Process Document

The module began with an introduction to technologies, the way designers have used different practices, such as generative art and interactive art. This side of design was new to me, in previous modules I had not come across design using technology as a main part of it. I was intrigued, but as a spectator rather than as someone who wanted to design in this way. The introduction also briefly went over fears that technologies, such as AI, are trying to take away designers jobs and how we can work to avoid this.

5.2.1

After this presentation, I was given a brief of my own to work through in a group. The brief was to 'Create a campaign that raises awareness about neurodiversity in public spaces.' As someone who is neurodivergent I was able to apply my own experiences and choose a specific os neurodiversity to focus on. My first thought was how I struggle with focusing. As a group we discussed how this could be shown to someone who does not struggle and we came up with using headphones to replicate the experience of someone with ADHD trying to focus. The campaign would be in a public space, such as a park, where members of the public can come up to the headphones and choose to take on the challenge. The headphones would play audio of someone reading a story while there is excessive noise, such as cars, music and other conversations, playing in the background. The challenge highlights how it isn't so easy to focus on one thing and the outside stimuli can become very overwhelming very quickly. 

Animation Workshop

During 5.2, I did a number of workshops with John using different software with a focus on animation. The first week was a tutorial on how to use photoshop animation and the Wacom tablets. I had used a Wacom tablet previously in college but it was only to create illustrations. I did not feel 100% comfortable using it so I had not used one again until this workshop. I would say I now feel better about using them since spending more time with the Wacom tablets. animation is something I've wanted to learn for a while so I was grateful to be given the tools I need to practice it.

5.2.2

Our next task involved is talking about our 'Media Diet'. This involves the type of content we consume on a daily basis.Whether it be on television or on social media. The three projects that I wrote about were; Knights of Guinevere, Arcane and the cover art for Lucy Dacus' Album, Forever is a Feeling. Two of these are tv series and one is a piece of artwork. I was drawn to Knights of Guinevere as it is an animated horror/thriller series. As a fan of both I was immediately drawn to it and its dystopian storyline. I enjoy the art style of both shows I had chosen, the first one being 2D animation and Arcane being a mix of 3D and 2D animation. Arcane was revolutionary in its choice of mixing both types of animation and has inspired many other projects to do the same such as Spiderman:into the spider-verse. As for the album, I love the music artist and my love for the cover art came with it. I enjoyed finding all the collaborators and how they were able to make Dacus' vision for her album into a reality.

Jitter Workshop

Jitter was a new programme we used. It involved animating projects made in Figma using already coded animations. As a group, we were show how to use the different animations in Jitter. To do this, I went back to a project I made in 4.4 of the solar system. I animated each planet coming into frame, each plant having a different animation so that I could test them all out. Jitter reminded me of another software I had used called CapCut, as both involve adding in animation to a timeline instead of animating them yourself using keyframes.

After the group tutorial, I was then given a template and was able to add my own animations to it that differed from everyone else.

After Effects Tutorials

During my Tuesday afternoon sessions I have been learning how to use the software After Effects. After Effects (Ae) is a software that focuses on video and animation. I had been briefly introduced to after effects in first year during 4.4, and used it to make my own motion graphic. My skills were limited so it has been useful to expand them in the weekly sessions.

The first session focused on animating text using the basic options Ae had to offer such as position, opacity and rotation. It was simple to begin, but the final product was effective and reflected the narrative of the text.

Our second session again focused on animating text but this time using 3D effects. It was interesting to see the 2D text move in a 3D matter, and was a new way of animation that I hadn't done before.

The following three sessions were spent working on one project. It was to add animation and effects to a car driving on a road. It was inspired by made up interfaces seen in sci-fi movies. The story of the animation was from the perspective of a drone spotting a rogue car on the road, targeting it and locking in to eliminate it.

I have enjoyed these after effects tutorials and have been effective in my opinion. After effects is a software I have wanted to use for a while after seeing people on social media use it but I found it hard to break into. Therefore I was grateful to be given beginner tutorials that allow me to get a feel for the software and then expand on the skills I learn in class in my own time. I like animating text and would like to continue down this path. I have always been fascinated by animated lyric videos and would like to make one of my own eventually.

I find it easier to complete a task when it relates to something I enjoy so I have been developing my Ae skills by creating fan edits of my favourite characters.

5.2.3

The next task involved by diving into my creative process. For me, designing can just feel like one big project with a start and end rather than a process with different smaller tasks. It was helpful to zoom out on how I work and identify each part of how I design.

5.2.4

A task I found particularly interesting was when I was asked to text out different generators and playgrounds. It was fun to explore the different tools and how they worked as well as trying to break the bounds of them and create wild artworks. However for me, I feel playing around is all I will use them for. I enjoy my creative process and don't see myself using these tools in any way that will develop my work. I did enjoy to opportunity to try them out and that I now know that I would not like to use these techniques moving forward. Therefore it wasn't a waste of time at all.

3D animation Tutorials

On the occasional Wednesday morning, I have been doing tutorials on 3D animation with John using Cinema 4D. In these sessions we have been learning how to position objects, use lighting and how to animate text. I found myself enjoying these tutorials and would love to explore the software further if given the opportunity.

5.2.5

And finally we were asked to look back on a project from 4.4 and improve it based on the new skills that we have learned. I took this as an opportunity to go back to jitter and explore its animation abilities in more detail. I chose to add simple animation to the pages of the app I designed. I wanted to add more personality to each page and make it intriguing for the children that would be using the app.

Overall I have enjoyed exploring the different technologies and learning new software. Although not all of it is for me, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to be guided through each one. It has not all been bad however, as I have enjoyed the animation aspects of using after effects and cinema 4D and would love to continue using said softwares in my designing future.