A design hypothesis was established as “to capture a moment where participants can reflect, share, and express their notion of home by ‘weaving’ connections to create a visualization that collectively defines the word home and designs a self-expressive way to create an engaging and networking public space for everyone.”

Since ‘home’ is connected within all humans it makes our responses for home to be a wide diverse range of words and emotions associated with the notion of home. This thesis research process and case study connects back to the informal interviews and conversations where all people expressed their home not only as a physical infrastructure and exact location but others such as their personal, individual, past, and present experiences, level of emotions, and memories. It is an important moment for the audience to visually and physically show their reflections, connections and share their story without boundaries. All are a vital step for the design of student responses to what is home to take shape or form and size. These will create moments of creative expression, build relationships, and inspire other participants to build a networking environment among each other.

Home can symbolize an object, memories, location, community, identity, language, food, tradition, music, sound and smell as the primary node and later on, it will branch out to many other words associated with these main nodes during your time of reflecting home. Cultural identity and memories are taken accountable through the sketching and shape of the project.

Tools utilized in this project to come to reality are the characteristics of the choice of acrylic yarn. There are three yarn fiber types– animal fibers, plant fibers, and synthetic fibers. Synthetic fiber arts, belongs to acrylic yarn as the material part of the craftsmanship in this activity is a significant part of the concept and design of this project in connection to flexibility, texture, color, significance, and how feelings are embedded in them. Coming from the perspective of information design and data visualization, this design concept should encourage and inspire participants to immerse themselves in their connection to ‘home’ by using a unique method of creative expression, building relationships, and learning from other migrants their reflection and story of what is home.

To:You are not only a toolkit for a workshop, it is meant for one as the participant to reflect, connect and share in this interactive and sensory experience for what is home. Participants gain an opportunity to explore and seek their own and other peoples’ way of thinking for home. This can inspire others to build a networking environment among each other. This toolkit will utilize the use of fiber and journaling for students who are in need to express their emotions, memories, and personal/individual experiences at any time they feel they are in need.