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The Inuvialuit Digital Storytelling Library aims to create a culturally sensitive digital platform where Inuvialuit communities can preserve and share their oral traditions. This platform will be carefully designed with respect for Inuvialuit culture, values, and storytelling traditions, ensuring that all elements honor the community’s ways of sharing knowledge. Through this thoughtful approach, the project seeks to strengthen cultural pride and intergenerational connections, and make these invaluable stories available to future generations.
To create a story-sharing journey that honours Inuvialuit culture, I took charge of designing and structuring it, blending research insights and community input. When I joined the project, the team had already built an introductory digital platform, which was tested with the community.
Research selected for poster presentation at the 2024 Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) conference. Link to the paper
Copywriting and development
Identified the shortcomings of the existing systems and pinpointed the aspects where users experienced difficulties in documenting or comprehending their usage.
The research papers highlighted myriad ways digital storytelling is used in research, education, and community settings, emphasizing its versatility as a tool for communication and knowledge-sharing across various domains. These insights guided me in making informed design decisions for the product, ensuring it is not only culturally appropriate but also emotionally resonant and impactful for the community
“The digital storytelling website would be useful not only to provide community leaders and elders with a digital mechanism to record their stories and pass their their knowledge and language to the next generation, but also would be important for the young generation to record their stories”
This statement encouraged us to think about how can we appropriately maintain a sweet spot while designing for both the generations.
While there may already be existing commercial platforms like YouTube or Vimeo that serve these needs, issues of ownership, intellectual property, privacy, and lack of control still prevail
Categorisation, organisation, and presentation of the recorded content are crucial aspects of effective data collection. It also ensures that information can be easily accessed, analyzed, and utilized
Attention to oral forms of expression and the inclusion of audio and video as means of communication to cover the story in its entirety and alsoenhance the audience's understanding and engagement .
Developing digital platforms that are easy to use, respect cultural differences, and don't prioritize profits over user needs is crucial in creating a positive user experience
1) Addressing theimpactmade by sharing the story
2) Providing details on what happens to the shared story
3) Flexibility to record the story at their own pace
4) Approaches to cover the story in its entirety
5) Overall experience of the platform
1) Awareness of user’s impact can encourage others to take action
2) Make the story-sharing process safe and transparent for everyone
3) Accessibility for all age groups
4) Help user’s provide a more comprehensive account of their experience and help the readers to understand the story better
5) Feel more connected with the platform and motivated to share the story
HMW make the process accessible to users with diverse age groups and backgrounds?
HMW use metadata and tags to fully capture, organize, and improve story discovery?
HMW minimize errors and communicate the security of shared stories?
HMW make the process accessible to users with diverse age groups and backgrounds?
HMW use metadata and tags to fully capture, organize, and improve story discovery?
HMW minimize errors and communicate the security of shared stories?
For the user journey flow, stakeholder goals were connected with key user interactions, considering user motivations and pain points. Information from empathy maps was used to inform this process.
The landing page now provides a warm, welcoming and actionable entry point.
The impact is quantified to highlight the changes taking place. A featured stories section allows quick access to pre-recorded stories, allowing users to refer them.
Transparency has been improved with a link to detailed information on how the initiative works.
Minimized the number of fields on a page and divided them the process into 6 steps. This made the form more inviting and less overwhelming, especially given the extensive information requested from users.
Introduced a “Save Draft for Later” option to increase convenience for all age groups
Buttons are color-coded to improve accessibility. Users have the freedom to listen to their recordings and decide whether to keep them.
A section for keywords, categories, time periods, and languages has been added to enhance story discoverability through filters. Sensitive stories can include a disclaimer for reader awareness
An option to add images, videos, and media links is included, along with a short title and description. This helps users provide clearer context and makes it easier for readers to understand the content.
Users can navigate the map to place a pointer at their story’s recording location, enabling precise metadata tagging.
Sharing rights and consent ensures that the cultural heritage and personal stories of the Inuvialuit people are protected and respected.
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