2014 – now
Brief / Create A Sign For EveryBody
Role / Founder
#strategy #UX #research #testing #survey #interview #agile #lean #designthinking
Socio-cultural project Come Out of Water Closet was founded to raise awareness for openness, diversity and respect with a contemporary sign for public toilets or you. It sees itself as a bridge, between past and future, theory and practice, straight and queer and above all, you and other people. I am responsible for the overall project development.
Starting Point
The CO-WC project is the outcome of my long-term involvement with art and design, philosophy and gender issues and was born out of everyday observations.
Observation
Thinking vs. Acting
Imagine an everyday life situation: visiting a public restroom. If you think about it, you can see a gap between the way we usually think and the way we actually act. That is, we think more and more out of the box. But when going to the restroom, we end up being passive, following the signs that reduce us either to a man or a woman.
Restroom vs. Sign
All-Gender Restroom is a global trend that reflects our openness towards gender. Paradoxically, man/woman signs are hanging on a door, undermining our open-mind and the concept of Loo-for-All. The problem is seen and there are reactions to it. You sometimes see half-man-half-woman figures or labels like „All-Gender Restroom.“ But the hybrid figure only emphasizes the outdated norm, and the lettering simply tries to ignore it.
Power of Signs
Signs not only indicate specific meanings, but also create reality – it’s about performativity. Empowered by conventional ideas, signs influence our everyday life. Traditional man-woman pictograms confines the idea of gender, by reproducing an old fantasy. That’s why we need a sign that better reflects our reality and change life for the better.
A Sign in Flow
A proper systemic change had to come from and within the system. That is, a new sign had to reflect the old standards and at the same time challenge them. I have long appreciated the specific qualities of the lenticular image. And it was the solution here.
Man and woman pictograms are captured into a form of flip image. By recycling the old symbols and colors, this sign parodies the artificiality of cultural norms. It reflects and challenges the old norms at the same time.
The CO-WC sign reflects our reality and opens new perspectives on ourselves and others. Users are able to participate in the interpretation process. They are invited to play with stereotypical ideas. CO-WC sign mirrors our reality and simultaneously frees our(pictured)selves.
Challenge
Development of a powerful sign at the intersection of theory, everyday practice and user experience.
Learning
Overall project development.
Partners
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I want to work with you.