Skrzynia Wianna - Dowry Chest is a project realised as part of Etnoprojekt 2.0 workshops and is a team work between ethnologist, programmer and graphic designer.
We went on a 10-day trip across Poland visiting different cultural institutions, craftsmen and people working with local heritage. We took part in craft workshops, attended various talks and collected inspiration. The aim was to promote Polish folklore through new technologies - design apps or websites inspired by our own experiences. The ideas were to be intuitive and developed in a short time, rather than in-depth concepts.
In my group we decided to focus on a dowry chest, in old times the only household object belonging solely to a woman, containing things which she made or collected while preparing for her wedding day. We took the old function and translated it into a modern context. As Poland is still a country with traditional gender roles, the preparation of the wedding is left mostly in the women’s hands. We wanted to give brides-to-be a virtual chest, where they could store important dates and information connected with their wedding but also get inspiration.
As a first time user one has to choose the date of the wedding and the dowry chest. There are stories taken from traditional wedding customs sent to the application, at regular intervals depending on the amount of time left until the wedding. There are three categories: Inspiration, Challenge and Curiosity. By reading about them users collect items that are put in the chest and once this is done receive a key to the lock.
The content for the app has been prepared by the ethnologist, and development has been down to programmer.
I have prepared all graphics and illustrations and designed a simple UI based on the constraints of the programmer.
