Capstone Project | Design Cultures and Creativity Honors College
Exploring how queer Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) identities are influenced by our social environments
ROLE
Lead Designer
Researcher
DURATION
Sep 2023 - May 2024
Overview
What is The Place Keeps Score?
A testimony to how the places around us carry impactful memories of queer experiences
When we recall memories, we often remember where it happened as well as how it affected us. Places create long lasting imprints on the people we become because we tend to be influenced by the things within that place. Research finds that place narratives, which provide a script about how one should live and who one should be in a place, can influence one’s gender and sexual identity as well as the expression of that identity [1]. Thus, every facet of our environment has the ability to create a framework for which we can base our decisions and identity off of.
How can social environments perpetuate systems of oppression? How can they test and overcome these systems?
A spread talking about campus landmarks that have been sites of impactful queer memories on campus.
The Place Keeps Score: Retelling BIPOC* Queer Stories at the University of Maryland is an exploration on how our identities are influenced by our social environments. The Place Keeps Score works to preserve BIPOC queer stories at UMD and promote community through multiple original art installations and a collaborative zine showcasing interviews, poetry, art, stories, and resources for queer students at UMD.
*BIPOC = Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
The project explores:
how queer identities allow students to transform the places they inhabit into queer landmarks of memory
how our identities are connected to global social movements in a broader context
Discovery
Creating the capstone proposal
HDCC 201: Capstone proposal class
What started off as an idea to create a physical space for queer LGBTQ+ youth soon transformed into an on-campus initiative where I spoke to students about how their life experiences and environments, such as UMD, have shaped their understanding of their queer and racial identities.
While my initial idea was to simply create paintings that represented student’s stories on campus, I wanted to go beyond and find a way to inform people outside of these direct communities. How can I show others why inclusivity is necessary to a sustainable society? How can I show the connections between ourselves and others in order to build empathy? The answer was simple: a collaborative zine!
Research and Methodology
Developing my capstone
HDCC 209: Capstone in Design Cultures and Creativity
Spring ‘24 was used to bring my capstone proposal into fruition. I created a timeline that helped me work towards milestones that would ensure I finished my project in time. I did check-ins with my instructor to gain insight into how to begin my project and discuss my progress!
My timeline spanned from October 2023 - May 2024.
Using multiple methods of outreach to find interviewees
I created a Google Form with demographic questions such as race, major, sexuality, and gender to find potential interviewees. I sent this out through social media channels, classes and outreach within communities I was apart of. After sorting through responses, I reached out to 15 individuals within my target demographic. I was able to set up qualitative interviews with 10 students that ranged from 30-45 minutes each.
Paying homage to Queering the Map
In 2017, Lucas LaRochelle created a digital archive of anonymous queer experiences in relation to place called Queering the Map. I found stories from UMD’s campus and chose to incorporate them in my zine to shed light on the platform and drive the importance of place in shaping memories and our sense of self.
One pin from College Park shows how UMD has been a place where students have felt secure in their gender and sexual identity.
Define
Understanding how place intersects with identity
Affinity mapping to find themes
After interviewing 10 students, I transcribed each interview and highlighted key quotes and themes that expanded on the ways place have affected their identities. Despite the small interviewee pool, I ended up with ~300 data points.
Mind you, this isn’t even the full list of groupings I had for my map!
One of the common themes I found in my research was the impact that an inclusive environment had on shaping one's confidence in their queer and racial identity.
Global social movements and queerness
The struggles we face are interconnected, so let’s help each other in overcoming them.
As I bridged connections, I wondered how I could push this zine beyond the campus space. I chose to delve into the ties between global social movements and queerness as a whole.
How does the expression of our identities challenge the oppressive systems we inhabit? How can we use this to build solidarity among others?
These questions helped me find ways to prompt people to build community beyond their campus spaces and in the world around them. I wanted them to feel compelled to change this world for the better, no matter how small the contribution.
Ideate
How might I motivate students to read my zine?
Making the zine enticing
Zines are not only informative but visually attractive. After all, I would be distributing these zines to students across campus. If I wanted to capture their attention, that meant going beyond large walls of text to keep them engaged. I didn’t want to simply inform, I wanted to take them on a journey of what it means to undergo the queer experience as a person of color. To be seen, in all its truth, is to be heard.
Gathering inspo with a moodboard
I searched for bold zines that placed an emphasis on imagery and storytelling.
Thank you BeHance designers for inspiring me <3
Develop
Designing The Place Keeps Score
Zine Cover
Since a major theme is the interconnection between groups of people, I wanted the cover to show how queer stories relate to landmarks on UMD’s campus. I settled on using Testudo, our campus mascot, as the focal point of this cover to highlight how we are all connected by our identity as Terps.
I used this as an opportunity to think of color palettes that would best represent my zine. I used color psychology to guide my decision-making process.
Concept Sketches for Student Stories
Retelling student’s stories through symbolic paintings meant balancing creativity with accuracy. I sent my sketches to the students involved with these stories to make sure that my ideas resonated with their experience. Below are the bare bone concept sketches that I started out with:
Initial sketches of stories that UMD students had on campus.
Layout Explorations
Using what I gathered from students, research, and my own experiences, I wrote out the content of the page to see how many pages the zine would be.
I spent this part of the process ideating how I could fill the white space and break up the amount of text.
Feedback
How do students feel about TPKS?
Show and Tell
In my HDCC209 class, we had Show and Tells throughout the semester where we shared the development of our capstones. This helped me get outside perspectives from people who were both within and outside the BIPOC queer community.
Some of the students said that I should insert drawings within the zine to break up the text. Others gave me their interpretations of the paintings I would create, and this helped me find ways to bring clarity to the meaning behind each one.
The 2nd iteration of the zine.
These were the final concept sketches for the stories I would paint using acrylic.
The Big Show
Presenting at the annual DCC Capstone Fair
I presented my project and distributed over 60 zines to parents, students, and faculty. Not to mention, my project won 2nd place for fan favorite at the fair!
Presentation skills in action!
Reflections
The Impact of The Place Keeps Score
This project has already begun to expand past DCC into the world around me. Both the UMD Book Lab, LGBTQ+ Equity Center and the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies have shared my project digitally and physically for other students to read.
This project was an initiative that will forever be dear to my heart and the values I embody. I learned how impactful design and storytelling can be in the physical space, especially when it is used to connect others and shed light on important issues. I hope that The Place Keeps Score continues to inspire people to be who they are and embrace the differences we all carry because they shape us for the better.