“Curious Finds” - Activism by Design
An interactive prototype in the form of a flower that blooms as a team progresses toward a shared step goal, visualizing and encouraging collective physical activity.
An installation spreading the values and work of trash-picking activists, this six-month research-driven project explores how design can amplify the impact of clean-up activism.
Through qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews, direct observation, and thematic analysis, we identified a key challenge: while activists reduced litter, their efforts remained largely invisible, limiting awareness and participation.
Our prototype integrates seamlessly into existing routines. Activists collect curious finds during clean-ups, placing them in mason jars attached to nearby objects. An accompanying app enables them to craft short audio stories from the perspective of non-human agents in the environment, transforming discarded objects into emotional, non-moralizing narratives. Passersby can listen, fostering reflection and connection.
Designed for low-cost replication, this approach lowers the threshold for participation while making activism more visible. Rather than instructing, it engages through storytelling—turning waste into a catalyst for awareness and collective action.
This project resulted in a pictorial developed as part of my coursework during the Master’s program in Human-Computer Interaction at Paris Lodron University Salzburg. It was not submitted to or published in any academic journals or conferences, but serves as a standalone exploration of the topic through design and visual storytelling.