My Big Idea

Our third year of university ended last year with us being told to keep it in the back of our mind over summer break that we would need to return with the beginnings of a major project idea, and that we should try and ruminate over what we were passionate or curious about in order to hopefully start the year off with a direction to focus in on and start researching. We were also encouraged to remember we could think of a major project idea that was more conceptual/abstract or personal, rather than always having to tackle a big issue or try to "change the world" (as apparently the last group of fourth years were mistakenly of the belief your major project HAD to be issue based).

So I went off on my summer holidays and headed down to my home in Southland where I spent time catching up with family, worked my butt off at a variety of different summer jobs to earn money to see me through my last year in expensive Wellington, spent time riding and bonding with my new pony Magic, trained a handful of miniature horses to harness (to pull a cart), and generally filled my days up so there was never a dull moment. By the time January rolled around I realised I hadn't even begun to consider what my big idea for my major project could possibly be.

I knew it would need to be something that I could stay motivated and passionate about for 24 weeks (not including 10 weeks of study breaks and winter holidays as well), and also something that would possibly allow me to gain or polish skills that would help me secure a job in the design field after my studies wrapped up (as I really, really don't want to be just another statistic of someone who couldn't get a job in the field they studied in).

All my life I have always balanced two passions: art/design and animals. Art and design have always been things that I studied/learned about while improving skills; they have provided me with projects to tackle and problems to solve, and they have also often been a way of making money or giving back to my community. While on the other hand, animals have always been my hobby; my way to relax, connect, reflect, and also experience personal growth - my "happy place". During my second last year of high school, when I had to start thinking about what universities I wanted to apply for and what courses to study, I had to make the decision: did I want a career in art and design or a career with animals? It seemed obvious to my teachers - I was great at maths/calculus and the sciences, surely I would want to be a vet? But I knew that design had always been my passion at school and animals my hobby at home, so here I am entering my fourth year studying honours design!

What I am trying to say (and rambling about) is that when we were prompted to think of a topic that we were "passionate" about it was very easy to think: animals. So over January I tried to think of ways I could incorporate my love and knowledge of animals into a major project. These were some of my ideas:

• A pet sitting website or app to connect people who were going away on holiday and needed their animals looked after with people who were willing to look after animals. Over the holidays one of the ways I made money was looking after a vast range of animals for nearly 20 different families (after advertising my services on Facebook), so this idea stemmed from that experience.
• "There is no planet B". One of my third year essays was on the post-human and how we need to co-operate and empathise with non-humans in order to create a sustainable global ecology, which I really resonate with.
• A website about native birds and perhaps how to assist them when they’re hurt. My grandparents run a charitable native bird rescue centre and I know something like this would be useful so they aren't so overwhelmed with inquires etc.
• Tinder for animals that need adopting (partnered with the SPCA)
• Looking at New Zealand’s pet culture 
• Guide to buying a pet 
• Guide to travelling NZ on horseback

I felt like none of these ideas were strong enough or would allow growth through research and exploration. I also felt like a lot of them were thinking of the end product which I really didn't want to do. During my time at university I have tried to stick my hand in lots of different cookie jar so that I have a range of skills (from graphic design/layouts/typography, to web design, video production, photography, illustration, experience design etc) so I really want my major project idea to be something that could utilise any of those skills depending on where the research and testing takes me. 

Finally one sunny afternoon I was riding down the road on Magic, having a fairly peaceful time except for the fact I was checking constantly for cars, and I thought to myself: why do I constantly check for cars? The reality is, most cars always go roaring past at 100km per hour and usually only giving me a meter of space, so I need to be constantly alert so that I can prepare myself and Magic for the possibility he might take fright at this behaviour and I would have to react quickly to calm him down and keep him under control so that nobody gets seriously hurt. It does put an element of fear in an otherwise peaceful afternoon ride. I have been riding on the road since I was 9 years old and driving horses in harness on the road since I was 16, and although I have seen my fair share of kind, courteous drivers who give plenty of space and slow down under 50km per hour, I have seen a lot more disrespectful, uneducated drivers who roar past in the blink of an eye. I guess people might ask why I need to be on the road at all, if it is so risky. Although I grew up on farms (as my dad was a dairy farm manager) as workers' kids we were not often allowed to ride on the paddocks, so apart from trotting circles in the paddock our ponies lived in we had to take to the roads in order to not be bored out of our minds. Now my family has moved to the outskirts of Invercargill and we only own enough land for the ponies to graze, not to ride on, so again; the roads are the go to place for fitness and adventuring. New Zealand does not have bridle paths like Britain, the few places I can go to ride (if I have the time and petrol money to load my horse onto the float and drive to a destination) are the beach, the Riding for Disabled arena or Equestrian Facilities arena (which both charge through the roof for an hour's booking), or Sandy Point; a patch of bush near the beach with trails for walkers, bikers, and horse riders. So the roads have always been a constant in my riding life, and I am very lucky I haven't yet had an accident, as so many people I know or have heard of through horse riding communities have.

So boom! I suddenly had my big idea: I could design a campaign informing drivers how to pass horse riders on the road safely.

I know that we had been implored to not think our project idea had to be issue based, but I find that I work best when I feel like I am helping to solve a problem. I feel like this is a topic that will keep me interested the whole year and I will be able to merge two of my favourite things; design and horses. I am also excited by the prospect of talking to people about this issue and building more connections throughout the horsey world, while improving my design and 'visual communication' skills.

Me riding my pony Magic during the summer break