Secondary Research

I researched the Eden Project, looking at their own website First. The Eden project is a charity and social enterprise as well as offering days out for fun. Based in Cornwall, the enterprise works on many different matters. Some of these include: People and learning, Places and generation, Climate and environment, Plants and gardens, and Music and art. A lot of the energy produced in the Project goes towards many different areas. These are:

• Running transformational, social and environmental projects in Cornwall and around the world. 
• creating unforgettable learning experiences for students.
• Doing valuable research into plants and conservation.
• Making sure they run their operations in the greenest way possible. 

Being a social enterprise means that they reinvest their profits into the charity's educational projects. 

The history of the Eden Project:

In March 2000, the project was at last fully funded. Vital grants, loads and sponsorship arrangements meant that they now had the 50% match funding needed to secure the generous millennium Commission grant promised back in 1997. Finance Director Gay Coley, now MD, signed a contract with NatWest's Dennis Spencer. 

In March 2001, Eden officially opened on the 17th.  

In January 2004, Eden started an international programme helping school children create gardens, where they can look at food, environment and citizenship issues. 

In June 2006, the Queen visited Eden. She said: 'I am confident that the Eden Project will continue to encourage a better understanding of the planet on which we live, to offer a vision of hope for the future, and to inspire us all to work to make this world a better place for everyone'. I feel that this is very inspirational to the workers at Eden and to the people of all ages who visit. I feel that by generating a certain slogan or sentence that my character could say would stick with the children and encourage them even further. It would have to be quirky and fun to attract the younger audience.

What is an Eco Farm?
I looked at a website called http://www.eco-farm.org/ which told me the definition of what an eco farm is.
'The Ecological Farming Association nurtures healthy and just farms, food systems, communities and environment by bringing people together for education, alliance building and advocacy.'

Eco Farms and Advertising Campaigns:

I also researched different eco farms around the UK, gaining knowledge and a better understanding of the client's surroundings and what my brief includes.
I looked at a place called BeechenHill Farm, looking at their website to gain research. The organic farm is situated on the south facing hill above the picturesque village in Ilam, on the Staffordshire, Derbyshire border in the Peak District National Park. There mission is 'To please you, so that you return, in a way that pleases the planet and pleases us too'. There is also a place to stay, making it easier for the visitors to see what organic projects the farm work on.
Seeing as I am focusing my brief on the younger audience, I looked at the 'BeechenHill For Children' page. This showed me what activities the children could get up to while at the farm. They were very energetic activities, easy to understand and play, making it fun and enjoyable for the kids, as well as learning a lot. Some of these include:

• Making a grass trumpet,
• Watch the milking,
• Rope swinging,
• Building a den and
• doing a night time nature walk.

All these are fun for the children to enjoy and they are learning, which is one of the main matters of this farm. By watching the milking, the kids are intrigued into a different culture, and watching it can be more effective and interesting for them. I love the idea of having fun activities for the children to do as it captures their attention, they are learning and it is a new experience for them. 

This is a map for the children and the families, giving them a little understanding about the farm and the layout. The writing is funky, however I feel that simple works best as this is how they learn to write. Therefore, they might get confused and lose concentration. The different shades of green help the children to understand what areas they are visiting.

There are a five areas that the farm covers. These are Dairy Farming, Sheep Farming, Field Work, Sustainability and Organics. These are good topics for the children to learn about, as the can do various activities to make the learning more effective. The colours are bright and the cartoon images are very recognisable, which stand out more to the children. However, the big words used will need the adults co-operation as the younger children may not understand and therefore their learning wont be as effective. 

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I also looked at Urban Farm and their website. It looks very fun and definitely catches the younger audience. Based in London, the eco farm inspires children to be 'passionate and responsible conservationists'. This has always been their goal, as well as getting the next generation to fall in love with nature. I looked at this website as it concentrates on inspiring the younger children, which is what I am focusing on. On the website, they stated 'demonstrate engaging children in an exciting and interactive way, as we do, produces a passion and understanding beyond what any text book can produce'. This shows that by doing the actions themselves, the children understand and memorise the information easier. I can incorporate this when I think about what activities they can do, and what information they can learn that will be effective in the amount of time that they complete the activity.

This image is the character that was designed for Urban Farm. It is pretty bright, however the facial expression doesn't really look warm and welcoming even though it is smiling. The type is fun, and is co-ordinated with the colour of the horse/donkey. Me and a few others couldn't work out exactly what the image of the animal was, therefore this could put the parents and some of the children off from visiting the farm. I am not very attracted to this design as it doesn't look very creative and doesn't create a smiley welcome. 

I also researched Ecoweek.org.uk. This is an organisation in mid-Wales and/or Hagg farm in the Peak district. They are a non-profit making organisation, who run residential holidays for children. Children enjoy 7 days of activities learning how to save the planet, playing games and a lot more. Some of the activities include:

• Walks in the hills
• Swimming in Machynlleth
• Making and testing wind turbines
• Exploring the woods blindfolded

These activities would excite the children, get their blood pumping, working, learning and having fun at the same time. One of my main aims of the character design for the children's' area is so that they learn and take in most of the information that they are shown. 21% of the information told to a child actually stays in their memory, therefore by creating a way where they do various activities to learn about the topics, they memorise at least 82%.  

These are the 2 logos that were designed for the organisation:

I love the first design as it is funky, shows interest and shows the audience what they are trying to achieve. The younger audience would be more enthusiastic and excited if they saw this design as it interacts with the children and the environment.  

 This design is very simple, however by using 2 various tones of the same colour, it looks more professional and gains the adults interest more than the younger audience. The weight of the type is very simple but it stands out to the crowd. 

The last farm I looked at is Mead Open Farm, as this is a very well-known place for children to come and play/learn with the animals. They offer time with animals, feeding them and learning about what they are etc, and a play area. I looked at the activities that they offer the children. Some that stand out to me are 'Giant's Rock' and 'Outdoor Log Play', as they are very outdoorsy, interactive games, so the children could learn about rocks and volcanoes, and how trees are grown etc. This could be a very effective method for the children to learn quickly as well as having fun. 

The map/advertising campaign leaflet is aimed at children as the images and colour text boxes will make them interested. By including various amounts of body copy, using a smaller point size and bigger words, adults are also interested to find out about the farm. The layout doesn't look very professional, as this would be too boring to the younger audience. Therefore, by designing a colourful, jam-packed leaflet, it looks fun for the children. The type used it very simple, in black so it is easy to read on the coloured background. The cartoon-like illustration of the farm makes it look fun and interactive with the children. It is also easy to understand and follow, which is needed if I am to aim my character and poster the younger generation. 

The logo/character design is of a shaggy cow, looking pretty happy about itself. The black outline makes the illustration look simple, therefore easy to create on various objects such as gift bags, marbles or billboards. The type used is funky and stands out from the green, white and purple circular background. The design is pretty simple, however it stands out to the target market. 

Mascots

I looked at famous mascots aimed mostly at the younger audience, as this is who I am aiming my character at. Firstly, I looked at McDonalds, as most children are attracted to fast food and fun toys etc. The mascot is a yellow-orange and red clown. I dislike the clown figure as I don't like clowns and the face looks pretty freaky, however to younger children clowns are meant to be funny, clumsy characters. Therefore, this would appeal to the children, showing them a fun place to eat. 

Next, I looked at Kelloggs, as the tiger comes across as smiley, healthy and fun. Therefore, this would encourage the children to eat kelloggs and eat healthily. Looking at the tiger, the arms are open, suggesting an open welcome, welcoming the children in with a huge smile on his face. To incorporate this idea in my own 3D character, I could make sure that they are welcoming, show kindness in the expressions that they hold and make them fun.

M&M's are a brand for everyone, and by creating 5 colourful cartoon versions of the chocolates, makes them look fun to eat. The facial expressions and the way that they hold themselves makes them look fun and quirky, making the children interested in them. Giving the characters human features gets the children's interests, making them look different and funny.

Pudsey Bear is a very well known character for Children In Need. The colours used are very simple, and the thick, black outline creates a bold finish. By using yellow as the main colour, it creates a warm welcome for the children as it is a happy colour, as well as the expression on the bear's face. By giving my 3D character a black or coloured outline, it makes it stand out and looks bold, enticing the target audience to find out what it's all about. 

Children's Programmes 

I also looked at famous children TV shows and characters, such as 'Bill and Ben' and The Tin Man from The Wizard Of Oz. Bill and Ben were made from plant pots. Even though they are not recyclable materials, it connects with the eco farm theme. 

 The tin man is made from the recyclable material, tin. By creating a human character created out of tin, this effectively grabs the children's attention, as it is unique and strange. By adding oil to the Tin Man, this stops the squeaky noises, therefore to create interaction between the children and the farm character, the children would have to add water to the flower in order to make it grow, and learn quicker, for example.