Sudan / Digital Systems
Sending a Message through Art.
Illustration Visual response
My illustrations were drawn digitally in Adobe Fresco, translating the monochrome storyboard into a culturally specific visual language. The deep reds and geometric patterns of Sudanese kilim rugs ground each scene in material culture , textiles that predate digital infrastructure and persist beyond its failure. The Nokia 3310, Arabic newspaper Al-Riyadh, vinyl records, and analogue televisions are not nostalgic choices; they represent communication technologies that existed before and after digital suppression, reinforcing Bridle's (2018) argument that networked systems produce opacity while older, non-digital forms persist. The suitcase of photographs , fading, undigitised , directly visualises Benjamin's (2019) point that systems determine what enters the record. What was never digitised cannot be erased digitally, but neither can it be shared.
Wireframe Visual Response
The wireframe structure , eight screens, linear, no skip function , reflects Halloran's (2015) controlled disclosure model. Unlike conventional UX design which prioritises user autonomy and frictionless navigation, this interface deliberately withholds control. Norman (2013) argues in The Design of Everyday Things that affordances shape behaviour; here, the single forward arrow is the only affordance , the user cannot go back, cannot skip, cannot choose what they see. This mirrors exactly the experience of information restriction the project critiques. The Western user, accustomed to infinite scroll and algorithmic choice, encounters a system that decides for them , and feels it.
Bruguera’s Arte Útil reframes art as functional, embedded within lived systems rather than symbolic representation. This directly informs my project, where interaction moves beyond observation into experience, exposing how technological infrastructures actively shape access, visibility, and memory. The prototype becomes a usable narrative, aligning design with real-world conditions of control and disruption (Bruguera, 2012).
Reference: Norman, D. (2013) The Design of Everyday Things. Revised ed. New York: Basic Books.
Bruguera, T. (2012) Reflections on Arte Útil. Available at: https://taniabruguera.com/wp-content/uploads/reflexiones_sobre_el_arte_util_-_eng_1.pdf (Accessed: 5 May 2026).
Figma Link below
