Regenerate: AR Campaign

Regenerate responds to overfishing of Cod in the North East Atlantic seas. It is an immersive AR narrative supported by recipe postcards. Through the dual outcomes, it bridges the gap between cause and action.

Timeline: 3 months

Role: Contextual research, Communication design, AR build

Tools: Adobe Aero, Premier Pro

Triggered by a combination of the United Nations’ call to action under SDG 14 and personal scuba diving experiences, I researched overfishing worldwide. When an area is being overfished, it’s not about catching too much, but occurs when the matured breeding stock of an area depletes, further affecting predatory species and underwater flora-fauna.

There are 5 distinct Cod populations (called stocks) that occupy the North East Atlantic seas. They have all been deemed as “fish to avoid” by the MSC in the UK because of the dangerously low stock levels. Further, the southern North Sea population appears to have collapsed entirely, as recent surveys show no rebuilding.

OVERVIEW

What is the Cod Crisis?

Based on my survey, most people buy seafood from supermarkets without knowing where and how it was caught. Although they understand the environmental impact, they feel unsure about what they can do to help.

Further, British consumers have strong preferences for certain types of seafood, with the 'big 5' - haddock, cod, salmon, prawn, and tuna making up the majority (62%) of consumption. A study even found that UK consumers tend to stick to safe and familiar choices when it comes to seafood, driven by habit and risk aversion.

Consumerism & the Seafood Industry

THE CHALLENGE

Keeping in mind the economic benefits of fishing, there is an urgent need not to stop fishing, but to realise sustainable seafood consumption by end users. Thus the goal is to find ways of reducing the demand for a certain species which will in turn have trickle-up effects and reduce the pressure on our oceans.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

INTERACTION DESIGN APPROACH

Communicating Sustainability:

Regenerate is a set of AR labels that aims to enthuse people for sustainable change in the UK. The labels appeal to consumers’ emotional psyche, show the consequences of their purchase and provoke thoughts of grim future impacts.

It is time for visual narratives to provide answers to questions ‘what is going awry and why? what will my future look like? what solutions are there and what can I do?’

Verplank’s 3 IxD questions:

‘How do you do?’ — how does the person you are designing for affect the world? Here, each cod consumer affects demand and blocks policy changes by providing producers with economic motives.
‘How do you feel?’ — what feedback do you want the person you are designing for to receive? Here, consumers should feel guilt, anger and thirst for reparation.
‘How do you know?’ — what does the person you are designing for need to understand to take action? Here, presenting alternatives to consumers by way of reinvented traditional recipes.