SPIELFALT
body(image) & diversity – a project to strengthen emotional & social skills at school
As societal beauty ideals grow increasingly complex, children and young people face heightened dissatisfaction with their appearances. From media influences to societal norms, the factors contributing to unrealistic beauty ideals are manifold. The question arises: "Am I 'normal' the way I am?". Recognizing schools as pivotal environments for intervention, Spielfalt aims to fill the gap in supportive and educational resources.
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Extensive research into body image, beauty standards, and sex education revealed a pervasive challenge: the prevalence of negative attitudes towards one's appearance among young people. The project is aimed at nurturing emotional and social skills among school children, with a particular focus on body image and diversity.
Navigating the educational landscape presented unique challenges, particularly amidst the constraints of the pandemic. My focus on human-centered design required innovative solutions to ensure seamless accessibility and engagement for students of all backgrounds and learning styles. -
Tools: Adobe CC (Illustrator, InDesign, AfterEffects, Photoshop) · Miro
Methods & Services: Design Thinking · · UX Design · Research · Design Sprints · Interviews & Surveys · Conception · Visual Design · Illustration · Service Design · Transformation Design · Prototyping & Testing
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The project approach was comprehensive, rooted in human-centered design principles and collaborative endeavors. I kickstarted my journey with a design sprint, distilling research findings into actionable strategies and charting a clear roadmap. Key questions guided my efforts: How can I enhance students' emotional and social skills? How can I support teachers in effective knowledge transfer?
Conducting a thorough target group analysis, I identified students as the primary focus, with teachers as pivotal facilitators and parents as additional influencers. Embracing human-centered design, I ensured that my solutions were empathetic and user-centric. Methodologies like the Ecosystem Map helped identify synergies among stakeholders. Integrating research insights into user journeys, I mapped out experiences to inform tailored solutions for students, teachers, and stakeholders.
Additionally, going into pedagogical topics beyond my expertise necessitated close collaboration with experts. Several iterative loops regarding the content and visual design ensured accessibility, the project's efficacy and relevance. This included several rounds of prototyping and testing with stakeholders.
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The concept of ‘Spielfalt’ is based on playful learning. But how can something that's fun be so useful? A thorough research into the power of board games was conducted. This revealed the following: games are inclusive, engaging, and accessible to all. They transcend boundaries of origin, gender, age, religious affiliation, and level of education. They are a universal language that bring people together. Parlour games are a great way to develop a range of skills, including motoric and language skills, as well as creative thinking.
Using them in the school context, they can create a safe space, detached from everyday life and allow trial behaviour. They generate high intrinsic motivation and allow the transfer of knowledge on a meta-level. Additionally, games offer a fun opportunity to put knowledge into practice and gain positive memories and experiences while learning.
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'Spielfalt' offers a supporting function in lesson planning and implementation. Through a game, knowledge is conveyed, insecurities about 'flaws' and difference are reduced and the power of beauty standards is decreased.
The emotional level of learners aged 12 and over is addressed through target group-oriented design, gamification and interaction. Students with different levels of learning and knowledge find access to a complex and diverse topic. The game includes knowledge, question, word and picture cards, special exchange cards and preparatory material for the teacher.
