Group members:
Mansi Chottani, Kye Li Chia, Yuying Wang (Abbey), Zuzana Galova, Roshni Suri
Brief:
Design and make a new form for a dematerialised artefact
Date:
20th April - 8th June 2023
We conducted primary research by asking the public to create and send us their breakup texts or ideas through various platforms such as Hinge, Instagram and WhatsApp. After compiling and analysing the breakup texts, we discovered that they often contain similar phrases.
To explore how different individuals perceive these phrases, we attempted to visualise them through drawings. This activity revealed that text messages often symbolise the transition between "what was" and "what will be" for both individuals involved. Among the keywords we identified, we noticed that some phrases convey similar meanings using different words. For example, phrases like "hey," "I'm done," "but," and "goodbye" had similar visual representations, conveying a sense of something becoming nothing. On the other hand, phrases like "things haven't been working out" and "it's not meant to be" conveyed a difference in expectations without blaming either party.
Furthermore, we went around LCC to ask people to map out how they felt when they sent or received a breakup text. Through the body mapping exercise, we discovered that people primarily feel the effects of a breakup text in their head, chest, stomach and hands. The feelings reported included a tense pit-of-the-stomach anxiety, tightness in the chest and a sense of relief.
During the ideation phase, we explored the themes of pressure, looping and closure. Pressure stemmed from the feelings noted during the bodystorming session, looping referred to the back-and-forth nature of breakup texts and closure related to the end of a relationship marked by letters, as recipients are unable to reply without the sender's contact details.
For our prototype, we aimed to rematerialise the closure aspect of a breakup letter, which symbolises the end of a relationship and incorporate the looping aspect of a breakup text. The prototype consists of two musical boxes containing the breakup messages from both parties. The breakup texts are represented as musical notes converted from binary code on the music sheets. During a breakup meet, the two individuals would turn the handle of the musical boxes, playing sounds based on the written messages. As they continue to turn the handle, the sounds would gradually distort, indicating that it's time to part ways and marking the end of the relationship.
Reflection:
After conducting extensive research, we are currently facing challenges integrating our findings into the prototype. It has become apparent that we need to shift our focus from further research and instead devote our efforts to creating the physical artefact.