Overview
Project Brief
This is a research-creation project of The Richler Library Project. Richler's works have relatable topics to learn for the Montreal community members, such as the ongoing cultural issues between the French-Quebec and Anglophone communities. Working on the website design for Richer's personal library, I questioned whether the website was approachable for people who are studying English literature.
Ideally, schools are responsible for teaching the future generation about the importance of inclusivity. However, their educational materials tend to focus more on the scholarly aspects and less on their relevance to everyday life.
Although topics in liberal arts often raise awareness of discrimination and social justice, their educational materials have less incentive to associate their topics with the students’ surrounding environment.
The project and its information is my personal ideas and opinions, which do not represent Mordecai Richler or SpokenWeb.
Research Question
"If facilitating conversations and learning from Richler’s perspective is part of the Richler Library project, how can we invite people from both inside and outside the university to engage with Richler's works?"
Project Duration
March 2021-April 2021
My role
Research in Montreal neighbourhood, conceptualization, UI design.
The Challenge and Goals
1. Inclusivity
I considered high school and CEGEP students in Montreal who have difficulty understanding why his works are assigned as course readings. Richler’s works are relevant to today’s Montreal community as there exist the same kinds of social issues, such as racism and discrimination. In fact, the Montreal community has different kinds of races, classes, cultures, religions, and genders.
2. Human interactions outside the website
When having a website is becoming a standard in North America, the objective of the website needs to be identified clearly to make better use of it.
3. How to attract attention to the project from the students
Due to the different personal interests and needs in their daily lives, not all the students might find the map important. Also, the school teachers might already have their own curriculum and teaching plans.
The approach
Gamification as a scavenger hunt to make a shift from the traditional learning method. The colour scheme reflects adventurous and welcoming mood of the map project.
Collective storytelling. By getting to know that the students’ friends and families have different cultural backgrounds or identities with unique personal memories, they would be able to care for their neighbours and stand against discriminations.
Process
Background Story Research
Mordecai Richler (1931-2001) was a Canadian writer who wrote about his struggles of living in a Québecois vs English speaking society and being a part of the Jewish community in Montréal. In his books, he mentioned streets, stores and people in Montreal as he grew up on St Urban street.
Subjects that are mentioned in his books are closely related to our current Montreal communities. We have race, class, cultures and gender issues, just like he shares in his books. We live in a multicultural city where racism and discrimination are crucial issues.
Key Word= Intersectionality
“In the context of addressing the racial disparities that still plague our nation, activists and stakeholders must raise awareness about the intersectional dimensions of racial injustice that must be addressed to enhance the lives of all youths of colour.” (Crenshaw, 2015)
Ideation
Initially, the concept of the website was about a scavenger hunt. I considered adding a list of things to find, which are Richer's works. However, it made the website similar to a traditional search engine. To encourage the users to interact with the map, I decided to keep the main feature of the website as a collective memory sharing space.
Moodboard
The final colour scheme has an adventurous atmosphere. The mustard yellow background evokes excitement, as well as a retrospective mood of the memory sharing space.
Inspired by pigeons in downtown Montreal, a non-human agency, an imaginary bird was designed for the map. It represents a community where people do not know each other personally and tend to avoid one another. The bread crumbs depict a path to the memory finding game. The brush script font gives an impression of an old map, and it creates an adventurous mood.
Basic map structure with or without a search box. Due to the objective of the website as a memory sharing space in Montreal communities, I looked for ways to avoid the look of search engines or maps, which require location accuracy. A map without a search box makes it easier to focus on each memory so that it encourages the users to take their time for finding the memory pins.
Add your memory screen flow. The users can add their own memories by clicking anywhere on the map. The side bar shows memories submitted by the users. Memory pins/icons require different visual designs from the location icons and Richler's memory pins.
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Reflection
In order to combat racism and discrimination, it is important for the young generations to notice the diversity of Montreal communities. By getting to know that the students’ friends and families have different cultural backgrounds or identities with unique personal memories, they would be able to care for their neighbours and stand against discriminations.
The number of the memory submission/location pins
For now, the users can add a memory pin to the map when they submit new memory. Depending on the number of users, the map pins need to be grouped together to organize the contents visually.
The level of free expressions
While the website asks people to share their personal stories, any hateful words or images need to be prohibited on the website. The site requires to be monitored regularly, and the system will censor abusive comments before people submit their texts to the map. When people can anonymously publish comments, this is a common issue across the Internet.
Manami Izawa
Manami Izawa 2025© UX Portfolio