For this redesign, I shifted the original “What’s in your bag” task from a still photo and written description to a dynamic TikTok-style storyboard paired with the “Blue Danube” waltz as background music. Instead of using words or direct explanation, I relied on timing, pacing, and mood to communicate meaning. The choice of the Blue Danube soundtrack was intentional, the calm and elegant rhythm of the music transformed ordinary objects into something almost theatrical. It gives these everyday items a sense of importance and choreography. This aligns with the New London Group’s idea of redesign: by changing the mode, the meaning isn’t just transferred, it’s transformed.
Using motion, sound, and sequence allows a different kind of engagement to occur. Instead of asking viewers to simply observe objects and read about them, the TikTok made the experience feel more playful and interpretive. The absence of spoken explanation encouraged viewers to make their own connections rather than being told what each item meant.
The process wasn’t without challenges. Without using straightforward descriptions of the items, I was pushed to represent things in a different way. I thought about what gesture would best represent these items. What type of music would work, and should the movements be slow or fast? It required a kind of creative decision-making that doesn’t exist in a straightforward photo submission. But that challenge actually became a benefit because it opened up space for interpretation, mood, and a bit of artistic expression. Instead of just showing objects, it turned into something more about how we present ourselves through them.
Overall, using TikTok completely changed the tone of the task. It added movement, rhythm, and emotion to something that originally just felt like a simple list of items. It reminded me that mode shapes meaning, and that even small design choices, like a musical cue or the timing of a cut, can completely shift how something is understood and felt.
Reference:
The New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures.) Harvard Educational Review 66(1), 60-92.