Post 4: Closing thoughts

The following lessons were dedicated to designing and creating my mask. I had some drawings I had made earlier this year that gave me inspiration towards what the mask would look like. I picked one that would suit the function of the mask best (I wanted the user to be able to switch between the anti-facial recognition pattern and other fabrics) and started making the prototype out of clay. I really enjoyed this class since I had been aching to work with my hands and create something, the tutor Louise Day was also very helpful and relaxed which made it even better. I adjusted the details of my prototype as I went along until I thought it was finished. At this stage, the Covid-19 crisis was just becoming big enough that it was no longer possible to ignore.

I remember the last lesson before we went away on spring break and that everybody was talking about the virus and their anxiety, but I did not know at this point that I would not be able to come back and finish my mask. When the news came that the university would close down, I remember feeling sad about this specific course. I had grown more and more interested in making masks since I started working on it and I have been drawing ideas of masks ever since, so even if I can´t finish this particular mask I can still say that I gained something from the class. I do hope I can get the chance to do something similar again. One thing I have thought about that is quite ironic is that even though I can´t actually finish the project, the global pandemic we are now living in might prove to be more educational for Better Lives than any planned-out project could be.

All of a sudden, everybody on earth is facing a common problem, having to make drastic changes to our lifestyles, habits and priorities. We see difference in how people cope with change, how people take responsibility and we see people coming together to help each other in ways that no one would have thought about a year ago. I would like to think that most people will come out of this pandemic with a new humbler way of looking at the world and at each other. As I mentioned in the first post, the best way to create better lives is to try and see problems from different perspectives and I think the discussion about perspectives, inclusivity, responsibility and well-being is really now much more relevant than it was before Covid-19. A drastic change like this raises countless questions about the future, and when society and its inhabitants change, the designers must adapt.