SHIFT Macc Hack #BeBoldForChange

To celebrate International Women’s Day yesterday on Wednesday 8 March, User Experience Design & Digital Agency Sigma set a design challenge focused on the social challenges women face in society today – to 17 art and design students from Macclesfield College. Their challenge, #BeBoldforChange, was run as part of Cheshire East’s SHIFT programme – a brand new borough-wide initiative celebrating digital arts and tech in 2017 and beyond.

The #BeBoldforChange day focused on challenges facing women now and the role technology can play in resolving them. Issues were diverse: ranging from gender stereotype toys, gender stereotype careers, low recognition of female athletes and sexual harassment and violence against women.

In the morning the students – who were split into four teams – worked on defining the problems they had to address, and in the afternoon they set about creating their tech driven solutions. Helping them along the way was their teacher, Johnny Mellor, and Sigma staff from user experience researchers, designers, developers, project managers to test analysts. Additional support came in the form of 100 slices of pizza.

The most creative solutions were awarded prizes – of vouchers and chocolate – by the Sigma team in the afternoon.

There were four prizes:

Best creative idea: This team came up with a design of an app aiming to protect women from abuse with many clever functions including reporting danger and collecting evidence.

Most implementable idea: This team came up with a design of an online careers test including a range of support services aiming to attract women and men into careers that does not reflect gender stereotypes.

Best presentation: This team came up with a design for an app using augmented reality and community relations aiming to encourage more women into sports and improve recognition of female athletes.

Best team work: This team came up with a design of a gender neutral online game aiming to address gender stereotypes in the toy industry.

Shahina Patel, Project Manager, Sigma commented: “The students were given a challenging task but the teams pulled together straight away and kept the energy up throughout the day. The groups tackled the issues of gender inequalities with creativity and originality. We were really impressed with the ideas they came up with!”

https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Activity/8782/SHIFT-Macc-Hack-BeBoldForChange

SHIFT features a jam-packed series of events and hands-on activities, from exhibitions, installations and workshops to talks, tech meet ups and pop-up maker stations – SHIFT is bursting full of inspiring and creative things to do, see, create and experience for novices and professionals alike, of all ages and abilities. Whether you’re a code loving kid, a techie beginner or whizz, a family in search of something new or even a digital pro making the next award-winning app – these forthcoming events offer something for all across the region.

Discovering and experiencing the digital world in unique and surprising places is very much at the heart of SHIFT and with this in mind, its opening commission is Living Sculpture (Virtual), on Platform 6 at Crewe Station from tomorrow Friday 10^th March. This digital and interactive installation has been created by award-winning, Liverpool based artist Laurence Payot who uses the public realm as a stage to make out-of-the-ordinary things happen. Through this brand new piece, the artist invites the visitor to interact with the art work to bring it to life. Fusing the traditional craft of drapery fabric and an old illusion technique, with coding and LEAP motion tracking, the artwork and the visitor come together to create a breathing piece of material. Two ‘players’ can interact with each other through the cloth, as it changes shape, texture, and colour. Interactive coded sound is also manipulated in the process.

Living Sculpture (Virtual), is the result of a two-year collaboration with evolutionary scientists at York University, exploring the symbiotic relationship between Laurence’s artworks and people.

The full SHIFT programme – including talks, workshops, professional training, tech meet ups, art installations, family events and drop-in coding sessions – will be updated throughout the year via the website: www.shift-digital.co.uk