Coping w/ Covid

Overview

I designed the concept for a physical exhibition about everyday life during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic. The project included the exhibition narrative, an information kiosk layout, a visitor questionnaire, and a set of data visualizations to display collected responses. Everything was prototyped in Figma — the exhibition itself was never built, but the concept stands as a complete design.

The inspiration

I feel like there are enough talks about Covid-19 — what kind of virus it is, how it infects people, and how to prevent and treat it. But I also feel like there aren't enough talks about Covid-19. How do we feel about a pandemic in the 21st century? How do we cope with loss and changes?

I first imagined this exhibition as a way for me to reconcile with Covid-19, about all the things I could have done but did not have the chance to do because of the pandemic, including an in-person graduation ceremony. The original concepts were mostly negative, but as I started planning out the details and imagining what artifacts could be displayed, I realized that my experience in 2020 was not all gloomy. In other words, I found my silver linings of the pandemic.

The direction of this exhibition then changed. Instead of merely contemplating the past and dwelling on some of the missed once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, I want to start with recognizing those negative emotions properly, then bring attention to the positive changes and events that we might have overlooked when we were consumed and overwhelmed with everything that was going on.

The process of designing this exhibition concept was comforting and healing; and I hope the exhibition, even though it only exists as a concept, could evoke those feelings in every viewer.

Gallery

Information kiosk

Data visualization

The questionnaire to collect data for the visualization, and five data visualization designs.