Project Overview

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Problem Definition: The purpose of the project was to solve a problem based on my person experience in any form and medium. I chose the broad topic of improving our lives through understanding. Sometimes, solutions to problems may seem difficult to obtain when the problems themselves are unclear, but with a new perspective, especially one that we function best in, we may gain insight we would have not seen otherwise. Through this project, I combine a drive for self-awareness and understanding, as well as empathy and caring, in order to look at my work and activities in a different way and perhaps find a new solution.

Concept: Anthropomorphism and personification, as well as empathy, helps us understand the things and people around us better. In fact, anthropomorphism and personification is linked to higher enjoyment, unpredictability, human understanding, perceived intelligence, and higher neural activity. With this knowledge, a three-dimensional, storytelling, interactive infographic was created, combining both the tactility of something real, yet the abstract information created from something imaginary, complementing the concept of the entire project. The infographic tells the story of me and six major activities I took part in during my last month of college. Each data point is a day with information on my thoughts and the created thoughts of my activities, which have been anthropomorphized into a person with thoughts and feelings. An introduction and end to each horizontal line of data shows the perspective and findings of the activity without, and then with, human characteristics.

Thesis Research

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Thorough research was done on myself, and the concepts that intrigued me—ideas, anthropomorphism, personification, and empathy. The beginning of the project was also dedicated to visual communication research, to begin the process of creating a visual representation of the concept.

After the research, a thesis proposal was created to guide the remaining six months of the project.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. I intend to show that empathizing with our work activities will allow us to better understand their roles in our lives by contrasting activities independent of human relationships and those dependent on them. I want to introduce my daily activities as sentient beings through anthropomorphism and personification. Of particular importance is the idea that attributing human characteristics to anything non-human allows us to function better.

Ideation, Planning, and Strategy

After the initial research phase, ideation and planning began to give structure to the project. How would this message and its solution be delivered to an audience? The ideation phase explored multiple mediums, from installation to books to shoeboxes and desks.

A mood board was created to anticipate the look and feel of whatever medium the project would result in, and typefaces and color palettes were derived.

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Execution and Deployment

The final design was created after multiple tests and mockups to assess design probability. The results were a mounted board with individual data cards held impermanently together with earth magnets. That way, the cards could be flipped from side to side and read easily. They could also be laid down in order to get a visual reference of data patterns from the top-view.

• Design details:

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[PUT FLIP VIDEO HERE]

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Results

General Outcomes: The thesis project was presented on the last day of my final semester in college to a panel of thesis critics. The presentation lasted for 15 minutes and the reception was well.

[ADD COMMENTS FROM PANEL FROM VIDEO]

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Learned Lessons: The best ideas take time. The best ideas seem crazy sometimes.