When I researched the Fringe festival website I came across this particular map. It shows the majority of the 317 venues used by the fringe in 2019. When I first saw it I was shocked by how busy and clustered this map is. On the map, it is clearly shown that the majority of the venues are situated in the centre of the city. From my previous Fringe experience, I found the central area streets very hectic and difficult to navigate. So, I began to brainstorm how to combat this – how people can appreciate and get around this city in the easiest way possible. Fringe Festival is also well known to produce large amounts of waste, especially plastic and paper, so I tried to incorporate this problem in my design also.
And my solution is this – a reusable water bottle. However, this isn’t just a regular bottle. It has the same functions, holding liquids and cutting down plastic wastage, but it will also GPS track the user who bought it.
This is a customizable bottle, fitted out with a scratch-map which the user can personalize as they wish, marking the places they’ve visited or paths they want to take. However, this goes hand-in-hand with an app- EdiRoute. This app contains maps, fitted with specific routes to take tourists on easy-to-follow, interesting walks around the majority of the city, even including less popular with tourists areas.
After researching GPS uses, and more specifically GPS art, I created maps of my own.
Mapping the venues of 2019 and predicting future venues (schools, art centres, museums etc.) I began to make my own simple GPS art of iconic Scottish symbols, linking many venues and tourist hot-spots together, or having them nearby a route. This way, tourists can explore the whole city and still enjoy the Fringe festival. They will be able to get a free drink with the bottle, if they wish, at every venue. And also, at the end of their trip, they will have marked maps of areas of the city they’ve visited.
This will encourage people into the other areas of the city- Leith and Stockbridge for example- but in a fun interactive way! This will hopefully spread out the numbers of tourists, calming down areas of extreme business but also means they will see more of this amazing city, which should be celebrated.
In the app, the user will be able to pick their areas and venues they wish to visit by choosing one of the routes. It would provide a choice of shapes to walk and also the ‘difficulty’, which would be determined by the average number of steps it would take to walk, the average amount of time and It will also take into consideration the terrain of the area. This will make the app and city inclusive for everyone, ensuring that people who may not be able to walk for a long amount of time such as the disabled or people with young children, can still enjoy a walk and the achievement of finishing a ‘drawing’, whereas serious walkers, or perhaps even cyclists, can pick longer more difficult routes.
Furthermore, the GPS will be able to turn on/off at any point whenever the user wants- through the app- meaning they can leave and return to shapes whenever they wish, do multiple at different points and, of course, control the tracking of the data.
After their walk has been completed, or perhaps they have made their own shape- another option they have on the app- they will be able to share it on social media- further enhancing their own sense of achievement but also further advertising the Fringe Festival. There is also a possibility of turning it into a competition. For example, the first person to complete a route would be given a free ticket to an even. Or have a competition for best own route designs which visitors would submit through social media to enter.
In conclusion, this water bottle along with the app will: cut down on plastic waste, create a personal, memorable souvenir for tourists, create interesting, inclusive walks around the entire city which will spread the number of tourists and encourage them to less-explored areas and finally, advertise this amazing festival to friends and family.
