Ideation

Producing Ideas

14th September 2020

I finally begin to ideate my ideas of my country. Here's a list of elements I need to ideate:

Flag
Country Shape
Currency
Architectural style
Clothing style
Transportation
Cities and facilities
National sports

Flag

Colours that I want to use in the creation of my flag are Blue since it is associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.

Elements which I may want to incorporate is the salmon since it is my country's national animal. I also want to include parts of nature somewhere in my flag. Possibly a wreath, vines or leaves?

This flag shows the sun rising above the Mecaian plateau.

Shows the national animal of Mecaia, the salmon in the centre of the flag surrounded with blue on the top and bottom.

The added green corners signify nature and greenery and its involvement in the country.

Selection:

I selected the last flag, adorning the added green corners because I think that a national flag should be colourful and the last one has one more colour than the second draft which is almost identical. Furthermore, the green and light blue in the flag really look good together.

Country Shape

My country will be located between Russia and Mongolia due to its lovely four seasons and sparse space.

Now that the location is decided, the shape of the country has yet to be.

My ideations below are all were created using https://sketch.io/sketchpad/

Idea 1

I started by doodling and here is the first result.

Idea 2

I tried to make a heart shape to show the love of our country both towards it and for it but the end product was a bit strange.

Idea 3

My train of thought for creating this shape was to create something more plain or 'normal' looking unlike the previous ideas. It turned out to look like a slice of bread.

Selection:

Idea 2 was chosen because I liked the idea of having a heart shape country to represent the people's love for the country. I also wanted to add some more 'unique' and interesting ideas to my country, because so far, I think that I have been pretty conservative about my ideas and therefore, should add some splash of colour.

I will further refine the shape during the prototype section.

Currency

Mecaians will use a fully online currency system where citizens basically just carry their finances through a card or their phone.

Currency Name Ideas:

Dollar
Plat - from the word 'plateau'
Jul - from the word 'jewel'

Both the drafts 1 and 2 include the letter 'J' for Jul and two parallel lines which are common in many currencies.

Selection:

I chose the second draft because it just looks more natural and aesthetically better looking compared the the 1st draft.

ARCHITECTURAL style

I wanted to create a country with a unique vibe so I tried to search the web for some inspiration for areas that produce a memorable 'vibe'.

Here are some images I found. They all have one thing in common; unique colours.

I thought that my country's architectural colour scheme would be blue and white, similar to the city of Matador in Greece.

This building is named The Hive and is located in Singapore's Nanyang Technological University. The building consists of 12 eight-storey towers arranged around a public atrium, design to unite the learning community.

Selection:

For my final decision, my country's architectural style will be hive like, influenced by its integration with the community based on The Hive. It colour scheme will be blue and white since they can act as subtle background colours and are colours part of my country flag.

Cities and Facilities

How should I name my cities?

Similarly to country names, most cities are named after an important person. But since I don't want to make up random names of people, I'll name my cities after something they are important for.

Capital City

Name Ideas:

Chonir
Capitalis

Manufacturing City

During the World Wars, the USSR was known for its manufacturing capabilities. So I'll name my cities in Russian.

Name Ideas:

Shesterni (gears)
Mesto Vintikov (place of cogs)
Ziozd (star/sprocket)

Shopping City

Name Ideas:

灯光 Dengguan (bright)
亮星 Liangxing (bright star)

Forest Cities

Name Ideas:

Kalso
Hoen
Galar

Creative/Musical/Artistic City

New Han City

Port City

Hanniser
Bilinnae (fishy place in Korean)

Clothing style

Same clothes for everyone

To emphasize community

Same clothing style for everyone

To emphasize community

Classic british fashion

Scarfs

Due to cold weather in Mecaia

Beanies

For cold weather

Current fashion trends

Selection:

I think it would be fun that all citizens of Mecaia where blue scarfs. That way they can feel a quirky connection to every other Mecaian they see. But of course the scarfs would only be worn during autumn and winter, definitely not during the summer... HOT!!

I also want Mecaians to wear 'normal' clothes and following current fashion trends or at least acknowledging them like the dubious Baleniaga sock shoes or the hyped up Bape shark hoodies.

Transportation

Wide roads would allow pedestrians more freedom to walk around, restricting movements of cars since I don't intend to have many cars in my country.

Narrow roads would allow more appreciation of nature and the surroundings of the road rather than the road itself.

Highways could produce a futuristic feel but may feel a little cluttered especially when multiple highways intertwine.

Buses are community public transports that support lower transport emissions to help the planet and clean up toxic air and ensure that every member of the community has more equal access to public services and support.

Trains are reliable and usually always arrive on time. They are also cost effective and more environmentally friendly. One great thing is that they can be hidden underground to prevent spoilage of scenery

Helibags (self invented) is a transport method used by an individual. They use solar panels to charge their batteries in order to generate flight using the propellers on the top. The only downside is their weight when not using. But most heli-bags have wheels on the bottom in order to drag them around like luggage bags.

A car is also used by an individual or few people at a time. They allow transportation anywhere depending on the driver's decision but produce a fair amount of emissions and may take up space on the roads as well as creating traffic jams and increasing noise pollution levels.

Selection:

I have selected wide streets as the country's primary road since I will have no cars so I want people to walk freely wherever they go. Although it may sound strange that I have wide streets but no cars I think this is a good decision. I think that it may be a little inconvenient, walking wise to continuously walk through such large streets so only the main streets will be large.

I then also selected the use of Trains which will act as the country's reliable public transport system. They will be situated underground to keep the atmosphere, noise and clean look of Mecaia comfortable. Helibags will be used for convenient short distance travels where riders can land on helipads placed at the top of most buildings.

After revisiting the page I realised transportation of goods in my country will also need to be addressed.

So how will goods in my country be transported if there are no cars?

Goods can be imported or exported by ships, since Mecaia is a coastal country. Local goods though can be transported using three ways; Trains for long distances, Trucks for city areas and aerial transport using helicopters to roadless areas. A reminder that my country will not have many roads. As I want people to walk freely as possible. The paved roads usually act as pavement and with the multitude of pedestrians bumbling about on the roads, I think safety considering the trucks is important, therefore all trucks will play a musical tune, similar to an icecream truck to warn pedestrians about the trucks.

National sport(s)

Since one of the chosen mediums of transportation is using the helibag, I figured that my national sport should be something air related. I suddenly remembered the scene in Harry Potter where the fictional game of quidditch was played. Another similar form of inspiration is the online multiplayer game Rocket League where the player's objective is to get the ball into the opponent's goals. The trick is to use the rocket boosters equipped by your character to zoom through the arena.

The game I invented is named airball. In incorporates the use of jet packs and elements in soccer. This game may be dangerous so protective gear is necessary.

Aside from the crazy game of airball, hiking and mountain climbing are the go to sports/exercises for Mecaians since their country is located on a plateau, climbing spots are extremely accessible for those living at the edges of the country.

The fourth stage of my project; prototype, I will compile my ideas from this stage and prototype them.

Prototype

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