Purpose
My team (of two) and I wanted to utilize our developed experience as artists, budding scientists, and community leaders to continue the efforts of our Inside Out: Wake and talk to me campaigns - that is, create a lasting, positive impact on our campus.
This time, in order to gain raw, unrestricted reactions in real time, we decided to take an anonymous, experimental approach with the mass distribution of a reinterpretation of our school mascot.
We started by designing and anonymously distributing a purposefully ambiguous interpretation of Wake Forest University's Demon Deacon mascot in the form of large and small posters, stickers, and t-shirts.
We were mainly curious about how people would react and interpret the random appearance of our newly designed mascot, and what it might reveal in individuals and the campus community as a whole.
We also wanted to somehow utilize the effects of ambiguity and mystery in our population in a way that would bring unlikely individuals and groups of people together in a subtle, indirect, and unexpected way.
My Role
After causing quite a stir among students, faculty, staff, we decided to engage carefully selected student leaders within a broad range of social circles on campus to represent the new deacon, in the form of a t-shirt.
Our selected ambassadors were widespread in terms of age, ethnicity, personality, greek affiliation, sexual orientation, athletic involvement, and major. In particular, we sought out open minded, inclusive, well intentioned individuals who were well respected within their particular social circles.
When the ambassadors were selected, we asked they not reveal our names or involvement with the project. as well as feign ignorance as to the origin of the shirts.
Then we tasked each with passing out 10 shirts (300 total), to people within their friend group. The shirts were paired with this small tag:
Results
The day selected to wear the shirts, was a sight to behold. The shirts elicited engagement and acknowledgment between many unlikely pairings of individuals. Watching very different people wearing the shirt cross paths and acknowledge each other with a smile or a verbal acknowledgment was one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve ever had.
Through the calculated mass distribution of posters, stickers, and t-shirts, we were able to effectively generate a strong, collective sense of inclusiveness and school spirit in the Wake Forest community, fulfilling the goals of both Inside Out: Wake and talk to me combined — and then some.
