intake // outflow
visioning and rebranding session for minority community activism
methods: branding, innovation strategy, facilitation, visioning
tags: activism, self-branding, identity, Asian American Awareness Month, outreach
outputs: branding and visioning workshop for in-person event
tags: activism, self-branding, identity, Asian American Awareness Month, outreach
outputs: branding and visioning workshop for in-person event
the proposal + the concept |
Intake // Outflow is a visioning and rebranding session I created for Now You See Us, an Asian American awareness and celebration event that came out as a result of the #StopAsianHate movement centered around the COVID-19 pandemic and came on during Asian American and Pacific Islander month. (More information about the event can be found on the instagram & website.) The event occurred the weekend of May 22nd - 23rd, 2021, at the Dobbin St event space in Brooklyn. I was asked by the event organizers to host a session centered around reconquering an intersectional and empowering Asian American identity amid stereotypes and labels.
The session is structured around the idea of a breath in and a breath out, with the idea that sometimes, we need to take a step back from the problems and distractions of daily life, inhale & exhale that deep breath, and then step forward again, recharged and ready to conquer what life throws at us. The breath in, or Intake, is where we gather information and create empathy, ensuring everyone in the room has stepped into the same brave space and is aligned. The breath out, or Outflow, is where we release ideas and impact action. To me, identity is a living and breathing organism, constantly changing. I wanted to inspire others to take control of their identity and discharge it from external influences. It is something that we are able to control and retake for ourselves. |
the session |
I opened and closed the session with a meditation to root the attendees within themselves. In the Intake and the beginning part of the Outflow, I ran two design thinking activities: Break Up With Your Baggage and Postcard from the Future. In the first, I wanted participants to think of an identity that they carry with them that does not resonate, or a stereotype that they've taken on simply because it is easier to than to argue. They will cast that aside. In the second, I wanted participants to then imagine an ideal version of themself five or ten years into the future, free of that baggage. What are they like? What have they accomplished?
The bulk of the session was centered around an activity that I created, Compass to the True You, an idea inspired from Designing Your Life's dashboard activity. I separated the compass into four main quadrants, Mind, Body, Heart, and Soul. In each quadrant are three components that participants can shade in for how full they think that aspect of their life is, relative to their own goals and not any extrinsic factors. I was very purposeful in choosing each pillar so that they are all components that can be self-controlled. For example, I didn't want anything explicit like Money / Salary or Career, because those are still labels that society places upon us. Instead, I chose Alignment, Mentorship, and Curiosity in the Mind quadrant. As I explained the definition behind each slice, participants filled them out in the worksheets I gave. Each worksheet had multiple of these compasses, as the idea is they would revisit after a certain time period, whether days or weeks or months, to see how these aspects have changed. This compass will help guide them to the identity they want to become. |
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results |
The session was an intimate one, and reception was generally positive. Participants took extra worksheets at the end to continue to fill them out, and told me that this was what they were looking for, a way to put a name to some of the things that they were feeling and a way to dig into where they are stuck. For me, it was a wholly fulfilling experience, being able to bring in and share some of my own ideas about identity to create something empowering and impactful.
Massive thanks to Demi P for co-creating some of the session design with me and connecting me to the event, Daniel C and Hannah H for listening to extensive voice notes as I ideated in the weeks preceding, Rebecca C for taking photos and generally being supportive during the session, and Mai and Kevi for inviting me into the event. |
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