Black Bird

Inspiration

We were inspired by personal experiences as black artists facing challenges from COVID-19 restrictions. With social distancing creating a virtual world, art shows and events have been cancelled with no return in sight. Additionally, data suggests that it is unlikely that the arts and culture industry will make a full recovery even after the pandemic officially ends. We wanted to create an app that would address these challenges.

What it does

Blackbird allows artists to connect with one another, develop their skills, present their portfolio and be recruited and commissioned-- all in a virtual space. Black artists before the pandemic were already struggling to gain recognition for their work in the arts industry. This is due to the anti-black racism that has plagued our systems in North America for centuries. This application focuses on creating a safe online space for black artists to share their work, learn from one another, and network professionally. We don't know when the pandemic will end, but we know things will not be the same for some time. Blackbird is a solution that thrives in a post-COVID-19 world full of uncertainties.

How we built it

First, we mapped out the different flows and functionalities for our prototype using Figma and Canva. After designing the different frames and views on Figma, we connected the login/registration pages to a database with Firebase. Creating interactions was a bit tricky as we navigated the different tags and containers on Bravo & Figma. We tested the app on our phones and through an iterative process, added and removed features that we found to work.

Challenges we ran into

Building the functionality for the login page with Firebase was a bit of a challenge. While we were familiar with the Bravo functionalities, this was our first time linking a page to a database. This took quite some time but we managed to complete this. It was also a challenge to design over 40 panes in our app given the time constraint. Therefore we had to prioritize and link the key frames in our prototype.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Designing and building a functioning prototype with user interactions and linking to a database within the time frame given was a great accomplishment. Being a part of NSBEHacks for the first time has also been a great experience and accomplishment for us.

What we learned

We learned how to brainstorm, design, develop, and create a pitch that is clear and concise in a short time frame. We became familiar with Google cloud, through workshops and were able to implement firebase and Bravo in an app.

What's next for Black Bird

We foresee taking this app and developing the functionalities that were alluded to in the demo. We want to implement live streaming for artists, chatting features, and support more art forms such as music and dance. We also plan to scale this app to be more supported globally.

Built With

• bravo
• canva
• figma
• firebase