Case Study 06
Apple(less) Days
Large format interactive crowd-sourced displays as an activation for your community. Educational and a way to collect insights.
Photo credit: Christian Burney/Durango Herald
Codesigned Collaborative: Durango Apple(less) Days Community Mural
Case Study: Sketching Through a Scarcity – The "Apples at Our Core" Community Storyboard
Interactive Activity
What do you do when a historic annual apple festival completely runs out of apples? You pivot to the next most powerful thing: human connection and memory.
At the 18th annual Apple Days Festival—aptly renamed the Apple(less) Days Festival due to an unprecedented spring freeze that caused a total harvest loss across five counties—Codesigned Collaborative stepped in to fill the physical void with a massive, live visual narrative.
Through a large-scale community storyboard titled "Apples at Our Core," we turned an environmental crisis into a collaborative canvas of local history, shared memories, and vital civic dialogue.
The Challenge: Visualizing What Isn't There
A typical autumn harvest in Southwest Colorado yields over 2.3 million pounds of fruit. In 2026, that number dropped to a stark zero. The Good Food Collective needed a creative way to maintain the festival's spirit of celebration and education without its central commodity.
The goal was to design a live, interactive asset that would:
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Anchor the event space and draw in passersby at the Durango Farmers Market.
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Educate the public on the deep-rooted agricultural history of the region.
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Provide a platform for community voices to express what the harvest means to them.
The Process: Merging History with Live Synthesis
As an analog graphic recorder, my markers spring into action when a story needs to be told. For this installation, the canvas was pre-structured into a historical timeline of Southwest Colorado's relationship with agriculture, which was then filled in with live community feedback throughout the event.
Visual Anchor: The Story Told
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The 1904 San Luis County Fair Celebrating Montezuma County’s historic "best apples" acknowledgment.
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The Historic Rail Line Illustrating the iconic train transporting fruit between Farmington and Durango.
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Local Legends Mapping the roots of the Mountain Sun Cidery in Dolores and Silverton's mining history intersecting with local orchards.
The "Pulse" of the Community
To make the mural truly collaborative, we invited festival attendees to write their personal memories on sticky notes and integrate them directly into the artwork. The results were deeply moving:
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“My Auntie Ruth's amazing apple pie. She makes it every fall. DELICIOUS!!!”
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Another attendee recalled a kindergarten apple-tasting activity, noting it was the first time they realized they could have their own personal preferences—a memory permanently anchored by visual association.
Beyond the Canvas: A Catalyst for Civic Dialogue
Graphic recording does more than just document—it brings underlying community issues to the surface. The empty orchards this year underscored a much larger ecological ripple effect: the impact on our local wildlife.
The total lack of natural fruit and acorns has driven local black bears into residential neighborhoods in record numbers, making La Plata County a hotspot for human-bear encounters.
The live illustration process sparked crucial conversations right at the board about community responsibility. Visual communication opens up a safe space for these heavy discussions, illustrating that we are all an active part of our local food and ecological systems.
The Impact: Why Hand-Drawn Synthesis Matters
In an era dominated by AI and digital noise, authentic, hand-drawn synthesis creates a trusted "memory anchor." Research shows that humans process visuals 60,000 times faster than text and retain roughly 80% of what they see, compared to just 10% of what they hear.
By turning a challenging, appleless season into a captivating visual metaphor, The Good Food Collective didn't just host a fundraiser—they deepened community trust, preserved local history, and created a lasting visual legacy that will be remembered long after the festival tents are packed away.
Bring Visual Storytelling to Your Next Event
Whether you are a corporation looking to simplify a complex strategic vision, a non-profit driving community engagement, or an agency launching a new initiative, graphic recording brings instant clarity and engagement to the room.
Read the full Durango Herald article here: https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/news/durangos-appleless-days-festival-celebrates-what-apples-bring-to-mind-in-total-absence-of-fall-ha/
