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  Pictured above: Rob Van Wyen at Sayville Beach, Sayville.
 


Back to Baysics began with an appreciation for the Great South Bay and a vision of restoring the bay’s many dimensions of greatness. Throughout the years, with the many changes in the Great South Bay area, the bay has itself evolved—in both positive and negative lights. While the bay has offered much to residents, people have slowly begun to forget the widespread importance of the water in their own lives.

Back To Baysics aims to re-educate the Long Island population about the bay’s importance and beauty by raising awareness about bay-related issues through a campaign focusing on the relationships locals have with the bay. With awareness being raised, Back To Baysics hopes to offer ways in which people, as a community, can give back to a body of water that has essentially brought them together.

  
 
 
 



  • About
  • Design Change Initiative
  • Process
  • Resources

"Back to Baysics" began as a senior thesis project at SUNY New Paltz. The project for my BFA in Graphic Design was so much more to me than just a required project. It was an opportunity to combine and utilize three of the passions in my life: design, nature and my ancestry. I grew up on the Great South Bay and the water has greatly influenced my life just as it influenced the six generations of Van Wyens who have lived in Sayville before me. They were amongst the first settlers of West Sayville.

My great-great-great grandfather, Joost Van Wyen, along with his wife and 4 small children emigrated from the Netherlands via Antwerp to New York in 1872. They joined his mother, Maartje, who had come to West Sayville in 1857 and his other siblings who had followed her and settled here as well. Joost made his living as a bayman on the Great South Bay as did the next 4 generations of Van Wyen's, including my father, until around 1980 when the shellfish began to disappear. His son, Rulof, was the captain of the sailing schooner B.F. Jayne that carted the famous Blue Point oysters from the Great South Bay up and down the Mid-Atlantic and New England coast as well as up and down the Hudson River. Our bay has been both a source of sustenance and a recreational playground for my family for 135 years and it is something that is very dear and close to my heart. I couldn’t imagine living without the water as a part of my life.

“Design Change’s” main function was to act as a case study to serve as an example for other organizations/designers/individuals who are seeking to increase motivation for social change. While “Back to Baysics” serves as an environmental awareness program in my hometown, I hope to question, influence and provoke further action across other South Shore towns on Long Island. It is my desire to motivate others who are in my position to help kick start our neighbors to be more environmentally conservative so that our future generations may continue to take advantage of the vast resources we have been able to enjoy in our own lifetime.

-Rob Van Wyen

*All designs, development and photography are original, self funded and printed on recycled paper with non-toxic ink.


Can design increase motivation for social change?

MO·TI·VA·TION [moh-tuh-vey-shuh n] –noun
1. the act or an instance of motivating.
2. the state or condition of being motivated.
3. something that motivates; inducement; incentive.

[ Origin: 1870–75; motive + -ation ]

Design is everywhere — from the sublime landscapes that surround us to the cereal box we eat from every morning. For most of us, design is invisible, until it fails. In fact, the secret intention of design is to become invisible and absorbed into our culture. The highest level of success in design is for it to be first acknowledged and then finally absorbed into society as habitual.

Fortunately, graphic designers have the unique opportunity of creating visual messages to advocate social change. It is important to allow for this design to influence the way we eat, breathe and live. Improved design can influence the way public issues are understood and motivate audiences to participate in public dialogue — ultimately leading to a healthier way of experiencing life.

Designers can reveal issues which may be overlooked in the mainstream media and potentially provide a stage for messages that would normally be disregarded in our fast-paced society. Through design, we can gain access to the official avenues of communication and the organizations, institutions, leaders and media that have influence over social values and priorities. What we place in these avenues is an attempt to challenge, influence and provoke. It is not about changing design; it’s about designing change.


After defining the issue of the Great South Bay’s decline in ecological health, what were the steps in realizing the final outcome? Sure, the design and implementation of materials are important tools for conveying any message, but the true foundation, for any project, is the dedication and involvement with primary and secondary research.

Often designers jump the gun by limiting themselves to the computer for a convenient and instant solution. Due to this, the message a designer is trying to convey is sometimes lost in translation. The real time invested in hands-on research is the backbone in developing and further enhancing the design problem.

This was especially true in the Back to Baysics case study undertaken in the hamlet of Sayville, Long Island. Of course, local history has a strong presence and influence among residents, but the town’s true identity relies on strong community-oriented organizations. From nude calendars of local icons to street festivals and concerts, Sayville is truly exemplary as an active and close-knit community.

You must become familiar with the residents, their surroundings, daily routines and unique qualities  which make the community breathe and thrive. These experiences alone provide far more insight into the inner workings of the community than any second-hand source ever could. It really comes down to being as personal as possible. Not only should you understand your audience before you can make any attempt to influence them, you must become one of them. It is only then when you may begin to realize possible solutions that are truly reflective of the audience and their connection to the issue, for a successful outcome.

Click here to download the process poster. (PDF)


Through vigorious research, here are some great resources for creative and motivated individuals seeking social change:

Design Can Change
Graphic Designers unite to address climate change
designcanchange.org

Massive Change
Massive change is not about the world of design; it's about the design of the world
massivechange.com

Green Printing
Eco friendly printing, powered by nature, preserving nature
greenerprinter.com