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Where’s the farm?

Charles Broadway

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As a creative from the East coast of England with an engineering degree, MA Industrial Design has encouraged me to imagine new ways to utilise my skillset. Creating products and experiences that respond to complex human centred issues has enabled me to understand how creativity can inspire change. 

Whether it is designing a limited-edition Cornetto packaging to raise awareness of Antarctic developments, or a lunchbox to build empathy between Ministers and the residents of substandard office-to-residential conversions – (you could say I am hungry for change!). I aim to work at the intersection of design and business to engage an audience and challenge the status quo for a positive future. 

As a creative from the East coast of England with an engineering degree, MA Industrial Design has...

‘Where’s the farm?’ is a hydroponic growing kit that teaches us how food is produced. Participants race to grow root vegetables into a curious shape without using soil, by feeding them with nutrients dissolved in water. There is a huge food waste problem in the UK: shoppers have high visual standards regarding what constitutes as the ‘normal’ food shape. Large amounts of produce is sold at a discount or thrown away before making it to the shelves. It is essential that we change perceptions around food so that we can reduce waste without affecting the value of the products.

The hydroponic kit derails common misunderstandings about the relationship between appearance and quality by increasing the exposure and familiarity of unusually shaped vegetables with future consumers from a young age. ‘Where’s the farm?’ encourages the idea that visual appearance is not the most important factor in food production by engaging users with the growing process, and familiarising them with the innovative, new farming methods used in vertical farms.

The globalisation of food systems has caused us to grow more distant from the food we eat. The farms of the future will be more local to us, especially in cities, but they will be indoors.  Therefore, we must learn about the origins of our food in order to understand and appreciate value.

Do you know where your local farm will be in 2040?

Final work

Where's the farm? A hydroponic kit to change perceptions

See the user grow from seed to crop using the 'Where’s the farm?' kit.

Hydroponic kit on table with radish growing inside. Grow light above the crop is illuminated.

Hydroponic Growing

Growing a radish into a curiously shaped mould to increase exposure and familiarity with unusually shaped vegetables and engage with the growing process, to understand the value of food.

The user sets the timer dials on the control box to adjust how long the grow lights and air pump are on for. The corresponding energy usage is displayed, encouraging the user to compete with friends to grow the biggest radish with the least energy.

Boy sitting at table assembling the ‘Where’s the farm?’ kit. Pressing the lid assembly consisting of the transparent mould and green lid, into the tra

Engaging the next generation of consumers with the growing process from a young age

With one configuration for the germination and another for the main growing process, the instructions and design of the kit make it easy for the young consumers of the future to understand and engage with the growing processes used in vertical farms.

Top-down view of all parts of the kit laid out on a tabletop. User is holding instruction manual open to first page.

Learn about the future of farming in urban environments

Assemble the kit yourself and simultaneously learn how the same methods are used to grow produce in our future urban environments.

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Where’s the farm?

‘Where’s the farm?’ is a hydroponic growing kit that teaches us how food is produced. Participants race to grow root vegetables into a curious shape without using soil, by feeding them with nutrients dissolved in water. There is a huge food waste problem in ...

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