Numberfit Role Models Diarra Bousso and DaeWha Kang

The second group of MA Narrative Environments first year students worked with Numberfit to create online profiles, objects and a role play game to introduce inspiring role models to students aged 10-13, engaging the children in new ways of learning about mathematics.

Image of the webpage design for numberfit role model Diarra Bousso including a portrait and icons that represent life events, on a white background with a faint fabric pattern on it. — above: Webpage layout for Numberfit role model Diarra Bousso.

Role model Diarra Bousso is a fashion innovator, social entrepreneur and creative mathematician who has overcome both gender and racial prejudice as an underrepresented BIPOC woman in the fashion industry and build her brand Diarrablu. Through the webpage profile school children learn about Diarra’s motivation, successes and challenges, as well as how mathematics underpin her fashion pattern designs.

The design team also created an interactive sketchbook that can be used to generate designs, showing children how Diarra combines fashion and mathematics with African patterns to highlight Black culture.

Through a role play game inspired by her experiences, the school children design clothing using simple geometric-shaped paper. This improves their communication skills and helps them to identify and navigate gender-equality and race issues.

representational image of the interactive sketchbook inspired by Diana Bousso's work, materials threaded through fabric by three hands. — above: image of the interactive sketchbook inspired by Diana Bousso’s work.

image of the webpage layout for number fit role model DaeWha Kang including a portrait and icons symbolising his life experiences on a pale grey patterned background. — above: webpage for Numberfit Role Model DaeWha Kang.

Role model DaeWha Kang is a Korean architect who believes that ‘Maths is the foundation of creativity’. He runs an architecture studio known for the use of geometric elements in parametric design and its focus on sustainability.

The webpage, created by the MA Narrative Environments Team, presents the cultural differences and stereotypes DaeWha overcame and the challenges that DaeWha encountered in founding his architectural studio.

Inspired by DaeWha’s design process, the MA Narrative Environments Team conceived of an interactive tree-shaped pen made from sustainable materials, that students assemble in different ways to mirror DaeWha’s practice.

In the role play game, based on DawWha’s experiences and architectural practice, the school children combine tangrams in different ways, working together to solve a problem, and learning new applications for Mathematics in the process.

image of the sketch of the interactive tree shaped pen inspired by DaeWha Kang's architectural practice showing how the individual branch-like pieces fit together. — above: sketch of the interactive tree shaped pen inspired by DaeWha Kang’s architectural practice.

Student Team: Beichen Yang, Maiden Quimbert, Like Liu, Xiaoxian Song, Yanan Li.