Emma Alosi

For this project, I decided to approach the challenge of creating an object for a community in crisis by creating a versatile object that could have multiple purposes. I created a face mask that could be used to stop the spread of a respiratory illness or block out air pollutants which has re-sealable “fingers” each containing a different medication or vitamin. These masks could be mass produced, easy to distribute and portable. On the sleeves of medication I used a series of markings to indicate how each medication should be taken that would be easy to follow despite language barriers. On the left side of each finger there are horizontal lines indicating how many of each medication to take at once, then there are dots telling how many times it is safe to take a dose each day. If the medication has to be taken at a certain time of day there is a sun for morning or a moon for night. on the left side of each sleeve these is a symbol to show what type of medication it is: a zig-zag for painkiller, tear drops for vitamins, and Xs for other prescription medications. In developing this idea, I actually first thought about making some sort of inflatable. I sketched one inflatable distress signal in the shape of a hand, which gave me the idea of flipping the hind upside down and creating a face mask. To create the mask I cut and folded muslin and then sewed two muslin pieces together to make a thicker mask with a pocket for a filter. I then sewed plastic sheets together to make each finger and attached snaps to make them re-sealable.