Introduction

This semester, there were a lot of group projects with a variety of softwares, new skills and different mediums to complete each assignment. Definitely different from other modules in terms of submissions and assignments but these new skills will aid us in how we solve problems and come up with unique solutions for them.

I am Richard Oo, born in Myanmar and raised in SIngapore~ I’ve been doing graphic design for about 5 years now, mostly with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign. I enjoy experimenting with different art styles but I am known for using gradients in the majority of my designs, all of which were done with a mouse and keyboard.

The majority of my work comes from collaboration and freelance through Behance and Instagram from Branding to Album covers.

Workshops 1–4

Over the semester I participated in 4 different workshops covering topics such as Creative Coding, Projection Mapping, Making, and Physical Computing. Here you will find some of the process documentation and deliverables that were created in small teams of up to 3 people or individually.

1 Coding
Coding Image Generator (NFT)

Group members: Fatih, Marcus and Me

We must create our own picture generator for this task just like in the case of NFT. So the plan is to create elements using design software, to then use P5js to generate multiple combinations. That way, each variation is different from one another.

We got our final works compiled into one, the end result is above our satisfactory and happy with the end result. The hard work pays off with proper planning within the group.

The difficulty is in getting the template right as this will settle our side of the work, if the template is wrong, a lot of time will be wasted and overall the project will look inconsistent in the style.

2 Screens
Projection Mapping

For this project, the idea we are going for is the heaven and hell concept, the silhouette will be projected in the middle block while the top and bottom block will be projected with heaven and hell respectively.

We confirmed with the limits we have, only allowed to use 3 folded shapes, 1 projector and the code for calibration.

For heaven, we wanted a shape that had more volume but still somewhat reflect ‘exclusive’, which is why we went with a diamond shape.

For earth, we wanted something more raw and organic, so we chose an abstract quadrilateral form that can reflect land. For hell, we wanted a polygon to symbolise a pentagram of some sort.

Took some time to mask as it was buggy as hell but so far so good, there was some leakage in the visuals from the folded polygons but it turned out alright overall.

When we present the projection, we were so happy how it turned out, the visuals reflects off the wall and floor nicely and the colours weems to blend well with one another.

After the hours of changes and suffering, the outcome was well worth it and the experience was fun as hell ;) .

3 Making
From Code to Thing

The activity Code To Thing examines how code can be transformed into a real object. I'll be using code to explore 3D space and create 3D objects using a provided code template.

The first few minutes were slow, I was trying to recap on the use of P5js, but luckily the codes given were not difficult, however what’s tricky was the points of the polygon.

I was inspired by the theme of cyberpunk, tech wear and futuristic technology. I wanted to explore the transition of modern to futuristic themes.

Once I was satisfied with the codes, I proceeded to download blender and watch the tutorial on how to use it. I was so excited to use blender as I knew the 3D capability of it. After installing it, I went to export the polygon file.

After being introduced to the different paper types with varying GSM, paper texture and colour quality, I was overwhelmed by the information on the importance of paper choices, with different properties for specific situations.

Overall, this is such an interesting project, the craftsmanship with the paper models is so strange and unique experience for me, as I am so used to such digital content and designs on illustrator and photoshop. The introduction to Blender and the polygon creation on P5js was something that I enjoyed as well.

I’ve learnt a lot with paper handling and the paper quality and types with research so in the future, I know where to get a good quality paper.

4 Play
Physical Computing

For this project, we went through a lot of ideation process at the beginning stage, we started off with a more abstract idea of like heaven and staircases, forests to the land and ocean.

The next idea we went for is a simple graveyard landscape, working with the light circuits first before we proceed to cover it up with simple paper models.

Once the circuits were done, we spent some time on creating the elements such as the tombstone, the grass to cover the lights. Once that is done, we went ahead and use a paper clip to use it as a switch, that way we dont lose battery power.

My group and I were given a small electronics prototyping kit that included an Arduino board and a Grove Shield for this exercise. It look complicated at first but after playing around for a few minutes and with the help of the lecturers, it was so easy to set up and learn the features.

Conclusion

What have I learned over the course of this semester? I’ve learnt so much in terms of soft and hard skills, from the teamworks and working together in groups to complete tasks that were difficult to grasp at first but with guidance and working on specific objectives helped us keep on time with the due date.

Visual Studio Code is so FUN to use and learn. There is much potential on these codings and getting used to how the coding operates makes it so fun to learn and create complicated forms.

Softwares such as Blender was a huge plus for me. I've become addicted with 3D design and I am proceeding with being a 3D designer after being exposed to it during the introduction of paper polygons.

Some of my most interesting findings this semester are: Using the projector is such a unique application to create projections with basic shapes on objects. Even with one projector, we managed to get so many unique forms and elements, imagine with multiple projectors, the possibilities are endless.

What are some of my achievements? The NFT project is the most creative and well polished project I did with my group mates, the colours, the theme and the way we use the P5js code to create unique combinations of character’s accessories and looks was a great experience.