Photos from the presentations at the +Change Project Space: Nat Waller, VC+C student.
Interaction design – Working with regional parties and strategies of communication
In the module of Interaction design II the students of Visual Communication + Change second year in Kalmar work together with regional actors to help develop their strategies and tools of communication while focusing on an inclusive and a multicultural approach. The module extends the students’ knowledge of interaction design and includes digital interfaces, tools and results.
To invite someone/-thing into a workflow, for example a design process, is to take care of voices heard and unheard. Often this means to remove barriers and to design the workflow itself with the help of empathy and design methodology. Working with a collaborator or client means that you as a visual communicator leads the process (staying active and ahead), to provide encouragement when the actual difficulties (possible improvements) appear and to finally provide a workable and engaging solution. The solution is often not only a single deliverable; but a guiding design helping the collaborator to align their continued work towards a sustainable development.
Kalmar Atletklubb
“Kalmar RE-AK” is a student project by the Visual Communication + Change second year students: Gréta Balog, Andreea Bindar, Anna McCarthy, Deja De Moss.
The new identity of the club doesn’t just lay in redesigning the logotype […] it has to be based on a well thought out concept and analysis of their core values as well as the main focus of what’s the club actually about, and later to communicate this reality – Andreea Bindar, VC+C student
Working with a club whose history goes back to almost hundred years is a huge responsibility which requires a lot of work and considerate decisions which are built up on research and long discussions. A huge change like this can be hard for the club to accept […] They have to be open and involve us in their club so we can do our research and observations which is going to lead us to the best potential final result. – Gréta Balog, VC+C student
By observing him [Erik] in the gym as well as the other gym members we are able to take in to consideration everyones’ needs. We have done this by using techniques and tools, such as empathy maps and other ideation processes. We aim to create a multicultural profile by redesigning the digital interface and organising an open house to introduce the new visual identity and bring in a more diverse clientele. – Anna McCarthy, VC+C student
Kalmar chess society
“Kalmar chess society” is a student project by the Visual Communication + Change second year students: Bashar Lubbad, Clara Doupovec, Nat Waller.
“As a meeting point between cultures, I would say that sports stand strong. They are activities where people come together for a main activity that does not require that people speak the same language. But, speaking of common languages, the members of the chess club had some interesting reflections around this: Multiple of the local chess players we talked to, have emphasized that chess is like a language – they say that as long as you know the rules, you have a common language. According to them the rules are the same all over the world. Playing styles might differ based on your background, and the club’s players described this as the dialects of the common language chess is. Put differently, the club did not only talk about inclusion in general, but also stressed the natural inclusion that exists within their sport, making me believe that these are issues they have thought through and truly care about. The club also talked about the inclusion that lies in the fact that chess is a sport that trains your brain and is not very physical: In chess tournaments everyone can play against everyone, gender, age or physical disabilities do not exclude you or place you in a special category.” – Clara Doupovec, VC+C student
I conducted interviews with people of immigrant backgrounds at Language schools as well as shopping malls as part of the user experience design process. The goal is to get a deeper look at the targeted audience which may not be reached online or speaks Swedish or English. – Bashar Lubbad, VC+C student
From reaching out to friends and international facebook groups like ESN to get help from those who speak the languages, we received five definite translations of our slogans ‘checkmate’ or ‘let’s play’: Arabic, English, Somali, Persian and of course Swedish. We were satisfied with these as we reflected that we would rather have five slogans correctly translated than more which could have been poorly done by us and therefore not inclusive at all. – Nat Waller, VC+C student
But, speaking of common languages, the members of the chess club had some interesting reflections around this: Multiple of the local chess players we talked to, have emphasised that chess is like a language – they say that as long as you know the rules, you have a common language. – Clara Doupovec, VC+C student in conversation with the Kalmar chess society
