Ace Space is a Senior Capstone Project focused on A sexuality Awareness and Education.
In the opening weeks of my senior capstone, our professor challenged us to step out of our comfort zone and pursue something that made us a little nervous. We had to create something that summarized everything we had learned throughout our time as an ETBD student and included aspects of Technology, Business, and Design.
Acephobia is discrimination towards people who identify as asexual, whether blatant or subtly, and is rooted in a lack of education and awareness of asexuality in a hypersexualized society. Many people have never heard of asexuality, don't know that it exists, have heard of it but don't know what it means, or have an incorrect understanding of the identity.
After doing some research on the current landscape of asexuality resources, content online, and interviews with potential users, I found that there is not a quick, concise, and user-friendly space where people can learn about asexuality, read the experiences of ace people, and see ace representation in media.
With that, I began working on what would eventually become the site that is Ace Space.
Some important terms to note before proceeding:
A sexuality - an identity within the LGBTQIA+ community in which someone experiences little to no sexual attraction
Allosexuality - someone who experiences sexual attraction, also referred to as "allo"
Ace - a shorthand way of saying asexual, this can refer to the person or the identity
Gray-ace or ace spec/acespec - The spectrum between asexuality and allosexuality
Acephobia - discrimination towards people who identify as asexual
AVEN - the A sexuality Visibility and Education Network, a comprehensive site for asexuality
Above is a video presentation of the project and artifacts, however, you can read about the project and see the artifacts by continuing on the page.
Research Findings
Lack of Representation
There are relatively few examples of ace people in the media, whether it be films, books, TV shows, etc. In addition, many representations that do exist are negative and ultimately detrimental to people's understanding of the identity.
There is no easy way to find any representation that may be out there, and people are looking to find information but are struggling to find any examples of these identities.
Some people know the term and think they may identify with it, but without seeing some representation of the identity personified in a character or real person, it may be difficult to know they are ace. One individual I interviewed always felt "different", and after reading Loveless by Alice Oseman realized that they were, indeed, asexual.
Lack of Awareness
Much of acephobia stems from a lack of education. It is extremely difficult to find any information about asexuality if you do not know what it is. Even if people know about it, they are likely not looking for it - as an allo person I interviewed mentioned.
People are unaware of the idea that ace people are okay without attraction, experiences, and relationships. They do not feel broken or wish they experienced it. While some acespec people may desire these things, and some do, it is most often not as prevalent as it is for allos. Having these experiences also does not "disqualify" someone from being ace.
Insights
Ace people, and those questioning, want to see representation of themselves and characters that feel like them, act like them, and live like them. They also want to have easy ways to find information about asexuality, and quick ways to educate others - as some expressed it prevents them from telling others.
Additionally, websites like AVEN can be overwhelming and lack a user-friendly interface.
Persona
Through my research, I determined my users will tend to fall into 3 very broad categories - someone who is acespec, someone questioning if they are acespec, and allo allies. I created 3 personas to help guide my design. Each persona contains demographics, motivations, a short biography, pain points, and goals. I referred to them throughout the process to ensure I was meeting their needs.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Designs and Feedback
The site went through 3 main design phases - with feedback on each.
The Original Design Designed in Figma, the original design showed the basic layout and ideas that I had sketched out on paper. I presented the design to many people, including those I interviewed, and got feedback on it. They found that it was organized well and comprehensive, however, there was lots of blank space, it was plain, and the walls of text were overwhelming. I took note of this feedback and once again created the redesign in Figma. |  |
 | The Redesign Taking the feedback I received on the original design, I created a site that still had the organization and comprehensiveness of the first design but was more visually appealing. I started to add some copy that would be used on the actual site, and fully laid out how the site would be organized and function. You can see the full original design and redesign in Figma by clicking on the button below! |
The Final Design The final design was created on Webflow. While the final design was ultimately limited in scope due to the relatively quick timeframe of the project and is no longer a live site, you could fully see how the site and every page would be laid out. You can see a demo of the site by watching the video below! Webflow presented some challenges and limitations on the design, however, I got it as close as possible to the final redesign and the feedback I received. It was a great way to challenge myself and I certainly learned some things from the challenge. |  |
The video above begins at the demo of the site.
Fast Facts
Something I gathered from my research was the need for easy ways to educate others. The way I found to satisfy that need was the featuring of six "Fast Facts" sheets on the home page. These were created as pages that people could look at to quickly learn information about asexuality. Each is tailored to a different audience. The titles on the homepage are intended to show what audience each is intended for including "Questioning" for the "Am I Ace?" sheet, "Friends & Family" for the "Someone I Know is Ace" sheet, "Coming Out", "For Partners" for the "My Partner Just Came Out as A sexual" sheet, "Myth Busting" and "What is A sexuality?"
Each sheet can be viewed as an image on the page, or downloaded as a PDF from Ace Space. They were intended to be a quick, easy, and user-friendly way to find and access information on asexuality that is tailored to different audiences. Ace people can use some of them as resources when coming out to people, as it was expressed in interviews that a major holdback in telling people about their identity is how difficult it is to explain.
Instagram Posts
To finish, Ace Space needed marketing for people to raise awareness of the site. I made 6 Instagram post mock-ups to represent the 6 types of posts that would make up the majority of the Instagram page. The caption for each post is next to the image.
Myth: Ace people have not yet met "the one" and will realize they are not "ace" after finding the right person. Fact: A sexual identities are not dependent on partners or other people. Want to know more? Check out Ace Space using the link in our bio! |  |
 | A sexuality and celibacy are not the same! A sexuality is not tied to religion and, like other LGBTQIA+ identities and orientations, is not a choice like celibacy is. Want to know more? Check out Ace Space using the link in our bio! |
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective and in the 2009 movie, Sherlock Holmes, he searches for the nemesis plotting to destroy England. While the film does not focus on asexuality, Sherlock Holmes has been long accepted by the asexual community as one of their own. He is not focused on any sexual or romantic relationship but instead values an intellectual connection over anything else. Want to know more? Check out Ace Space using the link in our bio! |  |
 | Myth: A sexuality is caused by trauma. Fact: Nothing "causes" asexuality. It is an orientation that does not stem from past sexual trauma. Want to know more? Check out Ace Space using the link in our bio! |
Sarah Costello (@costiellie) from @soundsfakepod is an aro ace girl from Michigan who met her co-host Kayla Kaszyca (@kayla_kas) in college. She moved to L.A. in 2020 to pursue a career in television writing and has been co-hosting Sounds Fake But Okay, a weekly podcast where Sarah and Kayla talk about "love, relationships, sexuality, and anything else [they] just don't understand", since 2017. |  |
 | Todd Chavez is a main character in BoJack Horseman, a Netflix Original. He hints at it in season 3 and in season 4 of the series, Todd Chavez comes out as asexual. He is one of, if not the first character in TV history to be openly asexual. He made history in the sitcom and has helped many people learn what asexuality is. To find more characters like Todd and other ace representation, check out the link in our bio! |