My thesis project, “Shining Light Into Shadows: A Transmedia Locative Learning Experience,” is a collaboration with the Delaware County Historical Society and The Muncie Notables. This creative placemaking experience uses mobile, locative media to spotlight the less recognized narratives of historically underrepresented, marginalized people by weaving them into the durable, familiar narratives connected to place. Design thinking techniques were used to build the project design. A Qualtrics survey gathered information from more than 300 Geocachers, and guided the creation of physical artifacts to tell stories in the actual places they happened, creating a deeper, more connected experience that reaches across multiple audiences and fosters connection to historic places and people.

My team reimagined the Indiana State Museum’s Cole Porter exhibit to celebrate the life and contributions of Indiana native Cole Porter. We designed a website, a prototype of an augmented reality karaoke experience, a touchscreen learning experience with Balsamiq (download the linked file then open with Balsamiq.com), and a live actor interaction experience.

When Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18, 2020, the team was inspired to build a rapid prototype of a craftivist experience with the goal of raising awareness of her life and accomplishments. We used this current event as an opportunity to create a relevant, time-bound experience in which to explore the effects of craftivism on individuals. Design thinking, experience design, and transmedia storytelling informed the design of our project. The project was fully funded and run as a series of collaborative meetings in Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and New Hampshire followed by evaluations that included System Usability Scale and User Experience Questionnaires, interviewing for empathy, journey mapping, usability testing, and personas. We created a prototype of a craftivism experience toolkit that can be used in various social justice issues by different communities.

The Women Who Made Me Project engaged ideas of telling robust stories of women and their legacies in our lives. This project prototype uses powerful visual storytelling about the women who made substantive contributions to my life.

This project was designed so that anyone, regardless of skill level, resources, or preferred media, could participate. It also elevates the intergenerational collaboration and communication that was evident in the RBG Project 2020 prototype as well as other craftivism campaigns which were studied. 

In creating this prototype, the team developed a set of adaptable guidelines — a recipe — that was tested through the team’s development of prototype projects.