Design Final Projects

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/39967

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 53

Adaptive Design: Training the ADHD Brain
(2011-05-03) Blanchflower, Thomas J.; Meredith Davis, Chair; Kermit Bailey, Member; Santiago Piedrafita, Member
The Black Tuesday Experience
(05-2021) Maynard, Edwina; Pat Fitzgerald; Chandra Cox; Todd Berreth
My project aims to unearth a significant but often untold history of the precursors to independence in the Bahamas—Black Tuesday. Because of a lack of written documentation about many of the events, it will also integrate the preliminary collection of oral histories to help tell this story from a number of different perspectives, to preserve for generations to come. The decision to use virtual reality in The Black Tuesday Experience is reliant on the fact that it is an empathetic engine, meaning it places users into the experience, it allows for full immersion thus altering the user’s thoughts about an event. The Black Tuesday Experience uses virtual reality to overlay historical pieces of media on top of contemporary backgrounds and voices; listening to historical stories told with modern technology changes history into an entertaining art form. The premise of this project is to allow people who are interested in history to hear the oral histories of Bahamian people and to gain a better understanding as to why the event ‘Black Tuesday’ was so important in Bahamian history.
Loxodonta
(5-2022) Connor, Mitchell; Marc Russo; Justin Johnson; Dr. Derek Ham,
Loxodonta is a virtual reality application that explores the importance of memory, and how specific visual styles might be able to trigger them. This thesis is the culmination of the research and practice that went into making this VR experience. The main objective of Loxodonta is to explore the efficacy of virtual reality being used as a nostalgia triggering device, as well as the best practice for achieving nostalgia while in virtual reality. This was accomplished by creating an experience that focuses on generalized nostalgia, with the aid of retrieval cues. The virtual environments consist of an interactive playspace with a large collection of objects that are related to a specific, meaningful time period for the user. It is important to note that this experimentation is targeted towards a very specific audience and time period, as this is only an experiment of virtual reality that triggers nostalgia, and the results may vary across audiences. Loxodonta is meant to be a tool - a device which allows you to access what was once lost to time.
Perspectives
(05-2022) Dehus, Adam; Patrick FitzGerald; Kathleen Rieder; Kirby Culbertson,
Perspectives is a location based augmented reality experience. The viewer will be presented with different locations, views, and the individual interpretations of a specific place. With the change in our daily lives, this project will break away from the traditional viewing experience and put the viewer into the artist's shoes by seeing exactly where the piece was created. How can understanding someone else’s perspective create a new understanding or appreciation of the places around us?
The Language of Memory
(12-2021) Ortiz, Cassandra; Dr. Derek Ham; Tania Allen; Kathleen Rieder
Cultural erasure is the gradual removal of various traditions and customs from society. One of the unfortunate casualties of this erasure is of language, in particular Indigenous languages. Of all the languages that exist throughout the world today, the vast majority are those of the Indigenous peoples. Many of them have withstood the test of time, and continue to live on through war and migration — representing one of the few remaining familial links that some of us have to our ancestry. Mixtec, an Indigenous language that originates from the southern region of what is now considered Mexico, is my family’s heritage language. As they migrated out of their small community in Oaxaca, Mexico, the dominant language (Spanish) gradually took over, resulting in less frequent use of Mixtec. Such factors have led to its inevitable erasure within my immediate family, as Mixtec only resurfaces when speaking to my grandfather in Mexico over the phone. The Language of Memory is a virtual, interactive storytelling piece that brings attention to the complexities of reconnecting with a lost heritage and culture. This experience takes the visitor through audio accounts from Indigenous members of the Mexican Diaspora who are on the brink of forgetting their Indigenous language, Mixtec. My intention for this project is to resonate and connect with others with similar experiences, and encourage them to reach out to their elders and each other to learn and share their family stories, songs, and rituals.
THE CHANGE WE SEEK: Creative History as Social Justice
(05-10-2021) Bailey, Darrien D.; Dr. Derek Ham; Dr. Blair L.M. Kelley; Marc Russo
In what ways could digital tools enhance the historical material of oral history to inspire public engagement and deepen understanding of the complexity of systemic racism in America? The Change We Seek is a project that intends to promote social change through reimagining how oral history can be used and presented to better inform collegiate and high school students on complex issues of race in American society. Through utilizing the educational value of sharing narratives from people of color (POC), and animation, this project is an all-out effort to redefine how oral history has the potential to provoke a realization within the American public of its sizeable racial disparity. The research included in this paper also documents significant historical and theoretical research that shapes the content produced for The Change We Seek. This research charts numerous instances of how the foundations which shape American society, most specifically education, have significantly affected the lives of black people forcing readers and viewers of content produced from The Change Week Seek to understand the gravity of America’s racial divide.
TouchTap
(18-08-2020) Van de Zande, Tyson; Tania Allen; Adam Rogers; Todd Berreth; Kathleen Rieder
TouchTap proposes an interaction model and fabrication mindset for an accessible and low-cost computer interface. The interaction model is transferable to a range of situations, and it may be built using DIY processes or professional fabrication techniques. This thesis focuses on applying the interaction model to a wearable–a bag strap– within the context of bicycling. The interaction model starts as a basic navigation, forward, backward, and selection. The model balances simplicity, intuition, and freedom of control. The contributions of TouchTap can be split into three sections: an interaction design model, a scenario, and a prototype. The first contribution is an interaction design model that can be applied to wearables. The interaction model allows a user to control basic navigation features on their phone or computer by Tapping, Holding & Swiping. The second contribution, the scenario, is an application of the interaction design model to biking. The third contribution of this thesis is a prototype that demonstrates a sustainable mindset for material implementation for the interaction model, within context of the scenario. This thesis implements frameworks from Activity Theory (AT), combined with Human Centered Design (HCD), and Human Computer Interaction (HCI). The process of this thesis starts with research and a re-framing of Activity Theory. HCD and HCI frameworks, tools, and methods tie into the AT tools to create a cohesive, ergonomic, and designed transferable interaction model. The goal of this thesis is to propose the beginning of a widely-accessible interaction model for designers, artists, and the community.
Louder Than Words
(05-2022) Lambert, Chris; Patrick FitzGerald; Dr. Lesley-Ann Noel; Dr. Derek Ham,
It seems that virtual reality (VR) is starting to make its way into the mainstream of pop culture now more than ever. Continuously working in efforts to create real life simulations as well as never before imagined possibilities; VR has created new and exciting ways to interact with our fellow humans as well as our Non-Player Characters or NPCs. “Actions speak louder than words'' ... a wise saying... perceptions are established within fractions of seconds when meeting, regardless of verbal communication. Social Psychology plays a large role when discussing body language and greeting gestures. Social psychology uses scientific methods, “to understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of human beings.” It is about understanding how social environments have an impact on a person’s individual behavior. Thus, greeting someone properly goes an immensely long way when trying to create relationships in unknown and new environments. These hand gestures may be subtle but they are key factors to the concept of social immersion creating a sense of believability and acceptance within virtual space. This thesis focuses on hand gestures and their impact within virtual space to increase immersion and establish social connections while performing human to NPC interactions. Looking at the comparisons between real life actions and actions that can be performed within virtual space, many greeting gestures have been overlooked or uninvestigated. This is where Louder Than Words steps in, to build a bridge between real life actions and virtual interactions, exploring uninvestigated greeting gestures within virtual reality towards making a culturally authentic experience when greeting an NPC.
Kid Gaia
(2021) Goyret, Fernando W.; Tania Allen; Justin Johnson; Patrick Fitzgerald
Kid Gaia is a narrative VR game that tells the story of a young hero, Kid, who must save his world from the evil corporation, Panorama, that is destroying it through its disregard of nature and the environment. In the game, the player embodies the spirit of Gaia who is the embodiment of mother nature. Using background theories and references of The Hero’s Journey, Archetypes and constructivism in its development, Kid Gaia presents an epic journey of reaching awareness of the elements that are fouling the environment, learning the ways to reduce the negative impact of daily human activities on our planet, and ultimately encouraging others to do the same. Kid Gaia uses storytelling as a main tenet for its immersive engagement, as the main characters talk to people and animals, solve puzzles and tasks and ultimately regenerate the environment. It explores the ways that VR can be used as a medium that can enhance empathy towards others and towards the environment, because of its immersive and interactive nature. And it explores the ways that game-play can use principles of constructivism and procedural rhetoric to persuade players of an alternate reality.
Virtual Presence: Supporting Collaboration
(05-2022) Pryor, Eric; Tasheka Arceneaux Sutton; Deborah Littlejohn; Scott Townsend,
We are in a new age of simple and accessible tools for remote collaboration, but XR applications that enable collaboration are sorely lacking in their implementation of social presence features. Better social representations are needed to make remote collaboration in XR applications feel more natural. This investigation explores visualizations of social presence that break the typical convention of full-body, stylized avatars. The potential of gestural control, and the effects it has on the social aspects of remote collaboration is also explored.
Experiential Noticing
(05-2022) Oweida, Philip; Kermit Bailey; Matthew Peterson; Jarrett Fuller
Environmental literacy and humans’ declining exposure to the natural environment have become cause for concern as citizens are increasingly relied upon to make decisions about the complex and interrelated nature of environmental issues facing the world today (Coyle, 2005). As a result, sustainability initiatives more frequently depend on education strategies that encourage citizens to participate in the learning experience and promote pro-environmental attitudes and behavior (Lewis, 2019). This investigation considers how a multimodal sensing network can leverage Experiential Noticing as an environmental education strategy for citizens to connect with nature and improve their environmental knowledge, attitude, and intention to act.
Phygital Fashion Emporium
(2021) Rant, Katie; Dr. Derek Ham; Kate Greder; Justin Johnson; Precious Lovell
The modern consumer is immersed in an experiential driven economy. Fashion has been rather slow at embracing emerging technologies, but the COV-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transition online by forcing the industry to re-evaluate and adapt to new digital formats. Historically, luxury products have been presented in a manner that crafts a compelling narrative which appeals to the consumers’ quest for self-actualization. The conspicuous reasons for consumer purchases are not the primary vehicle driving consumers’ motives as they previously once were. Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a theoretical framework, the fashion market has shifted from satisfying basic priorities towards fulfilling personal growth and identity offered by experiential moments. It was the establishment of French Couture which enabled a desire for fashionable products. As it is commonly misunderstood, the emergence of luxury fashion brands led to the disappearance of diverse regional folk costumes and to the attenuation of heterogeneous class differences in dress. This was achieved by harnessing the power of storytelling through the act of runway presentation. Globalization and mass mediation has broadened the way contemporary fashion is perceived. This project seeks to remediate the experience of luxury fashion in the form of a new e-commerce interface designed for inclusivity.
Nice Folky Things
(05-2022) Sibiran, Gilberto; Tania Allen; Marc Russo; Lesley-Ann Noel
As a child of American immigrants, I often struggled with understanding my identity when it came to the lack of representation in the media that I consumed as a millennial second-generation Latin American. The stories that influenced the media and defined my generation lacked characters that looked like me and were largely inspired by stories from Western European and far removed from the stories that may have included people like me. By examining folk stories from countries of origin not often represented in mainstream American culture remediating them for a detached population - Nice Folky Things, explores the identity and culture of second-generation Americans through cross-cultural folk stories examination. This is an Auto-ethnographic study based on my own experiences as an American-born, second-generation Latin American who has, and still often feels, detached from my family’s heritage, and ostracized by my surrounding mainstream American Culture. Walking the line between contradiction, authenticity, and honoring heritage - this project is meant to be both an examination of my personal experiences, and authentic taste, as well as a larger examination of how media has, and can, re-shaped personal identity.
Anxiety-Coping Strategies and their Place in Game-Based Learning: An Exploration into How the Integration of Stress-Reducing Strategies into a Serious Game Can Offer Children a Learning Environment that is Both Encouraging and Effective
(05-05-2020) Hennes, Isabel; Marc Russo; John Nietfeld; JMark Scearce
Every human experiences stress in some form or another, and in the right amount it can act as an excellent motivator. It is only when a person experiences so much anxiety that it negatively impacts his or her ability to function in everyday life that it is truly considered a disorder. Anxiety is the body’s fight or flight response to perceived danger and—when treated appropriately through various therapies and from a young enough age—those who suffer from anxiety can learn to cope and overcome his or her disorder. Unfortunately, many children who develop anxiety, whether due to a learning deficit or a variety of other factors, take that anxiety into adulthood if untreated. By identifying whether or not a child is struggling in school due to symptoms of anxiety, parents and teachers have the opportunity to teach and encourage healthy coping strategies that can enable the child to appropriately react when experiencing an overwhelming amount of stress and worry. By addressing such symptoms early on, parents and teachers have the ability to recognize unhealthy behaviors and seek professional help if they fear their child is struggling. The intended purpose of this project is first, to understand what ways can the integration of anxiety coping tools and strategies into a game-based learning environment help normalize and alleviate assessment-induced stress; and secondly, how can such a system bring attention to parents and teachers of children who might be struggling in school? This project is not meant to diagnose anyone with learning or anxiety disorders, or provide long term therapy, but rather give students, no matter their condition, an opportunity to learn how to react to stressful situations with healthy behaviors.
In Their Eyes
(2021) Fang, Chutong; Justin Johnson; Tania Allen; Chandra Cox
ABSTRACT Light pollution dramatically disrupts the natural day-light pattern and threatens wildlife’s survival. By creating an immersive and empathetic VR experience, In Their Eyes aims to provide people an empirical and more immediate experience of the negative impacts of light pollution in the animals’ eyes. Players will experience sea turtles’ sea-finding behavior by playing the role of a hatchling trying to find the sea under the effect of light pollution. Players will also be educated on how they can help in daily life. This project will provide a deeper awareness and understanding of the problem, thereby causing people to care more about the issue through this experience with the hope that resultant steps might be taken to prevent this damage from further continuing.
Reorganizing Narratives: Increasing Accessibility To Comic Book Literature
(2021) Campbell-Barner, Alec; Marc Russo
Within the medium of sequential art there are numerous unique categories, genres, formats, and styles. One of the oldest formats within the medium is traditional serialized comic books. These periodical magazines have been in circulation since the late 1930’s. My research outlines the artistic, literary, and historical value within the medium of comic books to highlight the significance of my thesis project. Over time the reading format for the medium of periodical comic books has evolved extensively and created a unique type of reader. Now, as the medium charges into a competitive and digitized future, evolving the reading format will become a necessity. My thesis argument proposes ideas on how the reading format of comic books can or should evolve to better support readers and researchers. My thesis argument proposes that the current reading format of comic books lacks accessibility and legibility and a digital resource for better understanding the medium is needed. The conceptual design that I have created could work as a digital literary resource to support readers, researchers, and educators with engaging with the medium. I discuss ways to enhance the reading format by designing digital contextual reading guides. This project design is a proof of concept and is influenced by numerous precedents. This thesis involves the investigation and creation of a platform design intended to improve the overall accessibility of the comic book reading format.
Enhancing Reading Comprehension Skills through the Graphic Novel Medium An Experimentation on How the Design of a Literary Graphic Novel Can Support and Help Users with their Reading Comprehension Skills
(05-05-2020) Nguyen, Monica; Patrick Fitzgerald; Gregory Carter; Margaret Simon
This project focuses on enhancing reading comprehension skills using the construction elements of the graphic novel medium by transcribing a literary story that has yet to be visualized. Traditional literature in education uses mainly text however visuals are being used more frequently in everyday materials such as textbooks. The transition of society is becoming primarily visual and the need to become visually literate is more of a necessity. Remediation is the act or process that involves improving the conditions of its predecessors. Books have been adapted into non-text forms such as audio, film, animation, and plays. According to the National Council of Teachers of English/International Reading Association’s standards for English language arts, reading comprehension is best practiced using multiple tools because the preferred learning style of individuals vary. As books continue to be remediated the graphic novel medium has been gaining popularity and slowly being accepted as more than just a tool for entertainment. Therefore, this project helps readers improve their reading comprehension skills by the page compositions used in graphic novels.
ENIGMA
(5-2022) Daniels, izzy; Dr. J. Mark Scearce; Dr. Mark Hursty; Tori Ralston; Marc Russo
Losing sight of one's own identity has become increasingly prevalent in today's society between the emergence of the digital age, the isolation of living through a pandemic, and the loss of ‘self’ one often feels while going through a profound life change. The pursuit of self-knowledge and authenticity have long been linked through the philosophical works of countless great minds. Influenced by the works of Sartre, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Descartes, ENIGMA is an interactive stop motion experience that not only begs the audience to recognize their own authentic selves, but also builds a community of users who are going through the same process of self-authentication. In order to achieve this, ENIGMA explores empathy through decision making as the user is led through a gritty world of both craft and glitchy CG imagery. ENIGMA is simultaneously about the process of finding one's own authenticity and building an honest and vulnerable community through that process, in equal importance. Through the story told within ENIGMA and the decisions the users make in regard to their treatment of the world, empathy is encouraged as a tool for understanding both oneself and the world at large.
Combating Conspiracy
(05-2022) Granholm, lydia; Justin Johnson; Kate Greder; Marc Russo
While nothing new, conspiracy theories are shaping our world in dangerous and increasingly apparent ways. From Covid denialists to violent antisemites, conspiracy theorists are killing people by spreading and acting upon misinformation. The goal of this project is to develop in players an understanding of what makes a credible source of information and how to think critically about what they see online and in the news. Combating Conspiracy is a serious game that will achieve this by teaching a mindset that prevents people from falling into conspiracy theories, by gamifying the curriculums of English and Theory of Knowledge classes. The supporting research for this project is based in how games can be used in education, how games reach a diverse audience, and the evaluation of sources of information. The resulting game is one that can be played in a traditional high school classroom setting to engage students in the material and facilitate further classroom discussion.
THINKING STATISTICALLY
(05-2022) Burnham, Lauren; Matthew Peterson; Deborah Littlejohn; Denise Gonzales Crisp
Statistical literacy, or the ability to understand and interpret data, has become increasingly important to navigating our data-driven society. While many efforts have focused on improving formal learning experiences in statistics, research points towards informal learning outside of the classroom as a crucial component of the general public’s understanding of science and mathematics. This situation presents a rich opportunity to enhance statistical learning for young students through the design of compelling informal learning experiences. Drawing from the framework for statistics and data science education from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, this investigation explores the ways in which a mixed reality museum experience can engage middle school-age learners with the stages of the statistical problem-solving process. The resulting studies consider how the affordances of this environment, such as movement, immersion, and learner-driven experimentation, could encourage statistical question-asking and offer supplements to traditional learning approaches. Experiences which lay a foundation of curiosity towards statistical problem solving hold the potential for enriching the learning process for students beginning to engage with the subject.

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