Before the start of this project, our professor, Andrea Cardinal, provided the class with research, stories, and other interactive storytelling websites. We read multiple articles and were asked to recount details. Everyone could remember the specific stories, but not the statistics that were associated with the topics. This is the power of stories. We can recall people’s experiences better than data. We become more involved with the issues as we can sympathize with those who are affected.

While statistics provide data showcasing the importance of a topic, we tend to remember the stories better. Due to the sensitivity of the topic, we created a fictitious family. We discussed as a group, whether to retell the accounts of real people or create a fake family based on the accounts. We chose the latter as recounting a personal story can retraumatize the individual

We divided into groups working on the story, design, and prototype of the website. I worked with the prototyping/management team, learning Figma, and assisting other groups if need be. I created the lunch, the counselor, infographics and prototyped Charlotte’s storyline.