Ruben MejiaGRPH 421

Water Systems

PR CESS

PROJECT ONE

Visual Journal

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While researching and taking pictures for my visual journal I noticed that the moajority of pictures I came across related to entertainment. While other countries struggle to get clean water, here in America we have a surplus of water and use it as a form of entertainment. While some cities have to deal with yearly droughts, other cities like Las Vegas have numerous water parks and pools located throughout the area. For my project I originally wanted to take a look at water in the form of entertainment. I wanted to further research how water is used as a form of entertainment and in what areas it is most common in. We often only take into consideration things such as watering our lawns as a manner in which we are wasting water, but do we ever stop and think about how we go to the pools during times of droughts, or how families take their kids to waterparks as a form of entertainment. Do water parks have restrictions during times of droughts, and how does that affect them, if at all? These were things I wanted to further research.

Visual Journal

Before starting the design process I had to research the kidney and investigate its correlation with water. My research was focused mainly on the kidney and how vital it is for those organs to function correctly. In my research lead me to discover the importance of consuming water in order for the organs to function properly. Our body is filled with toxins and with the absence of water the kidneys are unable to flush out the toxins properly. This can cause the toxins to flow into other areas of the body. While my focus was solely on the kidneys, I did discover other important roles that water plays on the body. Water helps in digestion, lubrication of the bones, and treat other common chronic ailments.

RESEARCH

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Before the completion of my Zines I gathered a number of preliminary sketches to help aid in my designs. My designs were meant to stand alone without the aid of text. My first sketch on the left hand side was based off of the game Operation. The concept of the game is to remove particular ailments without touching the metal edges of the openings. I changed the concept replacing those openings with a water bottle shape to stress the importance of supplying water to those areas.

Zine Sketches5

Like most designs do, my ideas changed from the preliminary sketches to the final images. The scene of the hospital bed with an IV was changed to just an IV because I felt individuals would misinterpret the design and assume the IV is related to another injury besides dehydration. The scene on the right is an x-ray with a light layer of water, representing the water that is constantly throughout our body. There is a small kidney stone meant to warn the audience about the dangers of not drinking enough water.

Zine

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While looking for inspiration I spent a lot of time on Google searching for images that would spark an idea.Google Maps pinpoints locations within an area and gives you a brief summary of the location. Since the veins within the kidney resemble roads on a map I thought I decided to place the kidneyinto its own map and use the Google Maps interface to briefly summarize the functions of the kidney. Google Maps makes it easy for an individual to access its content, my idea was to showcase that It can also be easy to discover the functions of the kidney with just a little research. The map would be able to stand alone with the placement of the key on the side making the information easily accessible

Inspiration

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In order to create my map I used a template of Rochester, New York to create the illusion of a kidney. The interstate system of the city encircles the area and happens to form the shape of a kidney. The buildings were transitioned into a red hue to indicate the red blood cells throughout the body. The brown colored river is meant to represent the toxins that flow through the body and kidney. It was then placed into the Google Maps interface like originally planned. Locations were seperated by functions that the kidney provides in no particular order. The final image was strong enough to stand on its own, waterways were added to showcase the water that travels throughout the kidneys to flush out the toxins. The Google key was subtracted and the map entirely removed from the Google Map interface.

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PROJECT TWO

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My second map was focused on the toxins that the kidneys help elimi-nate. I wanted to continue using the metaphor of the city and its similari-ties to the way the kidneys function. Graffiti is seen as toxins to a city and I knew I wanted to incorporate graffiti in my new map. I researched a variety of graffiti designs to help in the process.

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Inspiration

Originally I researched Graffiti with the though of creating my own to relay the similarities. I had an idea of what I wanted to do and incorporate, but after only a few sketches I went back to research the variety of graffiti and its techniques. Since I was trying to relay the similarities between graffiti in cities, and toxins in kidneys with limited text, I wanted to incorporate a city skyline to help with this message. During my research I found myself taking a glance at my first map and trying to create a map that would be as strong as it. Eventually I decided to use the same layout but replace the waterways with flowing graffiti to showcase the toxins. The city was changed to black and white to make the colors stand out. Certain areas of the graffiti flow into the city and out of the waterways to show that toxins can flow into other areas of the body if it’s not taken care of.

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