Migration roots

To create and refine a concept that is interesting and meets the needs of consumers that are looking for something new and unique.

You will choose the project, the target consumer and all of what it will entail. The main component can be a website, an app, packages, a video, motion piece, etc.

With this political climate people are so set on being right that they forget to humanize the situation. The problem is that certain people don’t see eye to eye with refugees and their reason for setting out on this journey to a better life.

The research methods I utilized were competitor research, along with concept and usability testing.

competitor analysis

I was able to pull inspiration from different sources such as the Humans of New York page as well as Ancestry, Facebook, and Instagram. They each gave me an idea of what works well for them and what doesn’t which is what helped me decide what I wanted to implement within my concept.

Maddie is from a family that doesn’t really know much about their family’s lineage, but one thing she does remember is her Grandmother’s stories of how their family came from somewhere around Southern Italy around the 1890s. Despite her asking over the years about any information regarding where her family is from, nobody has been able to give her anything else that she can go off of, therefore she was halted in her search for answers for the time being.

In light of recent events, Maddie has been struggling with this new political environment that has really brought forth both her and her family’s views. They align themselves with that of Republican beliefs and having such strong viewpoints on issues such as immigration. Not knowing her family’s past or what they may have gone through while having this stance of not letting certain people in has been something that has been unsettling to her. Although she does strongly believe that having people from other countries come in to the United States can be dangerous and could negatively affect the economy, it doesn’t feel right to not allow others the right to a better opportunity when her family had been given that freedom in the late 1800s. This issue has been so conflicting that she has been trying not to think about it, however, the problem is still a current and large issue at hand so she decided to take action for herself.

In an attempt to get more insight, Maddie decided to try and get more information about her own family history again through a different course. She searched possible options online and stumbled upon an article that had a list of resources that could aid in finding family history. Amongst the list was a website called Migration Roots. At first look, it looked as though this website was going to give her the answers that she has been searching for all these years, turns out it gave her even more. To begin, she was prompted to pinpoint on a map the area that her family originated from, the timeline (if known), and where her family is now. From that search, it not only gave her routes that her family may have taken but also a background as to why.

“In the 1890s Southern Italy was known to be a part of the “New Immigration” pattern which was actually the third and largest wave of immigration coming from Europe. Within the early 1900s, about 3 million Italian immigrants came to the United States due to poverty and political hardship. Although the Italians faced prejudice and scrutiny from those that believed they were criminals and would cause poverty and civil unrest, over the years the influence of the working immigrants allowed for an industrial revolution…”

Maddie could not believe all of this information she was reading about her family’s experiences on initially coming to the United States. She was overwhelmed with pride knowing who she was because of what her past generations went through in order to provide for their future family. Another tab on the website allowed her to read other people’s experiences and stories about their own pasts and how this website allowed them to understand what had happened and why. Maddie read up on another story, told by Julie, on how Migration Roots revealed to her the magnitude of what was going on now with immigration, despite her prior viewpoints; which is exactly how Maddie felt as well. There is so much more to the current immigration debate than she would have ever thought of, and considering that her own family immigrated to the United States where the citizens had similar concerns about the affect immigrants would have, to people who are trying to come here for a better life makes her sympathize even more.

Family has always been such a strong factor in her life and Migration Roots made their bond even stronger, while also giving her the opportunity to understand the current immigration issue in a different light.

logo and design elements

concept refinement

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Website: The website is where my customer will interact with my product. It has the ability to create an emotional connection with my users familial past.

Map/Compass: The map I created allows my user to be able to not only have use of the object, but is also symbolic for my product.

Keychain: Keychains are great and easy promotional items that allows my product to have the potential of interacting with anyone.

Migration Roots is here to provide the opportunity for people to learn about the untold stories of their family’s history. We go past your lineage and go in depth as to why your family migrated, what routes had to be taken, and how their journey lead to where you are now.

Wouldn’t you want to know your roots?