Stand Clap Cheer & Jeer: Sports Fandom Communication | Pratt Institute School of Design

Stand, Clap, Cheer, & Jeer explores non-verbal (body language) and verbal communication within sports fandom. Sports provide a break from social rules where people can freely express their emotions — a space to use communication where fans empathize with the action and towards fellow fans. This freedom and empathy build a place of bonding that follows the fan outside of the game.

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Trading Card Fan Kinesics Typology

Reversing the subjects within American sports towards the fans and constructing a typology of the high and low connection to the game through the freedom of body motion communication.

Trading Card Jumbotron

Using the core of the typology trading cards, TC Jumbotron takes fans from real games and adheres a kinesic emotion to the image.

Moments of Sports Fandom

Using Amazon Mturk, I connected with strangers to discover a moment in their life that they connected to sports fandom.

Action Boards

Going to a sporting event is about watching the game but also interacting with the event and fellow fans. Through fandom kinesics, the fan raises their hands to the air to communicate pride, slaps hands with a fellow fan for joy, and leans on a fellow fan for support. These impulsive non-verbal communicative actions form bonds to fellow fans, building community. Action Boards bring these actions outside the stadium and into the streets through wooden boards that prompt an action.