The Eden Project
by Hal Scoon
20 years ago, a group of people transformed a China clay pit in Cornwall, UK into a living dome of plants and people. This is a global garden that showcases humanity’s dependence on plants and demonstrates technological ingenuity and the regeneration of landscapes and livelihoods.
Mission: deepening our collective understanding of the interconnections between all living;
protect the Earth and engender environmental harmony and social equity. Fresh air, clean
water, fertile soil, rich biodiversity, a stable climate, and recycling. Exploring how it all
interconnects can transform our understanding of the world and help us see, how together, our actions can make a difference. Eden is a beacon of hope.
protect the Earth and engender environmental harmony and social equity. Fresh air, clean
water, fertile soil, rich biodiversity, a stable climate, and recycling. Exploring how it all
interconnects can transform our understanding of the world and help us see, how together, our actions can make a difference. Eden is a beacon of hope.
The project consists of a series of interconnected biomes (large domes), which house different climates and ecosystems from around the world. These biomes allow visitors to explore and learn about various plant species and environments in a controlled environment. Each biome is filled with a diverse array of plants, including many rare and exotic species.
The project places a strong emphasis on sustainability.
The research I did on the Eden Project affected the way I approached my collage. I wanted to include environmental aspects, such as the containers for rainwater. I also tend to associate bees with environmental health, and I enjoyed the artistic bee statue in the gardens, so I made sure to include it. Knowing that the core building is based on the structure of a sunflower, I put the bee on top of it and that visual ended up being one of my iconic designs.
I received the most positive feedback on the sketches that involved an organic creature, like the bees and the lizard. One of my final designs is very close to one of the thumbnail sketches, and this was also favored in critique due to the way it combines organic and geometrical. The domes gave me the hexagonal pattern.
For the others, I found that anything that didn't use bee motifs I did not particularly like. I could not seem to think of a way to unify other elements of the Eden project in a visually impressive way. Using the domes themselves felt too "obvious", the plants weren't "special" enough, and the statue of the person didn't fit the theme of sustainability I wanted.
So, going forward, I stuck with bees and lizards, implementing a geometrical element.
The feedback I received on these digital roughs primarily involved the stripes on the bees.
For the first bee, I wanted to know which variation of stripes was most liked. I was suggested to find a width somewhere in between the variations I provided.
I was told that the geometrical bee felt a little aggressive, like a wasp or yellow-jacket, rather than a friendly and approachable bumblebee. There was a suggestion to keep the curvy stripes on the geometrical bee.
I was a bit hesitant on the lizard, because I did not particularly favor the design in the first place. But other students said the black lizard had a better contrast than the flipped version.
Going forward, I kept everyone's critique in mind to finalize the designs.
For the geometrical bee, I kept the straight-lined stripes, but I increased the size of the bee's abdomen by making it wider. I believe this was successful in making the bee appear more like a bumblebee without sacrificing the design element that I preferred. This bee was the one I decided to print.
For the second bee, I adjusted the width of the stripes as suggested for a "happy medium". I am especially fond of it because this visual was featured in my original collage, and it turned out to be a good iconic representation of it.
Lastly, I added more hexagons to the lizard. I was intentional in making it asymmetrical, because I thought it was more interesting, and I liked balancing the geometric with the organic shape of the lizard. My classmates seemed to like this addition, so overall I think it turned out the best it could with this direction.
I printed my geometrical bee and put it on my iPad case. I didn't decide where I was going to put the vinyl sticker until it was in my hands. So, if I were to do something differently, I would probably change the vinyl color to yellow so that it would stand out better against my case. That, or I would put the sticker elsewhere.
Overall, making the sticker was fun, and I'm happy with the result!
