Response from Greenpeace Canada

A nice surprise for our search for collaborating experts, after yesterday's inquiry email, I received a quick response from Sarah King, Greenpeace Canada. I'm really glad to see some interest in the project, and pretty excited about interviewing a professional in this field.

Sarah is a Oceans campaigner from Greenpeace Canada. She's agreed to help out and provide some insights regarding wasteful and awful fishing practices. It would be extremely helpful to work with someone who's actively participating in international campaigns and initiatives. We can perhaps find out how our design project can actually contribute and help to raise awareness on shark-finning.

We will soon set up a date for a short and casual interview.

I am thankful for her response :) now it's up to me to plan out specific questions for the interviews in order to execute a thorough research process.

Looking for Experts

It's time to look for research experts that are actively participating in shark related campaign & initiatives. I stumbled upon a short PDF document put together by Shark Trust, UK. It gives a pretty concise and accurate presentation of what's happening around the world.

To view the document, please click HERE.


I contacted different international organizations that are currently involved in shark-related conservation projects & campaigns, including public media organizations, and non-profit community collective. I emailed each source inquiring for an opportunity to get a short interview with an expert that's involved in shark related projects, just to get an understanding regarding the topic. However, due to the scale of these international organizations, I am not sure I would be able to get a timely response. But still! Let's be hopeful! :)


Here's a list of the organizations & individuals I contacted:

1. Sea Shepherd, USA

2. Discovery Channel (Animal Planet), USA

3. Shark Trust, UK

4. Greenpeace, USA

5. Wildaid, USA

6. Lisa Ling (CNN Correspondont for Planet in Peril)

Japan makes shark fin substitute

Nikko Yuba Seizo Co., A Japanese food processing company speciallizing in sharkfin trade has created shark fin substitution targeted to launch in major cities in China.

Made from pork gelatin, the substitution sharkfin is marketed to replace the real shark fin. Shark fins are considered as one of the highest-delicacies in Chinese cusine and a couple high-end restaurants in Japan.
From article:

"The price of the gelatin-made fin costs only one-tenth of the real one, or about 1,500 yen ($15) per kilogram when sold wholesale, he (company director) said.Controversy over China's appetite for shark's fin rose last year when the country's most famous sports personality, basketball star Yao Ming, called for a boycott of the dish to save the fish from extinction. Some species of shark are now endangered."

Full Story Here: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/10/19/shark-fin-animal.html?category=animals&guid=20071019141500&dcitc=w19-502-ak-0000

"The Most Effetive Method"

I think sometimes during the process of solving a design problem, we tend to lose sight of our intention, due to our tendency of holding on specific design approach, direction, or medium.
Initially, my ultimate goal of this project was to promote awareness and to educate as much as possible. However, I lost sight of that, because I was holding onto the idea of using 'exhibition design' to communicate my theme.

During Our sub-group discussion on Thursday, I re-evaluate my chosen method by questioning the main concern: How can I bring the issue to the table? To the target population?

Exhibition design may be grand, ambitious, or exciting. However, this may not be appropriate to apply to my design theme. I want to address the issue by educating the younger generations. More specifically, children in their elementary age. They have a higher capacity to adapt change, take in new information. The idea is that, the design solution will allow them to learn through interaction. The more significant impact comes after that, which is allowing the children to influence the adults around them. :)

So I guess, something more applicable and appropriate, would be to come up with a design solution, that's interactive and engaging for children to play with. Maybe something they can use in a class setting?

Collaboration with organizations or educational systems may be helpful in getting co-creators.
(elementary school, Science World, SUCCESS, Wild animal related organization campaign activities, etc.)

Collaboration with Lulu

As a result of my brainstorm session, I realized this project will have a large emphasis on visual elements in the design outcome. Since I don't come from a communication design background, I figured it would be appropriate and extremely helpful to collaborate with another design student at Emily Carr.

I am very fortunate, and lucky to have found Lulu Chen as my collaborative design partner for this project. Lulu is a Communication Design Student at Emily Carr. I am still trying to figure out how to put her as a second editor for this blog, so I will leave her bio for her to publish.

This gives me a lot more confidence and support, knowing that I will have the opportunity to collaborate with someone I have always admired. It would be a great learning experience for sure! :)

Really, who am I talking to?

During the 1-min project direction pitch on Thursday, several suggestions and concerns have been brought to my attention.

1. Couple classmates suggest that it would be extremely helpful to get some insight from people who are actively participating in the shark fin trade (eg. fishermen, social activists, campaign organizers, etc.)

2. The relevance and importance of educating the public, how important it is to have sharks in our eco-system. (Why we need to save them?)

3. Targeting the RIGHT group of population to get the most impact using the appropriate form of design language.

4. Interactive element does not only include visual impact, it needs to involve ACTIVE LEARNING, and PARTICIPATION of the audience.

5. How can we compete and alter a cultural tradition that has been around for generations? What concepts and ideas do we need to suggest?

6. Who would benefit from this? How can you convince people that they are the ones who can benefit from our project?

7. It's ambitious, in the way that it challenges a social behaviour. Our responsibility, is to suggest a possible alternative, using the most suitable approach to ensure our message gets acrossed.

Exhibition Design?

Idea: Raising awareness on shark-finning

Concept: To expose concern & solution using design language

Form & Approach: Using interactive design element to allow audience to engage in public setting
(Learn by playing)


I am interested in learning about exhibition design, since I haven't had the experience or the opportunity to do so in the previous semesters. My first concept and design approach is leaning very much so in the direction of exhibition design. It would be fun! and the issue of scale and visuals would be a great challenge!

PLANET IN PERIL Documentary

I strongly recommend everybody to watch the CNN documentary, PLANET IN PERIL. It is a series of research reports done on serious global issues that have been neglected and ignored by the public. Most of the topics discussed are either out of sight, or out of contact. People should definitely know about what's going on around us, on this planet.

Of course, this may sound like a cliche, but we have done way too much damage to our planet. This documentary will definitely make you re-think, re-connect, and re-evaluate our impact, both as individuals, and as a collective.

The segment on Shark-finning put me in deep shock, for a really long time. Being born in Taiwan, I could not believe my home country would participate or even take up such a major role in something this brutal, unethical, and cold. Sure, I understand economic pressure, cultural tradition, consumer demands and political survival, but this still makes me sad. We have no right, absolutely no right to do what we do. Some people argue that this is all part of the global foo chain. I really doubt that mass massacre simply for the benefit of ingestive pleasure can be considered as necessary.

I hope anyone that has come across this blog, can just spend a couple minutes of their time, to understand this cause, and my intent. You can google, use wiki to read about what is shark-finning.

To visit the CNN Planet in Peril segment on Shark Finning, please click HERE.