Firstly I wanted to make an app I'd actually use myself, and having spent a lot of time on Vinted recently I decided to make a version of it that applies to a community I belong to.
A community is a collection of connections between people and their environments. It describes the way we interact with each other and how that affects or gives meaning to the objects we use and the spaces we inhabit.
I want to create an app for the creative community at UAL. Universities are nortoriously elitist and often don't take into account the varied financial situations of their students, many of whom are managing their own money for the first time without pastoral or monetary support. For creative students especially, with huge dreams of how their work can look, material costs can rise quickly when it comes to making. I want to make an app that can support my peers and allow them to fully realise their art.
We're all included in the sense that we all possess the desire to make things. I think exclusion comes into it when other students have more disposable income than others. It's as simple as being able to afford all the materials they need to the specifications they like. If two students of the same skill are separated only by funds, we need a solution that lowers the creative barrier.
A person has to possess a certain amount of knowledge on the communal subject in order to comfortably interact with the other members of the Community. In terms of my app, users will need some understanding of processes and materials in order to get the most out of it.
By virtue of being creatives it seems a lot of us reject traditional social hierarchies, or at least try to. It could be that our hierarchy comes in the form of aesthetic value, either in the work we produce or the way we present ourselves.
Asking my peers and other users around the uni if it reduced financial stress in creating their projects.
This figma prototype was a great tool for allowing me to visualise my app and its capabilities more easily. It also taught me about different iOS features that I could use within my programming.
Cameron is a sociable person who values their relationships with other students at their university. They value ideas of repair, reusability and sustainability, and consider these aspects when buying a product. They acknowledge the climate crisis and put a lot of emphasis on personal responsibility. Mostly shopping secondhand, they indulge with the occassional item of fast fashion clothing. They enjoy visiting flea markets with friends and finding strange trinkets. They prefer to signal an aversion to the status quo.
Cameron needs resources for their university projects and more eyes on their increasingly experimental processes. They feel that the university staff are removed from their material conditions and how this may affect their work. Success for Cameron would be the ease to develop their multidisciplinary practice. They would have access to career connections, advice, materials, event space, and finances.
Cameron has an upcoming project and wants to explore a medium they - their only income is from Student Finance England, and a weekend job where they are paid minimum wage - and so they go to JUNKYARD for materials (and maybe use-advice from the person they can get said materials from).
Sam has a mentorship attitude, and wants to give other artists the help they feel they didn't have when starting out. They have a sixth form education, and make their income mostly from selling works in IRL marketplaces and online, occasionally showing in galleries. They believe that university education in the UK is rudimentary, and that their informal practical learning has more value.
Sam needs to clear out their studio space - their hoarder habits are apparent. They enjoy collecting unique materials and objects for possible uses in the future. They appreciate good craftsmanship but also making trash valuable again. Sam picks up items from the curb and dumpster dives, restoring what they can find. This resourcefulness helps them to save money and takes their projects in unexpected directions.
Success for them would be giving themself the room to explore other methods of sculpture, expanding beyond their usual audience. They have a strong network of creative friends but all in distinct disciplines. An assistant or mentee would give them a sense of fulfillment also.
A friend of Sam's wants to collaborate on a piece made out of scrap metals. Sam's studio is large enough - theoretically - but there needs to be more room and an organised sorting system before the fabrication can begin. It's a health and safety measure as well as allowing the collaboration to flow more smoothly. Same goes on JUNKYARD and sees not much materials like theirs on offer, and so starts uploading. Their offers go quickly because of their rarity and Sam's not wanting of much in return.