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ravenwings-noyreallyback · 5 years ago

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Emotions and socialist theory

This is long as fuck but I think it's important and it's broken up by topic. Tldr stop telling people they need to read a book, stop shitting on potential allies, and start asking them what they're thinking about, what worries them, and appeal to those feelings with emotionally honest radical wholesomeness of your own.

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I want to do something in the local person to person community that gets to people. Something to get people interested and invested in small ways that can grow legs and develop something good, and isn't bogged down in Party Politics.

People know the world's bad. They know capitalism sucks. They don't need a book or a working theory. They need hope and action.

The situation

People are feeling shock, panic, depression about the news in general. Nothing can be done etc.

People feel a sense of being a burden on others when they express that. People want to tip toe around things so as not to freak everyone out. To avoid the morbid grief and anger and fear. They still have it but nobody wants to talk about it in a personal way.

People have a need to express that fear but not in a therapy kinda way, or rather the therapy way would make it very very difficult to maintain and do appropriately for even skilled activists. Folks talk about not pouring from an empty cup? This is like trying to fill a bathtub with a cup and the tub isn't plugged.

Marx wrote a lot about alienation from daily life, not just economic job alienation. Similar to today?

People like radical compassionate sensitivity. There's a need for that.

People don't want a fuckin art installation theatre play or a communist party paper article thing they won't read. If you're reading this it's a fucking miracle. Nobody wants "here's the economic theory about why you're sad and what to do about it maybe it'll work if literally everyone does it" tbh. They engage in memes, in self destructive self care, hedonistic stress eating, drinking, sex etc. And that's okay. That's honestly probably good. Better than being depressed and doing nothing. But they can't go too hard because they don't have to put much time into because life's busy. Fuck is it busy. And every moment you try to get someone to go do theory based activism that isn't Shock and Awe or Radical Wholesomeness, it's just a dull hell grind.

The dsa in the states and corbynism in the uk is good actually, fuck it, for all their problems the ndp in Canada are worth working with. Leftists saying they're all bad because they're socdem really discount a couple things.

A, the massive political emotional energy behind those movements lately.

B, the people in those movements that are absolutely skeptical at least of capitalism. And many are legitimately radical but sticking with it because it's a structure to organize in.

Some history

Marx wrote during a time where theorists were bogged up in utopian socialism, where there were ideals of the kind of world they wanted to live in, but no means to make it happen. Marx wrote it to apply to everyday life in the industrial revolution, and establish an actionable plan for a better world.

Now today, things are in the rosiest of terms, not looking better in a lot of ways, and not optimistic in any. People are almost crying out for some emotional honesty and vulnerability and wholesomeness and just general heartfelt spirituality and human connection in uncertain times. Do I need to tell you how much the youth of today like games and shows that have this zeal of positivity these days? How much energy there is in queer movements? (oh yeah if you're anti LGBT, or honestly even just passively okay with it but not enthusiastic in your socialism, you will be left in the dust by today's movements tbh.)

Marx of course wrote a bit about that alienation shallowness of society thing in terms of talking about cultural alienation (more than just jobs) and the use of religion to people who have nothing else, etc.

Current responses

Today in response to that alienation, we've got irony poisoned reactionaries who don't want to engage with reality, and when they do, hide behind layers of "just kidding" etc and generally want to distance themselves from their victims. Big focus on nostalgia for when things made more sense, idealistic past worlds that never really existed in the first place. Maga and qanon conspiracies about how it all fits together and there's actually a pattern in the chaos. They end up isolated from all but their echo chambers until the pain of not being able to relate to society in healthy ways makes them go and do terrorism out of their conviction that the world is so broken and their way is right.

Meanwhile, good voices with good spiritually connective ideas like the almost saturday morning shoujo cartoon optimism and heart of Marianne Williamson connects with people, but offers no substance (and is backwards as fuck when it does) and proposes a world where if we hope hard enough, we can stop hurricanes and shootings. All for the benefit of selling self help books and crystals. But people still eat that up because it's hopeful and optimistic and fuckin romantic. People go nuts for that kind of optimism. Why don't we have that with good faith?

We do, but not enough of it. Artists and people who are out there pouring their hearts out are doing that good shit. But we need more of that. Hell the dsa is better at inspiring people to get involved with it than the left is.

Voices combining hope and reason and sincerity like AOC and the squad bring what people need, but tearing them down for not being radical enough is kind of stupid. The far left isn't organizing to connect this message of hope to people. We've got cynical takes and hell world worst timeline jokes. We've got theory as dry as Lenin's preserved corpse. We're right about the world being this awful, but God damn that's depressing.

Good responses in the past and today

I think the black panthers got this. They knew this and spoke to it. It was community solidarity first and foremost. People joined up and felt good about it being the right thing to do. It threatened the government in ways no internal western movement ever has, except probably the IRA but I'm not that spicy.

Regardless black panthers good. Standing rock good. Ferguson good. Unist'ot'en good. Antifa good. Soup kitchens and food banks good. Unions good when they actually stand up and challenge unfairness beyond their immediate industry connections. But throwing books by musty ass old men (and Rosa) hasn't worked. Even when they're right and relevant is still an implicit way of just saying "read more and maybe once enough people understand the theory, the revolution will come".

Still read, but don't tell other people to read unless they ask is all. Reading won't inspire revolution. Newspapers and blogs won't either. Informative podcasts aren't.

It's not gonna come that way. People don't respond to theory. Fuck, people barely care about facts.

Idea

Anti theory Theory: peoples' desires for emotionally honest and sensitive narratives isn't reflected in our theory at present. Potentially in part due to the materialist foundations of marxism, and certainly in the often dry motivations and spurs to resistance and revolution, which seems far off and at odds with the timeline of climate change that is weighing on peoples minds. Yes making good differences isn't a timeline thing, but people feel pressure to do it, which makes them even less effective at doing community action. Fear of collapse replaces will to revolt. People want to do something certainly, but lack the emotional connection to revolution. You could say something about base and superstructure being at odds, but I'm not as fluent in those ideas as I'd have to be to articulate.

Regardless, people want hope. Not as a slogan or buzzword, but as an action and a personal connection. They know society's in a bad place. They know there's something deeply wrong with capitalism, if not in general then at least with how it's being used right now. But when theory speaks mostly of society, or our place in it, but never asks "hey, you seem kinda hurt... how are you doing? What's on your mind? Can I listen?", people feel disenfranchised.

So on that hopeless emotional raw angst? Maybe folks just want to be heard and given permission to talk about the things they're told not to talk about? Climate anxiety, job stress, wanting someone to just talk to because social media is alienating and brief and temporal. Like, I'm not gonna interview them, but the right wing reactionaries are scared too. That's why they do what they do. Or at least that's what leads them into the irony poisoned spaces they go to.

Maybe some kind of local project of interviews in a humans of new york kinda way, or a postsecret way, or some other kind of way to ask and get people to tell us "here's what I'm thinking about that I'm afraid to tell even my best friend or my wife" "here's what scares me" "here's what I care about".

Maybe take some time to map out the things people are talking about? Use that as a source of identifying needs. Any excuse to get out there and listen to people instead of telling them things, which they won't always be ready for anyway.

Dunno how much solidarity it would build or who it would reach but it can open up conversations, not to radicalize but just to build a sense of human compassion and connection? Because really, if there's gonna be a left movement that takes off and gets things done, it's not coming from the communist parties, it's not coming from existing anarchist movements, it's gonna be something new and multilateral. People don't respond to theory they respond to emotions and passion projects and stories that get to them and tell them they're not alone. Hell, people say populism is bad? No, it's been used by bad people, but it's just another tool to get people on your side. And thinly veiled racism is only one direction it can take. Populism can help us if we're just straight up about compassion and empathy and listening.

Just fucking close your mouth and open your ears I guess is the point. If we want to be vanguards, we want to know where the movements are, facilitating them, not creating them ourselves.

And that takes listening.

#Socialism #Communism #Dsa #Marx and shit #Sorry this is long but like #Just care about people more and stop listening in order to speak #But in a structural sense

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la-lauren · 2 years ago

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The most recent PostSecret was someone saying they feel like they need a girlfriend before they can come out, so I commented on it saying that’s my plan since heteros don’t have to come out and just show up with a partner.

Not too long after that, a girl started following me, so I messaged her asking if we knew each other. She said no, was really nice, and just said she liked my response on PostSecret and my cat when she clicked my profile. So I was like, “ok, no prob! I just usually don’t get follow requests from people I’m not already friends with, but I’m happy to have someone new! Jelly Bean says thank you for the love.” I kept an eye on the message, and she was typing for like 10 minutes, and then she stopped and never sent anything back.

I partially wondered if she was going to shoot her shot with a stranger. She was cute, and her name looked really Finnish, so she might not be too far away. But no response. We’re just mutually following each other now. I wish I were the type of girl that got (nice) people sliding into her DMs. God knows I’m never going to shoot any shots ever unless I lose half my body weight and have a bottle of tequila in my system.

#update: she finally responded #I think she was overthinking what she was going to say #she's definitely trying to make conversation #i'm getting friend vibes so far #but she is ALSO sending me cat pictures just like Finn does #and she is from Finland

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devontroxell · 4 years ago

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Critical Elements to Making Great Memes

So what is a “meme” by definition —

A meme (/miːm/ MEEM) is an idea, behavior, or style that becomes a fad and spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme.

Memes – you love them, and you hate them, you share them, and you save them. It got me wondering why it seems that in a day where we can so easily create video content, quick animations, and sync everything to our favorite music that we seem to circle back to (by and large) static imagery with a contextual narrative.

That said I contest that (by definition) MANY content types qualify as memeable:

Animated GIFS

Static images

Looping GIFS

“Stories” platforms (e.g. Instagram and Facebook)

Short-form video

Rips, Clips, and Snippets

ASCII art

Emoji configurations

#hashtags

As much as I would like to say that Memes are this silly little byproduct of the Internet, I believe it to be something larger. I believe it to be a way for people to convey their emotions in an expressive way when perhaps they may not have the ability to do so. Memes also share commonality, desires, anger, all the colors of the emotional rainbow if you well. So the next time you are in a thread and see people “dropping “or reply utilizing a meme or animated GIF, you might ask yourself, “is it simply a clever reply, or perhaps the best way they know how to express themselves? “Because outside of the message that the meme sans it also provides an amount of anonymity, not to be written in the hand of the poster. and just like any good legal document, it gives a sense of, “well, I didn’t say that “, but the meme expressed it for me.

Memes as a pertain to marketing actually hold a lot more hand-in-hand than one might think. First and foremost is you can’t just use any meme anywhere. Most often you’ll find them supporting some type of topical spotlight. For instance, something in the news is trending — perhaps a celebrity or something that might be indicatively branded of the individual poster for a call to action. For instance, for me, it might be a post about heavy metal music or my love for cats. What makes Memes so magical when it comes to marketing is that they do what so many creative advertisements cannot express a particular point, often with very little copy, and in many cases, the meme is shared forward to your friend’s fans and followers.

The great advertising mind and Author Luke Sullivan talks about how great advertising is a distillation of emotion that triggers a response – for instance, something humorous, something naughty, something scary, And so on. The same emotional triggers can be said for the funniest Memes and what makes one better than another. In essence, this is actually taught me is that a meme is; much like an advertisement. It’s a compartmentalized message shift with exponentially less care for design and your opinion.

That said, advertising and marketing often have certain boundaries; boundaries that create a particular call to action but do so in a way that will minimize any adverse backlash to the brand it is representing. On the other hand, memories are often a more visually raw expression of a particular point that in many cases, is used to agitate or confront conversation within the social media spectrum.

And while I once thought it was absolutely insane that someone could be on the news speaking on behalf of themselves as an emoji language expert, now I see that I have over years and years of collecting, creating, distributing. Re-distributing memes see that there is a bit more to it than simply posting the right thing at the right time.

This whole article felt silly to begin with until I fell down the rabbit hole and realized the endless complexity and layers that we go to to make one another trigger a feeling.

https://ift.tt/37t4mKs — we have such sites to show you!

You start a step back and see that memes are like a single pixel in a much larger image. Contrary to the humor built into the vast majority of Memes, it’s the sharing and distribution of Memes that make them powerful. For instance, even the polarizing Democrat versus Republican styles of media bias and content won’t get the sharing and distribution that a meme might.

When you share an article, unless you overtly intend to pre-qualify it with abstinence in your personal positioning, you’re connecting yourself with an opinion of the content. With memes on the other hand, it allows the ‘sharer’ the gift of anonymity in that the humor often tends to beguile the real truth behind the intent of the image.

How many of you have purchased a product that has a meme on it? It’s hard to image that we’d be skewed to purchase anything from a meme? But it’s also hard to imagine that product launches, ranging from sports teams to movies, create a series of C&Pable giphy loops for your social media lexicon. Think about it, how many times have you been motivated to find a post about “Hot Pockets” when describing how badly you burned your mouth over the weekend? Does that make it an ad? Indirectly, yes!

Think about it, creating an ad, and creating a meme require:

Timing

Topics

Emotion

Commonality

Understanding

Call to action

How many of you have visited a meme generator to make your own? Part of the virality of a meme is that meme “generators” exist. These are online tools that allow you to caption or create new or preexisting images, thus creating even more memes. How? For each meme created (even if it’s been derived from an image that’s known for a specific reply, such as “Y U NO ____?) the generator generates and posts the next version you created into the internets ecosystem. As you would, most are garbage and not worthy of sharing, but the multiplier of mathematics still shows that any given meme has an ebb and flow. Yes! Old memes come back with a vengeance dependent upon the trending factors that derived the content.

Did you have any idea that there are actual e-zine publications that focus on Internet trends? The following list doesn’t even begin to touch websites that are forum (specific topic) focused on animated GIFS collection.

Know Your Meme – https://ift.tt/2LatJms

(Since 2008) r/Memes – https://ift.tt/1HhhznZ

Sub Reddits r/BRGS/ – https://ift.tt/3dM1j1b

Arguably the 800-pound gorilla to online satire is https://ift.tt/1gKvWAr and while not known for it’s memes is instrumental in showing us just how far you can push content to make a point and get a laugh.

Meme Insider – https://ift.tt/37wzpVy

And a shotgun approach to introducing you to the world-o-memes:

Memes — https://memes.com/ (I mean, go figure right?)

The Chive — KCCO https://ift.tt/3koDzT2

Me.me — https://me.me/

Rabbit Ramblings — https://ift.tt/2t5S4Ed

etaTV — https://etatv.net/

Ruin My Week — https://ift.tt/37ufpmu

Bots of New York – https://ift.tt/3n2JMpI

Medium (various related content) – https://ift.tt/3dQszva

Woken News Network – https://wokennews.com/

Barstool Sports – https://ift.tt/2d42ngO

Obvious Plant – https://ift.tt/3mcL4Nq

Awkward Family Photos – https://ift.tt/2Bt30Ar

Millions of Dead Posers – https://ift.tt/3kkYYMV

People of Walmart – https://ift.tt/2O1hSJv

ClickHole (much in the same vein as TheOnion) – https://clickhole.com/

PostSecret (often insanely impactful and human; proven not all memage must be funny in nature) – https://postsecret.com/

http://replygif.net/

YTMND: You’re the man now dog! — https://ytmnd.com/

The Best Page In The Universe – https://ift.tt/xcDWuT

Cracked (much like the onion and others, it still delivers various meme-like content) https://ift.tt/31ZaG6M

Dogshaming – https://ift.tt/2GMLNQf

Everything is Terrible! – https://ift.tt/2gztYIw

Cuánto Cabrón – https://ift.tt/2yKTMdM

Cheezburger – https://ift.tt/NLcR7k

And possibly my favorite — https://ift.tt/37t4n0Y

And before you get all been out of shape that I didn’t put your favorite within the list, please know that I realize there literally thousands of meme aggregates and E-zines is online. And there’s a good reason to; memes don’t necessarily have to be a standard square image, with (all too common misspelled) punchy copy leveraging the latest topic, celebrity foible, or political gaff.

Share a meme. Make a meme. I’d love to see what makes you tick.

Critical Elements to Making Great Memes published first on https://wabusinessapi.tumblr.com/

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tylerbiard · 7 years ago

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Ebb and Flow

“And this is the chance I never got to make a move. But we just talk about the people we've met in the last 5 years. And will remember them in ten more? I let you bum a smoke, you quit this winter past. I've tried twice before but like this, it just will not last.”

-- Death Cab for Cutie: Steadier Footing (2001)

Today, this sappy-ass song popped back into my head. I hadn’t listened to it in awhile, as I’m no longer an avid listener of Death Cab, but I’m pretty sure I can pinpoint, on some ethereal level, what brought it forth. I do like the song, short as it may be, and it’s one that has, over the years, remained redolent vis-a-vis my moods.

I was talking with a friend about synthesia recently, and although I don’t have that, it reminded me of how profound music can be for me -- it is often the soundtrack of my life, providing a means of transporting back to another time. It’s that Cassie song bringing me back to being driven to grade school, bullies awaiting. It’s that Arcade Fire song, reminding me of a romance that was never to be. It’s that utter shite Gretchen Wilson song, reminding me of summers trapped at my mom’s. I kinda laugh at that last one now. It’s not always sad, though. Like, there’s that Midnight Oil song, reminding me of a good road trip with a good friend. Or listening to the Pixies’ Bossanova while out in the bitter cold in Griesbach. Or that Bay City Rollers song my grandma would sing along to, but with the muffled 1970s recording, I couldn’t fully make out.

That being said, I find that when music moves me in such a way, so as to resonate years later still, it’s generally in a more melancholic way. Maybe it’s something to do with how negative things tend to stick better. I’m not sure.

Right now, I’m thinking about a friendship once stronger, now a series of messages left sans response. Perhaps it was always like that, and now I’m no longer willing to prop it up. Or that one where I foolishly thought things would be different, and now I guess they are, but in a completely different way. We’ll still be in each others lives, but not in the same capacity, and that’s kind of sad. Those prospects, those hopes, all for naught. What’s the point anyways? Like that scene from Oslo, August 31st, eventually they’ll all “vanish into motherhood” (or fatherhood, or marriage, or whatever). Perhaps I just am realizing I’m no longer the shiny new thing, or that they’re not.

It all makes me think about that Death Cab song. Except, even if I made a move, it was pointless. And with all the toxic relationships over the past several years, with all of the people I’ve met over that period, that have come, and gone, will I even remember them a decade from now? Knowing me, probably, but that’s besides the point. Life is so fleeting, and it’s kind of sad how much something so good can turn so rotten. I know it’s not just them, I too am equally fleeting. I am not static, I am constantly changing as I go through life. That overlap I may have had with someone just won’t necessarily last. Or, there’s those cases where I’ve wished that I’d met that person at a different point, when things would’ve ostensibly been better.

Innocuously enough, a friend mentioned PostSecret recently, and it led met to the All-American Rejects. It transported me back to 2006, a time of John Tucker Must Die, SexyBack, Blogger, and Guyliner; a time that was shit even beyond the pop culture. And yet, I get weirdly nostalgic about it. Like, remember when Ashanti was still relevant? And then I remember that was 11 years ago already, and I get hit in the gut by existentialism. It’s so weird to think of that era having been that long ago, and that I’m really as old as I am. I’m so used to that time being so much more recent. And then I realize that relatively staid 2013 was 4-going-on-5 years ago. I joined Tumblr 5 years ago already (late ‘12). And then I realize how quickly it’s gone by, and soon it’ll be 2023, I’ll be 30, and it just keeps speeding up from there on out. As you can see, it just spirals as the knots get bigger and bigger. But I guess you’re not really living unless you’re also dying, right?

This is probably why I’ve moved away from the melancholic indie rock that I held so dear in the former half of this decade and towards more high energy, danceable music. Grimes, even in more serious lyrics, because of the different tone, makes me happier to listen to than Pavement. Music has a tendency to draw me in emotionally, and at this point in my life, I have enough things to bog me down, without music beating a dead horse. Plus, it fits my newly minted absurdist personality, I suppose.

The funny thing with depression, I’ve found, is that support isn’t at all like Hollywood portrays it as. In most cases, you’re not going to get that back-and-forth of the depressed pushing back while the friend or family member fights against it, with the intent of getting to the bottom of things. Nope, usually if you push back once, people peace the fuck out. Sometimes you don’t even need to push back. Sometimes they’ll just get up and leave, citing the aforementioned domestic life that beckons. Sometimes you’ll get tips for how to harm yourself better or you’ll be told to “grow up,” because, you know, bulimia is so ‘87. And not by out of touch old people, by bona fide peers. Granted, in my case, these people meant no harm, and to put it bluntly, they just fucked up with a lapse in judgement. I don’t hate them. I think my point is that, if there’s anyone out there in a rough patch, as awful as it sounds, you can’t rely on others to come to you, or to necessarily think pushing away will work like it does in the dramas. Maybe it will, but I wouldn’t rely on it. In my experience, you have to swallow your pride, and ask for help directly.

I really wanted to write more this year. I have had ideas bouncing around my head for awhile, including one, funnily enough, around music! There was just so much this year. So much loss. So much bullshit. But it hasn’t been all bad. This past summer I actually had some semblance of happiness for the first time in awhile. It was, of course, fleeting, as happiness always is, and there was still grievances to deal with, but it wasn’t bad. I attribute much of the good in 2017 (and a few headaches, to be honest) to two new people I befriended this year, at a very low point in my life. They filled the vacuum left by loss in a very beautiful way and, even as life moves on, I’m very glad they’re there. I also have surrounded myself with other good people this year, that overall are better than the roster I had a year or two ago. So, I guess, silver linings.

Man, this post was quite the erratic rollercoaster. I think this is enough for me, for now.

#whatever

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chooserecovery · 7 years ago

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I've had a lot of problems with my family (aunt, uncle, and grandmother) in the past year. And I feel worn down and empty all the time, and Im slowly losing interest in what I like to do. These issues have been nagging at me for a long time. I've even picked up the habit of self harm. Im just 13, Im not sure how I should combat this. Im too scared to talk to anyone in real life because Im afraid I'll get laughed at or worse. What do I do about this situation?

I know that this isn’t what you want to hear, but if you think it is at all possible, I am still going to suggest talking to someone about what you’re feeling. You can try to find a way to make it easier, for example one thing that I always suggest is trying to write a letter or an email because it gives you a chance to organize what you want to say, and it also gives the other person time to think of an appropriate response, which is often better than the immediate reaction.

Now, the reason that I’m suggesting that is because, while I can’t say that it’s depression, obviously, I can absolutely say that you sound like you’re having a hard time right now, and that feeling tired, empty, and disinterested in everything tends to make people close themselves off, which leads to isolation, which usually just furthers the feelings. Going through things like this alone is hard, and having people around you who might be able to listen or to try to get you help can make a huge difference.

That being said, if talking to people in real life absolutely isn’t an option right now, then there are other places that you can talk. I’ve definitely told this story on CR before, but the way that Bree and I met was through a chatroom for a different advice blog that was active back then. So, there are places online where people who aren’t feeling great tend to congregate so that they can talk about their problems, or sometimes just to talk in general. I like to suggest the PostSecret Chat, because, at least a few years back when I lurked there regularly, they had a really great community and it was a good place to talk about basically anything. However, if you aren’t comfortable posting, then you are also welcome to just read what other people are saying--that’s what I always did--and just kind of have the opportunity to see that other people might feel the same as you do, and maybe see ideas that other people have for how to cope with those feelings constructively. It can be a good way to start finding tools to deal with everything.

As for the self harm, it sounds like you’re doing it as basically a way to control what you’re feeling--make the lows less low, etc. The way that works is that when your body gets injured, it releases endorphins, which make physical pain hurt less, but it also has effects on emotions. So, in the short term, if you feel like you just need to feel better right away, then there are other things that can cause an endorphin release. These can help as sort of a general response to urges to self harm.

However, if there are specific things that bring that urge up, such as the family issues you mentioned, then a general “throw endorphins at it” approach might help a little bit in the short term, but it isn’t really addressing the problem. So, what I usually suggest is trying to look at what triggered that urge to self harm and to try to look at what it is that you are hoping to get from doing it. This can be hard to do, especially at first, so it may be helpful to keep a sort of journal of what upset you, how you’re feeling, etc. It can help you keep track of what triggers you, and you might pick up on some patterns in them or what feelings cause that urge to self harm. Once you have an idea of what it is that you really want (as a couple of examples you may be feeling angry and viewing it as an outlet, or you may be feeling sad and using it as a quick way to feel better because endorphins, or you may be doing it because you’re anxious and need a way to let that out) then you can try to find alternate ways to deal with those feelings, such as venting to someone, exercise, watching an old favorite movie, whatever makes sense for the feeling that you’re trying to deal with.

If you can, it may be a good idea to throw out whatver you’re using to self harm so that it’ll be harder for you to do anything when those thoughts come up.

TL;DR: talk to people, going through things alone sucks, and having people that you can talk to can at the very least make you feel less alone. Try to figure out what exactly you are feeling and look for things that can help you address that feeling and work through it specifically.

It takes time to learn how to handle everything, it’s okay if it seems hard, especially when you’re just starting out. But, like any skill, managing emotions gets easier with more practice. Give yourself time to work through things, and try to reach out to people when you need to.

I’m sorry that you’re going through this, anon. I hope that you find something that will work for you soon

--Luke

#Anonymous

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performing-personhood · 1 year ago

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We interrupt the Good Omens 2 simpposting to bring you this super-duper realness from the July 30th 2023 Postsecret:

I know six people who went on vacation in July

I took a day trip two hours away and drove back the same day because my MIL was visiting, we went to the same and only place we've gone to for the last nine years running, and that's as close to a vacation as I will get for the foreseeable future

#its fine tho #just keep showing off #postsecret #postsecret discussions #postsecret responses

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postsecret · 7 years ago

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Sunday Secrets

I love the mystery of this secret. It might be a cantankerous response to the previous postcard. The next mega-exhibition at the American Visionary Art Museum will be on “Mystery.” Several dozen mysterious PostSecrets will be included when it opens, however, this week is your last chance to see the current exhibit and secrets. If you have never been to the AVAM it is so worth a…

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wotisabook99 · 5 years ago

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Laluka Hamilton _ Insecure connection.

2019

Found book print, cords, glue, putty

109cm x 180cm

Insecure connection is an installation that represents the stability of the book and how it could possibly connect with the instability of what we know the internet is today. It looks into the world of pop up ads and how they can be used within any medium if it has the ability to connect to the cyber world.

The advertisements themselves are a reflection of our inner most secrets, desires or queries and how these can generate a cyber character profile (all secrets and statements are real and credibly derived from Post Secret* or my own personal sources). This character profile could be used by marketing agencies to better direct their products to vulnerable individuals. My response is depicting how these collated character profiles could make their way into any informative platform. This includes the codex book, making the future of the book a more insecure space, taking away the sanctity of the secure information it once held.

My specific design practice entails a connection between social occurrences and how they can be communicated in a artistic and relatable way. I hope that what I create can be consumed from multiple angles and by many audiences. I also love to involve a comedic side to my work, to act as a comic relief to certain hard hitting topics I may depict (as long as its tasteful). I feel like this project is an accurate representation of my practice because of my cohesive illustrations, matched with the collected information that comments on a post-digital social issue.

My process took many different turns, which I feel like made for a more succinct outcome. With the use of the idea of self, privacy, social networks and anonymous participation, I feel like the concept of the post digital was reached. In the future I hope to extend my research to other designers/artists/journalists and learn from their process, allowing for a more comprehensive final product. My prototyping consisted of many forms of publication and layering, of which in the end didn’t make sense for my vision, I also like that I am using an existing well known book (Dracula) to match my theme of invasion and insecurity.

In the end, my ideas grew from the base of the infiltration of advertising and how this can be seen as toxic/ insecure within any medium and developed into a concept of what the book was, what it is and what it could become.

*PostSecret is an ongoing community mail art project, created by Frank Warren in 2005, in which people mail their secrets anonymously on a homemade postcard. Selected secrets are then posted on the PostSecret website, or used for PostSecret's books or museum exhibits.

2019, Wikipedia, 27.5.2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PostSecret

Warren, F, 2005, Post Secret, 12.5.19 - 22.5.19, https://postsecret.com/

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theothersideof-nat · 6 years ago

Text

MACD104 THE SEMIONAUT

Introduction

In recent years and within our saturated information environment, the act of curation has become an increasingly important aspect of communication design. That is, the curatorial - with its associated process of selection, organisation and presentation - has established itself as a creative and idiosyncratic practice in its own right.

A philosopher Nicolas Bourriaud (2002:8) notes:

The artistic question is no longer: “what can we make that is new?” but “how can we make do with what we have?”. In other words, how can we produce singularity and meaning from the chaotic mass of objects, names, and references that constitute our daily life?

Project Outline

With this in mind, and through the introduction of a variety of theoretical frameworks, you will be asked to develop and curate a ‘point of view’ through a design response, using pre-existing ‘data’ (including everything from pure data sources, to cultural products, to economic and social forms, to everyday objects).

Critically, the project should also take into account the development od personal ‘building’ skills and theoretical, and practical interests within the field od communication design towards your final MA project.

The final concept needs to implement in full and could take on any number of forms including an online interface/ interactive media/ a more traditional exhibition/ a publication, and so on. Key attention should be paid to the following:

A overview of the data in relation to critical theory/ contemporary debate

The chosen ‘site’

The user design

The viewer >< information relationship

Potentially innovative production methods and a high level of production awareness

AN ODE TO SELF CARE

“Millennials are making more personal improvement commitments than any generation before.” - Victoria Buchanan, strategic researcher, The Future Laboratory

https://www.lsnglobal.com/opinion/article/21914/should-brands-be-capitalising-on-self-care

Enter a new hybrid of self-help and wellness – self-care: a countercultural means of escaping our post-truth, consumeristic lifestyles by supporting our own emotional wellbeing.

According to Pew Research Center, Millennials are making more personal improvement commitments than any generation before, spending double what Baby Boomers spend on self-care essentials such as diet plans, life coaching, therapy and apps to improve their personal wellbeing. De-stressing and disconnecting has become an industry in itself at a time when anxiety levels among young people are increasing, with young women more likely than young men to report symptoms of anxiety or depression.

If you’re selling self-care, doesn’t it benefit you to have a consumer who is living in a permanent state of anxiety and unwellness?

A quick check of the self-care hashtag on Instagram reveals more than 3.5m sepia-filled posts featuring bubble baths, mimosas and juice detoxes. In many ways visual culture is fuelling a culture of narcissism and privilege that is more about being able to broadcast the moment than being present at it.

“Millennials need self-care more than other generations.”

https://www.medibank.com.au/livebetter/health-brief/health-insights/why-millennials-need-to-self-care-more-than-other-generations/

https://blog.fieldagent.net/millennials-boomers-new-years-resolutions-5-key-generational-differences

Millennials get by with a little help from their friends…and maybe their Boomer parents, too

“The Millennial Obsession With Self-Care.”

https://www.npr.org/2017/06/04/531051473/the-millennial-obsession-with-self-care

When it comes to millennials, it's likely no surprise that the generation that takes advantage of the Internet the most is also the generation that devotes the most time and money to the $10 billion self-care industry. - Malte Mueller/Getty Images

Today, self-care, as it's defined by Gracy Obuchowicz, a facilitator and self-care mentor and coach in Washington, D.C., "assumes that we're OK as we are and we just need to take care of ourselves ... Self-care alone is not enough. You need to have self-awareness too. Self-care plus self-awareness equals self-love.”

In 2015, according to the Pew Research Center, more millennials reported making personal improvement commitments than any generation before them. They spend twice as much as boomers on self-care essentials such as workout regimens, diet plans, life coaching, therapy and apps to improve their personal well-being. They've even created self-care Twitter bots.

One study (https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1095589) showed that this might have all sprouted out of the Internet. It found that students reported using the Web to identify self-care strategies, alternative therapies and other information related to nutrition and fitness.

But Obuchowicz says it's more than just social media that has pushed millennials to the forefront of the self-care discussion. "Our generation has seen enough," she said.

"People are really hungry for knowledge. It's a relatively new idea in our culture that we would be paying attention to how we feel and using that as a kind of intelligence. It's something that's really waking up in our culture and our generation.”

“Self-care and Minimalism: How have millennials changed home design.”

https://medium.com/the-minimalist/self-care-minimalism-how-have-millennials-changed-home-design-f61b5cb8e0fa

The Connection Between Self-Care and Home Design?

Millennials want their homes to be their escape, a sanctuary. Berkus from the show Nate and Jeremiah by Design says “with everything going on in the world, I think all of us want and have always wanted, our home to be our sanctuary”. As millennials have become interested in self-care, mindfulness and the internet, the popularity of escapism design is increasing. People are now relying on their home environments to boost their moods and well-being. People want interiors that shut out all of the noise, in order for them to concentrate on themselves. People want to let in more light into their homes and are moving the clutter away from their windows to gain the benefits that natural sunlight gives us. They’re putting more effort into supporting their natural body clock, being more resourceful through utilising space and nature more.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/design/home-design-self-care-interior-design-millennials-minimalism-wellbeing-instagram-pinterest-a8186771.html

https://www.wellandgood.com/good-home/self-care-bedroom-decor-ikea/

https://cheryljanisdesigns.com

http://ayibamagazine.com/bespoke-binny-re-inventing-home-self-care-decor/

“Millennials: The Self Care Generation”

https://www.hercampus.com/school/gettysburg/millennials-self-care-generation

“Millennials, Here's Why You Are Addicted To Self-Improvement”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/julesschroeder/2018/01/30/millennials-heres-why-you-are-addicted-to-self-improvement/#4bdca3a30080

“Is Self-Care Healthy Or The Ultimate In Millennial Narcissism?”

http://thefederalist.com/2017/06/13/is-self-care-healthy-or-the-ultimate-in-millennial-narcissism-yes/

HOW MILLENNIALS AND SELF CARE CHANGED SPACIAL DESIGN?

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/design/home-design-self-care-interior-design-millennials-minimalism-wellbeing-instagram-pinterest-a8186771.html

https://www.wellandgood.com/good-home/self-care-bedroom-decor-ikea/

https://cheryljanisdesigns.com

http://ayibamagazine.com/bespoke-binny-re-inventing-home-self-care-decor/

HOW SPACIAL DESIGN CHANGED BASED ON GENERATION(S) NEEDS?

IS SELF CARE NEW WAY TO BECOME MORE EMPATHETIC? (emotional intelligence)

–> success, perfection, career, minding own business

–> failure is normal, it’s ok to fail

–> body positivity, sisterhood, fair trade, sustainability

Photographs of self care products

INSPIRATIONS

https://tomorrows-world-values.pilots.bbcconnectedstudio.co.uk/result/?id=MTlmMjAwMzE2NjYzNDM0NDIwMzEzMTIwMTIzMA&fbclid=IwAR2MPxRyN7_F7IgQJ8vZyHr2U5j71cVi-e43pkjuG6yciSvs-TopBHkSSZE

https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/antti-kalevi-illustration-210119

https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/stefanie-tam-a-love-letter-to-la-graphic-design-publication-170119

https://www.instagram.com/postsecret/

https://fordenicol.com/projects/the-fall/

https://iohanna.com/Form-Follows-Data

http://www.blakefallconroy.com/18.html

http://www.madebyrain.com

FEMINIST ART MOVEMENT

HISTORY OF FEMINISM

The history of feminism comprises the narratives (chronological or thematic) of the movements and ideologies which have aimed at equal rights for women. While feminists around the world have differed in causes, goals, and intentions depending on time, culture, and country, most Western feminist historians assert that all movements that work to obtain women's rights should be consideredfeminist movements, even when they did not (or do not) apply the term to themselves.Some other historians limit the term "feminist" to the modern feminist movement and its progeny, and use the label "protofeminist" to describe earlier movements. Modern Western feminist history is conventionally split into three time periods, or "waves", each with slightly different aims based on prior progress:

First-wave feminism of the 19th and early 20th centuries focused on overturning legal inequalities, particularly addressing issues of women's suffrage

Second-wave feminism (1960s–1980s) broadened debate to include cultural inequalities, gender norms, and the role of women in society

Third-wave feminism (1990s–2000s) refers to diverse strains of feminist activity, seenboth as a continuation of the second wave and as a response to its perceived failures

Although the "waves" construct has been commonly used to describe the history of feminism, the concept has also been criticisedor ignoring and erasing the history between the "waves", by choosing to focus solely on a few famous figures and on popular events.

FEMINIST ART MOVEMENT

The feminist art movement refers to the efforts and accomplishments of feminists internationally to produce art that reflects women's lives and experiences, as well as to change the foundation for the production and reception of contemporary art. It also sought to bring more visibility to women within art history and art practice. Corresponding with general developments within feminism, and often including such self-organizing tactics as the consciousness-raising group, the movement began in the 1960s and flourished throughout the 1970s as an outgrowth of the so-called second wave of feminism. It has been called "the most influential international movement of any during the postwar period."

FEMINIST ART

Feminist art is a category of art associated with the late 1960s and 1970s feminist movement. Feminist art highlights the societal and political differences women and those of other gender identity experience within their lives. The hopeful gain from this form of art is to bring a positive and understanding change to the world, in hope to lead to equality. Media used range from traditional art forms such as painting to more unorthodox methods such as performance art, conceptual art, body art, craftivism, video, film, and fiber art. Feminist art has served as an innovative driving force towards expanding the definition of art through the incorporation of new media and a new perspective.

FIRST-WAVE FEMINISM

First-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity and thought that occurred during the 19th and early 20th century throughout the Western world. It focused on legal issues, primarily on gaining the right to vote.

The term first-wave was coined in March 1968 by Martha Lear writing in The New York Times Magazine, who at the same time also used the term "second-wave feminism".At that time, the women's movement was focused on de facto (unofficial) inequalities, which it wished to distinguish from the objectives of the earlier feminists.

SECOND-WAVE FEMINISM

Second-wave feminism, a period of feminist activity and thought that began in the United States in the early 1960s, lasted roughly two decades. It quickly spread across the Western world, with an aim to increase equality for women by gaining more than just enfranchisement.

Whereas first-wave feminism focused mainly on suffrage and overturning legal obstacles to gender equality (e.g., voting rights and property rights), second-wave feminism broadened the debate to include a wider range of issues: sexuality, family, the workplace, reproductive rights, de facto inequalities, and official legal inequalities. Second-wave feminism also drew attention to the issues of domestic violence and marital rape, engendered rape-crisis centers and women's shelters, and brought about changes in custody laws and divorce law. Feminist-owned bookstores, credit unions, and restaurants were among the key meeting spaces and economic engines of the movement.

Many historians view the second-wave feminist era in America as ending in the early 1980s with the intra-feminism disputes of the feminist sex wars over issues such as sexuality and pornography, which ushered in the era of third-wave feminism in the early 1990s.

THIRD-WAVE FEMINISM

Third-wave feminism is an iteration of the feminist movement that began in the early 1990s United States and continued until the fourth wave began around 2012. Born in the 1960s and 1970s as members of Generation X, and grounded in the civil-rights advances of the second wave, third-wave feminists embraced individualism and diversity and sought to redefine what it meant to be a feminist.According to feminist scholar Elizabeth Evans, the "confusion surrounding what constitutes third-wave feminism is in some respects its defining feature."

The third wave is traced to the emergence of the Riot grrrl feminist punk subculture in Olympia, Washington, in the early 1990s, and to Anita Hill's televised testimony in 1991—to an all-male, all-white Senate Judiciary Committee—that Clarence Thomas, nominated for the Supreme Court of the United States, had sexually harassed her. The term third wave is credited to Rebecca Walker.

Walker sought to establish that third-wave feminism was not just a reaction, but a movement in itself, because the feminist cause had more work ahead. The term intersectionality—to describe the idea that women experience "layers of oppression" caused, for example, by gender, race and class—had been introduced by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in 1989, and it was during the third wave that the concept flourished. As feminists came online in the late 1990s and early 2000s and reached a global audience with blogs and e-zines, they broadened their goals, focusing on abolishing gender-role stereotypes and expanding feminism to include women with diverse racial and cultural identities.

The third wave saw the emergence of new feminist currents and theories, such as intersectionality, sex positivity, vegetarian ecofeminism, transfeminism, and postmodern feminism.

MALE GAZE

In feminist theory, the male gaze is the act of depicting women and the world, in the visual arts and in literature, from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the male viewer. In visual presentations, the male gaze has three perspectives:

I - that of the man behind the camera,

II - that of the male characters within the film's cinematic representations,

III - that of the spectator gazing at the image.

The film critic Laura Mulvey coined the term male gaze, which is conceptually contrasted with the female gaze.As a way of seeing women and the world, the psychology of the male gaze is comparable to the psychology of scopophilia, the pleasure of looking; thus, the terms scopophilia and scoptophilia identify both the aesthetic pleasures and the sexual pleasures derived from looking at someone or something.

The feminist concept of the “male gaze” is useful in art criticism. The concept originally comes from film studies, where it is used to discuss the fact that men traditionally controlled the camera, of which women were an object. Men certainly also controlled the brush through most of the history of Western painting, and the women in paintings generally acknowledge this. As the art historian John Berger said, women in painting don’t usually look out at the viewer: they aren’t considering the viewer, but considering how the viewer sees them. They have an inward gaze, rather than an outward gaze. But painters can also violate this “rule” (more a tendency really) to depict a woman who has power or confidence.

Two paintings that are diagonally across from each other at the Metropolitan Museum make this clear. On the one hand, we have Gérard’s portrait of the Princess of Talleyrand, a courtesan who became Talleyrand’s mistress and then his wife. She was considered very beautiful in her time and is dressed in the latest Empire fashions, and she looks down and to the side in her portrait. Her gaze avoids the viewer’s: she is absorbed in her own thoughts, or her own coquetry, it’s unclear which. Across the gallery is David’s double portrait of the great scientist Lavoisier and his wife, Marie-Anne Paulze. Here the male inside the painting definitely does not control the gaze: he looks up at his wife questioningly, while she does not return his gaze (though she puts her hand on his shoulder with a gesture of intimacy unusual in painting). Instead she turns to look out directly and confidently (though not aggressively) at the viewer: it is she who communicates with the world on behalf of this couple. And in fact this portrays something real about this couple. Paulze had many public-facing characteristics that Lavoisier lacked: she spoke many languages and could inform Lavoisier about the scientific literature of the whole of Europe. And she was also his lab illustrator, explaining his/their experiments to the world through the visual arts. Look at the women you see in the art museum the next time you go. Do they look out at the viewer, or not, and why?

https://www.lsnglobal.com/news/article/23200/libresse-unashamedly-celebrates-the-female-vulva

ZINE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSE2O35DeWs

#macd104

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bpd-matters-blog · 6 years ago

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Repost 📷 @howamifeelingg I was always a feelings oriented person. But somewhere along the line I started hearing things like “you’re always moody” and “you’re over emotional”. So I took that as a sign to try and hide them. I pushed them down for years and I learned how to do weird mental backflips to make sure I kept everything compact. . I wanted them to be less noticeable, I wanted to be less noticeable. I felt like I was always doing something wrong or reacting to things in the wrong way. This lead to a lot of anxiety amongst other issues. I felt like I couldn’t trust myself but I also felt like I couldn’t adopt other people’s reactions as my own (although I did at one point- I don’t recommend doing that). It wasn’t until I finally got angry enough to do what I hadn’t done for so long, I decided to turn inward and learn how to decipher things for myself. . What I learned the most felt a bit ironic. I found that the way to deal with big, often overwhelming emotions was to allow them the space to exist. It wasn’t/still isn’t easy to do. I still struggle with a voice in the back of my head saying I should stop to avoid further embarrassment. But in the moments I’m able to allow the feeling to just exist- it tends to resolve itself sooner. Allow yourself the space to feel things. It’s okay. You’ll be okay. . /edit: someone sent a message in response to this asking for sources on how to do this-on how to allow emotions to exist. I wish I had a one size fits all answer for that exact thing. I wish I could put it into words but it was just (and still is) a lengthy process of learning to recognize what lessons I learned as a child on how to respond to my emotions. It’s just a lot of trial and error through unlearning these things. . . . . #howamifeeling #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalillnessawareness #mentalhealthmatters #ventart #ruokay #mentalhealthart #mentalillnessart #mentalillness #artformentalhealth #skeletonclique #howamifeelingg #psychology #recovery #mentalwellness #themighty #twloha #mentalwellness #postsecret #mentalhealthmonth #mentalhealthweek #selfcare https://www.instagram.com/p/BotHK3_HKaz/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1r3tlfic6wkjw

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a-h-arts · 6 years ago

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Highly Recommended The book is great! I love reading all of the secrets. Some made me tear up. Some made me laugh. Highly recommended! Go to Amazon

PostSecret Educates and Illuminates Suicide Prevention & Fundraising FRANK WARREN PUBLISHES CONFESSIONS OF LIFE, DEATH, AND GOD Go to Amazon

Like talking to a good friend. I don't read these very often but i have kept a space on my bookshelf for the post secret books. Whenever I am down and overly burdened with life I take a look at one of the collections of beautifully crafted postcards with their poigniant secrets and realize that I am not alone. It may sound cheesy but if only for a moment it helps. I especially like the more portable nature of the new book so it's easy to stash in a purse or a bookbag and since several pages in previous books were taken up with responses to postcards or notes from frank it really didn't seem like you got any less secrets than the bigger version. The same secrets are often printed in multiple books such as the fear of growing up or of being alone or of wanting to be loved but I find that the repetition does not become monotonous but rather makes it more honest and communicates the universality of our desires as human beings and reinforces a sense of connection with one another. Overall, I highly recommend this or any other post secret book. Go to Amazon

Great postSecret Book This is a great book. It is a compilation of postsecrets that have been on the website as well as some new ones that haven't been on the site at all. I love the concept behind postsecret and find the books inspiring, touching, sad, hopeful, and many things. They can lift my mood, ease my pain or guilt, and make me feel like everyone else. We aren't alone in our thoughts/secrets. Go to Amazon

Another Great PostSecret Book You can't go wrong with any of the PostSecret books. They are some of the most cherished gifts that I give. Go to Amazon

What is there not to love about Post Secret books What is there not to love about Post Secret books? I have included Post Secret books in my coffee table collection as they provide wonderful reading and opportunities for discussion with guests. As always, shipping and product description were as expected! Thanks! Go to Amazon

Exceptional profile of real people in real life. I bought the entire series of these books by Frank Warren for my daughter. She requested them as she knew the background of the series. Mr. Warren left pre-addressed postcards randomly in books at libraries, etc. and asked the finders to write down a secret that they had, but did not share with anyone, and mail it to him. Keeping all identities anonymous gave him an overwhelming response, which he turned into this series of books. I read them before I gave them to my daughter. It was the most fascinating journey of the innermost thoughts and secrets of people at large. I recommend this series for readers past the age of high school for greatest appreciation of the human spirit and condition. Go to Amazon

Some Funny, Some Dumb, Sad sad I was really excited to get this book and I'm pleased with what I have received. I'd just thought I'd share what's inside. Some of the secrets are really silly, but some are eyeopening and really make you think. Some you just wish you could talk to the person who wrote it and comfort them because they're really upsetting. I love to read so I read the whole thing in one sitting and i know i'll go back and look at them for luaghs but I don't know if it was worth it. The color was fabulous and everything looked very real. Interesting conversation starter! Go to Amazon

One Star Four Stars Five Stars Five Stars Page turner But the content is fantastic as always Five Stars Four Stars Five Stars Fun, thoughtful and sometimes sad look into our lives

#Historical #art #book

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peer-thesis · 7 years ago

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The Final Process

Peer is a youth service for teens to explore their identity  through mentorship and shared experiences. Peer is the thesis of Amy Wu's two year journey  at SVA MFA Interaction Design. This is the story.

VALUE Geared towards older teenagers (14 years old and up) who are simultaneously having to prepare for college and their future, as well as trying to figure out who they are and who they want to be. Peer is a youth service that connects teens to mentors and youth opportunities based on their interests. Unlike other youth services, teens enter into the Peer system through any of the three tracks: look, find, or do. Peer is a responsive website that can be used on any smartphone.

USER NEEDS & BENEFITS Today's teens have overpacked schedules. Much is asked of them from standardized testing, extracurricular activities and preparing for college. Depending on their socioeconomic standing, they might lack the resources to obtain an all around, fulfilling education. Many youth programs are trying to supplement for these gaps in the system, but there is a disconnect between the initiatives and teens. Some teens do not have the same kind of support at home as other teens, the latter might even have “helicopter” parent(s). There is a major tension between giving teens their independence versus adult supervision and involvement. Teens want to feel like they have a say over their lives, but when needed that there is a support system for them, waiting to lend a hand or ear. Young people are constantly being told what to do, who to be, and just want to be left alone. When they do need advice, they should feel comfortable enough to turn to somebody, whether that is a parent or a mentor. The word mentor comes with a heavy definition and we might not recognize that all of us can be a mentor to young people just by passing along experiences and listening. Peer hopes to redefine what a mentor means.

FEATURES Peer is comprised of three tracks: look, find, and do. In the look track, teens are connected to mentors through videos and social media. In the find track, teens can dive into a particular field of study to see different roadmaps on how to get there. And finally, in the do track, teens sign up for different youth opportunities, such as free workshops, community service, or internships within their community in order to explore their interests. Peer's mission is to give teens autonomy outside of their home and school life and help them develop a sense of self.

Initial Launch

Currently, the "do" section of Peer is only for New York City teens.

A Love Story. Not really.

(Pictured above: Initial reading material (October 2015))

At first I was interested in looking at love, more specifically the love for oneself. I wanted to learn more about how people build their self-worth, what they think about self-care. Who they are and how they got there. Or what I like to refer to as self-love and selfhood.

“Love is not primarily a relationship to a specific person it is an attitude, an orientation of character, which determines the relatedness of a person to the world as a whole, not towards one ‘object’ of love.” — Erich Fromm

Love is underrated.

A capitalistic society sees love as an object, where people within the culture exchange personality packages in hopes for a “fair” bargain, disguised as equality. This breeds the urge for always looking for what is better out there. And in an age of social media and quantifying everything, self-love is lost to the quantified self—further inducing the idea of “deserved” love, which is to be loved because of one’s merits.

I believe people think love and marriage absolves problems, but love is just love. Love is overrated in terms of finding “the one,” but what is heavily underrated and unnurtured is the love for ourselves and the platonic relationships we share with others (families, friends, neighbors, and strangers). This is the reason why we as today's society feel the most alone in these connected times.

Learning to love oneself empowers and enables us to bring this love to other interactions in our lives.

Some people might think I changed courses in my thesis, but I only see it as a narrowing down and focus to one particular age group (teenagers) and the realization that identity and self-love (self-worth) is intertwined. Here is a snippet of my thinkings on October 27, 2015 after talking to a few classmates:

My takeaway from yesterday’s brain dump is that I don’t have a concrete hypothesis and though I have been reading a lot around the topic of love, I still can’t explain what it is that I wish to solve. It’s hard for me to put into succinct words from what lens I am exploring love.

And that is a quick synopsis of how my thesis converged self-love with teens and identity. Right around that time, I stumbled upon this quote:

“Our young people are dealing with police brutality, massive unemployment and inferior schooling. I think they’re too unloved and too uncared for, and we want them to know there’s a wave of older people who deeply love and care for them and are willing to sacrifice for them. I grew up in the Glen Elder neighborhood of south Sacramento, and always felt I am who I am because somebody loved me.” — Cornell West

Preliminary Research

A first stab at talking about my thesis.

“Our appreciation of the self is part of all that we do. Thus, to say that the way we as humans come to know ourselves, to experience our bodies, and to place ourselves in relation to others in the world is essential in how we navigate and think of our time here.” — infed.org, non-profit organization, pedagogy for change

Design Brief: A First Stab

BACKGROUND Selfhood is defined as the state of having an individual identity. As young girls and boys practically grow up swiping and touching screens, where does the idea of selfhood lie in today’s connected world? With a focus on inner city adolescents, they in particular have multiple obstacles in front of them, while feeling spent at the lower half of Maslow’s hierarchy scale; there is no time or importance on self- esteem and self-actualization. Also with a lingering societal stigma attached to mental healthy and therapy, they are most at risk.

OBJECTIVE The goal is to empower inner city adolescents. Our business strategy is to become a trusted institution of resources and standard for research and data on the mental health of teens. Driven by establishing close relationships with public schools and partnerships with organizations like The New York Foundling and Covenant House, in order to work alongside educators, social workers, therapists, psychologists and counselors.

Disrupting the “self-help” market by reinventing what therapy can look like. To make a viable product geared towards disadvantaged kids, we are tasked with strategically positioning our product at the forefront of technology and the mental health industry, in order to be solely funded by grants, charities and angel investors.

TARGET AUDIENCE Low-income adolescents from the age of 12 to 16 from New York City public schools.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Secrets app ($1.4 million starting VC, $25 million anonymous investors)

Chicken soup for the soul (publishing industry)

PostSecret (publishing industry)

DOVE campaign and/or Lean In campaign

In 2000, self-help books in the US market were worth more than $600m. Today, the self-improvement industry represents a $10 billion per year industry in the U.S. alone. With a high repeat offender rate, the most likely purchaser of a self-help book being the same person who purchased one already in the last 18 months.

HUNT STATEMENT I am researching how teens see themselves and the technologies they currently use, so that I can design a relevant product or service/framework that speaks to the discovery and exploration of self-identity during this critical and vulnerable time in their lives.

THESIS FESTIVAL REPORTER Write a fictional two paragraphs reviewing your thesis as if you were a reporter in the audience during your final presentation at the end of next semester. Give it a headline and describe the key takeaways.

Graduate Student Uses Social Media to Promote Selfhood Amongst Teens [TechCrunch, May 14, 2015]

SVA MFA Interaction Design student Amy Wu presented Self-Love, a mobile-only social media platform that promotes the discussion of big questions like, Who are you? What do you stand for? hand in hand with topics like loving oneself and finding ones’ own voice. Wu takes the coming of age user group who are native social networkers to create a teen-centric framework for peers to talk openly and positively about a formative time in their life. Self-Love attempts to twist the stigma associated with most social media, (naming names) such as the anonymous app YikYak which educators, parents and governmental institutions say fosters cyber bullying or the grandfather of social networks, Facebook with the many articles and studies that state users feel depressed after seeing ones’ friends status updates and photos in headlines such as “How Facebook Makes Us Unhappy”.

Wu talked to teens about their lives and to those who supervise them. From a social worker, teachers, guidance counselors to parents and even acted as a fly on the wall in the hallways of a Brooklyn Junior High School and Manhattan High School to understand her core users. She has been out of high school for a decade now, so her memories of the teenage years are without a cellphone and only one shared PC at home. Today, 78% of teens have a cell phone and half of those teens have smartphones. These staggering numbers increase by 14% each year. With all this talk about relational aggression [see Mean Girls] amongst teenage girls and the overload of sexual memes amongst teenage boys, Wu and her thesis Self-Love carves out time for teens to take pause in the midst of their extracurricular activities to think and reflect and then to share amongst their peers because no one else on this planet feels more misunderstood than adolescents.

I was surprised at how much writing this helped me distill the bigger picture of my thesis. While I was prototyping, I constantly came back to this, comparing the current prototype to these personal overarching needs.

Field Research

Talking to teens, parents and adults who work with young people.

“Sometimes I do worry about the way society runs and operates, I find it in fact uncomfortable that once we receive our education and we try to figure out the world for ourselves for the next 40 years we basically work in a specific industry, settle down and have a family and work for the rest of our lives and when we reach 60 we just retire and I’m just thinking to myself sure that sounds greats, but are we really fulfilling our expectations of reality? Are we really pursuing who we are?” — Maim, 15

I interviewed six teenagers from the ages of 13 to 18, three males and three females from the east and west coast. I asked them questions ranging from what social media they use and if they use them solely on their phone or via computer to questions around who they turn to for advice and how they deal with mistakes, as well as if they thought their parents/adults understood them.

The questions centered around:

General (age, school, nationality, etc.)

Technology

Describe a typical day from morning to bedtime

Future plans

Support team

Identity

The entire interviewing script can be found here.

After conducting the phone interviews, I thought I would have an epiphany. Sadly, it doesn't work like that. The feelings and thoughts that I came away with were a mix of confusion and “openended-ness”. I doubt the questions I asked. I wasn't sure how I could help.

However, I did see some common concerns amongst the group, they are worried about their futures as much as me and my peers are. They are studying for the SATs (sometimes even on their own accord), have a ton of extracurricular activities—late into the evening, and have sport games and practices to attend on the weekends. Teens have packed schedules. They are worried about getting into college, if they should dorm, what major they should go into, if they can support themselves, and finding a partner in life.

There were two major assumptions that my research proved false:

Teens are just hormonal and just need to grow out of that phase doesn’t ring true in my research. They are smart and have a lot of things going for themselves. We tend to discredit them, pass them off as immature, but that isn’t what I found in talking to them, which is great, but not so great for me because I’m still unsure how to design for them. Or what I could possibly design to intervene. Basically I still don’t see the opportunity areas.

Teens do not trust or turn to their parents or older figures, but actually talking to these six teens their parents and older siblings guidance counselors and teachers are the first people they name when I asked them about role models and people they trust and who they go to advice for. Yes they don’t disclose certain issues with their parents, guardians, and people who supervise them, but when they are looking for a trustworthy figure, they still turn to their folks.

“Adults would give a child advice, that he or she believes is the best for the child when the child already understands the idea of the advice and is choosing to look for a different path to walk towards.” — Ray, 16

Some takeaways:

No one wants to be teated like child or told what to do just because “they said so”

It’s about knowing what is out there/offerings (ie: art programs, after-school activities)

How people learn is different

Teens feel empowered when they are put in positions where they are experts as something (ie: teaching younger kids, feeding the underserved, taking care of their pets)

Teens (and adults) know social media is addicting, but can’t help checking, so they know what is bad for them (ie: staying up until 1am on their phones until they get teary eyed)

Teens still look up to older figures as role models

Some teens have adult worries (growing up too fast)

Friends are super important to them because they get them and they chose them as friends (vs. family)

One defines themselves in relation to others.

And so, if the way to discovering yourself is based on how you differ or relate to others then it would make sense to get teens to meet as many people (peers and adults) as possible—from all types of backgrounds so they can see how others think and live in order to assess for themselves what values they’d like to adopt and how to carve out their own paths in relation to what has been modeled before them. Also by meeting others, they can find common ground through interests versus their immediate peers at school or neighborhood block.

Prototype #1: The Worry Box

Problem statement Sometimes problems seem bigger in one’s head than in reality. Sometimes when confronted with a worry, one feels like no one understands. Or perhaps the issue seems too much of a “first world problem” so they don’t talk about their feelings or emotions and keep it inside instead. This inhibits growth and is detrimental to ones mental health. When I talk about something, I notice it feels more grounded in reality, where I know the actions to take next to perhaps change the situation or at least I was comforted by one’s ear/shoulder.

Solution THE WORRY BOX An anonymous worry box coupled with slips of paper and pens situated at the entranceway of SVA MFA Interaction Design studio (right off the elevators), where students can write down one or more worries they are having and every week they are posted to The Worry Box website where their peers can give words of advice or encouragement. With the hopes of having shared worries (and dreams) and discovering a little bit about themselves.

Takeaway There are a lot of similar worries given the environment of a graduate program and they tend to be vague or high level so I’m not 100% sure how to give advice or respond in a helpful manner.

Prototype #2: Journaling

I asked two teenage boys (15, 17) and two teenage girls (13, 18) if they would be willing to participate in two different prototypes. For the boys, I wanted them to journal for a week in 750words (a private writing space, where you can get text analysis on how you are feeling) and we would debrief after that week. And I asked the girls if they would partake in making a video game on Twine (text-based video game platform). With respect to the video game, I wanted the teen girls to create a video game of their lives and maybe have their parents or parents in general to play the game to build empathy for teenagers. From my research, teens feel as if they are always being told what to do and they don’t have power over their own lives. Also they think parents and adults are too old to understand what they might be going through.

All to say, the best laid plans… The only prototype I was able to pull off was one 17-year-old teenage boy agreed to journal for a week. Though it turned into only 3 days of journaling.

Today I caught up with him over the phone to debrief. Here is what I learned:

It takes a lot of time to have to sit down at a laptop and write every day, “I felt like every day was too much.” He wrote about that day, “anything that irked or bothered me I would just write it down.” He wasn’t bothered by the 750/3 page minimum, “I didn’t really look at the count until I was done.” And when he did write (3 out 7 days), he felt better. “During school, I got my report card and I felt like I didn’t deserve the grade that I got. So I was angry at the teacher. This was before the journaling thing. So I was angry at the teacher. I would be pissed off and I was giving him attitude and I couldn’t get anything done. But then I started doing the journaling thing, so everything I felt I just wrote it down. So I was happier during class, I didn’t have attitude towards the teacher and it felt like therapy almost.” He finds it useful when something to bugging him to write it down to get it out of his system, but doesn’t see himself doing it everyday and not with a minimum of 750 words. He felt pressured to write grammatically correct sentences because of the red dotted underlined (auto-correct spelling) alert. He though the analysis was off since it didn’t give him the correct data on foul language used, when he knows he wrote curse words. A phone app would be more accessible vs. website, “I would have to sit down with my laptop and get ready.” Speech to text: “Because typing is a burden. If it was an microphone related thing that would be so much easier …because sometimes I couldn’t think of a word” This experiment/prototype reminded me so much of the tv show Felicity. She would send these journal entries to a long-distance friend via a recorder. And each episode would end with her reflecting about something going on in her life. It wasn’t only until the last episode of the show when “Sally” replied.

Prototype #3: Youth Program

Featured in DNAinfo: "Free Photo Workshop for Teens Helps Instill Queens Pride" A detailed flyer that was posted in store windows of our sponsors. A detailed flyer that was posted in store windows of our sponsors.

Flyers for the 1st installment of QNSKID, a series of free youth workshops in Queens. We kick off on Saturday, March 14th 2015!

Brought to you by @qnsmade and @queenscapes, we will explore different Queens landmarks throughout the afternoon to encourage Queens kids to discover and learn more about their hometown, as well as share some mobile street photography tips.

We are happy to announce that @beliefnyc and @astoriabookshop are both offering a 15% discount for their respective shops, while @queensfinestinc and @horusnewyork will be providing authentic Queens apparel to all the participants! We are proud to have such strong Queens staples on board as sponsors to show the Queens youth that you don’t have to leave the borough to become successful.

QNSKID participants MUST be between the ages of 13 to 19 years old. Please email [email protected] to sign up. A little tidbit about the name: A lot of Queens natives refer to themselves as “Queens kids” regardless of age. This workshop is specifically for Queens teens created by “Queens kids” just like them!

Backdrop The premise of these workshops came from my research on teens and how they build their self-identity and self-worth in this timely phase of their lives and how social media and today’s networked channels impact the formation.

When I was a teenager, what got me through junior high school and high school was art classes. I wasn’t good at math or science and I was an average student. I really struggled in my AP classes. I thought I should take AP classes because they would look good on my resume and would carry over for college credit. I took Chinese classes and SAT prep classes during my summer vacations.

I won a competition through ArtsConnection in junior high school. I remember I scaled up a drawing of a seated ballerina. I was really proud of it because it was pretty close to the original photograph. The prize was either a FIT art class or a Pearl Paint gift card. I took the latter and got a free Adobe Illustrator class out of it. I remember in the class we had to replicate a product in a magazine advertisement and I chose a perfume bottle.

Teens and social media has been a hot topic in the news. From the books I’ve read, I resonate with It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens versus The App Generation.

Where I stand in this debate: For the most part I think we should teens alone. Most teens have a good head on their shoulders and are thinking about and reflecting upon what is happening around them in real thoughtful ways.

My mom will tell me to do better in school, you have to study more, the idea of saying study more is not what I am looking for. She doesn’t have to tell me that. Adults will give advice that he or she believes is the best for the child when the child already understands the idea of the advice, but is choosing a different path to walk towards.

The way society runs and operates at times, it is unnatural and strange, especially when it comes to our education system. In school we are given immense pressure. I believe we are suppose to learn and educate ourselves about the world, but with all these tests and exams, which our teachers are trying to cram through us. Think about it like this, when you see a dog that can sit, roll over, do you call it well-trained or well-educated? And at times, I believe we are trained to do a specific task and we aren’t actually learning anything.

At the same token I worry about teenage girls. Relational aggression or mean girls syndrome is alive and well. Though cyber bullying is a buzzword and will now live in today’s society, I don’t think kids are being bullied more so because of technology, but it has been an enabler for bullying in a new territory. And given the medium, being removed from face to face interactions and ownership causes people to be meaner, adults are at fault too. I would say the sketch that Louis CK’s “On Driving” is the same for people behind a screen. When you are once removed and the interaction is asynchronous people might not think twice about what they say.

I also worry about teens who might not have a support system or identify with anyone at home or at school. As well as teens from immigrant families who have to grow up a bit faster than their peers and have to deal with things that average teens do not have to worry or think about (ie: green card, citizenship, etc). Underserved teens who feel like they were pitted in unfair conditions or feel helpless and those same teens who don’t know what type of resources they have access to within their community.

And so the birth of QNSKID.

A series of free youth workshops geared to empower teens in the Queens community.

Through my work at QNSMADE I’ve met a lot of awesome people who are doing amazing things. I’ve gotten the opportunity to talk to them and hence learn from them. I thought why not take these Queens artists and a group of teens in one room. Teens can meet other teens that they might not know within their circle of friends. And I want the person leading the “workshop” to have free range as to what they want to do and share with the group. My role is to support them, promote the workshop beforehand, take care of applications (parental consent forms), and supply any necessary materials for the workshop.

A lot of youth programs’s mission is to “empower” the youth and the way I think we can do that is to show them that there are so many possibilities out there. There isn’t a straight and narrow path in life, even if they want to be a doctor that road can be winding. I want to lead by example and so sharing having the “teachers” share their own stories and journey to where they are now in a informal and fun, but safe environment.

The first installment kicks off with Steve Vazquez of Queenscapes. He was the first person I reached out to with this idea. And he signed on immediately and brought on a slew of sponsors and eyeballs on the initiative. And for that I am forever grateful for our many collaborations.

The first workshop will help frame the next one and so on…

Prototype #4: Discovery App

https://vimeo.com/123159810

A different spin on the high school career assessment test. This app would informally “test” your interests and what teens care about, interspersed with images from different youth programs that are available for to gain experience. Tying together a practical resource (internship, community service hours to graduate, resume-builder and/or school credit) layered with having a safe place to try out different roles or “hats.” Each teen would have an avatar and collect hats as they finish different (physical) youth activities/programs (a good example of the various offerings would be New York Cares Volunteer Youth Program in the 5 boroughs). The images the teen users sees is feed into the system by other teens who have already gone through that particular activity (ie: soup kitchen, sound design, fashion intern, rebuilding The Rockaways).

So the teen user would swipe right (agree) or left (disagree) with the words, statements, and photographs (purposely left ambiguous to let the user interpret—would they see themselves doing that particular task, was it of interest or intrigue?).

Playtesting & the Pivot

Student from Q580 HS, 15: He wouldn’t need the app because he knows what he wants to do because of the classes he took on tech (HTML/CSS). His school will start asking him about college goals next year. He does community service at school. He is part of the Mouse Squad and he found out about this playtest day via Mouse Core, where they meet in Manhattan to build stuff. His school makes them do a “personal project” like a thesis and he created a game where you lost all your rabbits and you have to collect them back. He designed it in Unity. He likes the superpowers and super heroes slant.

Mother of two young boys: Recommended that I check out Games for Change conference at the end of this month.

Kyle Li, program director of BFA Design & Technology: It seems like when users pick “just not me” it’s the wrong answer because the interaction looks like it goes back versus “so me”. There seems like three phases of the same thing, there should be some aspect where you level up somehow. 36 pages/screens of text. If it is like Tinder, users are swiping left and right on images versus users are swiping a lot of text in my version. Game mechanics. Using the activities (Far Rockaway or the LA murals) within the app and pulling themes into the game like a water theme. Grab from all the apps that are out there and making it your own. You will end up with your system, like Instagram is about bleed photos and big type.

progress bar on the top

different kinds of interactions if you are going to “gamify” it

You want it to feel alive even when the user is not doing anything like real life

“kids like celebrations”

amplify the experience

Student from Baruch HS, 17:

She is going to MIT for college. She wants to be an engineer. She knew that through taking classes in school. She didn’t understand the app, suggested having an overview of the system before (onboarding).

MFA student from The New School: Recommended that I check out her classmates project “Purp”

Student from Frederick Douglass HS, 10th graders (sophomore): She takes two AP classes around business and entrepreneurial. For undergrad, she wants to go to UPENN and wants to try to double major in culinary school.

Student from elementary school, 11: She doesn’t have a phone, she doesn’t need one so some of the questions didn’t pertain to her. She wanted an option for “partly me” for the in between. Her explanation for the app: “It’s a like dating site to find friends”

BFA student from The New School: When he was younger, he wanted to be a marine biologist and he was from Nashville so he would have liked to know where he could do that in his town (”Where’s the water?”). Didn’t like the name, suggested calling it “grown ups”. He saw the most potential in connecting teens with real world things, like the example of the teens helping set up the multimedia lab at their local library because they are volunteering, but it is also beneficial to them to use in return. Making it more like building blocks, perhaps the phases you are growing within the system, building up to something (building a house metaphor). He knew some kids that went to college and still don’t know what they want to do and they are in debt.

The overall takeaway from today’s feedback is that it has to be more playful (different interactions—delightful moments) if you want it feel like a game. The youth who came to the playtest seemed like they really had a grasp on what they want to do, but always citied how they thought their peers didn’t know what they wanted to do and are confused as to where to start. They were really confident in knowing exactly what their interests were even if they couldn’t pinpoint a specific moment.

So perhaps teens already have an inkling into what they want to do, so what’s powerful about my app is not the “personality” discovery part, but the activities.

Final Design: Peer

https://vimeo.com/127405160

PEER is a service for teens to explore their identity by connecting them to mentors and youth programs in their community. PEER is a mobile-friendly website that works across any smartphone and computer.

Today's teens have overpacked schedules. Much is asked of them from standardized testing, extracurricular activities and preparing for college. Depending on their socioeconomic standing, they might lack the resources to obtain an all around, fulfilling education. Many youth programs are trying to supplement for these gaps in the system, but there is a disconnect between the initiatives and teens.

Some teens do not have the same kind of support at home as other teens, the latter might even have “helicopter” parents. There is a major tension between giving teens their independence versus adult supervision and involvement. Teens want to feel like they have a say over their lives, but when needed that there is a support system for them, waiting to lend a hand or ear.

Young people are constantly being told what to do, who to be, and just want to be left alone. When they do need advice, they should feel comfortable enough to turn to somebody, whether that is a parent or a “mentor”. The word mentor comes with a heavy definition and we might not recognize that all of us can be a mentor. In today’s YouTube generation, technology has shifted the idea of who a mentor can be. We can see ourselves in others, even if it’s across the globe.

Geared towards older teenagers (14+) who are simultaneously having to prepare for college and their future, as well as trying to figure out who they are and who they want to be. There are 3 ways teens can use PEER: LOOK, FIND, and DO.

Resources

“Young people can today, therefore, turn away from many good enterprises especially designed for them, because the forms and phrases in which they are presented seem highfaluting or irrelevant. At a time when many young people feel tempted to reject adult experience and authority it is plain that the Youth Service should not seem to offer something packaged—a “way of life”, a “set of values”, a “code”,“, as though these were things which came ready-made, upon the asking, without being tested in living experience… Young people themselves must in the last resort choose to allow adults to try and help. There can be no simple transmitting of a priori values, because to the expanding energies and enquiries of adolescence most values are not a priori.” — infed.org

It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens

The App Generation: How Today’s Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World

Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain

Identity in Adolescence: The Balance between Self and Other

Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls

Ophelia Speaks: Adolescent Girls Write About Their Search for Self

In my preliminary research, Tavi Gevinson and what she has done with Rookie Mag and who she is and the way she thinks has been a good reference point throughout my thesis.

https://www.ted.com/talks/tavi_gevinson_a_teen_just_trying_to_figure_it_out

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents and my sister for being my support system since I decided to quit my job and go back to school two years ago. The weekly Sunday night dinners helped keep me sane while I was in grad school... To my younger sister, Tiffany, for being my best friend and my better half. Love you, sis! And thank you to Tim for putting up with us.

Obviously, I couldn't have made this thesis or gotten through this program without my 21 classmates. I love you guys. I wasn't sure what to expect coming back, but each and every one of you has made this education more than a "graduate degree" but the most memorable two years of my life. I have learned so much from you all. You are the smartest people I have encountered in my journey and I feel so happy inside to know that I have you guys as lifelong friends now...

To Liz, Eric, Gary, Christina, Leland, and the rest of the IxD faculty. Yall rock man. Thank you for pushing us and believing in us. Without Entrepreneurial Design class, I'm not sure where my life would be right now.

To Nicole, my thesis advisor. You were the best advisor! You were the voice of reason. Thanks to Melody for her intuition that we would be a great match. I just enjoyed spending time with you. I think being around you just instantly made me more calm.

To my friends for understanding that I was going to be missing in action for two years, for good reason and being there now to pick up where we left off. Thanks for being there when I needed you and understanding when I couldn't make it out to hang. You know who you are.

PEER is definitely a labor of love. It feels like a project I have been working on for 29 years of my life. Thank you SVA IXD for giving my seed of an idea a place in the world.

Appendix

Why do I design?

Design is my way to tell my story and the stories of others. I design because I want to do good in the world and it is where I feel most comfortable having a voice in the conversation.

I design because I know how. Design is communication in the form of visuals and/or words. The representation of a message in its best possible format (or it is what designers strive for). An idea that has found its output. Design is an avenue where I can make myself heard. Convene a idea to one person or the masses.

I design because I see the power of design. When I was first introduced to graphic design I had on rose-colored glasses and believed that the design of a poster could change the world. I still very much believe in the power of design, but I know now that it's not how the poster looked that I was entranced by—it was the message. It was the way the idea was translated to the viewer.

I design because I love the process. I enjoy the thinking and the making. I like bouncing off ideas and feeling excited by all the creative energies in a room and this doesn't mean a room full of designers, but everyone who is passionate and invested in the trenches of an idea. I live for those moments. To be in the beginning of a journey. I love thinking big picture, but then hacking away at the pool of ideas and narrowing down to the minute details.

I design because I love people. Design is about people. I enjoy observing people. Seeing how one moves and what one has to say in the world. Everyone has a story to tell. I want to make things for people. I want to make things that people need and care about. I want to help others bring into life the things they want to see in the world.

I design because I have something to say. It is still challenging to communicate why design thinking is important because design seems frivolous to some—this only serves as a driving force for me to design.

Amy Wu | Class of 2015

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