Kumeyaay Artifact Packaging
Stage 1 Assessing Goals & Objections
The goal of the project being to create a compelling product concept means that I was challenged to "encapsulate the unique qualities of our region." Being that our university SDSU is based on Kumeyaay land I felt it would be very significant to create and package a piece that is representative of this powerful tribe and their land. I created a piece of pottery that encapsulates the native culture of San Diego and Mexico using natural clay derived from our region.
Stage 3 Visual and Historic Research and Inspiration
To reflect the pot's purpose of being a traditional Kumeyaay household vessel I wanted to reflect a modern twist within the packaging. I decided to create the shape of a typical house you would see in present day. The Kumeyaay used pottery that was often unglazed for storing dry food or water along with cooking and containing items.
Stage 4 Text Exploration and Digital Creations
During this stage of the project I discovered that a condensed san serif condensed font would establish a clean, organic and neutral portrayal of the Kumeyaay name and land acknowledgement. In addition I created and included an abstract illustration of a Kumeyaay vessel.
Stage 4 Prototype and Assembly
Stage 5 Final Product Mockup
Stage 2 Hand Drawn Sketches
Upon research I found that a neutral and organic color palette is beneficial to reflect the significance of land and nature to the Kumeyaay Tribe. In addition I found that the pottery used within the Kumeyaay tribe was based off organic bulbous forms and elongated lipped spouts.
During this stage of the project I was able to create a prototype using a flexible cardboard and configure the dimensions, folding and display arrangement of the box. I based the layout of the box on a traditional shaped home in modern day so that I could symbolize the tradition Kumeyaay drinking vessel within the box.
