Education in 21st Century... (Interactive Installation)

Design Goal

The goal of this project was to display complex information in an interactive way, which would engage the audience and spread awareness regarding the selected topic. 

* This work is selected as Finalist for SCAD Secession 2015

Design Research

Even in the 21st century after all the technological advancements the world is still facing issues regarding access to basic education and to be precise education of girl child. There are 775 million adults who are illiterate around the world and 64% among them are women. To address this issue of educating a girl child and its importance there exists several non-profit organizations and only a handful of designers. To get an in-depth understanding on the issue works of some of the designers and organizations will be explored. One of the organizations that stood prominent through the research is Because I am a Girl, which is Plan's global initiative to break the cycle of poverty and gender discrimination. Plan is a global movement for change, mobilizing millions of people around the world to support social justice for children in developing nations. Some of the other organizations that support the same issue are Save the Children, Global and Partnership for Education.

Target Audience

The primary persona of this project would consist of women, from the age of 20 and above. Women are more empathic towards such issues. As the research shows if a woman is educated she educates an entire village. This valuable information on educating a girl would reach out to a lot of other women, girls, husband and boys. Hence the primary focus of this project will be women. The secondary persona would include of teenage girls. Teen girls are the youth who have a lot of opportunity to understand and relate to the issues faced by young girls in developing countries. They can be extremely empathic towards these issues and ultimately are going to be the voice of the nations in future.

Design Strategy & Concept

This project was explored in several different ways. It eventually, with the help of a distinctive idea, created impact on the users. Research clearly shows that in the 21st century, the issues regarding women and education prevail. This is an important issue faced by the world, and it needs to be addressed. I wanted to present the data in a unique way with an aim to create impact that would then lead to a shift in the thought processes of the users. The data was illustrated in a metaphorical way, which made the users consider this important issue in a new way. Even though the project dealt with issues in developing countries, the content was designed to be relevant to the audiences from developed nations. To showcase these issues, I created an interactive installation. To create this installation the idea of shedding light was used literally. When the user sheds light using their mobile devices, the important information is presented. The installation is 108 inches long, and it is like a journey. The information could be read one slide at a time and the users have full control over using it. 

Research Methods: 

Primary Research, Secondary Research, Ethnographic Research, Qualitative Research, Target Audience/Market, Visual Exploration and Prototyping.