D100 – Design Inquiry I
For this end of semester project we were tasked with creating three mini maps and a final design map capturing our understanding of design.
For the three mini ones, I wanted to focus on three stages of my understanding of design: the past, present, and future. The past is internally focused, emphasizing how I have been shaped by my experiences and core values. The present is focused on connection, and how growth requires empathy towards experiences outside your own. The future is focused on resilience, a willingness to fail, and the determination to keep reaching higher.
Finally, the large design map combines the three to demonstrate the way that the three stages of growth in design are interconnected, flowing into each other with no clear delineation between the three.
D104 – First Year Studio I
For this project I worked with a partner, and we worked together to create paper wearables to communicate our relationship. Through our discussions when planning the project, we realized we had a lot of things in common despite how our different our personalities seemed. Thus we designed two headpieces, theirs oriented upwards and demanding attention to represent their outgoing personality and mine designed to appear more protective to represent my introverted personality. Both pieces are designed to move, flattening out from their extremely different shapes to reach a more similar appearance and demonstrating how underneath our differing outward appearances we have more in common than not.
D105 – First Year Studio II
For this project we took a 2D design from a previous project and transformed it into a 3D structure. Initially we were tasked with creating two smaller versions, one using planes and one using solid shapes. From these we were told to create a larger piece, combining the solid and planar designs.
For my two smaller structures, I focused on exactly recreating the shape in the image. I used bristol board for the solid structure, and cardboard for the planar. I found it particularly interesting how the two structures could be placed together, and how the solid and planar elements interacted, so I decided to focus on those two elements when designing my final piece.
For my final piece I continued iterating on the way two original pieces had interacted, eventually deciding to bread the structure up into several pieces that could be combined in any number of different ways. Each piece combines planar and solid elements, with some using the cardboard planes from the initial version and some having edges removed from the solid pieces to allow them to function as both solid and planar elements. When designing this piece I played with the spacing between the planes and with removing different faces from solid pieces to eventually come up with five pieces that were interesting from all angles.
ADN202 – Design Studio Art & Design
For this project we were told to focus on experimentation and create a spooky short film. For mine I decided to create a video game, using sound design, environments, and some short animations to create an unsettling vibe. I wanted to create something that used a lot of different techniques and that didn’t follow a concrete story line. I then took a screen recording of the game and added some effects in After Effects to enhance it, in particular adding the static at the end.
ADN204 – Art & Design Sophomore Studio
For this project we were creating masks inspired by our own culture. For mine I decided to focus on my queer identity, exploring the way that I’ve had to mask that part of myself in different situations. Thus I created two different sets of pieces, one set representing the dull, structured mask I wear in situations where I cannot freely express myself, and one set using color and texture to break the boundaries of the face, representing times in which I can freely embrace my own queerness. The pieces attach to a singular mask base with Velcro, allowing the wearer to combine pieces from both sets and rearrange them at will to decide how they want to express themself. The mask also exists in AR as a Snapchat filter, where tapping the screen switches between the two versions of the mask.
ADN219 – Digital Imaging I
For this project we were told to use Photoshop to create and image exploring joiner photography. For mine I wanted to try capturing the motion of turning your head, so I used several photos of my roommate’s head at different angles to create the illusion of motion within the image.
ADN281 – Drawing I
This class started with a project where we were told to draw something that we like drawing, and so I chose to do a figure drawing. I chose a reference image with an interesting pose and harsh lighting to emphasize the subject’s muscle structure. When drawing I used crosshatch shading to add texture to the piece, and paid careful attention to the values to make sure no parts ended up becoming muddled.
ADN319 – Animation I
For this project we created three animated scenes using puppetry tools within After Effects. The scenes had to combine 2D assets with lighting and 3D elements and backgrounds to create cohesive scenes. For mine I used the same 2D character in all three scenes, animating him doing various activities in different environments.
The first is underwater, using colored lighting and an animated water caustics overlay to create the illusion that the character is actually within the underwater environment of the background image. It also contains a 3D arch for the character to swim through, adding interaction between 2D and 3D elements.
The second is in a forest, which also uses some slightly tinted lighting to make the character’s color palate match the background. Animating the walk cycle in this scene was particularly difficult, as getting the timing right so the character didn’t look like he was sliding took a lot of trial and error.
The final scene is in a room, and with this scene I wanted to try using the lighting in After Effects more dynamically. Thus I set up three lights in the scene: a lamp, a window, and a dim environmental light. The character reuses the walk cycle from the second scene with some minor adjustments, switching off the lamp and closing the blinds on the window, with the lights in the scene animated to change in time with the environment.
ADN423 – Digital Modeling
For this project we created dioramas based on assigned themes. My theme was Halloween, so I decided to create a trick-or-treater coming to the front door of a house. I kept the models and textures relatively simple to evoke a cartoon style, and played with the lighting until I got something that looked like it was night within the scene but still kept the scene well lit.
