Ethan Taylor
Scéal Wood is an Irish-language storytelling app with a real-world experience that requires no preparation or prior knowledge of the language, which allows for natural curiosity and independent learning in young children. Children can engage with the Irish language outside of the classroom, using their own curiosity to fuel learning in local parks. Placing the language into environments already purpose-built for them, children can discover their own independent motivation to learn Irish while earning recognition for their effort. Learning a language needs to become a skill for life, not just a classroom lesson, and the best way to do that is to practice, in real life.
The primary objective of this project was to make learning Irish more than a classroom subject, but a skill for life. Due to over half the Irish population not speaking the language, it's become a systemic issue, one where guardians often struggle to support their child's learning, which leaves a child learning the language solely in isolation of the classroom. With this project, the overarching aim was to create a system in which multiple audience age groups could engage and learn together, making it a shared learning journey while still focusing on children and future generations, keeping our native language alive.
Project outcomes resulted in varied outputs, primarily centred around an app which gives visual and audio moments of language learning through accessible and age-appropriate stories, bespoke to each park. Using icon characters of native Irish animals, users are guided through the app to different icon markers along each 'Scéal Trail' before listening to a short section of the trail's story, which incorporates cúpla focal in Irish. A small website helps users to further understand the purpose of the project, as well as informing primary school teachers on how to incorporate it into their classroom lessons or as a homework alternative. The project empowers teachers to think outside the box with their Irish lessons while also giving guardians a way to support their child's learning. Children can collect and revise their new words from each trail in their Pas/Passport, along with a stamp upon completion of their Scéal Trail.
This dissertation examines Vanguard (1965–1967), a pioneering queer youth organisation in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, and its self-published zines as tools of survival, revolution, and growth, informed in part by on-site research. Founded in 1965 and emerging more publicly through its magazine in 1966, Vanguard provided a platform for low-income gay and transgender youth to articulate their experiences, resist systemic oppression, and build community. Through analysis of three surviving volumes, this study explores the materiality, visual culture, and ideological significance of the zines, situating them within broader currents of civil rights activism, anti-war movements, and the evolving landscape of LGBTQ+ resistance. Drawing on theories of zine culture by Chris Atton and Stephen Duncombe, the dissertation highlights how self-publishing created “third spaces” for marginalised voices, fostering autonomy and collective identity. Comparative attention is given to the Tenderloin’s activism alongside East Coast movements, particularly Stonewall, to underscore differences in scale, visibility, and survival strategies. Ultimately, Vanguard’s zines are shown to embody defiance against mainstream narratives, offering both a historical archive and a radical act of self-determination. They reveal how creativity, community, and underground publishing became vital instruments for challenging oppression and asserting dignity in a hostile social order.
Hi there, I'm Ethan! A Wicklow-raised, now based in Kildare, multi-disciplinary designer, passionate about working on projects that create real, sustainable change for users through a range of approaches. In-depth research is the heart of my creative practice; truly understanding the issue at its core is often how I craft considered and impactful design solutions. After four years of honing my craft, there's no specific element of design that I prefer; I enjoy being multi-disciplined, but some areas often at the centre of my design solutions are print, motion, typography, experiential design and photography. Some highlights from my time in IADT include participating in an Erasmus workshop in Antwerp, Belgium, and working in Aad.
