Emily Xie
MiMi
Class of: 2023
Major: Design and Technology BFA
Medium: Digital app prototype
Faculty: Johannah Herr
Prompt: The assignment is to create an artwork from student's research of the material used of a significant object from Bridge #3 and 4 or create artwork from something in the research that interests students. In Bridge 3: Make 10 different prototypes exploring different materials creating our significant object. In Bridge 4: make a poster about the research topic we wanted to conduct based on one material that students picked. My significant object was a key and I picked yarn as the material to conduct research questioning the gender aspect of what yarn represents. Therefore my seminar, I was researching the historical aspect of how gender systems work and how another gender suffers under the binary gender system.
I made an app prototype named “MiMi,” which means “secret” in Chinese. It is designed for people who feel like they have been excluded from social media especially those who have mental health problems. During Quarantine, I realize people are very stressed and have different levels of mental health problems including myself. I conducted research on social media by interviewing people about how did Covid and quarantine impacts their lives physically and mentally. Friends from the LGBTQ community expresses high concern of their mental health problems that they not only feel insecure to seek a healthcare provider but they fear to express their voice on social media due to the amount of discrimination they face daily. “MiMi” is a platform for everyone– to be themselves, to express anything (challenges people face, mental health problems and etc) and to help each other by creating a safe community. It does not limit your gender, identity or ethnicity.
