Tyler Wong (he/him)
Growing up, I wasn’t always expressive with my words, art was an outlet for me to express myself. As I grew older, with each relationship I developed with people, there was a common theme of understanding and sharing our stories with one another. That is what design is to me: a way to communicate a shared understanding with others. At its core, design is empathy. In order to design for others, you have to understand their story, how they think, and their experience. And once you are able to connect with others, you can effectively communicate through design. In my design work, I do my best to utilize the skills that I have learned to understand my audience and the people around me.
Creating Connections
My senior design project takes this idea of mutual empathy and understanding and uses that to create connections through an online experience. Creating Connections is an anonymous online space where people’s words and stories are shared. By asking questions like “what would you say to someone who feels lonely right now” or “how would you describe the feeling of love” I allow others to share their experiences and stories with topics that are often hard to talk about. It is my hope that the shared experiences and words of others allow visitors to connect with the responses given and find a part of themselves in each answer; creating a connection between the visitor and the words of a stranger. The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly affected us in many ways and perhaps one of its biggest secondary impacts has been on individuals and their ability to feel a connection with others. I hope that my work will allow someone to feel a little less isolated during this time of collective loneliness.
View project website: Creating Connections
