Group 27
DIGITAL DIVIDE

Digital exclusion is an issue that many in the sphere of architecture have the privilege of not being affected by. Yet as we train to create better interfaces between people in the built environment, it is equally important that we harbour and bring attention to the discrepancy between people who do not have access to a growing digital environment. Students will help reduce the inequality that underprivileged people face by creating a public-user digital map and associated digital campaign, that aims to allow these people to access and thrive in a digital world that they were excluded from.

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Ahmed A / Jan L / Youssef Mohamed Ahmed Shafiek M / Charlotte B

Ahmed A
Posted 12 Mar 2022 22:53
Ahmed A
Posted 12 Mar 2022 22:54
Ahmed A
Posted 12 Mar 2022 22:54
Ahmed A
Posted 12 Mar 2022 22:55
Ahmed A
Posted 12 Mar 2022 22:55
Ahmed A
Posted 12 Mar 2022 22:56
Ahmed A
Posted 12 Mar 2022 22:56
Ahmed A
Posted 12 Mar 2022 22:57
Ahmed A
Posted 12 Mar 2022 22:57
Ahmed A
Posted 13 Mar 2022 14:53
Jan L
DAY 1: 001 Visit to LIFESHARE/MDC

Today we listened to LIFESHARE's Zara Bobat share her experience of what the Manchester Digital Collective does for the digitally-excluded. Ranging from SIM-card provision to digital drop-off centres and free WIFI hotspots, the charity provides a vital lifeline to those experiencing digital poverty, or simply wishing to begin their online skill-sets...

Posted 16 May 2022 18:24
Jan L
DAY 1: 002 Visit to LIFESHARE/MDC

With so much of daily life now being conducted online (from Doctor's appointments, to job interviews and banking), we learnt just how vital MDC's work is - and how wide-ranging the proposed digital map and non-digital campaign can be.
Posted 16 May 2022 18:29
Ahmed A
Day 2: 001 Meet the Undergrads
Posted 17 May 2022 12:37
Ahmed A
Day 2: 002 Meet the Undergrads
Posted 17 May 2022 12:37
Jan L
DAY 2: 004 Practical Charette of Themes/Graphical Styles

Today saw the undergraduates create profiles of themselves using the distinctive LIFESHARE/MDC colour-scheme in order to have a better practical understanding of what was required from the interactive map and physical posters/infographics. Postgraduates helped teach students how to use software such as Procreate, or Adobe Photoshop and InDesign.
Posted 17 May 2022 16:35
Jan L
DAY 2 : 005 Poster Design Ideas and Collective Research

After exploring LIFESHARE/MDC's website, and cross-referencing their findings with the information given by the Client; work began on initial poster designs. Undergraduates were encouraged to identify what themes and information could be conveyed from a poster successfully, and what graphical techniques could be utilised to do so. After a quick display of the posters, students divided into groups based on creating the interactive map or creating infographics/posters.
Posted 17 May 2022 16:39
Ahmed A
Day 2: 006 Meet the Undergrads
Posted 17 May 2022 17:41
Ahmed A
Day 2: 007 Meet the Undergrads
Posted 17 May 2022 23:07
Ahmed A
Day 2: 003 Meet the Undergrads
Posted 18 May 2022 12:00
Ahmed A
Day 2: 008 Meet the Undergrads
Posted 18 May 2022 13:37
Jan L
DAY 003: 001 Initial Concept and Design Work

The groups engaged in creating preliminary designs for the posters and the interactive map.

Posters were created in a variety of maquette-styles; ranging from heavily infographic designs to heavily informational presentation-styles. Students also learnt new software skills on InDesign and Photoshop. The interactive map team started to learn Figma as a software; and began planning how to produce a user-interface that married clear iconography and legible information.

At the end of the day, a brief informal review between the teams led to discussion of future ideas and plans - and preparation for the days ahead.
Posted 18 May 2022 15:13
Ahmed A
Day 2: 009 Meet the Undergrads
Posted 19 May 2022 11:54
Youssef Mohamed Ahmed Shafiek M
DAY 004: 001 Group Work

The two teams built on their preliminary designs and ideas from yesterday and began working on the assigned tasks.

The poster team worked on photoshop and indesign to produce digital posters to raise awareness on a variety of different key themes for Lifeshare. Each student produced several drafts which will be shared with the client to receive some feedback.

The interactive map group made progress using Figma. They successfully applied base layers on the software which enables the user to zoom in on different sections across Manchester to locate the variety of services Lifeshare provide.

At the end of the day, a brief catch-up session was held to discuss the progress and the next steps for tomorrow.
Posted 19 May 2022 20:01
Youssef Mohamed Ahmed Shafiek M
DAY 5 : 001 The Halfway Point

Today we finished the first week of MSA live. The teams received feedback from our client on their initial drafts for the posters and interactive map.

The interactive map group continued making good progress using the software and produced icons of different landmarks across Manchester to use on their map.

The poster team received some feedback from our client and began developing their posters.
Posted 23 May 2022 17:27
Jan L
DAY 6: 001 Poster Design Finalisations

Today the undergraduates proceeded with their poster designs and helped standardise them according to the Client's graphical guidelines. They also edited their designs to better communicate the relevant information, and finalised the posters ready for printing.

The mapping team also made progress with the interactive map; finding precedents for graphical styles linked to the posters, and also rationalising the map structure.
Posted 23 May 2022 20:09
Jan L
DAY 007: 001 Poster Printing and Social Media Work

Today saw the posters that will be used in the physical campaign tidied up, finished, and printed! In order to better collaborate with LifeShare/MDC's varied social media strategy; our poster team focused on converting their posters into Instagram tiles - experimenting with fracturing and highlighting particular elements.

The interactive map team also made progress by focusing on creating landmark graphics/icons, and working on the hover-callouts for the technology drop-off and pick-up centres - as well as strategizing how to improve the website interface and how to integrate it with LifeShare's colour and graphic schemes.
Posted 24 May 2022 16:41
Youssef Mohamed Ahmed Shafiek M
DAY 008: 001 Interactive Map Development

Today we finalised the social media posts for Lifeshare's instagram with the poster team.

Meanwhile, the interactive map team finalised the design on Figma, creating a map which highlights the free wifi zones across Manchester. A base map was created on photoshop, then the main streets with available free wifi was highlighted on Figma which became interactive to inform the user of the exact location and postcode those streets.

The aim now is to finish the Figma file to be exported as a HTML code for Lifeshare to embed onto their website.
Posted 25 May 2022 22:39
Jan L
DAY 009: 001 Physical Campaign

Today we utilised our posters to raise awareness to the work that LifeShare and MDC do. Posters produced by the undergraduates highlight services provided by the charities such as sleeping provision, food services, and their activities tackling digital exclusion.
Posted 26 May 2022 17:07
Charlotte B
DAY 010: Digital Divide’s Final Day

Today both teams concluded their work, adding finishing touches to posters, digital media and interactive maps ready to be handed over to the Lifeshare and MDC team.

All the hard work over the last 2 weeks helps raise awareness of digital exclusion, fighting the exclusion of vulnerable people within our digital age.

What a wonderful achievement!
Posted 27 May 2022 18:38