TO BE A SISTER// Product + Book Design
The objective of this project was to compel sorority sisters to value the relationships within their sorority more as a familial relationship between sisters. This objective comes from identifying the problem that despite all of the opportunities sororities have to create a strong productive bond between young educated women, they often fail to do so. Regrettably, within most sororities at most universities, young women are subject to body shaming, the devaluing of their individuality and other destructive behavior; all under the premise of sisterhood. When individuals seek out organizations similar to sororities, they are often looking for a sense of comradery and support. During such formative years (18-22), not getting this support can have lasting effects.
During my process I examined many different approaches to solving this problem. I thought about national campaigns, literature to define a set of rules, appeals to sorority presidents and many other ways to tackle this problem. Ultimately, I decided my own personal passion for this cause would be the most persuasive and effective approach. My passion for this topic comes from the relationship and loss of my own sister. I realized that if I were able to strengthen the one-on-one relationships formed in the sorority, the strength of the overall organization would increase. The simplicity of this idea comes from the belief that if her sorority “sisters” cared for her in the same way I did, she would be alive today.
My solution was to create a system of materials that would relay the importance of a sister, cause reflection and create a change in behavior. I created a box, designed to be both reflective and informative. The box contains a book, two necklaces and a mirror etched with a pledge. The book contains four chapters: explaining my story, the importance of a sister, what it means to be a sister and a reflective journal. The book also outlines and explains the pledge etched on the mirror on the the inside of the lid. The necklaces are to be worn as a promise and reminder to honor the pledge. This box is meant to be given by a big sister to a little sister to teach the values of sisterhood and create a strong bond between them.
Overall I believe I created a thoughtful solution that solves the identified problem. The biggest struggle with this project was creating an effective design solution to a social problem. A large flaw with most social justice campaigns is that they only communicate with a large group of people as a collective, instead of approaching the group as a sum of personal relationships.
