Here’s the link to a map we did a few weeks ago showing the relationship of Greensgrow to other food in within only a few blocks of their location. It’s interesting to see just how close they are to a highly traveled area with a lot of access to fast food and chain restaurants. Even a 1% increase in their business from more visibility could make a big difference.
See the map HERE
We had the semi-final round of presentations today for this FarmPhilly project. We do have some content to add and editing to do before we submit the final on monday 
The next step was to go test out our idea on-site at Greensgrow. We did a full-scale prototype and cut the pieces from a 4′x8′ piece of tyvek. They still have not provided us with proper graphics so we left them blank for now. It was a dark and dreary morning but they were still highly visible. However, they need to be larger and we need to be strategic with how their logo and our unifying graphics are placed so that the street signs are not obstructing the view.
Greensgrow really likes the idea of cutting the 6 triangles from one print and likes the idea of using cables or rope to secure the banners. They like how they will have more of an ‘urban’ or ‘industrial’ aesthetic and will fit with their existing system. 
After taking considering the feedback given by Greensgrow, we had to figure out how to make something highly visible, non-rectangular, that would be inside of the fence, not interfere with walking patterns and be low-cost. We soon realized that a triangular shape would work well but needed to get some sense of reference for how it would look so we built a small model. We tried a couple shapes and soon noticed that we could potentially get 6 banners from only 1 large print. This would reduce the overall cost and material but still yield high visibility.
The challenge of making a unified graphic system becomes harder when different locations have different budget restraints. We are proposing 3 different options of displaying the same graphics. These are: full-color large format printing, a paint by numbers system and inserting objects into the fence. So, although the appearance may vary, a customer will still recognize the graphics.
We’ve been piecing together our presentation for the past 6 weeks and still have a lot of revising to do. Here is where it is as of yesterday.
Since our project is a proposal for graphic system in the urban environment I started looking at interesting graphics. Everything from billboards, wheat-pasting, graffiti and stickers were considered. A few that stood out are a living billboard by McDonald’s with actual lettuce growing on it, reverse graffiti, chain link fence art, moss graffiti and more..
We’ve established two local farms to collaborate with on this project. Together, with their feedback and input, we will be able to fulfill the requirements of the project brief and will have places to test our project. We realize that different clients will have different needs and wants. So, our challenge is creating a system that can suit a range of constraints including size, material, cost and time.
Greensgrow Farms located in the Kensington area of Philadelphia was founded in 1998 on a brownfield where a steel factory once stood. They have a successful Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, offer educationl services and is a nationally acclaimed model of what an urban farm can be.
Mill Creek Farm is located in West Philadelphia and is a non-profit farm focused on education and getting good food to the nearby community.
