Case study 01
Deck of Triumphs
Unveiling the stories of triumph: a deck of cards that tells the successes of disabled people.
- Role
- Designer, researcher and maker
- Year
- 2023 to 2024
- Country
- UK
- Type
- Card installation and limited edition concertina book
- Status
- Exhibited
Summary
In short
Plain-language summary
I talked to disabled people about things they are proud of. I turned each story into a wooden card. The cards stood on a stand at Teesside University. Visitors could pick up a blank card, write their own proud moment and add it to the stand. I also made a small fold-out book of the cards.
- The problem
- The successes of disabled people are often hidden. Stories tend to focus on struggle or pity, and there are few welcoming places to share and celebrate what people have achieved.
- The insight
- Life deals everyone a hand of cards, and the deck is not evenly balanced. Cards let each triumph be held, arranged and added to, so the story keeps growing.
The process
Six steps, from a conversation to a card in someone’s hand.
Start with the brief
The MSc brief asked for a post-digital piece around Play, Protest or Control. I chose Protest: a quiet protest against stories that only show disability as struggle.
Listen and research
One-to-one conversations with disabled people about their triumphs, alongside reading on how media and unconscious bias keep those successes out of view.
Kill the first idea
My first idea, turning waste into new stories, was too hard to source, store and make in time. I set it aside and kept what mattered: an object that carries a story.
Test the materials
Laser etching on birch plywood, monoprinting with Julie, foil printing, screen printing and paper stitching, before settling on etched wood for the cards and 350gsm card for the book.
Build for touch
Three tiers of etched cards on a stand I carved with the technicians, a front row of blank cards, written instructions and a wooden dice to bring chance into each new story.
Reflect and revise
Next time: a wider plan to share the stories, a clearer way to organise interview notes, and partners who can take the deck further.
The result
A site-specific installation in the Student Futures space of Teesside University’s Student Life building, a busy building used by students with and without disabilities. Visitors read the triumphs, rolled the dice and wrote their own stories on blank wooden cards. A limited edition concertina book collects the cards as a one-off collector’s piece.
Event dates and visitor numbers to supply.
Evidence
- 2023 to 2024Deck of Triumphs installed in the Student Futures space, Teesside University. Visitors added their own triumphs on blank wooden cards. Event dates and visitor numbers to supply.
- 2023 to 2024Part of my MSc Visual Communication, awarded with Distinction, Teesside University.Read the study
- 2023 to 2024Limited edition concertina book of the cards, made as a one-off collector’s piece.
- To comeWords from visitors’ cards, shared with consent.
Credits and permissions
- Design, research and making
- Damilola Oke
- Tutors and technicians
- Marcus, Eszter, Julie, Kelly, Julian, Craig and Vicky
- Photography
- To supply
- Participants
- Real or composite stories, and consent, to confirm