HI FIVE_
“HI FIVE” is a campaign promoting to use of International Sign Language (ISL) as a global form of communication. By teaching travelers ISL through a mobile application and instructional signs in environmental spaces, universal signs will allow people to communicate seamlessly. This project was inspired by the Deaf community and their communication struggles. Likewise, Hearing people face language barriers in foreign places with nonnative dialects.
PROBLEM_
Inspired by Deaf culture and their language struggles, I wanted to address the global challenge of communication. Hearing people also face language barriers in foreign places. What if Hearing people could actually learn from the Deaf? What if there was a universal set of gestures that we could all use to communicate?
RESEARCH_
A mobile platform was important for HI FIVE because of the nature of distant cultures and communication. However, looking at the current available apps for sign and other language apps, I noticed some key pain points: videos did not loop, categories of signs were irrelevant, and there was generally poor user experience in learning signs. I also reached out to the Deaf community, asking for their opinion (at LA Annual Deaf Festival.)
PUBLIC TRANSITWAYS_
All the interviews and persona studies reviewed that: people get around with smart phones, travelers take a lot of photos, and how can sign language be relevant? By providing public transportation and international hubs with instructional ISL, foreign and domestic travelers will be able to learn sign on the go. These signs are eye catching and the essentials signs would be relevant to what travelers need.
FIRST PROTOTYPE DEMO_
The HI FIVE app teaches ISL through looping videos that can be paused, slowed down, and saved for later. As a mobile platform, the HI FIVE app is conveniently available anytime and any place. It’s also a great way to spend time when commuting, such as waiting for a stop on the metro.
The campaign exists in all languages across the globe. The collateral includes lenticular postcards from each country, in their respective languages, to spread ISL and HI FIVE.
PROCESS_
I simulated a lenticular poster using analog means. The black screen, which is usually used to manually slide over a lenticular image, is hung about half an inch off of the poster. The act of walking by the poster activates the motion of the sign behind the screen. When lenticular HI FIVE posters are placed in public transitways, they will draw attention to the campaign and also encourage people to learn ISL on the go.
