understanding of microaggression
Regardless of intent, they are rooted in underlying perceptions of racial hierarchies and often surface unconsciously in everyday interactions.
When I look at you, I don't see colors
Where are you really from?
# 1
# 2
The speaker might aim to highlight their fairness or lack of bias. However, in doing so, they inadvertently reinforce the very concept of racial difference and its significance in societal structures.
This question is often asked to people of non-white racial backgrounds, implying that they are "foreign" or not truly part of the society they live in, despite having been born and raised there.
Motivation for Archiving
Cultivating social awareness to foster empathy and learning through the archiving of shared experiences
As societies have increasingly embraced multiculturalism, the prevailing sentiment has been overwhelmingly positive, with many viewing it as a sign of progress toward becoming more developed nations. With the expectation that more societies will continue to evolve into multicultural ones, it is crucial to foster shared experiences and collective learning, elevating public awareness and understanding. This vision is what led me to initiate a social archiving effort, aiming to preserve and facilitate these discussions for future generations.
Node.js Code for Language Typology
How I collected and processed the data
Language Categorization and Archiving Process
A subset of the 38 papers listed
[Ajayi A. A., Syed M., Links between patterns of racial socialization and discrimination experiences and psychological adjustment, 2014]
[Allen Q., Racial microaggressions: The schooling experiences of Black middle-class males in Arizona’s secondary schools, 2010]
[Anderson K. F., Finch J. K., The role of racial microaggressions, stress, and acculturation in understanding Latino health outcomes in the USA, 2017]
[Anderson R. E., Hussain S. B., Wilson M. N., Shaw D. S., Dishion T. J., Williams J. L., Pathways to pain: Racial discrimination and relations between parental functioning and child psychosoc
[Archer J., Coyne S. M., An integrated review of indirect, relational, and social aggression, 2005]
[Bailey K. A., Racism within the Canadian university: Indigenous students’ experiences, 2016]
[Ballinas J., Where are you from and why are you here? Microaggressions, racialization, and Mexican college students in a new destination, 2017]
[Blume A. W., Lovato L. V., Thyken B. N., Denny N., The relationship of microaggressions with alcohol use and anxiety among ethnic minority college students in a historically White in
[Bonifacio L., Gushue G. V., Mejia-Smith B. X., Microaggressions and ethnic identity in the career development of Latina college students, 2018]
[Branco S., Bayne H., Carrying the burden: Counselors of color’s experiences of microaggressions in counseling, 2020]
[Brown E., African American teachers’ experiences with racial micro-aggressions, 2019]
[Burdsey D., That joke isn’t funny anymore: Racial microaggressions, color-blind ideology and the mitigation of racism in English men’s first-class cricket, 2011]
[Canel-Çınarbaş D., Yohani S., Indigenous Canadian university students’ experiences of microaggressions, 2019]
[Carter L., Davila C., Is it because I’m Black? Microaggressive experiences against Black professionals in sport and exercise psychology, 2017]
[Carter Andrews D. J., Black achievers’ experiences with racial spotlighting and ignoring in a predominantly White high school, 2012]
[Castellanos J., Gloria A. M., Rojas Perez O. F., Fonseca L., Assessing the etic and emic well-being of Latino male undergraduates: Navegando los obstáculos de la universidad con m
[Cheah C. S., Wang C., Ren H., Zong X., Cho H. S., Xue X., COVID-19 racism and mental health in Chinese American families, 2020]
[Choi S., Lewis J. A., Harwood S., Mendenhall R., Huntt M. B., Is ethnic identity a buffer? Exploring the between racial microaggressions and depressive symptoms among Asian-A
To build a solid dataset, I started with 38 academic papers that included microaggression or similar terms in their titles. I zeroed in on sections with authentic interview dialogues. These real-life conversations became the backbone of my data.
1
After collecting 100 sentences from real conversation transcripts, I analyzed the surrounding contexts to uncover the subtle reasons why they qualify as microaggressions and identified related social and cultural issues.
2
I categorized the 100 sentences into five types of discrimination and five underlying contexts, integrating these classifications into a metadata framework reflected in the code.
3
My role
Timeline
Team
Academic
Advisor
UX Reseach & UX Design
Research (100%)
Concept Modeling (100%)
Development (30%)
QA (50%)
Branding (100%)
Design System (100%)
Interface Design (100%)
Interaction Design (100%)
Prototyping (100%)
Animation (100%)
Collecting data
Topic Research
Concept Modeling
UI Strategy
Interface Design
Demo Animation
Code-Based Data Org
Framework Setup
Prototyping
QA
Defining & Planning
Conducting Research
Designing Solutions
Developing & Testing
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Individual
(+Assisted by 1 Software Developer for coding)
Changsup O
I was responsible for the entire process, from deriving insights through user research and concept modeling to shaping branding and interface design
Duration
Mar 2023 - Nov 2023
Typology of Collected Sentences
To highlight the irony of unblended identities in an increasingly multicultural society, I used a vibrant color spectrum to categorize five key causes of discrimination. I also broke down the hidden contexts into five distinct categories for clearer analysis.
1. Five Types of discrimination causes
2. Five Underlying Contexts of Microaggressions
You don't belong here
You're 'actually' inferior to us
We are not going to accept you
I don’t discriminate, even though it’s true that you’ve been subjected to it
I don't care what 'you' are like, but you all are probably the same
A
B
C
D
E
Exclusion of Identity
Assumed Superiority
Cultural Rejection
Denial of Accountability
Stereotyped Homogenization
#FF0000
#FFC700
#2EAF00
#0066FF
#8F00FF
Ethnicity
Skin color
Looks
Language
Culture
Visual strategy
Final interface
The website is an open platform showcasing a rich collection of gathered languages and phrases. It’s designed to be accessible and engaging, inviting visitors to explore diverse expressions with ease.
I used speech bubbles to represent language, especially offhand remarks. Each bubble has two parts: the head with contents and the tail indicating tone or delivery. I reimagined these to reflect causes of discrimination and contexts.
Each speech bubble reveals the hidden context of the phrase, explains why it qualifies as a microaggression, and offers related issues for further exploration.
It allows users to easily navigate and deepen their understanding of the topic.
The journey goes on
until the world is truly mixed.
Takeaway
If time allows, I’d love to add a feature where users can share their own experiences with discrimination and upload related issues as well. It’d be great to get more people involved, bringing in a wider variety of voices and experiences. The idea is to build a space where different perspectives from around the world can really enrich the content, making it more meaningful and diverse. I truly believe this could add a lot of depth to what we all contribute.
Through this project, I’ve come to realize that the true value of this movement lies not in eradicating discrimination, but in making these disparities visible and raising awareness. The mere creation of a space where these conversations can unfold freely, coupled with the social attention it attracts, holds intrinsic value in itself.
Advanced Features
Immersive Language Exploration Through Text-to-Speech AI
1
The design integrates auditory senses to enhance the user's experience with language. Using text-to-speech AI, we’ve applied three distinct voice variations for each language, ensuring that every time a phrase is explored, it is read aloud in a unique tone. This approach aims to make the understanding of the language more vivid and immersive.
Utilized Elevenlabs
AI Generator Studio
Likes as bridges to cultivate
communal empathy
2
By observing how people resonate with and respond to certain phrases through the number of likes, we can cultivate deeper social empathy. This method allows individuals to create more meaningful and relatable experiences, strengthening emotional connections and fostering a sense of community.
Ethinicity
Your English is so good, where are your parents from?
A) You don’t belong here
It implies that the person doesn't "belong" or fit the expected norm based on their appearance. It subtly suggests that someone from their background wouldn't be expected to speak English well, reinforcing an idea of foreignness or being "other."
Cause of Discrimination
Contents
Rationale Behind
the Microaggression
Hidden Context type
1. Head: Five Types of discrimination causes
Ethinicity
Your English is so good, where are your parents from?
Skin Color
Courtey, I never see you as a black girl
Language
Your name is hard to pronounce, can we change it to Amanda?
Looks
What are you wearing that underneath that? Can't you take it off to show me?
Culture
Are your family OK with you having a white boyfriend?
2. Tail: Five Underlying Contexts of Microaggressions
Skin Color
Courtey, I never see you as a black girl
D) I don’t discriminate, even though it’s true that you’ve been subjected to it
It sounds awkward when it's 'I don't see you as white.'. But by saying that I don't see you as black, it means 'it's fine cuz I don't see you as Black' and it includes the fact that black people are never envied.
Language
Your name is hard to pronounce, can we change it to Amanda?
C) We are not going to accept you
There is no reason for me to try to pronounce your name properly.
Looks
What are you wearing that underneath that? Can't you take it off to show me?
C) We are not going to accept you
Wearing the Hihab is not normal, also crosses very personal boundaries, you wouldn't ask someone if they were wearing underwear!
Culture
Are your family OK with you having a white boyfriend?
E) I don’t do care who you are, but ‘you all’
Black, Asian and minority of ethnic groups must have relationships within their own communities.
Ethinicity
Your English is so good, where are your parents from?
A) You don’t belong here
It implies that the person doesn't "belong" or fit the expected norm based on their appearance. It subtly suggests that someone from their background wouldn't be expected to speak English well, reinforcing an idea of foreignness or being "other."
Speech bubbles to catch everyday languages blurted out
: Five Types of discrimination causes
: Five Underlying Contexts of Microaggressions
1. Head
2. Tail
I've categorized the hidden context into five distinct types, structured as an index. People who visit the website can explore their curiosity by selecting the category that intrigues them most, making the experience more engaging.
Illusion of Fusion,
Focusing on the unmixed realities hidden within the mixed narrative
Racial discrimination today differs significantly from the past. Previously, it was more overt, often manifesting as verbal and physical violence with clear intent. Over time, as societal values shifted and the idea of discrimination as a socially unacceptable act became widely recognized, its intensity has decreased. However, as interactions with diverse groups have increased, our subconscious mechanisms for categorizing and ranking individuals have grown more nuanced. This shift is most evident in subtle behaviors, particularly in the language habits we use in daily life.
Direct
Indirect
Intentional
Unintentional
Structural & Behavioral
Verbal
Past
Present
Sometimes, these acts are so subtle even the speaker may not notice,
and this is called 'microaggression'
2023 Academic Project
Launched
Unmixed Society, Social Archiving Project
: Visualizing discriminatory everyday language in multicultural societies
ⓒ
2025 by Ellie Na
