Meichen Liu 2023 Interactive Design Portfolio_Minot

Meichen is a researcher, designer, and an artist from Dalian, China. She is interested in HumanComputer Interaction, Game Design, Mathematics, and illustration. She is inspired by the beauty in both logic and emotions.

Developments

2021

User Experience Researcher and Designer

Giga-Technology

Dalian, China; City of Vancouver, Canada

Research and analyze on users' needs and summarize user persona. Do brand design for kayak-related products, and design new logos for the company.

2021 Course Designer and Instructor

Floyd Philosophy Camp for Teens

Changshu, China

Complete the design for a 3-day Aesthetic Phiosophy Course Series and teach the couse to 12-16 teenagers at the camp.

2019-2022

Work Experience Eduaction Experience

Research and Circulation Assistant

Fleet Library, Rhode Island School of Design

Procidence, Rhode Island, USA

Help users find research materials and provide instructions on how to use the library.

2020-2023

Interactive Design, Character Design

Non-Human Game Studio

Beijing, China; Providence, Rhode Island, USA Work on Independent Game Displacement: Chaichai.

2022-2023

Producer, Developer

A & B (Independent Game Project)

Dalian, China; Providence, USA

Ehxibitions and Awards

2022 Printmaking and Ceramics Senior Show, Providence

2021 FT Contemporary 2021, Shanghai

2020-2021 Unbound Artist Book Fair, Providence

2020 EFS- Foundation year Triennial , Procvidence

2019 Design Expo, Providence

2019 ComicUp Exhibition, Shanghai

2019 FM Art Fair, Beijing

2018-2022

Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art with Honors, GPA3.82/4.00

Rhode Island School of Design

Major in Printmaking, with a concentration in Computation and Technology, and a concentration in Mathematics and Philosophy

2019-2022

Brown-RISD Cross Registration

Brown University

Mathematics, philosophy and computer science courses.

Skills

Computation Skills: c++, c#, java, phython, reasonML, racket Software: unity, Rhino, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign, cinema4d, Sketch, AE, Enscape

Language: English, Chinese

Visual Art: Printmaking, Watercolor, Illustration

BackGround

My Interests

Design Goal

Create a medium that could combine the three interests, present the beautiful logic behind them, and invoke viewers' contemplation in art and maths.

I read a book about Yulin Cave and was inspired by the Dunhuang Frescoes.

Thoughts

I was interested in game theory and mathematical games.

Visual Art and Mathematics always has intersections. Images and objects are used to present mathematical ideas beautifully and clearly. Mathematics and sciences are used to create tools/mediums to create art. Pythagoras once tired to form a thoery to used the logic of numbers as the logic of art, but it was a bit partial. The two must always be different and could not be the same.

However, is there a way to have the logic of art and logic of maths together and present both of them to viewers or users instead of using one of them as a tool of the other?

Maybe we can look for an answer through the idea of "aesthetics".

Research Question

How to combine the logic of Duhuang Frescoes, game theory, and fractals together into one medium?

Dunhuang Frescoes Studies

Question: How were Dunhuang Frescoes structured and what is the logic behind visual compositions?

Binary Composition and Spatial Narrative

Binary Composition is a kind of non-linear composition. It highlights the most important event in stories, depicts the opposition between characters, to present the content of religious scriptures

Spatial Narration is one of image narration methods. Images often create unique space through compositions. Stories are told by deliberatedly designed space.

I was fascinated by the mathematical ideas behind fractals.

This would be educaionally vauable .It will create a special experience for people by combining two very separate way of thinking and putting them into one piece of work.

Chronological and historical sequence of the elements in image will generate more confusion than order (form 1). However, if read the image spatially，the meaning of the image (two god fight against each other) will be revealed easily(form 2).

例：莫高窟第196窟中的《降魔变相》9世纪晚期

Research

Overturned Dou Structure

2 Combinatorial Game Theory

3 Fractals Studies

Caves are for acquisition of Zeninsights. It requires piligrams to rack their brains. Spatial structure of caves will guide viewers's thinking.

Overturned Dou Structure is also called 4-sided caisson Ceiling for the 4 sides of ceiling have slopes and look like a Dou. Images and shapes are in generic and harmonious frames. It extends upwards and forms tensions.

Trapezoids and stripes help to bring structures and hierarchy to images and narratives.

Creative Frescoes Studies

I takeout elements in frescoes and redraw them to form new images and new stories.

Question:

How to turn a series of acts and rules into a combinatorial game?

What is Combinatorial Game Theory

Combinatorial game theory is a branch of mathematics and theoretical computer science that typically studies sequential games with perfect information. Combinatorial games are games that offer perfect information in which the state of the game and the set of available moves is always known by both players.

Double Players Examples

Question: How to use the idea of fractals outside of geometry?

One Player Example

Nature of Fractals eg. Julia Set

In mathematics, a fractal is a geometric shape containing detailed structure at arbitrarily small scales, usually having a fractal dimension strictly exceeding the topological dimension. Many fractals appear similar at various scales, as illustrated in successive magnifications of the Mandelbrot set.

4 Combination of 1·2·3: Design Insight

Introspection

Rules

Visual Narratives

Geometrical Structures

Design Strategy Game Rule for Crane (fictional !)

Rule Set

Numbers are hidden in the narrative and images on trapezoids. Crane needs to read the trapezoids and find a correct sequence of 0s and 1s. *The

For example, Crane might find the numbers above from reading the lines on the trapezoid.

If Crane's finding is correct, the sequence will become the "Rule Set" for the current round (ie. generation). *A rule set for Crane's Gift is similar to the rule set idea in cellular automata. Detailed explanations here：https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=W1zKu3fDQR8

Gift

Crane uses the rule set to generate a new image based on the original-state image.

Design outcome will be a baord game, a book, and a sound + visual interactive installation at the same time.

Crane will figure out the answer and play the correct sound sequence.

After getting the new image, Crane put it on top of the square platform. Then he draws on top of the image, or just touches the different squares in the grid. The game becomes a sound puzzle now.

Finally, after playing the correct sounds, the current round is finished and Crane will turn the installation 60 degrees for the new stage. Repeat 1, 2, 3, 4 until the last stage's puzzle is solved.

Narratives for Crane

Memory

Starting Point

Met Pilot Erwin Become Human Witch disappeared Be apart from family "AB" Event Graduation Ceremony Reencounter e Recieve the Gift

Memory

Crane's Life Stage

Crane and her brother Wen were objects belonged to a pilot. They "lived" with him.

Witch Herta turned Crane and Wen into human after pilot's death. Witch became a mother, raised Crane and Wen.

Witch was investigated by an institute because of illegal human creation. Witch was missing. Crane and her brother Wen moved to lakeside.

One day Miss. e founs them. She seperate them into two foster familie. Crane started her middle school life.

Two of Crane's High School Classmates (A and B) became missing after the second year. Crane started to look for them since then.

Crane graduated from high school. She decided not to attend college. Her body began to change, similar to Orlando's protagonist. She changed from "her" into "him".

Crane met e again. He accepted e's invitation to work at the institute.

Crane recieved a gift. It is a board game. He realized that it might be from his brother Wen, and it might be about Crane's memory.

Stage Image

Object Home Lake School ? Institute

The central character of the narrative is Crane. He is 27 year old, without tangible gender. Recently he works in a scientific institute as an assistant. The narrative will be focused on Crane's past memories.

Crane's Gift is a fictional object --- it is in a story, but it also tells a story. There are layers of stories.

Visual Design

1 Sketches and Frescoes Studies

2 Intaglio Printsmaking Process

The printmaking process allows each printed image to be "different" even though they are from the same plate. Therefore the same image could tell various stories based on how it is printed.

3 Final Image (Intaglio Print)

Creative copy of the frescoes in watercolor.

Detail Display

The Same image could be read in different ways.

Object Design 1 I Important Concepts

Rotation

Roation is required by narration. It gives different meanings to the smae image, and it makes narration unlimited in an limited image. It extends the process of "reading".

Foldable and Portable

2 I Hardware and Software

Turn through a turn table.

Looked at one's introspection from outside

“Seeing how oneself is seeing, ”

Inside the cave, one is standing under the four-sided ceiling and tcontemplate; But now one is standing ourside of the ceiling and is looking at the space itself.

Magnetic Sensor Magnets

Puredata

Use the data from arduino to create interactive mechanics.

Arduino

Recieve signals from sensors and turn them into data.

Pressure Sensor

Teensy Arduino

I Open and Put Together 2 I Perform the "Instrument"

3 I End and Sleep

Examples:

Put a piece of paper on the platform. Draw on the paper and the instrument will make sounds according to the pen's positions on paper

Repeat 1,2,3 until the last stage.

Raining Machine

Drink Water

Walking

Bells Ring Explosion BonFire Snowing

LaughterSidewalk

Running Forest Sob Commotion

Reading Boating Conversations

Lake

Stage Three：At Home Event： Home and Explosion Stage Four：Lake Event： Boating

篝火 雪声 奔跑声 湖水 划船 森林 交谈 走路声 下雨 钟鸣 爆炸 人行道 喝水 嘈杂 哭 机器 笑 翻书

Final Outcomes

Performance Video

Opening: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mfUVbaxQzljAKtQ8itkgzGs58dy8rWrD/view?usp=sharing

Make Sound: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mfUVbaxQzljAKtQ8itkgzGs58dy8rWrD/view?usp=sharing

Background

Original Story

Inspirations Analysis

1 I Pyschological Horror

Performance

Deception Emotions

Survival

A and B finish tasks such as performances in order to survive.

From Graphic Novel to Game

Explore the same story through different mediums.

Graphic Novel's View

Present A's experience, and A's perspectives. Use the formal language of graphite drawing to express the ideas.

Game‘s View

Users could gain an outsider's view when they are looking at the game world and its characters. Users could experience the "changes" that happens in the space clearer.

Design Goal

Narrative Puzzle Adventure Game

Deception and illusion lead to performance, acting and drama.

Escape Task

Escape is the final goal of the game.

Key Words for the game are "survival, escape, task, performance" The game wants to provide some fun to people who are thinking about psychological delimmas.

Closed Illusion Task Rule

Complex and profound souls

Fear and confrontation of the psychological dilemmas

2 I Systems and Tasks

Antimatter Dimension, Incremental Video Game

Original Graphic Novel from 2020 by Meichen

Rusty Lake Video Game Twin Peaks, Movie

Character Design

Doll

A robotic puppet. It will act automatically while performing.

Student/ Pierrot/ "Ordinary People"

?/ Master

The mysterious owner of the room. Sometimes it reveals itself as an eye.

Student/ Harlequin/ "Poet"

Crane/ Xiao He ( 小鹤 )

A and B's high school classmate.

She only shows up in A and B's memory.

Room Machine

Players/users are act as "Room Machine" in the game. Room Machine is the physical body (flesh) of the room.

Room

The room is the backstage of "Omni-Purpose Drama Club"(OPDC). The room is part of "?".

Plot Design

Outline

One Day I -

Life:

Demo

Location: Room

Plot: A and B makes sets and costumes for the performance at night. They also talk about the script and have meals together.

Game Content: Resume A's time.

Summary

A and B were sent to work in the backstage of Omni-Purpose Drama Club one day. They needed to finish performance tasks every day in order to survive. According to taskintroduction sheet, they prepared costumes and props, memorized lines, and then performed on stage at midnight. Each day, a new butterfly tattoo would appear on A's body. Moreover, A woke up without all the memories of what happened after all performances. A and B thought they were high school students and they made an agreement that they will find a way out and go back to school together. However, it doesn't seem like they were still students.

Finally, A discovered the connection between the drama club and B. It turns out that B is the mysterious president and the owner of the place. A decides to go out with B after hesitation, but this is impossible, because the existence of B is the predicament itself. If A wants to get rid of the predicament, he must get rid of B, but A really regards B as a good friend and likes to live with him. In the end A got rid of B and walked into the exit alone. We don't know what happened after the exit.

Location: stage

Repertoire: Harlequin & Pierrot

First Half

Plot: A giant black monster appears at the end; the space is ripped apart

One Day II -

Life: location: room

Plot: A gets a butterfly; A and B discuss what happened yesterday, A doesn't remember what happened after the performance; A and B recite today's script

One Day III -

Discussion of Escape:

location: room

Plot: A has acquired many butterflies in the past many days; A and B discuss the weirdness of this space and formulate a new escape method

The Critical DayCollision:

Blaze - Withered but Blooming: At LastConfrontation:

location: room

Plot: A gets B's notebook from the puppet

Location: Strange dream space, an urban maze of deserted grass and soil

Plot: A and B run under the chase of monsters; in the end A is caught and B saves him

Location: stage

Repertoire: The second half of Harlequin and Pierrot

Plot: Halfway through the show, A's consciousness leaves his body and falls into another space

Location: stage

Repertoire: Another circus performance - synthetic clown combined with H and Q

Location: stage

Repertoire: A script written by Xiaohe in high school; Circus Sequel - Black Panther and Antelope

Location: Dreamland Space - an empty mechanical city maze

Plot: A and B run under the chase of monsters; finally A is caught, B rescues him; B takes A back to the room

Infinite loop:

If A discovers a certain secret of B, then enter the next day;

If A does not find anything wrong, it enters an infinite loop Bad End

Location: Dreamland Space - an abstract world where painting, digital and architecture are synthesized

Plot: A and B run under the chase of monsters; they both turn into animals; A finds a stone; returns to the room

Location: Dreamland SpaceEvening Teaching Building

Plot: A and B run under the hunt of monsters; they see Xiaohe, who is looking for them; but they can't escape this time

Interactive Model of the Room

Dialogue Box

Dialogue box shows up when narrative happens.

Objects-Collecting Status Bar

The status bar will shows playing progress to players once a while.

Programing Model

Activates

Control Panel

Players could use control panel to adjust room environment, store collected informatio, and check on A and B's conditions.

Pop-out Window Notice Bar/ Status Bar

Buttons that activates another window Buttons

Clickable Objects in the Room

Explorable Objects

Clickable Objects Collectable Objects Characters

Notice Bar

a) Notice bar will show objects' info after left click on objects.

b) The Room or "?" might send notifications or other important info to players through notice bar.

B's Notebook

Hints will be given in B's notebook. Players click on the notebook button to enter the notebook interface.

Unclickables

Dialogue Box

Game Mechanics

Look for collectable and openable objects in the scene.

3 I Participate in the Narrative

Players participate and influence the narrative.

Player(Room Machine) and "?"'s conversations. Players often need to select answers while talking with "?".

4 I Mathematical Puzzles

Click on openable objects such as a bedside table.

Drawer interface pops out. Click on collectable objects such as the chess board.

After collecting objects, the collected objects will be shown in "storage".

Before the control panel become functionable, the player are required to solve some visual puzzles in the panel interface. After the puzzle is solved, the "real" panel will appear.

put

A and B's conversations. Player can only read their dialogues and influence them in an indirect way.

Room Machine (the player) need to help A solve some simple mathematical problems. Players might also be traped into A's thinking, they need to solve problems to get out of the thoughts and continue the narrative.

Drag objects into panel puzzle interface. The object changes its form after being dragged.

Players use it/them to solve the puzzle.

Art Style Research

Inspirations from Video Games

Booklets/ handbook

Hand-drawn

Final UI Design

Calculus NoteBook Design

Black and white and "precise"

Control Panel and Puzzle Design

Room and Furniture Design

Papers Please, video game

Omori, video game

Return of the Obra Dinn video game

Final Outcomes

Demo Recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lw7dSSUhjkLH1MGpCPLrdVLGi5YapVXE/view?usp=sharing

Final Outcomes

Background

What is a tampon?

A tampon is a menstrual product designed to absorb blood and vaginal secretions by insertion into the vagina during menstruation. Unlike a pad, it is placed internally, inside of the vaginal canal.

Negative Social Perceptions

Discrimination

There are a lot of negative popular nicknames refer to periods in the society.

Research - Questionaire Survey

A survey of 140+ Chinese women's period product experiences...... Pre-Survey Research

- 25 questions in total

Central Question (multiple-choice) : If you haven't tried tampons yet, what is the reason?

Worries about pain

Worries about usage and replacement

Other worries

Embarrassment

Some Chinese girls are asked to use black plastic bags for sanitary products.

70% European and 40% US women use tampons while only 2% of Chinese women use tampons.

Result Summary

Misunderstanding

There are still debates on whether to sell sanitary products in train. 20% of Chinese people contend that women should "hold back their periods".

Research Question

Tampons are good to use but lack of corresponding usage in China. Why?

In China, many women do not use tampons for a lack of relavent knowledge in physiology and an unfamiliarity to "tampon culture".

Research - Persona

1 I Primary Users: "do not have experiences in tampons" 2 I Secondary Users: "have had experiences in tampons"

“I know about tampons but haven’t tried them yet. I did not want period products that insert into my body, but I would like to try them later if having a chance.”

“I like to use tampons instead of period pads, because they are more comfortable and easier to clean, also my blood will not flow as a river.”

Menstrual Fluid

A woman who has never used tampon before.

XMenstrual Fluid

Replacement Time

Budget (per month)

Why not use tampons?

Unfamiliar Pain worries Hymen worries

Replacement Time

Budget (per month)

Why use tampons?

Pain Points:

- Fear of being hurt - Social pressures

- Lack of in-depth knowlege of their own bodies and period products such as tampons.

Design Goal

Absorbency Dryness

Breathability

Build a pop-up store that brings more menstrual and tampon information to primary and secondary users in an effective, attractive, and friendly way.

Yufei Hu 23

A woman who has used tampon in the past.

Zhuoran Hao 19

An employee from an education company.

A film major sophomore student in college.

Research - Why Kotex?

1 I SWOT Analysis

2 I Competitor Analysis

3 I How Might We....?

How might we expose more relative knowledge to women,then eliminate women's fear of using tampons??

Why should users choose Kotex?

Safe Freshman Friendly Famous Brand

How might we maximize KOTEX tampons ‘ strengths and minimize its weakness, and let more women buy KOTEX tampon?

Best performance in flocculation tests.

Have an applicator that help users to insert easily, which leads to less pain for freshman users.

Allow users to be free of distrust.

Brainstorming and Ideation :

Expose to the real tampons will help to get a better understanding of one's body.

How Might We Expose Knowledge and Eliminate Fear?

Vagina model: how to put in the tampon

how to insert tampon in the right place puzzles of female anatomy. (wood vlocks or plastic.)

precautions could be told comic-like

Comparisions between pads & tampon experiment between different brand

using vending machine to reduce the possible shy feeling of customer questionnaire for personal recommendation feedback for precautions and future plan

explain female selfprotection.

brand mascot as a guider

How Might We Maximize Strength and Minimize Weakness?

interactive device

movie<the vagina monologues> and related books about feminism

sex education exhibition

possible user feeling about tampon find real “ancient” products and display them. similar to exhibitiontos

Storyboard

2 I Exhibtion & Instructions 3 I Labs, Games, and Gifts

5 I Goodbye

Customers are attracted by art exhibition.

Customers look through tampon exhibitions and instructions.

Customers leave the shop with joy,

4 I Shopping

Customers do experimental tampon games in the lab zone and customize their period experiences through vending machine.

Customers get personalized period products.

Pop-up Store Space Design

1 I Space Design Iterations

Scene Two

Scene One

Divide the space into 4 zones. Design users' activities in each zone.

Design the pedestrian flow; Redesign the appearance of pop-up store, using the shape of uterus as the external form.

Detailize each zone's functions and user activities; Create scenes.

Detailed Scenes Design

Drafts

Scene One: Digital Experiments

Lab & Game Zone

Scene Two: "Action" Games

Modeled and Rendered with Rhino

Final Rendering

Scene One - Lab Simulator : Digitalization

1 I Experiments

Brand Comparisons

Absorbency and Flocculation Test

2 I Disadvantages of Using Real Tampons as Experimental Materials

- A waste of tampons and water

- Unfriendly to the environment

3 I Digitalization of the Experiments

From real experiments to digital experiments

From screens(expensive) to projections

Tampon VS Pad

Absorbency Test

- Messy - Inconvenient to clean up - Unefficient.

Advantages of Experiments

convincing intuitive fun

Advantages of Digitalization

Learn about tampons through handson experiments without wasting materials.

economic efficient attractive clean

Scene One - Lab Simulator: Interactive Cup Design

Put it into the cup. Then in the screen the person will put a tampon into water according to user's act.

After being put into the cup, the light on plastic tampons will turn off. Indicating that it is already being put into water. Moreover, the screen will display detailed info of the used tampons.

Take a plastic tampon with green lights from the bottom opening of the cup. Put it into the cup agian from the top.

Scene Two : "Action" Games

Scene Two : Customization Machine Interface Wireframe

A Trombone that Hugs (2019 Freshman Year)

Performance of the Instrument: Details of the Installation:

Recent Selected Illustrations

Swan and Its Sister, 2022, Digital Painting

Amusement, 2023, Digital Painting

Recent Selected Illustrations

MoutanMomo, 2023, Digital Painting

Lan and MoutanMomo I, 2023, Digital Painting

Lan and MoutanMomo II, 2023, Digital Painting

Lan, 2023, Digital Painting;

Recent Selected Illustrations

Celebration of the Rabbit Year, 2023, Digital Painting

Alchemy Assassin, 2022, Digital Painting