Feedback from Tutors

I talked to Tristam about my app concept because I was worried about my app not relating to too strongly to LGBTQ. 
Tristam likes my app idea and gave me helpful feedback on it. He said to flesh out the start of the app (the profile part to organizing the walk part). He asked me questions which made me think of how I could improve my app. Some of his questions were: What happens during the walk? What happens after the walk? How are you going to make it safe for users? Why are you making this app - Is it for support within the LGBTQ community, education for within and out of the LGBTQ community or both? I will think about this and work on my ideas further. 

Journey Maps for two Users when interacting together:
The first user signs up for the account and then sends out a walking request. The second user has already got an account and replies to the request, they end up walking together. 

LGBTQ Social Media Research

Most LGBTQ apps are aimed for people looking for relationships, however I found this app social media app aimed for everyone with an aim of making LGBTQ a large part of it.

I really liked the way it was set up. It was easy to sign up and user friendly. You can use hashtags to look up subjects you're interested in, filter your search of people by age brackets, country, sexual orientation etc, you can also chat anyone on the app even if they aren't following you or you aren't following them. 

Rough Digital Mock Ups of Installation

 Mirror bead curtains are the first thing the audience walks through. Its too dark to fully make out the mirror room up next.

The mirror room. Mirrors of different sizes are hanging from strings. People enter the next room through  parting the mirrors with their hands.

Muscle room. Here muscle people are in caring positions with each other. Women with women, men with men, man with woman. This is the first clue of what the installation is about. I will research more into transgender transition procedures. I want to involve them by having a person who is mid transition.

Skeleton room. These skeletons belong to the muscle figures from before. Here you can't tell at all who is what gender. All you see is people loving each other.

 Heart room. After a good amount of time of the audience taking in the skeletons, hearts start to fade in behind them (this can be done either digitally or with red lights. The hearts will glow out of time with each other.

The message: Something along the lines of "Love has no gender." I want this installation to apply to the whole LGBTQ community and not focus on just the LGB. Gender addresses everyone equally. 
LGB: Love has no gender = it doesn't matter if what sexual orientation people are, all they need is the freedom to love without being judged.
LGBTQ: Love has no gender - This pulls in the transgender community. This message conveyed is that no matter what gender people identify with they also should get the freedom to love and be loved as who they are, without being judged. 

Muscle Mock Up

App Prototype

Map of how my App works:

My Prototype on POP:

https://popapp.in/projects/55fac24b7e9c108342101db6/preview
(The app opens on the wrong page for some reason. So when you click on the link, exit the preview on the right corner, click prototype 'Mockup - 8', then the preview button in the middle at the top.)

Concept Ideas

Installation Concepts: 

Post it Note Positivity:

• Somewhere in a very public place is a wall covered in post it notes. The post it notes are two different colours (the notes spelling out a word are one colour and the background colour is a different colour)
• The big word spelt out on the wall is related to LGBTQ and with pens provided, invites people to come up and write their positive thoughts on the topic.
• The word on the wall could be a question - this would prompt the audience to have an idea of what to write

College Truck Installation:

• An installation inside a truck that goes school to school (like the Harold the Giraffe truck or the art gallery trucks
• Each room of the truck has a different installation in it that comes together to create a message at the end
• Entering the truck: Dark with dim lighting, fairy lights around, hanging at the ceiling are different sized mirrors on string (like a bead curtain)
  First Room: A semi circle room full of mirrors, all different sizes, attached by either string or wire from ceiling to floor, they have the ability to move slightly, to enter next room, you pull apart mirrors to make a door
  Second Room: 'The Muscle Room', different muscle full bodies in loving/ caring positions (eg two female embracing [can only tell they're female by their female anatomy] etc), could either be slow/ subtle moving figures or fabric made muscle figures on the wall
  Third Room: 'The Skeleton Room', different skeleton X Ray full bodies in the same positions as the previous muscle bodies, they could move the same as the previous muscle bodies (if I go digital) or be multiple printed X Rays on clear plastic sheets,
  Fourth Section/Room: 'Hearts', behind the sheets of skeleton X Rays hearts fade in -they'd have to be digital to fade in and pump, OR they could separate the X Rays to enter the heart room. 
  Fifth Section: 'The Message', This is the part of the installation where we communicate the whole idea behind this installation, 
• Meaning behind this installation: 
  Mirrors: A physical reflection of who we are, this is what people see when they first meet us,
  Muscles: A layer is taken away from people, we cannot tell who is who, we can see their gender but not who these people are
  Skeletons: Another layer is stripped away, the bodies are totally unidentifiable by gender now, this starts to confirm the idea that everyone is the same: human,
  Hearts: Communicates the idea that everyone needs love in their life (hearts symbolize love),
  Message: The moment the audience really clicks, words fade in saying something along the lines of "Love has no boundaries, love has no gender, love has no judgement" etc. This is when the audience understands this is an installation about equality, we are all humans wanting love, etc.

App Concepts:

Post it Positivity:

• An app where people sign up and post positive quotes, pictures etc
• When users first sign up, they enter their interests etc to build up their profile and what first appears on their homepage
• Users can search topics they are interested in
• Mix of Twitter/Yik Yak (people writing their thoughts -people can like or downvote them, Instagram/Pinterest (people post pictures can like or downvote them, they can be connected with hashtags)

Walk with Me App:

• An app that aims to create new friendships
• Organizes walks with other users 
• Users create a profile, no profile picture (aim is to meet people not based on their looks), write a little about themselves, write interests -all profiles are public
• Send out a message on other users homepages that are in the same area as you -you write where you are walking from to where and what time
• Other users then contact you on the app and you can chat, see if you want to walk with them
• Can view their profiles and rating
• After you have walked with the new person you click "walk completed" -for safety
• Then you can rate them on how safe they seem etc
• Create a new friendship!

Sketch Mock Up of Installation

Inspiration: Muscles

 Muscle Diagrams and Models:

Muscle Art and Fashion:

Inspiration: X Rays and The Human Body

XRay Inspiration:
XRays are used by doctors to see inside patients to determine that medical problems they have. They are usually used to find problems with bones. I think it could be interesting somehow incorporating this into my work. The idea behind it would be something as cliche as "It's what's inside that counts." or "We are all human. Treat us that way." etc. Because you can't see the outside of the person, you find it harder to judge them or give them labels.

The Human Body:
With the human body influence I think it encourages the audience to see who these people are and accept it. A lot of this imagery is based around the transgender community.