The future of interactions will be immersive experiences that activate the body’s multiple senses and engage audiences on a deeper level. By leveraging the principles of SYNTHESIZED SUBMERSION, graphic designers can stay relevant with advancements in technology and create truly memorable experiences.
This project is a culmination of my experiences as an industrial designer, graphic designer, and motion designer. I believe that a designer's core mission is to communicate and inform ideas to the audience, but for centuries, graphic design has relied onlly on the visual medium to deliver ideas. Through this thesis project, I seek to combine multi-sensory experiences and co-creative elements to expand graphic design beyond its current form, challenging the way we currently create. This is important in our current age, where information and modern technology is making the world increasingly anonymous. Through multi-sensory and co-creative avenues, we can discover more about ourselves.
THE SPACE Synthesized Submersion is presented in the form of an installation space, breaking down graphic design into its multiple forms:
1. The Traditional Form
The entrance of the installation. Graphic design is displayed using one of its most common medium—in the form of posters. This section is purely about typography, colors, shapes, and alignment.
2. The Extended Form The middle section of the installation. Traditional graphic design is combined with other sensory elements: touch and sound. Featuring a series of interactive objects containing steel bearings, the audience can manipulate the artwork with their hands and receive tactile, visual, and audible responses.
3. The Immersive Form The final section of the installation. This area isolates the audience from the rest of the outside world using physical blockers, lighting, sound, fragrances, and projected media. The audience can interact with the projection using an organ typically used to receive information—their eyes. Using eye-tracking technology, the projection responds to the audience's gazes, prompting exploration and rewarding with hidden information revealed in sequences.
PROJECTED MEDIA The projected media of the thesis is programmed using JAVA in Processing, a visual software that generates artwork using code. With the dots on-screen following a liquid dynamics formula, the installation actively reacts to the audience's movements using a Tobii Eye Tracker. In the complete installation space, the projection is further enhanced with smell and sound, fully-immersing the audience.
When looking at certain hotspots, an poem by Richard Wilbur, "Beasts," is narrated. The speed in which one shifts their gaze also influences the sound played back to the viewer.
GRAD SHOW LIVE DEMONSTRATION A portion of the Synthesized Submersion experience is displayed at the ArtCenter College of Design Grad Show recruitment event. Here, visitors can look at other pieces of my work while activating the projected media, rewarding their exploration with dynamic motion.
PROCESS BOOK
Synthesized Submersion was inspired by multiple sources—my background in design, studies in accessibility, professional gripes, museum experiences, as well as design studio experiments. In this book, not only do I elaborate on the process and deliverables of my thesis, but I also share the key findings that led to my decision in creating the installation space.
