Assignment 2 - Proposal

21/5/2025 - 22/6/2025 (Week 5 - Week 9)
Katelyn Tan Kye Ling (0354148)
Bachelor Of Design In Creative Media (Performative Media - Free Elective)
Assignment 2 - Proposal

LECTURE

WEEK 5 - 21/5/2025

This week Mr. Shakir gave us a lecture to learn more about touchdesigner. He then briefed us on assignment 2 and told us that we will be working with touchdesigner and a webcam for this module. He mentioned that we can do projection mapping as well.

- Everything in the design that you do needs to have reasoning (rationale).

WEEK 6 - 28/5/2025

This week we had online class due to the ASEAN event. 

WEEK 7 - 4/6/2025

In this week's class Mr. Shakir taught us how to use the "videoin" feature in touchdesign. He taught us how we can manipulate and play around with it by adding edge, constant, geometry etc. After that I also tried to add other things. I asked Chat GPT what things I could add and it taught me how to add a flickering glow effect.

My take on Week 7's in class exercise:

Fig 1.1 Touchdesigner proof of work

WEEK 8 - 11/6/2025

This week we learnt about hand tracking and how to use media pipe. We added elements like "blur" "slope" "level" to enhance our work and make it more interesting and colourful. This particular exercise was very interesting to me as it interactive elements.

My take on Week 8's in class exercise:

Fig 1.2 Touchdesigner proof of work

WEEK 9 - 18/6/2025

This week, Mr. Zeon came to join our class as well to conduct a short presentation for each group to explain their concept and idea for the project. After that, feedback was given to each group to work on before the submission.

INSTRUCTIONS

Week 7:

Meeting 1 (June 3):

We brainstormed ideas and we all came to a conclusion of liking the idea of delaying a person's reflection when they stand it front and move around. The theme was about "Echoes" and how one person would be able to show their true feelings in this installation. We proposed this idea to Mr. Shakir and he liked the idea and gave us feedback to enhance the installation.

Meeting 2 (June 6) 

During this meeeting, we found that we didn't really like the idea we had as it doesn't really have a good story base. We looked through Pinterest and a holographic image caught our eye. We expanded from there. I though of how we could reflect a prism using light that is turned on by a sensor. After that I came across a video of a body sensor installation which we thought we could include in our installation. (Click here for video inspiration.)

After we had a solid idea and base of what we wanted to do, we delegated our tasks and started on the slides.

Task delegation:

Research: Katelyn

Sketch: Seven

Touchdesigner: Wj

Key Insights: Michele

Week 8:

During this week, we continued to work on our individual parts. At this point we were still pretty lost. We had a rough idea but it felt like we all understood it differently. We worked on the slides together to research on our concept. We also started to try and design our whole installation, but once again we were lost as we didn't know how the space at the exhibition would look like and what we could do and couldn't do. As for our touchdesigner part, we only learnt the basics and were extremely unfamiliar with the platform which limited us to become more ambitious. Tutorials online were very surface or specific which did not have any tutorials teaching exactly what we want.

Week 9:

After getting our feedback, we were pretty disappointed at the work we did. However, we still had to move forward and improve on whatever we can with the feedback we received. We started to tweak our concept even more and also researched on the "why" question of our concept and idea. We did lots of research to link it to our installation and rationalised almost everything. We also finalised our ideas, sketches, and our A2 Proposal. We also improved any information that was lacking or unclear so that the proposal would be clearer.

Since this is my first time working on these type of projects, let alone an A2 proposal, I tried to design one with the needed information however I don't think it was up to par.

My designs:

Fig 2.1 Poster 1

Fig 2.2 Poster 2

FINAL SUBMISSION

Proposal Slides:

A2 Proposal:

FEEDBACK

Week 7 - 4/6/2025

- Idea seems good.

- Can do something like half a mirror and half monitor set up.

Fig 3.1 Feedback 

Week 9 - 18/6/2025

Things to add in slides:

- Storyline

- Sustainability plan

- Materials

- Visual planning & diagrams

- Technical node workflow

- Timeline (Until final assignment)

- Mockup (rendering of the installation)

Feedback:

- Make the sketch full page + write description 

- Instead of lightbulb use coloured paper

- Focus on one solution

- Final design reflect on the case study, mood board etc. everything needs to link together (Translate research to design - why cd, why paper?)

What we can change for our concept and research:

- Focus on helping stress, mental health, and bringing a sense of therapeutic

- Don't write about inner childhood or childhood

- Research shapes and colours to use in the installation that helps relief stress, rationalise everything

REFLECTION

Experience
This project has honestly been one of the most challenging yet eye-opening experiences for me. From the very start, I was excited about the idea of creating an interactive installation using TouchDesigner and a webcam. But that excitement quickly turned into uncertainty when we realised how little we actually knew about the software and how difficult it was to bring our ideas to life.

I took charge of the research in our group, and even though it felt like a lot of pressure at times, I really wanted to make sure our concept had depth and meaning. The process of shifting our idea—from the delayed reflection concept to a more light-and-prism-based installation and then to having a tree—was honestly quite messy. I remember feeling really unsure whether we were doing things "right" or if our idea even made sense. 

Designing the proposal was also tough because lots of research and rationalisation was needed. I tried my best to include everything I thought was important, but part of me still feels like it didn’t live up to what I envisioned. Still, I’m proud of how I kept pushing, even when it felt overwhelming or confusing. I really hope that we can improve more as a team in the final project and come up with something great!

Observation
One thing I clearly noticed throughout this assignment is how important clarity is—both in communication and in concept. In the beginning, I think all of us had different versions of the idea in our heads, and that made everything feel messy. It wasn't until much later—after several meetings, lots of research, and some honest feedback—that we finally aligned on a stronger, clearer direction.

I also observed that when we’re too focused on the aesthetics or “coolness” of an idea, we risk losing the meaning behind it. That was a big learning moment for me. The feedback we got from Mr. Shakir & Mr. Zeon about needing a stronger rationale really made me reflect on our process. It made me realise that every single design choice—whether it’s materials, shapes, colours, or even the interaction itself—needs to be intentional.

Lastly, I also observed how important time management, planning and organisation is. At times when we all were catching up on other assignments, we delayed this assignment for a while which was definitely our fault. After we noticed that we were falling behind, we quickly held meetings to get back on our feet.

Findings
This project helped me understand that a successful interactive installation isn’t just about fancy effects or interesting visuals—it’s about why it exists and what it makes people feel. Once our group started to fully focus on one goal, which is releasing the user's stress, the project finally started to feel more meaningful.

I also found that collaboration works best when everyone knows their roles but is also willing to adapt. We were confused for quite a while, but once we split tasks and trusted each other, things started to move. 

Lastly, I’ve learned that growth doesn’t happen in comfort. I was constantly pushed out of my usual design approach—forced to think more deeply, justify my choices, and learn new tools. And even though it was difficult, I’m genuinely grateful for it. I still feel like I have a long way to go, but this project gave me a push to keep going, try more, and trust my ideas a little more.