UX of Pink
Brief: Design an experience based on the characteristics of the colour pink
Group: Anwesha, Aoqi, Bukola, Dabeen
Research Methods: Creative Toolkit, Artefact Analysis
Week 1
Having a group of five girls all from different countries, we started the project by researching what pink is to our respective cultures. Interestingly, we found that most cultures and associations of pink being a “girls” colour was rather widespread globally. Therefore, we decided to reutilise the research method of Love Letter / Break Up Letter to uncover our emotional connection to the colour. Our letters revealed an interesting common thread - we all shared a similar journey in our relationship to the colour and our gender. As little girls, we rejected it, fearing falling into a stigma of girlhood we disliked. But upon maturing, we realised our hatred stemmed from internalised misogyny that associated femininity with weakness, and as an act of reclamation now find power and beauty in it.
We discussed the versatility of pink and the way in which it can represent a range of emotions and characteristics, from soft and childlike to punky and rebellious, depending on the shade.
We each chose a different item to write an Artefact Analysis on. This method asks not only to describe an object’s physical attributes, but also describe their use, which allows us to understand hidden biases and predispositions. My artefact analysis was on a pink hairbrush. The main findings that benefitted the rest of our design was the plastic, shiny, smooth object that’s used to control your appearance, but also reminded me of intimate childhood memories of spending time with my mother and partaking in “girlhood” together.
↑ Like any colour, pink has many shades and characteristics. We found that soft pink and hot pink have quite opposing characteristics and associations in our perception. That duality confused us, since both of them are equally pink to us and represents the different aspects of femininity and womanhood.
↑ The purpose of Artefact Analysis was initially difficult to grasp. However, once I understood the its value in resurfacing preconceived biases we have on even simple objects like a hairbrush, I realised how beneficial it is to the brief, especially when relating to the colour pink.
Thinking of a possible Creative Toolkit, we wanted to know what emotions people associate with different shades of pink. We chose a few that were quite diverse - cool/warm tones, lighter/darker shades. Then, we asked people to pair those shades to the 5 emotions of the movie “Inside Out”: Joy, sadness, fear, anger and disgust. Even without being familiar with the movie characters, participants could infer the emotions from facial expressions.
Tracking participants' answers, we saw an overwhelming pattern that paired the emotion of “Disgust” with a particular shade of bright pink which we named “Bubblegum”. They explained their choice by saying she embodies a “mean girl”, with many referencing the movie “Mean Girls” (released in 2004). However, it was interesting to see that many paired the same shade with Disgust even without having watched “Mean Girls”.
As feedback, it was suggested the creative toolkit be redone to allow for more generative results.
After much deliberation with regards to a direction moving forward, we were inspired to go back to the finding from the toolkit, which showed an almost intrinsic connection between a certain strong shade of pink and a “Mean Girl”.
↑ We requested participants to pair the 5 shades of pink we provided to each emotion. As mentioned in the feedback, that narrowed down their options, which could have skewed the results.
↑ As seen in this chart, Disgust had an sizeable majority of participants all assigning a certain shade of pink to her.
Week 2
Delving deeper into the idea that “Mean Girls wear pink”, we looked into other instances where that trope was reinforced in mass media across the globe, particularly in the early 2000s. We found that “Mean Girl” characters sometimes have a “redemption arc”, either canonically in the movie or by cult followings they amass. This arc often adds a rich background to the character that explains her behaviour and contextualises her.
While researching the subject we came across a study done by Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz & Dana E. Mastro (2008), which found that audiences exposed to popular media tropes of “Mean Girls” during their teen years have more negative opinions on female friendships and gender roles. This impact is mitigated in girls more so than boys, the authors hypothesising this is due to real-life positive experiences of female friendships.
Based on this, we conducted another Creative Toolkit, asking participants to create what they think is a “Mean Girl Aura/Energy” using an array of colours. We then asked them to theorise what turned her mean.
Many auras contained similar patterns - spikes, edgy, kinetic sharp shapes, cool toned colours such as purple, blue and green as well as mean facial expressions and “girly” imagery (lips, nails, long hair, etc). They theorised she’s mean due to bullying she suffered herself, or other personal problems such as trauma or insecurity.
↑ Across media and around the world, there are several examples of “Mean Girl” characters from the media seen in pink attire.
↑ As can be seen from the results, many participants utilised the colour pink in their auras.
↑ This time around, we let participants choose from a wide variety of art supplies, not only limited to shades of pink.
↑ One common theme was a human element, often with an angry or mean expression as well as other feminine features - lips, nails or long hair.
↑ Another common theme was the usage of spike or sharp shapes facing outwards.
For our final result, we wanted to create a space that showed the way in which “Mean Girl” characters adorn pink like armour - a “mean” shade of pink to protect their inner world. It also plays on the duality of pink that we initially discussed.
Inspired by wholesome experiences of girls’ bathrooms, we asked volunteers to write their positive thoughts and experiences with femininity and girlhood, to empower the person crawling inside a space.
Talking to our tutor, we pivoted from recreating a toilet cubicle and instead opted to make a fort-like space, mimicking children's pillow forts.
The design included tools to enable adding one’s own positive notes to the growing collection.
↑ We originally wanted to recreated a bathroom door, inspired by the graffiti with uplifting messages we often encounter in toilet cubicles. However, we decided to create a space you have to crawl into, like a child hiding in a pillowfort.
↑ The replies we received helped us construct the interior space
↑ We asked volunteers to share positive experiences with femininity
Final Outcome:
↑ Inspired by the “Burn Book” punk and rough look, the exterior is meant to look uninviting, portraying how pink can appear “hard”. We used sharp shapes and objects, much like the auras created in the toolkit.
↑ Inside, we created a soft and cosy space, with pink light, soft pillows and blankets. Like an internal organ, it’s protected from the outside to be soft and vulnerable on the inside.
Feedback:
We were told we could have grounded the experience slightly more, as it was unclear where and why such an exhibition would be placed in the world. It was also suggested we could have made it clearer that people going inside are encouraged to leave their own notes.
Reflection:
User testing on the design, especially for those identifying as women, was positive. Many said they found it sentimental. I agree with the feedback that we could have enclosed the space more and highlighted it was a space to actively share your feelings. I still believe we were successful in showcasing the duality of pink, displaying both its rebellious and soft sides.
References:
Behm-Morawitz, E. & Mastro, D.E., 2008. Mean Girls? The Influence of Gender Portrayals in Teen Movies on Emerging Adults' Gender-Based Attitudes and Beliefs. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 85(1), pp.131-146. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/107769900808500109