Kathrin Teh (IDEA Grad 2023) wins the 2021 GDC Foundation Ray Hrynkow Scholarship Award with 'Reclaiming Indigenous Names'
Many congratulations to Kathrin Teh (IDEA Grad 2023) for winning the 2021 GDC Foundation Ray Hrynkow Scholarship Award with “Reclaiming Indigenous Names” campaign design. Course: IDES 244 Design Studio II with Tom Duguid.
“The erasure of Indigenous names began very early on in colonialism, with the Europeans seeing their naming system confusing. Rather than trying to understand it, they decided to remake it for their own purposes in order to assimilate the first-nations and make for easy pronunciation and documentation. Because of this, many Indigenous people lost important family heritage linked to their names, and also lost their sense of identity. There is a need for Indigenous folks to reclaim the names and heritage that were lost to the Canadian government - to embrace their traditional names and share their meaning and history with others.
With this campaign, we hope to encourage more indigenous people to use and reclaim their traditional names, as well as provide a platform for folks to share their hardships and stories with the general public, in order to spark change in government laws regarding naming in Canada.”
“He Makes A Joyful Sound” Poster by Kathrin Teh (IDEA Grad 2023)
“We’re delighted to have our students’ work and ideas recognized by the GDC on this national platform. It reflects well on the program and provides the students with added confidence as they prepare to enter the industry.”
“I am applying for this scholarship because of my passion for design and love of what I’m studying. Unfortunately, school is expensive and with the intensity of my program I don’t have time to get a part time job during my studies.
I believe design can make a huge impact on the world, and my dream is to work for an agency that contributes to social good and making the world a better, brighter place.”
“Rose Women” Poster by Kathrin Teh (IDEA Grad 2023)
“Great project; great use of research; a clear social awareness with a desire to uncover effective and resonant design.
I loved Teh’s poster executions.”
“She Stares at the Heavens” Poster by Kathrin Teh (IDEA Grad 2023)
“This course focuses on communication design practice and its role in promoting sustainability. Students are introduced to ways in which design solutions can engage “strategies, processes and materials that value environmental, cultural, social and economic responsibility” (GDC Sustainable Design Principles, 2009). Projects emphasize collaboration, the discovery process, and the development of platform-neutral solutions. Instruction in design-related software supports the course.”
Social Media Post Examples from Contributors to the Hashtag
Reconciliation Case Study
The erasure of Indigenous names began very early on in colonialism, with many Indigenous people losing important family heritage linked to their names, in addition to a loss of their sense of identity. There is a need for Indigenous folks to reclaim the names and heritage that were lost to the Canadian government – to embrace their traditional names and share their meaning and history with others.
The Guerilla Campaign
It is from this need that I developed this campaign: a campaign that would encourage more Indigenous people to embrace and reclaim their traditional names. I also wanted to create something that would function as a platform for folks to share their hardships and stories with the general public, to spark change in government laws regarding the naming process in Canada.
I began by researching the naming process for indigenous communities and the significant role names play in their culture. Next, I searched for articles containing stories from people who had lost their names and were in the process of attempting to reclaim them, or individuals who were trying to give their children traditional names but couldn’t due to laws in Canada regarding spelling.
The Guerilla Campaign
I compiled a list containing names and their pronunciations, meanings, and history associated with their owners. I knew that I didn’t want to choose random names as examples – I specifically wanted to choose names from people who underwent/are still undergoing struggle in the reclamation process.
Next I had to decide how I wanted to execute the campaign. I ended up deciding on bus-shelter posters to reach the general public, along with a guerilla marketing campaign to pique interest and drive traffic to the social media campaign. The social media campaign is a vital part of the project, as it is where Indigenous people get to share their names and stories. A website would also be implemented, contacting people who post on the Instagram hashtag and interviewing them to get their full stories to share on the site. In using this breadth of media, I figured the campaign would have the highest chance of reaching the most people.
The Guerilla Campaign
Once I had all my information and research done, I began the process of sketching and creating mood boards to flesh out a clearer concept of what I wanted for the design.
I knew that I wanted the tone to be very inspiring and whimsical, something to catch people’s eyes. Initially, I intended to design a more typography-heavy poster with a simple portrait behind the text, but as I was working I realized that it looked too generic. That was when the thought of doing a collage popped into my head.
The Guerilla Campaign
The most difficult part of this project was definitely the research – I spent countless hours searching for information from many obscure scholarly papers and websites until I found what I was looking for. Much of the information I learned didn’t even end up making it into the final project, which was a bit frustrating and I wish I had set specific boundaries for the information I needed in advance. It was also very difficult finding the pronunciation of names and in some cases, it took several hours just to discern the correct pronunciation for a single name.
Overall I am very proud of this project, though it would’ve been a lot better had I been able to interview Indigenous people personally and document their stories.
“IDEA School of Design wins ALL THREE of the 2021 GDC scholarships - unheard of!!! This is a national contest - don’t know how many entries they get but it’s an amazing result for us. It was quite a coup to win both national awards!”
About the GDC Foundation Ray Hrynkow Scholarship
This national scholarship is awarded to a third-year student in a Canadian four-year program whose submission has demonstrated a deep understanding of problem-solving through communication design. The Scholarship was created in honour of Ray Hrynkow, a respected Vancouver, BC design professional, teacher and GDC Fellow who passed away in 2012. It is supported by Casey Hrynkow FGDC and other donors.
One step away from joining the professional ranks, the promise of the design talent in Canada is demonstrated by the recipient providing great design for social innovation and sustainability in a robust package with a strong rationale and supporting research.
For all the winners, see gdc.design.
Follow Kathrin on Insta @kathrindesigns and check out her other projects at behance.net/kathrinkteh.
