Interactive Web App - September 2025
OVERVIEW
I created Get Connected as part of my Master's thesis research exploring the uses of digital media to create participatory experiences that facilitate engagement with art. This project reflects on the methods and key questions driving Andrea Geyer's Revolt, They Said (2012-ongoing) and asks users to think about the power manifest through connections in their own lives and interests.
CONCEPT
Get Connected prompts users to create graphs similar to Geyer's artwork by thinking about the relationships in their own lives. Each time something new is added to the graph, a series of questions pop up suggesting new connections for the graph. These connections focus on people, the communities they belong to, and the larger movements they influence. A special class of node invites users to reflect on what is missing from the graph.
In addition to Geyer's original artwork, Constellations at ACMI and Neil Agarwal's Infinite Craft influenced the concept and design.
It was built with Typescript, Zustand, and React Flow.
LESSONS LEARNED
Reflecting Community: For the demo at PROTOTYPE, I used a version of Get Connected already loaded with a graph of the community surrounding the exhibition. People were really excited to see themselves and the people they knew in the graph.
Methods of Engagement: Wanting the experience to be approachable at different levels of engagement, I'd added features to let people add likes or comments to individual nodes, which was quite successful. They left notes for their friends and responded to the work created by others.
(Un) Intuitive Design: Since this was intended for use in a museum context, I wanted it to be as easy as possible for users to understand what to do immediately on interacting with it.
Based on engagement with the demo, there were some sticking points (such as adding new nodes to the graph from the sidebar) to iron out so that user expectations for interactions align with how the web app actually functions.
Based on engagement with the demo, there were some sticking points (such as adding new nodes to the graph from the sidebar) to iron out so that user expectations for interactions align with how the web app actually functions.
NEXT STEPS
As the project was a research prototype, more fine-tuning is necessary to make it a fully functional and easy-to-use web app.
A more sophisticated version could analyze user responses to generate questions more specific to a given input, or make suggestions for specific connections to make.
A library of expert-curated graphs could also help users explore the relevance of Geyer's work across disciplines and provide a diverse set of foundations to build their graphs from.
An example that came to mind when developing the project was a graph on Black filmmakers doomed to obscurity by the mechanisms of Hollywood, as described in Yara Zhayd's video on Chameleon Street.
An example that came to mind when developing the project was a graph on Black filmmakers doomed to obscurity by the mechanisms of Hollywood, as described in Yara Zhayd's video on Chameleon Street.