Bizzdem started out as a means to encourage interaction among individuals, primarily using questions as a tool — A tool that provokes conversations. Conversations that create an understanding of one another, promote peace, and in turn help to break down barriers. I came up with different products and services that were designed to help facilitate these conversations. Some of these products I made were t-shirts, short films and books.
The main challenge I faced when I started doing this project was really getting people to participate and be personal with me. A lot of people preferred writing out their experiences rather than tell me in person, so this to me was an indicator that I needed to come up with something that would support that. So I created a google form, and this form circulated around enough for me to get over a 100 responses. For me, that was a huge achievement because I identified my problem, evaluated it and solved it.
Bizzdem came about in response to the issue of exoticism — people having skewed perceptions of others based on where they are from. I ended up designing shirts, the shirts in the capsule collection bear printed statements that debunk often misguided stereotypes. Beyond that, these shirts represent ideals that the wearers believe in themselves. Hence, the benefits are twofold: people are given the freedom to physically display their truths, while generating meaningful conversations in the process. Building the website was by far one of the most exciting parts of the project, because to me, it helped it come to life. www.bizzdem.com
