The New School
Baruch College International Student Office
HI5
Hi Raise to the power of 5 is a playful experience that gives space for students to interact and communicate to encourage them to understand and embrace diversity.
Role
Interaction Designer
UX Engineer
Tool
Openframeworks
Kinect
Catergory
Interactive Installation
Creative Coding
Projection Mapping
INTRO
MIND THE CULTURE GAP
40% of international students had no close friends amongst their American classmates
- Journal of International and Intercultural Communication
Students travel from all over the world to study in the Philippines, and that number is significantly increasing. They are from different races, religions, linguistic and cultural backgrounds, gender, ideology, and socio-economic status, but most, if not all, have to adapt to their new life in the new country. In the process, many of them may feel isolated.
- LCCB Educational Journal of Multidisciplinary Research
MORE than two-thirds of overseas students in Australia feel lonely and isolated, and universities need to urgently try to address the problem by encouraging more friendships between foreign and domestic students.
- The Australian
Students with migrant backgrounds still isolated
- Deutsche Welle
User Interview
Domestic Student
International Student
-MIND THE LANGUAGE GAP-
“Their English are good, but they always think it is bad”
“They are intimidated when talking to me in English”
“I wish I can speak in their language to communicate”
“They always go in a group”
“Close in their community”
“My English is not good enough. I don’t know what to say”
“I had a hard time expressing my thoughts in English”
“My English is bad, I don’t know what they are talking about”
“It is tired to speak in other language”
“I’m don’t know if they are interested on what I’m trying to say”
-MIND THE EMOTION GAP-
“Close in their community”
“They always go in a group”
“They don't like me”
“I was excited at first I come to New York, but then I feel lonely”
“I cried a lot, I always cry”
“I don’t have friends”
“They don’t welcome me”
-MIND THE CULTURE GAP-
“They should put more effort.
I’m willing to talk to them if
they approach me”
“We are in their culture so we
need to open our mind. But, I
also hope they can also open
their mind”
How to remove or reduce the invinsible barriers
and increase the interaction among people from
different cultural background?
Precedences
ORGANIC BORDER(2015)
By: Isabela Cruz Chong
BOUNDARY FUNCTIONS (1998)
By: Scott Snibbe
ROBOTIC VOICE ACTIVATED WORD KICKING MACHINE
By: Neil Mendoza
Prototype
“Take active interest in the culture and norms of other person. A willingness to adapt one’s communication and behavior to be compatible with another’s cultural norms. The more you know about a certain culture, the better the chances for effective communication. Besides, openness, caring and mutual respect of the dignity of individuals are essential qualities for intercultural empathy regardless of cultural differences.“
From Intercultural Awareness to Intercultural Empathy
by Honglin Zhu
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1080436.pdf
User Test
"Laughter, Tears, Singing, and Dancing Bring People Together"
By Dr. Robin Dunbar
1. Don’t Let Race/Nation Divide us,
Instead Celebrate the Differences of the Culture
2. Remove the invisible barriers
Stereotype and Prejudice
Exhibition
