Border Tales: reimagining the pixels of Armenia
This project stems from questioning locative media— specifically, questioning the collective definition of borders, both borders of terrain and those that are digital. "Border Tales" asserts that digital borders are an insufficient means of truly representing a nation. Furthermore, they are just as at risk of attack as tangible terrain is.
Utilizing mapping as a storytelling apparatus, I reimagined digital borders composed of pixels. I focused on the country Armenia, whose borders have historically and continuously been impacted by neighboring countries. By mapping Armenia with fruit, flowers, food, and words, the new digital border encompasses the country's history and contextualizes the continued violence it faces today.
To create these reimagined borders, I traced Armenia's Google Maps borders. I choose google maps intentionally, as the Azerbaijan government has asked Google Maps to remove Armenian names from the Karabakh region. Starting with an inherently political digital space, I used Figma to recreate the Armenian border and then create gifs to collectively represent them.
The reimagined borders of this project represent Armenia’s culture through fruit, sweets, flowers, and words. The fruits of pomegranates and apricots are very important in Armenian culture. The pomegranate symbolizes life while the apricot represents nationality and victory. These digital borders are now imagined as seeds, ones that inspire the thought of unity and rebirth.
The next border was comprised of nazooks, a pastry with a personal connection to my cultural identity. Nazooks remind me of home, sharing the sweets with friends and family- always with Armenian coffee. Here, borders can be sweet and represent connection, as people share sweets together with a cup of tea. Borders can also be nostalgic; my family would often send me sweets like nazooks in the mail when I was away from home. Being able to have and send elements of home is a representation of the Armenian diasporic community. Due to the Armenian Genocide, there are Armenian communities all over the world. Therefore bits of this digital border can be shared with the rest of the world.
Another border created was composed of forget-me-not flowers, a symbol representing the Armenian Genocide. This flower is a symbol that shows the resilience of the Armenian people. It is worn in remembrance and respect for the 1.5 million people killed by the Ottoman Empire.
Lastly, I mapped Armenia with a border made from a comment I received on an Instagram post in 2020. I had made stickers to fundraise for humanitarian relief in Armenia when someone wrote the following: “You got demolished. I’ve archived tens of videos of your soldiers getting blown up with drone strikes 🤞.” I will never forget receiving this comment. Many Armenians experience similar online harassment during the war of 2020, as misinformation was another tactic used to erase and threaten the Armenian narrative. These words, transformed into a border, serve as a somber reminder that Armenia’s borders are still threatened.
Animating the five borders as a gif flashes the possibilities of what borders could be, while also encompassing everything that makes a nation: history, culture, resilience, etc. Animations include flashing between all the reimagined borders and flashing between the element the border is comprised of, such as apricot, to the border itself. Though the outline remains the same, each border is different. These gifs each represent a chapter of the story that is Armenia.
eye got you
"eye got you" is a conceptualized meditation app and wearable ring. Inspired by my family's cultural heritage, I utilized the concept of an evil eye to keep the bad vibes away. The mood ring will sense when the user is feeling stressed or anxious. The user can swipe up for protection and be prompted with positive affirmations. The color of the evil will change when positive energy is restored.
NBCUniveral Internship Creative Marketing Pitch
This project is a creative marketing pitch I worked on as Retail Marketing Intern at NBCUniversal in summer of 2019. I conceptualized products and marketing efforts for the IP Bridesmaids in honor of their 10 year film anniversary.
