Please note that I did not continue with Topic 02; however, I kept it on here for record purposes.

 

Topic 01: Misunderstandings Of Glass Child Syndrome

 

Glass child syndrome is the sibling of someone with a disability. A glass child is a metaphor in which the sibling can feel invisible and unrepresented, which ultimately raises a critical question that I wish to unpack; how can I use visual communication design to validate and reveal the invisible thoughts of a glass child?

​

I am drawn to this topic because, on a more personal level, my older brother, Sean,  is on the Autism spectrum and has undergone years of medical issues. As a result of this, my parents, in no fault of their own, have put more attention on him than me, as his situation is dire. I had to learn how to grow up very quickly, which is a situation that a lot of siblings of someone who is disabled go through. They may feel invisible due to their sibling getting more attention than they do, either by their parents or by outsiders. This ultimately can cause mental health issues, and anxiety due to feeling invisible their entire life. 

​

As a result, I feel that this is a design problem because there is little to no representation for people who go through. It is often invalidated, and there aren’t many visual resources that may assist those to cope, and to feel validated. I wish to visually communicate the thoughts and feelings of people who are going through glass child syndrome. Through a design lens, some options I wish to explore are sequential storytelling by sharing my thoughts and feelings as a glass child, exploring different ways to utilize typography such as concrete poetry and expressive type to go along with the story. Furthermore, I would like to explore the main metaphor of the idea of being a glass child, which means that you feel invisible and that one minor inconvenience can cause the glass to break, in which I feel it is incredibly important and assists with the sequential storytelling.

​

During this early stage, I have been interested in reading articles about being a glass child and watching movies to explore how a glass child might be portrayed. One article I ended up reading which could be used as a starting point for my research is “Glass children: The lived experiences of siblings of people with a disability or chronic illness,” by Imogen Hanvey, Aida Malovic, and Evangelos Ntontis in which a study was done where the writers interviewed children who were glass children. The ideas were brought up on how invisible they felt with their family, how it has affected their psychology, feeling guilty, and how support is needed throughout their life. I also referenced the movie Wonder, directed by Stephen Chbosky, which brings up the idea of a glass child. The main character has a facial deformity, and the parents care for him, while the older sister experiences events that most glass children experience, such as during family dinner, the parents ask about how the brother is doing and not the sister, or the sister doesn’t bring up things in her life as she doesn't want to be a burden. In terms of AI, I would like to explore and train ChatGPT in order for it to assist me during my research process by assisting me with developing my research questions, as well as helping me conceptualize what my final form can consist of. I would also like to explore Midjourney or Runway, whether my form is static or motion, in order to assist me in visualizing any metaphors I may have discovered, as well as visualizing some ideas that I could benefit later on.

​

​

 

Topic 02: How Social Media Isn’t a Reliable Source of Preserving Memories

​

Over the past decade, more people have been relying on social media platforms to share and preserve memories. However, what has become lost due to this is the heart and soul of analog material. This will ultimately lead me to this question: how can analog materials–more specifically film photography, and journaling–be an effective way to build memories, and in what ways can I utilize visual communication design to support my claim?

​

This topic is critical, especially in today's world, because when we post on social media, we often don't post to preserve memories truthfully, but rather to boost our ego. People rely on ego-boosts to feel confident in themselves, rather than living candidly. People often use filters for photos, rather than being candid and embracing their true selves, which can cause memories to get lost when people look back on the photo. However, using analog materials, such as film photography and journaling, can assist those not only by remembering things better, but also because people don't have to think about the ego boost they have to put on for social media. I want to study this topic more by doing user interviews and having people test this concept to look into different patterns and see how this idea might work for other people.

​

Through a design lens, I aim to create a visual narrative using film photography and handwriting to effectively convey my thesis. I would like to explore a mixture of time-based media and print components. I would also like to explore sound design and how that might work with the visuals, in terms of creating an immersive experience. Furthermore, I would like to explore sequential storytelling by looking into different ways in which I can use typography and imagery to visualize memories in a more sequential way.

 

In terms of research, I would like to look into memories, social media, and photography, and to think about how they are all interconnected. The first article I read is entitled, "Blended memory: A framework for understanding distributed autobiographical remembering with photography" by Tim Fawns, in which the article talks about a study done on how photographs can affect how we remember things, which is brought up by episodic memory which is a more personal idea of how one remembers ideas in the past, and semantic memory in which you have a general idea on our world. The writer brings up the argument on how episodic and semantic memory often blend together when he was studying those taking photos. The next article I read is entitled, "Remembering in the Digital World: Autobiographical Memory In Social Media," by Aylin Ozedes and Ferhat Karaman, in which they argue that social media isn't just a communication platform, but also affects the users' memory. The main argument is how the characteristics and details of a post on social media are different from how it is remembered in real time through autobiographical memory, which is episodic and semantic memory, but affects self-coherence, building social relationships, and planning for the future. In terms of AI, I would like to explore ChatGPT to assist me in building the groundwork for my research and to brainstorm on my final format. I would also like to use Midjourney to help me in visualizing memories in a way that's dynamic and immersive.