Prism

Inspiration

As LGBTQIA+ hackers, we were driven to create a fun and educational app that would empower and support our community, as education plays a crucial role in fostering inclusion and acceptance.
In our interactions with friends who are new to the LGBTQIA+ community or those who strive to be allies, we noticed that many people were overwhelmed by all the labels. They wanted to be more inclusive, but they were a little confused. What is the difference between bisexual and pansexual? What are pronouns? How can I be a better ally?
We hope to simplify the learning process through our app for practicing pronouns, learning about identities, and catching up on the current news.
Especially with all the anti-trans sentiment across our country right now, the best way to spread love and create a more inclusive environment for everyone is through knowledge. *As transgender coders ourselves, we hope we can use our app to educate and encourage kindness of everyone, regardless of who they are or who they love.

What it does

Our website serves as a comprehensive hub for all things LGBTQIA+. We offer a range of features designed to educate, empower, and keep users informed.

Pronoun Practice: Through our app, users can practice using pronouns in various stories and scenarios. We go beyond the basics and include neopronouns like xe and fae, allowing users to become comfortable with a wide range of pronoun options.
LGBTQIA+ Flashcards: We provide an interactive and engaging way for users to familiarize themselves with LGBTQIA+ flags and their meanings. Our flashcards offer an opportunity to learn and appreciate the diverse identities within the community.
AI Chatbot: Meet Possum, our friendly AI chatbot! Possum is here to answer your questions and provide educational insights on LGBTQIA+ topics. Whether you're curious about terminology, history, or anything else, Possum is your go-to resource.
Latest LGBTQIA+ News: We've integrated the most recent LGBTQIA+ news articles into our app, ensuring users stay up to date on important topics. From groundbreaking milestones to ongoing challenges, our curated news section keeps you informed and connected to the broader LGBTQIA+ community. By combining these features, we aim to create an inclusive and educational platform that supports individuals in their journey to better understand, appreciate, and advocate for our community.

How we built it

First, we designed how we wanted our page to look on Figma. We used HTML and CSS for our web pages, bootstrap for centering assets to the screen, and javascript for dealing with backend logic on our pronouns page.

Challenges we ran into

Styling Issues: We all had different ways of styling our web pages, so we had to make sure our pages were consistent.
Buttons: Especially with the header, we needed to create consistent and clickable buttons that take us to new webpages. *Backend: This was our first time working with javascript, so we needed to learn the language to make sure our pronouns practice page worked well.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We made everything from scratch! This is our first time making a HTML/CSS website from bottom up
Despite obstacles such as jobs and large courseload, we managed to make good progress
We made a pretty and interactive user interface, keeping the user experience in mind!

What we learned

HTML/CSS
Bootstrap for HTML and CSS
JavaScript
How to embed media platforms to files
Figma for designing an aesthetic user interface
How to make a customized AI Chatbot *Google Fonts API *Twitter Widgets *iframe

What's next for Prism

User Interface: Make web pages more consistent and seamless to be responsive to any device
More pronoun options: custom neopronoun option for evolving neopronouns and add even more stories to practice with!
Gamification: games such as “guess the flag” to better engage with the user and make learning more fun!
News: LGBTQIA+ topics from global news sources to integrate within our news page.
Resource Directory: A database in which users can search for support groups, counseling services, LGBTQIA+-friendly businesses, healthcare, and community organizations.