Identification Installation

Project Description: 

Caleb Peters, a senior Graphic Design major, worked with Prof. Maurice Meilleur in Fall 2018 to create a set of 45 symbols to submit to the Phaistos Project's open call for student work. These symbols were an attempt at creating a new system for symbolizing a person's identity—specifically, their gender and sexual identities—in a way far more elegant than the current hodgepodge of repurposed older symbols we currently use.

The original set of 45 symbols and the system with which they were created were not designed with usability in mind—they ended up being driven exclusively by concept and form. Their use as a system of symbols for self-identification dictates that they need to be usable even by those with no knowledge of the system’s development. With support from an Office of Student Research grant, Peters will use their senior exhibition as an opportunity to highlight issues with the system and ultimately rework the system into something much more user-friendly and decipherable. 

Using the senior exhibition as a form of data collection, participant-created symbols will be made and feedback on the system will be generated. Viewers will be presented two options for creating their own symbols using the current framework. The first option is a simple paper symbol-builder with written instructions on how to draw their identification symbol by hand. The second option will present viewers with a digital form on a wall-mounted iPad or laptop. After filling out a questionnaire, their symbol will be printed twice—one to keep for themselves, and another to pin on the wall alongside my original symbol set. Peters will return to the system with user feedback in mind and alter it for the better.

 


"This project is culturally relevant at a time where politicians are actively seeking to further marginalize those belonging to LGBTQ groupings." - Caleb Peters, senior Graphic Design major

 

 

Caleb Peters
Senior Graphic Design major

Prof. Maurice Meilleur