Moving the projects forward

This week I have divided my time across 3 projects in order to bring them to a stage where I can determine the scale of the work ahead.

With the mistakes project, I have decided to develop the angry language warning system idea further. Having reflected on the idea for a while now, I think that the divisive rhetoric plaguing online platforms is a compelling problem address. Online interaction is fraught with difficulty for anyone engaging with societal discussions, and making mistakes in this arena can be very costly, in that many people have paid a heavy price for communicating the wrong opinions. The platforms preserve a permanent record of these posts, and so posting on these platforms is almost like testifying under oath. Not everyone has a lawyers mastery of language, which means that in many cases its a poor choice of language that incites anger from others. Although sometimes that is the intention. Nevertheless, whether intended or not, it's the dichotomous language on platforms like twitter that make it so toxic and tribal.

I would like to alter the angry keyboard idea to create a design solution for this problem. Instead of using the idea of heat, I would like to create a typeface that reflects the strength of rhetoric. Inspired by the variable type we were looking at last week, it would be typeface that could change on a slider. The appearence of the type would be based on the strength of rhetoric. So for example, an algorithm would recognise phrases such as ‘white people’ or ‘black people’ as potentially strong rhetoric, and the typography would change to indicate the risk for incitement. This typeface could activated as a plug-in on social media-platforms, so that all the typography is put through this filter. It would allow people to quickly see other users who are consistently using strong rhetoric.

This variable typeface I’m thinking of making will be a big challenge to create. I think the first place to start is to find a source of inspiration that will inspire the letter-forms as I want avoid cliched ideas of aggressive or passive expressions. I could possibly look at protest typefaces, or at angry handwriting for insights. I think handwriting certainly demonstrates a tone of voice. Although I might need to look further.

Moving onto a different project. I have redefined the Packaging Stories brief by taking out A Brave New World and the soma drug from the project. I liked how the outcomes were trying to combine digital and tactile experiences together, and the book themes of collectivism and anti-individualism were clashing with this. In terms of moving forward, I want to further develop the smart wallet idea, and what it needs is a better defined audience. Furthermore, I’m not convinced that the smart wallet should primarily solve banking anxiety issues. I envision that the audience for the smart card is one that wants to make informed purchase decisions while on the fly. Particularly during leisure time like holidays, festivals or days out. I have used travel cards in the past for trips abroad and it is easy to lose track of expenditure. Near the end of one trip, I had no idea what was left and had to find a wi-fi spot to check. Alternatively, on a night out where there is plenty of alcohol in the system, the impaired judgement makes contactless card payments so easy to lose track of. So I think the ambition for this brief is to develop the smart wallet as an industrial design concept tailored towards this audience.

Finally, the last project I have been working on is the memories brief I initiated myself. I have spent some time researching the perception of memory and reflecting on what was said in my feedback. As a result, I have been thinking about memories not as a fixed experiences, but as an ever-evolving perception of events. Our present state of mind, and changing personalities change the memories as times goes on. I’m playing with the idea of choosing a significant event from my life and communicating this insight by re-telling that memory many times over. So that it is a memory that is not one definitive version, but many intepretations.