2020 Master of Design and Master of Interactive Media

2020 graduating students: Master of Design and Master of Interactive Media

Annabel Koay

The Magic Mirror

It has become increasingly important for physical retailers provide customers with services offering a better shopping experience. Using in-store fitting rooms is also one the fundamental parts of the customer experience. Also, fitting rooms are influential places where customers usually inspect clothes and try them on before making their purchase decisions. The growth in the use of digital technologies provides physical retailers with an opportunity to offer a more interactive and convenient service in order to enhance customers’ in-store shopping experience.

The Magic Mirror project is a practice-based study that aims to explore how digital technology can amplify a positive fitting room experience as part of the overall shopping experience of Australian consumers. The findings revealed that the majority of the participants were interested in using fitting rooms that incorporate digital technology. The suggested useful features of digital technology are accessibility to a variety of information (stock availability, caring tips, size guide), style recommendations based on preferences using Artificial Intelligence (AI), and a navigation element that enables customers to easily seek help from sales assistants in the fitting room. Therefore, a smart interface will be designed as a form of interactive mirror, offering users necessary information and style recommendations, as well as conveniently seek assistance with the touch of a button.

Keywords: Retail stores, fitting room experience, customer experience, digital technology, fashion shopping, experience design.

Glenda Grace R. Lapid

For the Wing

Studies have shown that among animal species, bats (Order Chiroptera) remain to be the least liked and most underappreciated despite the many benefits they provide humans and the environment. Persisting negativity surrounding bats’ image has proven a to be a tremendous challenge for conservationists now more than ever considering the rise in bad press due to Covid-19 and the species’ rapid global decline. Today’s bat conservationists are in dire need of new ways to carry out their work and address the issue of negative perceptions towards bats.

For the Wing is a practice-based study that explores the application of visual and verbal communication design in the conservation sector, specifically in Australian bat conservation. The research involved an in-depth investigation into people’s perception of bats and bat conservation through a systematic review of related literature and surveys conducted by the researcher. Interviews with local and international bat experts provided valuable insight into the overall state of bat conservation and existing conservation initiatives. The design outcome, a design-driven digital campaign, is a response to all of these in that it creatively addresses the public’s negative perceptions while simultaneously promoting bat-positivity and existing bat conservation efforts.

Keywords: Bats, Bat Conservation, Design for Conservation, Visual Design, Verbal Design, Digital Campaign, Conservation Messaging, Design Activism.

(Jannie) Nguyen Minh Nghi

VECHAI

Single-use plastic bags are commonly used in many countries in the world, including Vietnam. Since the invention of plastic, plastic bags have become more and more popular overtime due to them being convenient, lightweight, hygienic and affordable. However, it has become a huge threat to the environment, wildlife, marine life, and human health, which requires immediate attention.

VECHAI project is a practice-based study that aims to gain understanding of Vietnamese people’s perception towards single-used plastic bag, and develop creative strategies that allow Vietnamese people to be more engaged with the concept of categorizing plastic waste within their homes in order to minimize plastic waste.

The findings from the study indicated that, Vietnamese people showed strong support towards the ban of single-used plastic bags, although stated that they would continue to use them daily until legislation on their ban was introduced. The outcome of this research included 2 digital platforms of an application and website were designed to educate about plastic waste categorization and for Vietnamese to order a door-to-door collection of their plastic waste and other recycling materials. The name and concept of the VECHAI project was fundamentally built up from the conventional practice of scrap collecting in Vietnam.

Keywords: Plastic pollution, Plastic ban, Sustainable, Vietnam, Waste management, Scrap, Collector.

Jiahui Li

Illustrating Chinese History

By using digital technology as a platform. It mainly focuses on three aspects, firstly, the way of teaching Chinese history. Secondly, some channels for preschool children to learn history. Lastly is the rules of development of preschool children. The research consider three part of this topic. It first look at the information, then explores what kind of learning methods can interest preschool children, can also researchers what make parents happy to accept it through digital technology. In the next exploration, the works of well-known Chinese and foreign illustrators, cartoonists and short video authors about history were incorporated into the project. How to express important events in Chinese history in a form that attracts children is a current problem to be considered, alongside, what method digital technology are to be used is a key consideration in the research.

The research aims to seek the rules of young child development, find a way that could promote the children’s understanding of the important Chinese historical events enable them to have a deep memory of these, and give them an understanding of Chinese history in the right way at the right time. In addition, illustrations play a critical role to promote the preschool students easily know about the content.

Keywords: Digital technology, Preschool children, Chinese history, Children development, Illustrating.

Kamni

CommuniKit

The growth of social enterprises in Australia has taken a steady start. In 2019, a total of 276 social enterprises were recorded in Queensland alone. Social enterprises promise a solution for our most wicked, social and environmental problems. Additionally, social enterprises operate on a double or triple bottom line paradigm with a balance of economic, social and environmental returns.

CommuniKit is a practice-based study aimed at improving community engagement of social enterprises in the food industry in Queensland, Australia. The study explored ways in which participatory design practices can improve the community engagement of social enterprises. Participating social enterprises were researched as case studies employing exploratory case study methodology. Communikit intends to provide a framework for other social enterprises to adapt to expand their reach to the community and communicate their social impact. CommuniKit is a toolkit of participatory design practices designed for social enterprises to improve their community engagement. It provides a collection of helpful tools, techniques and resources to get social enterprises started on the journey of participatory design approach.

Keywords: Social enterprise, Community engagement, Participatory design, Toolkit, case study, CommuniKit, Design.

Qiong Wang

How can traditional Chinese iconography be applied to contemporary brand development within the context of a cultural institution

Private museums play a very important role in inheriting and promoting the excellent Chinese traditional culture and promoting the development of cultural industries. In response to the problems of Chinese private museums that are easy to build but difficult to maintain, as well as the outdated profit model. First, starting from the current situation of private museums, analyzing the reasons behind it, and looking for a new way out for private museums.

The design project aims to investigate Chinese traditional pattern design and how to use them in a modern environment through brand promotion. It will do this through analysis and discussion of the key elements in style and branding to establish unique and well-known global brands and identities. Traditional cultural elements include rich visual elements such as text, colours, and shapes. How to embed these rich visual elements into the museum's brand design, help the promotion and inheritance of regional traditional culture—Qi culture, and enhance the museum's brand market competitiveness is the main content of the project.

Keywords: Private museum, contemporary brand development, visual design, cultural and creative product design, traditional Chinese iconography, Qi characters.

Samantha Pereira

Carbon Footprint by Digital Designers: reducing designer footprint one design at a time

This research investigates the carbon footprint produced by content production within the digital design industry in Australia. The current trend toward raising awareness, and reduction strategies, on our carbon footprint is a significant motivating factor toward this research. It reviews and evaluates graphic designer behaviour and habits based on software usage. This study uses a mixed methods approach to gather data from a local sample group and employs a cross-sectional ethnographic research methodology to form the basis of core themes which emerge from the research. It is designed to educate the digital design sector, graphic designers in particular, in Australia through the delivery of a design outcome.

The primary focus of this practice-based research is to raise awareness about sustainable energy consumption within the digital design practice. The outcome of this study is an essential guide for graphic designers interested in producing sustainable digital design.

Keywords: Carbon footprint, sustainable design, digital design, awareness, behaviour change, energy use, graphic design, Australia.

Sophie Izumi (Master of Interactive Media)

Trilogy

The interactive projection art series work, Trilogy, is not only digital storytelling exploring depression as a lived experience from a phenomenological approach, but also an interdisciplinary artistic experiment exploring innovations in traditional therapy for depression.

I'm an international student from China. In September 2020 I graduated and finished my Masters degree in Interactive Media. I created this interactive projection art series work, Trilogy, because I am a depression sufferer since I was 16, however, depression is still a sensitive word in China. I dare not tell anyone or share my feelings, even to my friends or family, apart from a mental health doctor, but that lonely experience only makes things worse. Psychologists say that every patient with depression craves empathy and desires to feel empathy. Therefore, the artwork , Trilogy, is not only a fight for empathy from the public, but also a face-to-face conversation with my own fear, of the stigma, of the depression.

Keywords: Depression, stigma, empathy, interaction.