429 Project

A story of 429 days. 128 projects

This is a group project created by Pixel & Print Design Workshop at Syracuse University. We designed for the story of how Newhouse Visual Communication students spent the last 429 days, and how we created our own path within the pause during pandemic.

(More About & team members: https://www.the429project.com/about)

VIEW WEBSITEVISIT WEBSITE
CREATED
March 2021 - April 2022
ROLE
Client Project • VIsual design • Motion Design
project medium
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effect, Adobe Photoshop
2. Remesh to Create Low Poly model in Maya

Because the game engine can't handle multimillion poly models, we need to reduce the poly face count to < 5000, while 3D printing needs high poly count to achieve details.

3. Substance Painter: Projecting the high-poly model onto the low-poly model for textures.
4. Houdini: Calculate and Slice the Tree to fit in the 3D Printer's Size Constraint
The tree Size is 60 centimeters and was cut into 26 pieces.

5. Design Platforms and Tubes inside the Tree for Hardware to Fit in

6. Printed Pieces
(In-progress)
1. Sculpting Tree Model in Zbrush.
To achieve the highest quality of augmented reality, keeping the digital and physical objects perfectly the same is the key. That's why we chose 3D printing.
3D Printing Base Tree Pipeline:
Zbrush High-Poly Modeling > Remesh to create low-poly model in Maya > Slice the model into 26 pieces Houdini > Modeling tubes inside the tree (For hardware) in Maya > Send to Printer > Glue Pieces Together
Digital Asset Pipeline:
Zbrush High-Poly Modeling > Remesh to create the low-poly model in Maya > Substance Painter: projecting the high-poly model onto the low-poly model for textures.

Model Creation: 3D Printing and Digital Tree

Model Creation: 3D Printing and Digital Modules

Users can plug in modules onto the platforms on the tree. The tree has hardware that can detect new modules that are plugged in.
Dragon Module

Reward Assets Creation

Hard surface modeling:
The mobile phone, as an AR platform, is not powerful enough. Therefore, we need to optimize running by using the minimum poly count to maximize efficiency. This means that the face count of our other assets on the left and right is less than 500 polycounts.
Mushroom Module
Trampoline module
10. Drag the character to new block
8. Plant new plants Decorate
5. Shop  -  Buy items that can add to the environment
6. Drag the character to a block
7. Do block activity & Gain reward
3. Collect flowers to gain currency
4. Shop  -  Click on Shop to use currency
1. Open the App to check the characters
9. After a block activity is succeeded, the same block can’t be played on the same day 
2. Check Plants  - Plants generate currency (Flowers) 

StoryBoards - Daily activity User Flow

Final Experience

Key Contributions

SHADOW CAST BY AR MODELS TO REAL WORLD
To enable projecting virtual object shadows on real-world surfaces in Oculus Quest's passthrough, game objects are modeled in real-world scale, transparent shaders are used to capture shadows, and anchor pairs for matching virtual object shadows with wall shapes. The projection matrix calculated from the light source to the surface helps determine current shadow anchors on the real-world surface for solving in-game puzzles.
• Scale and modeled each object in the game to align with the real-world size of corresponding objects, using Maya.
Measured the scale of the room, table, and other objects that we were using to set up the experience, and modeled everything using the real-world size of the objects.
Introductory Animation: Draw, Animate, and edit the animation using Adobe photoshop and Adobe After Effect.
Snow Generator for Organic Objects/Plants Using Houdini
• Created a Procedural Houdini snow generator to efficiently generate snow piles for dozens of different plants, and other intricate objects in the scene. Solving the problem of a common snow generator not adapting complicated mesh with a mall surface area.
- Point generator on the upper surface of the model > Transfer every point to the sphere > Combine into mesh
• By changing the density of the point generated and the size of the sphere, it can control the density and thickness of the snow mesh.

KEY CONTRIBUTIONS

Modeling, Texturing, Designing the Environment
• Before setting up in Unreal Engine 5, I used Maya and ZBrush to model the highways, buildings, all plants, and all assets on the shore area (chairs, constructions, stairs, the platform, etc.), and Substance Painter to create texture for all assets.
•  SpeedTree: I used speed trees for the bushes and palms, and the bald trees.
• Since it is set in Singapore, a once-thriving tropical city, that was transformed into a frozen wasteland, we detailedly reversed the time to simulate what's the most realistic outcome of the situation:
- The lake should freeze fast in the way that the fish is frozen in it, thus we create the lake texture to be frozen, cracked, and frozen fishes on the surface of the lake.
- Snow is stacked everywhere, and the snow isn't soft and puffed, instead, it's hard and ruined since the storm is super violent.
- Water spit out from Merlin should be frozen fast to form icicles

MOTIONS

Graphics

"I still have to wait for weeks using an online therapy platform. Even booking in-office sessions is faster."
"How about start your session in 5 minutes under a global network of therapists?"

Final Game

In the game, you’re trapped in a cursed casino, and a winning hand is your key out. The casino will try to keep you there as long as they can collect the right cards to escape as soon as possible.
Collect cards and avoid dying to enemies before the time is up! In order to win, you have to collect a certain combination of cards to win- either 5 of the same suit, 13 of the same color, or all 26 cards.

Key Game Mechanics
•Collecting cards while avoiding enemies.
• Ways to win: Get 5 cards in one suite (hearts, spades, clover, diamond) / Get 13 cards in one color (red or black) / Get 26 total cards.


Final Project: Interactive Poster(Click to interact with)

This is an interactive campaign for Layers of Fear, which can be used on web and mobile for any campaign purposes.
Goals: Incorporating interactive elements in a campaign poster to increase the engagement in an advertisement. Moreover, interactive traits matches the personality of a game, especially for Layers of Fear, a playful horror game that targets audience 8+.

Anatomy Study

In the game, players explore the fantasy world of a depressed female protagonist’s mind. To win the game, the protagonist needs to fight against monsters to beat her depression. The key feature of the game is the weapon, a specially-designed gun that’s connected to the protagonist’s wellness backlog. The backlog is her defense arsenal that, for example, includes her tears which have been transformed into bullets. She can use these bullets to shoot the monsters. The gaming experience resembles that of depressed patients fighting and overcoming their mental illnesses, and takes players on an educational journey to better understand mental health issues. Unlike most mental-health-related games, The Power of Pain showcases both the vulnerability of people suffering from depression and the resilience that can come out of such struggle. Painful experiences can teach us life lessons and thus sometimes strengthen or give us additional problem-solving tools.

Final Projects

The corresponding webpage explains the game to potential audience members. By showing the game concept and background story, the website help players understand the game’s purpose and gameplay.

Opening Video
This is the opening video that will apear in the game when player is starting the gameplay.

Goal: Bringing the player into the ambience of the game and set a tone of the whole game.
Animated Logo
This logo animation is supposed to appear at the beginning of the game. It can also function as a campaign of the game , as well as a brand identity.
The visual supposed to capture the style of the game tone.

Goal: Incorporating motion with the logo to express more personalities of the game, horror, tension, but with cute & simplistic visuals.
Graphic Poster
This campaign is a traditional graphic poster that can be use for any advertising purpose.

Final Project

Technical Animation
• Rig and animate more than 20 sets of the character animations and the furniture that the character interacts with in Unity.

KEY CONTRIBUTIONS

• Animate the background by building shaders in unity
Game Art
• Designed and drew over 80 art assets in the game, including a character, sets of furniture, environment backgrounds, etc. using Photoshop and Illustrator.
Environment Art
• Modeling, texturing, and designing all art assets in the environment.
• Used modular assets to build an environment that creates a dynamic difficulty curve
• Use a
fun and playful color scheme, simple shape, and clear environment to make the game as easy as possible to learn.
VFX of Bull Spawning
I stacked a layer of a circular model (indicating wind) and 6 layers of 2D sprites using the Unity Particle System to achieve this stylized Visual Effect, triggered when the antagonist bull is spawned.
UI/UX Design
• All User Interface Design in the game.
Simplistic and bold Graphics to make feedback super clear, especially during such a chaotic gameplay.
• Bulky but textured Font choices to enhance the chaotic gameplay.

KEY CONTRIBUTIONS

Graphic Design & Website Design
• Poster Design to deliver a tutorial for the game
• Pins for giving out at exhibitions
• Website to deliver tutorial at exhibitions

LOOK IN TO THE FUTURE

The show is held right before graduation, to gather works of all graduating students at Newhouse VIS department at Syracuse University. Therefore, we design to emphasis their positivity, creativity and bright future.

Above: Merchandised Students' Name List Postcard, 5'*7'. From left to right: Back, front
Above: Merchandised Standing Signage at 2022 VIS Senior Show

at the show

Above: Photo taken by Yuxuan Wu at 2022 VIS Senior Show
Above: Branding Poster, 11'*17, at 2022 VIS Senior Show

CREATIVITY THROUGH
PAUSE

When the world hit pause, so did our plans for classes, graduation, and careers. We learned to connect, to value our own health, and to continue moving forward. We continued to create.

POSTER

Explainer Video

Social Media Templates & Stickers (Reels/Stories)

Package in Immersive Experience

Functionality Documents & Webframes

Brand Manual

User Research

User Persona

Game Design Process

Web Design Process

Showcase

Brand Manual

Homepage

Just looking around? (Visitors)
Scannable information of the organization that does not cause cognitive overload.
• Casual but artsy style that attract visitors to explore more.
Check the website with purpose(s)? (Artists, Donators, and Supporters)
• The top navigator can easily direct any type of user to their destinations, such as submitting artworks, donating, or shopping gallery.
Productive and convenience interactions.



Make Donation
Easier

• To build trust, show how donation are used in the head image,
Easy 3-steps donation makes money easier.
Call-to-action: Other ways to help listed below if visitors can not offer monetary help.


Gallery Combined With Shop

• To save bunch of clicks when user try to buy artworks in the Gallery, shopping information is added in the page. 
• The easier for visitors to shop, the easier for the organization to raise money.



Brand Identity

Webframes

User Researches

The center holds annual art events in upstate New York, such as poster competitions and exhibitions, bringing together artists and poets. However, many of its members and visitors found the center’s original website hard to navigate (Original Website: https://www.posterproject.org). To address this problem, I researched organization's main users: members, donators, visitors, supporters, and artists.
Based on users' stories and feedbacks which reflects the drawbacks of the original website, I identified what should be improved in the redesigning website.

For Entire Site:
I want to find them on social media.

For Secondary Page:
1. I want to know how I can submit my artwork or poetry.






2. I want to be able to contact the organization easily.

As an
Artist

For Entire Site:
Display icons/links to the various social media accounts beside the anniversary campaign.
For Secondary Page:
1. Include a submission section with submit button and submit deadline Time count down in the Hera section of homepage, giving artists a sense of how much time left for submission and easier navigation to submit page. Artist will be direct to the section that gives an overview of the process, along with instructions and necessary entry materials of they clicks submit.
2. Provide an email address, phone, physical address in footers and email drop line above footer is accessible from every page.

For entire Site:
1. I want to subscribe to an email newsletter



2. I want to donate to the organization.



3. I want to know where did past donation funding spent.



For Secondary Page:
1.  I want to know how I can buy copies of the posters.

2. I want to know how I can support this organization, by possibly donating my time and/or money.

For Entire Site:
1.Put a subscribe function on both the hero section of the homepage site’s UI and every pages' footer. This requires an input (as text for the user’s email) and a submit button.
2. Site’s navigation structure should have a call to action to donate to the organization. This link/button should be of high contrast and placed on every page of the site.
3. A clear infographic showing on the hero section of the donation page, to show how the donation would be spent, thus convince the donator to safely donate.

For Secondary Page:
1. Easy access to a shopping cart, which includes check out and product page functionality. "Shop" section is included in the navigation bars.
2. Information on support opportunities. "Donate" and "Support" both included in navigation bar for easier accesses. The call to action(s) should be to donate directly or contact the organization through an email and/or web form.

As a
Supporter
&Donator

For Entire Site:
1. I almost always read/view websites on a mobile device.


2. I want the site to be accessible and easily navigable to use.


For Secondary Page:
1. I want to easily navigate from one secondary page to another within the same section.

For Entire Site:
1. Improve the mobile site. Mobile web browsing surpasses desktop web browsing. This means that the mobile version of the site should be as good as or better than the desktop version of this website.
2. This is about visual design that is accessible to all readers, regardless of their handicap. For example, use high contrast test and design elements for color blind readers. Be sure that every ALT attribute is appropriate.
For Secondary Page:
1. Each section of the site should use sub-navigation within a side bar, or use dropdown menus in the main navigation bar.

As a
Site Visitor
User Stories
Solutions

Brand Manual

User Flow

Donation Page
Gallery & Shop Page

Final Showcase

Highlights in the book (Full book on https://www.the429project.com)

429 BOOK

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