Institute of Art Design + Technology
Dún Laoghaire

Morgane Kenneally 

BA [Hons] Visual Communication Design

Hi, my name is Morgane and I love creating bold and striking identities which work across a variety of platforms. In particular, I enjoy working on motion, web and editorial design. My personal passion for sustainability, science and technology regularly informs my practice by bringing an important critical lens. I ground my design thinking in research, so that it leads me to solutions which empower the user. Ultimately, I want the work I create to have a meaningful and positive impact on the world.

Project Description:

A community for the not-so-great skaters.

Drop In is here to give you the help that you need, wherever you are in your skateboarding journey. We provide you with easy-to-follow trick guides and personal feedback to speed up your progress but more importantly, we connect you to a supportive community of skaters. Skateboarding tests our patience, our perseverance and our willpower. We all need friends to help us push past fear which is why we put community first. By joining Drop In, you’ll get invited to all the local jams and group chats so you can be sure that you’ll feel welcomed at your local park. Our community grows every day and now we’re just waiting for you to get on (a) board.


Extended Thesis:

The Alienation of Women from Computer Programming: A Visual Analysis of the Hacker and Gamer Archetypes from 1980 to Present

This thesis argues that women have been alienated from the profession of computer programming by the creation and continued representation of the hacker and gamer archetypes in the media. Beginning with an analysis of the video game arcade of the 1980s, it argues that the way the media framed the emerging identity of the gamer set up the technology industry as the new proving ground for young boys. In addition, an analysis of film depictions of the hacker is used to demonstrate how American cinema helped to firmly establish the archetype in popular culture and legitimise the new, emerging masculinity.

At the same time, it argues that the gaming industry marketed itself as a space for young, white men to enact their own fantasies of power and demonstrate their mastery over the machine and their peers. As a result, it proposes that the archetypes of the hacker and the gamer are deeply embedded with notions of masculine competition and display, which is reflected in their anti-social, obsessive and competitive character traits. This thesis argues that the over-representation of the archetypes in the media has made the industry inseparable from the fictional characters, and is thus responsible for the large gender disparity. An analysis of key visuals has been used to support these arguments by demonstrating recurring themes, symbols and tropes of masculinity.