Stargazer
May 2020
They are always there, whether we choose to observe them or not.
Stargazer is a visual direction project that follows a simple design brief: visualizing a day's worth of data and portraying myself through the application of art direction. In particular, I decided to lean into my recent struggle of self-discovery. The project represents the intersection between effective product design for what could be a mock day planner program, and a piece of autobiographical art.
Solo project, 2 weeks.
Art assets painted in Adobe Photoshop CC, motion graphics created in After Effects CC.
“You aren’t developing the ability to feel emotions, but rather discovering them.”
Is a quote paraphrased from my therapist, and the guiding philosophy behind the design of this project. It was something that stuck with me through my sessions, as it emphasized that finding and embracing my repressed emotions was something that would be exploratory in nature, rather than something that involved control. It was the idea that stuck out most prominently when contemplating the project brief, which demanded the personal expression of one’s feelings. What is more perfect than portraying my literal journey with emotions?
I decided to really lean into the idea of observatories for this one. Much like emotions, stars are always there even if we do not acknowledge them, and hold personal significance for me as a symbol and aesthetic. They are also about observing, divorced from direct action, which is something I took into consideration with the interaction design of the project. Art direction choices were made to either further the idea of an observatory collecting data, or are indicative of my personal style to imbue the project with a truly autobiographical essence.
After the style had been mulled over, I set to collecting data. I simply kept a journal of my day, detailing what I did and where I went by the hour.
I tracked a few additional variables that were personally important to me such as my work progress, food and medicine intake, and of course exactly what I was thinking and feeling.
The resulting design system is one that revolves around the physical representation of being in an observatory. An avatar of myself is used to present certain moods or activities, UI elements incorporate a touch of astrological symbolism to accompany the celestial art direction, and most importantly stars are used as a hero symbol, from representing my location on the navigation map, completed items on the to do list, and of course emotions when are they discovered and pondered. Everything works in tandem to intuitively portray the data I have collected about my day.
It was important, as a part of hitting home the idea of observation over control, that no part of the design involved clicking a mouse, the type of button press typically indicative of direction action coming from the player. Instead, only scrolling and mouseovers are used, mouse interactions that closer index towards the player having an indirection relationship with the piece.
Overall, this was a rather indulgent piece as it was catered around my aesthetic as well as design-based inclinations. For instance, navigation is also represented as a minimap as I tend to literally think about my location as if I were in a sprawling MMO. It was a fascinating design space to take a stab at and I am satisfied with the result.
Video of the motion graphics, going through a full day cycle.