OUGD501 - The Pocket Scavenger

The Pocket Scavenger by Keri Smith 

The Pocket Scavenger gets people to find everyday things from the environment. The items that are collected are wide ranging and eclectic which means that the items would come from lots of different places making the book something you work on over a period of time. When the items are collected you then write details about how you came about the object and the story behind it. This acts almost as a book of memories and discoveries which places importance on the items and gets them to look at things differently. These objects are then altered in someway to create something new which gets people to consider the objects in a different way.

The book provides a space for things to be put in the book and for note taking creating a collection tool. The pages have a similar layout throughout creating a workbook format. Collecting things within a book format allows the user to refer back to the things that they have collected. The minimal colour design allows the object to be the focus of the design however frames the the things within the space creating a structure for the collection and documentation of the objects making it a facilitator for discovery.

The idea of collecting things and adapting them so there is a body of experimentation is interesting within the book.

The Pocket Scavenger App

The app of the book allows people to document things through photography and notetaking. This format is useful for things that can't be physically kept or are too big to document. The app is also useful for scavenging in the environment, as using your phone is more compact than taking a sketchbook everywhere.