After identifying further interest in my research and enquiry, week 3 I focused on creating an approach and tools I can adapt to my project through engaging with references. while exploring the topic of identity vs self-representation and how to create an approach to design as a building tool for an alternative space.
IDENTITY IN 21ST CENTURY
In the 21st century, identity is a complex concept shaped by an individual’s unique traits, experiences, beliefs, together with personal, social, cultural, and digital dimensions.
It reflects how individual navigates in a globalized and interconnected world, the roles they play in diverse social groups, their cultural heritage, and their online presence.
Identity today is marked by fluidity, diversity, and the coexistence of traditional and contemporary elements.
SELF-REPRESENTATION
How individuals perceive or construct their own identity both in physical or/and in digital space. It suggests that identity is a dynamic, evolving construction
Self-representation is the way you intentionally project and convey your identity to others.
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In the 21st century, it’s challenging to have full control over all the layers of our identities due to the complex and interconnected nature of the modern world, especially in the digital age.
(Personal And Collective Identity: Transformations In The Digital Age, 2020)
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ITERATION
As an answer to my references, I started exploring the same approach, collecting materials connected to my identity without limitations and curating them together into one place. I was hoping this iteration may help me narrow the topic of identity and self-representation even more, however, I started with:
Prompts/questions I was considering when curating the items:
Items that are connected to my identity?
My favourite things, books?
Childhood memories?
The visual representation of self?
Map locations connected to my identity?
Items / things that represent my hobbies and interests?
Memories and things connected to them?
Who am I / my role here?
What objects are important to me?
Extending on my experiments from last week and started exploring the creation of an alternative space by building my notion of identity in 3D freely using forms and shapes
In my experiments, I was exploring different ways and platforms (tools) to build and create such as adobe dimensions, spline or blender.
After all I got quite stuck on creating these yet most of my trials didn’t look very pretty 😀 more like a pile of trash
I started trying different approaches, getting inspired by the shapes of the objects, colours of my objects, to create an approach to design I could continue with or eventually introduce to a workshop or collective creation.
Moving further and iterating deeper, I started tracing and simplifying the shapes, re-building / editing them and placing them into 3D space, exploring different approaches – experimenting and exploring possibilities.
I had a goal of creating engaging materials, that can be expanded/added to by engaging with people and collecting more and more items, using that as a tool to a discussion about the role of identity and self-representation in contemporary society.
Questions and focus coming from engaging with the latest set of references.
- How to make the space more accessible and easier to reach for the audience? (Remembering Laurent’s comment from the last class about AR being something invisible, not that user-friendly and easy to reach without a device or an app)
- AR can be a great extension of my work, but how I possibly make the space easily engaged with the audience?
- Could an online accessible space or a website be a solution??
CONTINUING ITERATION:
In my final iteration, I was exploring ways to create a website and to embed the fictive space.
Found a way to embed a Spline (3D tool) creation to the website made in Frame while I can edit and update it in real time. However, when exporting from Adobe Dimensions, the textures and materials got lost. I continued working with simplified shapes, creating an “Identity Playground” in the space, people can access and engage with.
Can I work with this further??
While iterating I realised still the topic self-representation is too broad. When moving further – what more concrete can I represent in the space?
Moving further – researching and narrowing down the topic down – giving depth to the ideas, making more relatable and engaging work (not only from my perspective)
Engaging with the tools got me interested in exploring the space building space and pushing the tools (and my skills) further – interactive/playable?
How to create an interactive approach to design as a building and engaging tool while questioning and interrogating self-representation?