbohydrates give your body energy. Use it for late night studying

Whole Grain Bread Oatmeal

Sweet Potatoes

Look for color in your food!

Brown Rice

Restaurant meals have 18% more calories than displayed in the nutrition facts, on average

GOOD CARBS

Whole Wheat Pasta

Beans

Soda Pop

Bad carbs are burned up quickly into sugar which turns into fat and weigh gain... Good carbs take time to break down and turn into energy for your brain. Keep studying!

White Pasta

bad carbs

White Tortillas

cook your own

Do You Know

Cramming for Finals?

Burger Buns

White Sandwich Bread

Cookies

what you’re putting in your body?

figure 9

What inspires andand What inspires motivates youyou as an motivates as an individual individual

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77 Incorporating your Incorporating your skills andand interests intointo skills interests your life’s work your life’s work

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Recognize thethe Recognize interdependence of of interdependence man andand earth for for man earth resources resources

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What inspires and a fully engaged Incorporating your thethe What inspires and Live Live a fully engaged Recognize Incorporating your Recognize motivates youyou as as an an lifelife and interests interdependence of of skills motivates skills and interests interdependence individual your life’s work man and earth forfor into individual into your life’s work man and earth resources resources

DO YOU KNOW

what you’re putting in your body?

figure 10

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ve ha ls ea ries e t m lo th an ca in ur re yed sta mo la ts Re % isp fac 18 an d ition th utr n

what do you put in your body?

*The average student consumes fast food more often than they eat a piece of fruit*

figure 11

9 Press, The Associated “CBC News - Health - Restaurant Food Calories Higher than Advertised.” (2010)

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Final Posters

how to balance...

I have chosen five questions to ask in my posters. Each question focuses on one area of health that relates to the student lifestyle. The posters will function as a series that can be viewed together or separately. It gives reference to a triptych, a tri-part series of panels. The common elements in each poster are the beginning of the question, “Do You Know”, and the symbol of a question mark. The question mark acts as a signifier, connecting each poster and giving the audience a visual clue that the content of each poster will be similar.

An important aspect of wellness is learning how to balance different areas of your life. It is unrealistic to assume that someone can live on a diet and exercise every single day. A healthy lifestyle is about balancing your food intake, physical activity, social behavior, school, and work responsibilities. Balance is the most important word to remember when it comes to health and wellness. While there is not a specific fact provided in this poster, it ties back to each of the previous posters. Over time, the audience will have seen each individual poster and they will be able connect them as a series. This will allow them to interpret the ‘balance’ poster as an overall concept for the entire project.

Proposal for display The campaign will be displayed across the University of Michigan; north, central, and south campuses. This will include bus stops and public areas where posting is available (figures 12-13). The distribution will be in partnership with Rec Sports and University Health Services as both departments are focused on student health. The project will be expanded to include handouts such as small flyers and bookmark type materials that students can take home. The next step in the campaign would be to offer a website that includes additional information on each topic for students who want to make changes to their lifestyles.

See the process for this poster to the right.

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