This briefs aim was to explore the themes of self, identity and communication under the critical lens of ‘Boundary Objects’, a sociological theory. With the challenge of producing a design artefact that would act as a boundary object for Heaton and communicate the place’s identity/common language to our given specified audiences (Children 5-8, Hearing-Impaired & Newcommers).
Me, Hannah and Samantha found the common identity of Heaton to be very much a place of community, steeped in history but up-and-coming at the same time. From this we created a blanket of Heaton to which all three of our audiences (Children 5-8, Hearing-Impaired & Newcommers) can use for their own purposes. The concept of a blanket stems from Heaton’s real sense of community and how the parks act as the beating heart of the area. The front of the blanket features a map with various icons either corresponding to modern day or historical Heaton features and is designed in a stylistic manner which takes inspiration from map play mats to suit a child and modern illustrated maps to appeal to the older audiences. The colours were chosen the emphasis the warm, community feel but also reflective of the area. As such the modern-day icons are rust red (from the terrace housing) placed on a warm yellow map, while the history icons are visually separated by being black and white. For a child, this becomes a fun piece of play equipment while for someone like a newcomer, it serves as a welcome gift giving them a sense of the area and making them feel welcome. Indeed, the back design corresponds to the icons on the front, giving a description of the location, what there is to do and how each area sounds like. A newcomer can learn how to navigate the area but also where there are good venue recommendations to experience, while a hearing-impaired person is recommended places that are hearing impaired friendly but also, they are given a description of the sounds at a location so that they can gather a sense of atmosphere.
