Overview

Are.na, a platform for organizing research, was created around the idea of generosity. Are.na aims to provide a healthy way of using the internet. As a designer, you can craft experiences for users that influence how they spend their time and see the world. With this in mind, create a mobile application that is helpful in some way. Reflect on how you use the internet and where you see an opportunity for a complementary experience. As a class, we'll explore biases in algorithms and technology, and this project could be a way to respond to this theme. The only requirement is that your project is helpful to an audience larger than yourself.

Consider

• The final deliverable for this will be a presentation that explains your concept, highlights the most memorable parts of the design and the design process, highlights an extension of the brand (what would be an interesting extension that supports your concept? Ideas: social media design, email design, t shirt or memorabilia. Only show something that speaks to the brand concept) and ends in a demo of a clickable prototype.
• Your prototype does not have to be the complete app. Instead, it should highlight the main screens as well as a few interactions that highlight the purpose of the app and show off the design language.

Learning Goals

• Develop a project from research to presentation
• Reflect on issues in the current technological landscape
• Develop a coherent design system and apply it through a multipage digital product
• Extend the design system to a coherent and consistent presentation

Suggested Reading

• A Better Internet Is Waiting for Us – Annalee Newitz
• At Talkspace, Start-Up Culture Collides With Mental Health Concerns – Kashmir Hill and Aaron Krolik
• New Ways of Seeing – James Bridle
• Co-Matter Podcast: The Story Behind Are.na
• Owning Ethics – Jacob Metcalf, Emanuel Moss, danah boyd

Due Date

TBD, watch the agenda