Problem: Since 2006, the turkey population in Davis has increased from 8 to over 100. This increase has lead to various issues that affect the people of Davis. Some of these issues include: damage to property, traffic safety, and aggressive encounters with pedestrians.
Audience: This is primarily for the people of Davis, specifically people who work in or visit downtown Davis often. Davis has a population of around 68,000 people, almost half of which are UC Davis students. The target audience would be around 18-26 years old, lives in or commutes to Davis, and spends some time on the UC Davis campus or downtown Davis.
Concept: This is a booklet to inform the people of Davis about turkeys in an engaging and relatable format. This booklet covers important topics such as dealing with aggressive turkeys and their history in Davis. It is important to understand how human interaction can affect how much of a danger turkeys can present.
Brainstorm: I brainstormed the first ideas that came to my mind when I thought of turkeys. The mind-map helped me understand the main components of the issue, and see how they all connect with one another. Understanding how to address the issue was important in the next step, the research phase.
Research: I contacted John McNerney, a Wildlife Resource Specialist for Davis’ public works/urban wildlife. He was able to provide me with details on how to interact with aggressive turkeys and what we can do to better improve our interaction with the turkeys in Davis.
Visual Identity: The booklet is meant to be playful, yet informative. It is told from the perspective of Tom the turkey, and each spread covers a wide range of topics. The graphics are hand drawn and scanned to create a comic book feeling and make the reader engaged in the topic.
