November 2022 – Yadi Wang

Next Step and Future Plan

The AR effect has now been created and is ready to be applied on small scale. My next step will be to use SparkAR to load the AR effect into Instagram. I plan to start the online campaign at the upcoming Creative Festival. The aim of launching at the festival is to get more attention for my project to reach as wide an audience as possible. In the meantime, I plan to sell the jewellery made by the participants in the third intervention (with the consent of the participants) for charity at the Creative Festival.

This project will continue to be taken forward as part of my future career. In the coming year I will continue to design this collection of jewellery and explore the craft to choose the appropriate way to produce it. I will also continue to contact charities to identify opportunities for collaboration, such as charity sales, art psychology counselling and so on.

I will continue to explore and update my research as I delve deeper in the future. Changing the entire social media environment is difficult, but stakeholders and I believe that this change is bound to happen at some point in the future. Continuing to expand the impact of the project and making more women aware of the influence of the male gaze on self-objectification are all laying the groundwork for future change. I’m looking forward to that moment!

AR Test

I started testing the AR effect in Reality Composer and tweaking the details in the face. The full process was recorded as follows：

Rendering and Colouring Tests

C4D rendering effect

The frame is rendered in metal and the gaps are rendered in translucent glass.

Procreate colouring effect

Tried white and blue and they weren’t quite good. Will continue to explore other colouring effects.

3D Model

I put the process of making the 3D model and the final outcome below：

Adjusts the angle to fit the shape of the face

Sketches of the Final Virtual Design

In the sketching stage I designed six different face accessories. The final effect I wanted to present is that stakeholders can change the text section by writing down the words they feel best represent them. I finally chose the last draft as the final design. I will add a translucent effect to the gaps so that stakeholders can type into these crossed square gaps when they post on social media.

Intervention Four Planning

This intervention will be a long term and I plan to contact more charities to seek opportunities for collaboration.

Aims: Continue to expand the reach of the project and raise awareness of the impact of the male gaze on self-objectification in the age of social media for more women

Creative Theme：Creating virtual jewellery that quickly and clearly helps women to express their individuality, talent, abilities and more on social media. On the one hand, it allows women to be more confident in showing their characteristics on social media, and on the other hand, it brings the public to focus more on women’s individuality rather than their bodies. I hope to reduce the impact of the male gaze on the self-objectification of women in this way.

Software：C4D, Nomad, Procreate, Reality Composer, SparkAR

Steps：

Sketch and decide on the final version as soon as possible.
Use C4D and Nomad for modelling, the model needs to fit the face as closely as possible.
Render in C4D or colour in Procreate to test the final rendering.
Test the AR effect and final modifications of the face with Reality Composer.
Use SparkAR to add the 3D model effect to the instagram filter then launch an online campaign (This virtual jewellery will act as the symbol for the online campaign). This campaign will be long-term and anyone can find this virtual jewellery in the instagram filter.

Update on Progress of Contact with Experts and Charity Organisations

Unfortunately, I have not yet received any responses from charity organisations about collaborate. But I did get a reply from feminist jewellery designer Sarah Day!

I had a short telephone interview with her. She focuses more on feminist concepts in her designs rather than on the delicacy of the final product. For example, in her jewellery collection ‘when you have NO WORDS’ she puts swear words in her jewellery, as she believes swearing is a feminist issue. She argues that I can also think less about the detailing of the product and more about the idea of the communication. She has worked with eight charities and suggested that if I want to collaborate I should produce more jewellery designs first instead of just sending them plans. She would be happy to help me consult with the charities when all my collection is finished.