The Concept

My form is an interactive questionnaire that categorizes individuals into n distinct gossip types. Similar to the Meyers-Briggs personality type quiz, users will answer a set of questions across hypothetical situations, ranging from social interactions that could occur in everyday life involving family, friends, coworkers, worship members, celebrities/influencers and media. In the end, they will receive a report that 1) specifies their gossip type, 2) provides a neutral view into their gossip habits and 3) gives insight into how their views could impact those around them. The intent is not to cast judgment on whether or not each individual’s gossip habits are “good” or “bad” but more so be informative and provide context on how gossip shapes their own human experience.

Possible Gossip Types

• The Nosey Neighbor

• The Talk Show Host

• The Reality TV Maven

• The Water Cooler Coworker

• The Radio Host

• The Auntie

Target Audience

This quiz is something that could be informative for everyone, but I want to target users who consider themselves to be social and have a large social circle. Age-wise, I want to prioritize Millennials and Gen Z (folks aged 14-45). This audience uses social media daily, watch reality TV often and have social groups that comprise of many different types of people. This age group also happens to comprise a lot of school-aged people, whether they’re in high school, college or grad school. At the risk of sounding presumptuous, I imagine this will mostly be something used by women and members of the LGBTQ community.

The intended impact for my target audience is for them to rethink how they engage in gossip and reconsider the harm (or benefits) that could come from them talking about someone not present. I also want them to walk away understanding that all gossip isn’t bad gossip and that gossip is a natural part of the human experience and survival. 

Stakeholders

My quiz has two layers of stakeholders: the people whose relationships inform the content, and the people with something at stake in how the project itself turns out.

The first group shows up inside the hypothetical scenarios — family, friends, coworkers, worship members, classmates, neighbors, celebrities/influencers, media figures, and even politicians. Essentially anyone who can occupy the “subject” role in a gossip exchange, which the quiz draws on to build realistic, relatable scenarios across different corners of someone’s social world.

The second group is less visible but more directly affected by the project’s execution:

• Me, the maker. The humor and illustration style are my voice, so if the tone misfires (reads as mean instead of playful), it reflects on my broader practice, not just this piece.

• My instructor and critique audience. They’re assessing this against the Critical Experiences framework specifically, so the project is being measured on critical engagement, not just concept or craft.

• Quiz-takers. Distinct from “target audience” in the demographic sense; as stakeholders, they’re the people whose self-perception gets shaped by the report they receive. A well-calibrated result can feel like fun self-recognition; a poorly calibrated one can feel like being stereotyped.

• The real people quiz-takers think of while answering. Even though every scenario is hypothetical, users will likely map questions onto actual coworkers, friends, or family members as they answer. Those real, absent, non-consenting third parties have a quiet stake in how the questions are framed.

• My research sources. I’m compressing their work into a humorous synopsis for the report. Representing that research accurately is its own responsibility.

• The communities my archetypes gesture toward. Names like “The Auntie” or “The Choir Member” draw on real cultural types that can carry racial, gendered, or religious texture. Part of my job is making sure each archetype stays behavior-first rather than caricaturing a specific community.

Rationale

I wanted to build a guide that’s informative but also fun. My previous idea was to build a guide akin to the “_______ For Dummies” series, but I feel an interactive quiz would be better suited for this target audience. The quiz requires them to think deeply about their habits and gives them something fun and personalized at the end, which could, in turn, also drive adoption through sharing. I intend to use humor and interesting illustrations to turn the leave-behind (report) into something they can go back and reference (and laugh at). 

During class last week, somebody offered up the idea of turning my initial form proposal into a game or a deck of cards (a la tarot cards), and that prompted me to think more holistically about how I can make something that will stick. This idea is the culmination of that thinking and additional research.

One thing I realized that I know about my guide is it will involve a set of gossip archetypes (as listed above), so I will need to exaggerate specific traits when I illustrate the report read-outs for users. I think the tongue-in-cheek depictions will be integral in driving home the point of each archetype, depending on what stands out for each of them. One thing I realized that I DON’T know about my guide is how each of the answers questions will drive the final report; I will need to figure out a mapping system that makes the answers feel aligned with each of the archetype results. I also still need to figure out how to present the language in a neutral way so that users don’t feel judged for their habits at any point in the experience.

I plan to cite my research sources using MLA style format in the form of a works cited list. This will live on each leave-behind/report so users have a chance to view the research I presented for themselves. I came across a lot of interesting articles and sources, and I think it would be interesting to have users dig further if they want to and not just rely on my humorous synopsis for face-value—it’s a topic that deserves to be interrogated!