Play + pedgagogy
SHelter –
Where i lay my head is my home
Viewing homelessness through emotional design, connecting with empathy and tactile response.
Unveiling homelessness was an exhibition hosted by Shelter to raise awareness of the increase in homelessness and to create engagement for change through local council representatives.
The brief, to create a piece that would raise awareness, promote conversation and enagage the public in the topic.
In approaching this brief from a product design and emotional design, I created a user-led interaction promoting empathic responses from participants. Where many charity campaigns lead through facts and figures or emotional blackmail, I opted to ask a question –Where would you choose to sleep?
I used mini pillows with magnets in to pose the question and get the participants to connect with the topic and make their selection vicerally.
Encouraging the viewer to become a participant, I chose to take the conversation away from right and wrong, but back to the human level of ‘needs’ when looking for a place to sleep.
Making it come to life
1. Narrative Development
When proposing the idea, the layout was a landscape allowing people to walk through, and used paper pillows to test scale. Talking to the curator, the space available and for the ease of installation, this orientation changed.
2. Finalising Graphic
After sourcing a magnetic whiteboard, the graphic was designed to fit the space. Images were redrawn and coloured, with Plymouth features being encorporated such as the skyline and underpass.
3. Fabric testing
Although initially planning to use screenprinting, transfer paper was used, with testing being carried out over the temperature, time and pressure to creatre the best result.
4. Final result
Once the transfer print was stuck on, the pillows were stitched and stuffed with a magnet attacehd on the inside to attach to the magnetic board.
This project established a core principle of my practice—that the hand can lead the mind. It proved that when we give users physical agency over digital data, we don’t just increase engagement; we increase narrative retention.
Gallery of making
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