Service – Sadaf Asl Soleimani

This project is the result of a 2 weeks research on Dyslexia and an investigation into how design can create a system in which individuals with dyslexia can create their own connection with language. To do that, I started by researching Dyslexia and the platforms that have been specifically designed for dyslexic individuals.

Picture from: Design Strategies and Dyslexia: Improving the Accessibility of Course Material for Third-level Students with Dyslexia, Colm Dunne, 2015

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding). Also called a reading disability, dyslexia is a result of individual differences in areas of the brain that process language. (Mayo Clinic, 2022)

My first approach was to learn more about Dyslexia and identify the occasions in which design can create an opportunity for expression and innovation with dyslexic individuals. Through my research, I realized that Dyslexia is a learning difference originating from our Neurological process or it could be traced back to our cognitive process and how we decode words and letters.

Based on these findings, designers have designed several typefaces specifically for individuals with Dyslexia to help them decode the letters more efficiently and speed up their reading process.

Furthermore, I tried to research online platforms that have been designed for individuals with Dyslexia. What I have realized was almost all of these platforms were designed with the goal of helping Dyslexic individuals (mostly focusing on children) to overcome their literacy difficulty.

Unlike existing platforms, my approach is to change this perspective of “Helping” and “Overcoming Dyslexia”. Through this project, I’m trying to encourage those who have dyslexia to create their own relationship with language, and I think it starts by stopping labeling Dyslexia as a “Disability” or “Disorder”. My goal is to empower dyslexic individuals to share their methods and experiences regarding dyslexia, and hopefully, a system that will result in designing a platform based on their rules and process.

Reflection:

Although this was a 2 weeks project, I had the opportunity to connect with HDL (Health Design Lab) at Emily Carr University and find some resources for the next steps. However, there are numerous aspects that I have not considered regarding Dyslexia. Not only do I lack knowledge from phenomenological aspects, but also there is much design-related research that I have not considered for this project. Moving forward, I’m hoping to learn more about Dyslexia from both dyslexic individuals and health experts.

At Emily Carr University, everyone has their own studio space in order to work and interact with their classmates. Although it is a place of work and study for students, everyone tends to design their space with tools and accessories. Violet and I teamed up for our service project and decided to help our classmates (most of them are new in Vancouver) set up their studio space. In order to show our service as Studio Stylist, we made an advertising video of our process and how we can help those students who don’t know how to begin or cannot come up with ideas to design their space.

The video to showcase the process and the service we provide

First, we conduct interviews with anyone who wishes to use us as their Studio Stylist. We ask them about their preferences and how they usually get creative:

What is your favorite color?
What does your room look like?
How do you usually document ideas?
What tools will you use when you work?
Describe your creative process. Do you have a specific habit to get ready to work?
Describe your happy place.

I interviewed Violet designed her space based on this information. She told me that she likes colorful things and she usually likes to have white and blue elements in her space because it calms her down. Her room also has blue elements and she has this ritual to clean her room before starting to work. She likes to use stickers and a magnetic board to document her ideas and put them on the board so that she can see them while she works. She likes to make hand-crafted designs so there’s always a ruler, cutter, and scissors on her desk. She also has a plant and pencil holder on her desk. She likes her space to be more functional than decorative.

Later, I combined all this information to set up a shopping list and sketch how I should place everything in her space. I went to Staples to get the essential things she needs like a cork board, pens, pencils, cutter, ruler…

After that, I went to an art shop to get more artistic objects such as a cutter board and sketch pad. I also bought her a small plant for her desk and two extra pots to use as a pencil holder and a place to put the pins and clippers. For the decorative part, I bought a ceramic coaster which is blue and white.

I placed all these objects on her studio desk and put these cork tiles on the front wall so she can stick her ideas on it and see them all the time.

I hope with this service we can help our classmates to personalize their space based on their preferences and needs.

Reflection:
As a new grad student, this project helped me interact with my classmates on a deeper level and this interaction increased my confidence and energy. Interviewing, thinking, designing, and shopping for someone else, created a clear and flexible understanding of service design for me.
The Shopping part specifically was also an opportunity for me to get to know my surroundings as an immigrant. In addition, the innate tangible quality of this service which is based on human interaction with the spatial environment was refreshing and educational.
I believe this service could expand and work as an actual consultant or design agency. We can help others on digital platforms (zoom, skype, WhatsApp…) or in person.

Tag: Service

Word Game

Studio Stylist