HErron & Yonsei Team
Herron
Leilani
Team Lead
Yonsei
Communication
Maci
Research
Tyler
Design
Cole
Rachel
Rafa
Ryann
Research
Project Brief
Objective
For this project, we narrowed our focus to food access in Indianapolis, IN and Songdo, South Korea. As a class we explored food insecurity among these regions, examining factors such as nutritional needs, the prevalence of food deserts, mobility and transportation challenges, and the role of social services.
Our goal is to create a infographic poster surrounding the connection between nutrition and physical activity and to provide our older adult population with easy to remember information when it comes to both diet and low-impact exercises in their everyday life.
Timeline
5 Weeks
October 29, 2024- December 5, 2024
Research
Made initial accessible communication for each team member through Zoom and WhatsApp, this made setting up outside of class meetings and expectations easier. During our first initial meeting we created an organized document file to compile all research information for the posters. Each team member established steady communication and time-based arrangements for assets to be completed by.
Communication
Rafa experienced accessing relevant information about Korea in English as a significant challenge. To overcome language barriers, she utilized multiple search engines, such as Naver instead of Google, and relied on DeepL to translate content she couldn’t fully understand on her own.
Yonsei UNIVERSITY Research
John Boner Neighborhood Center
2236 E 10th St, Indianapolis, IN 46201
Most group members in Herron had the opportunity to tour the John Boner Neighborhood Center which is located and is main focus is assisting community members on the Near East side in Indianapolis. The non-profit organization uses grants to give community members access to fresh food, meal planning, tax filing assistance, affordable gym access, housing assistance, and health screenings. These things are especially crucial for our older adult community especially those with a more limited income and health risks.
While touring the Boner Center, we were also able to tour their senior living complex, which provided affordable housing, communal spaces like kitchens, libraries, and a laundry facility to those who lived in the building. This provided a perfect opportunity for us to view where the best place to place our posters as well as see what and how information is provided to residents in the complex.
Boner Center Research
General Research
For adults aged 65 and older, the CDC recommends engaging in 150 minutes of moderate physical activity each week, with activities like swimming, biking, or walking being ideal. Aerobic exercises, done for
30–45 minutes, help improve cardiovascular health and overall fitness. Post-workout nutrition is crucial for muscle recovery and growth, so it's beneficial to consume a combination of protein and carbohydrates. A healthy diet supports brain function, heart health, muscle tone, digestion, mental well-being, and immunity. It's important to prioritize balanced meals—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—along with healthy snacks, while minimizing processed foods by opting for organic options to reduce exposure to harmful preservatives and chemicals.
United States Guidelines for Older adults
Korea is experiencing a demographic shift from an aging society to an aged society, with the elderly population growing significantly. However, regular physical activity is not widely practiced among Korean seniors. Exercise offers diverse benefits, enhancing both physical and mental health. For older adults, recommended types of exercise include aerobic activities to improve cardiovascular health, balance training to reduce fall risks, and strength training to maintain muscle mass and mobility. Regular physical activity can also help counteract age-related loss of appetite. Additionally, seniors should focus on an ideal balance of carbohydrates, fats, and protein in their meals to support overall health and well-being.
Korean Guidelines for Older adults
Boner Center visit
Moodboards
First Drafts
During this phase of prototyping our posters, we wanted to focus on accessibility within our posters. Since we were focusing on an older population, we wanted to use bigger and bolder typefaces as well as colors that complement one another. However, these designs were falling flat and we had trouble with finding a cohesive theme that went along with the topic of ‘food and exercise synergy.’
Second Drafts
In our second prototyping phase, we went back to the drawing board when it came to what we wanted our theme to be. Much of our research talked about low impact activity and how beneficial walks could be for the elderly population. Unfortunately, none of our designs were cohesive enough to pinpoint the theme which lead us back to brainstorming what we could use to show enough energy and also capture the attention with well thought out information for the community in mind.
Third Drafts
After going back to the drawing board, we decided that going for a type focused poster would be the best option for us. We also wanted to capture the idea of motion when it came to our posters with our focus being how exercise and nutrition work together for the body.
We also wanted to make our Korean poster as cohesive as the poster for the United States audience. Our challenge with this poster was to ensure that the information provided was translated correctly and that we also had characters in the correct formatting for our counterpart community. Our researcher at Yonsei made a major effort to make sure our type was laid out in the correct position as well as gave us a complete translation of the important information we needed to design the poster.
With our current iteration, we did include the idea of motion but it’s almost overkill with the idea of motion. The US poster is too difficult to read with everything happening in the background and the hierarchy and use of grid is not correct. For the Korean poster, it was almost left in the dust when it came to the idea of motion. There is still too much going on and the use of grid is not functioning as well as we would have expected.
At this point, design roles in our team have been adjusted to bring new ideas
to the forefront.
