Design Brief:
A designer’s portfolio is one of the most important places to showcase your work and in this assessment, you will design a generative interactive artwork for your portfolio! You are required to design a p5.js sketch that demonstrates your skills as a designer and programmer. This assignment is about creating something original and impressive that you can show on your personal website. NOTE: You do NOT need to create a website for this assignment, you simply need to create one p5.js sketch that could be showcased on a personal website.
What should I make?
We expect most students will make an interactive artwork. However, if you have any ideas for something similar that allows you to satisfy all of the requirements of the brief (such as an interactive background or landing page) feel free to discuss this with your tutor.
Requirements of the Brief
· Interactive: User input of some kind, affects what is experienced by the user. Should the interaction be obvious or should it be subtle? Should the users be invited to play with your sketch or should they be surprised when they begin to investigate? Is the interaction meaningful in some way? Is this a good user experience?
· Algorithmic/Generative: The user should not be directly driving the result (e.g. click mouse, get circle), but instead user’s input drives some sort of process that affects the experience. How does your generative process relate to course theory? Can you explain and justify how your work is situated within the generative art/design discourse?
· Responsive: Your design should be compatible with varying window sizes, because the web does not come in one size. You can test your sketch with different canvas sizes. You can implement the windowResized event to create a responsive experience. Have you used relative values appropriately? How have you dealt with use-case scenarios that prevent your sketch from running as expected?
· Demonstrate your coding ability: Make use of the coding skills you have learned over the course. Have you made elegant and thoughtful applications of coding concepts? Does your design allow you to demonstrate your strengths as a programmer?
· Suitability for your personal portfolio: Your work should embrace something about your personal practice, goals or interests. Does the work communicate something about you to your audience? Will this sketch impress potential employers? Will this sketch impress your audience and gain you more followers in design or art communities?
· Suitability for web: Think about the context that your design will be placed in. Does it fit with the theme you have in mind for your website? Is it meant to be viewed alone or is it part of a larger design? Will it obscure or distract from other elements of the page? Does it run efficiently or does it take a long time to load?
NOTE: The suggested considerations above (styled in blue italics) are general examples. While some may be applicable to your work, others may not be relevant. They should not be used as a definitive checklist. They should act as a guide to get you thinking about considerations that are specific to your code, design and concept.
What do I submit?
· A zip file with your sketch
· A design rational (maximum of 500 words) as a pdf
Programming Proficiency (criterion A)
· Look for ways to integrate the coding concepts you’ve learnt throughout the unit (although don’t use concepts unnecessarily, elegant and thoughtful uses of coding concepts are more important than squeezing them all in).
· Surprise us with something technically sophisticated or awesome code-wise.
· Show us that you’ve understood the code you’ve written through comments and sensible variable naming.
· Acknowledge and comment on any and all code sources that you’ve incorporated or been inspired by.
Design Quality (criterion B)
· Your sketch should have a target aesthetic, some kind of mood, style, feel or vibe that you want it to evoke in your users.
· Clearly and concisely explain (in the ‘Design Rationale’ PDF) the choices you’ve made, what you were inspired by, and the aesthetic you were aiming for.
· Explain your approach to the design brief and justify your solutions.
Design Creativity (criterion C)
· Make it original! This unit is all about creative code, and now’s your chance to make something awesome that reflects you as a designer!
· A word about originality: you now possess all the skills you need to re-create Flappy Bird, Angry Birds, or any other bird-based casual game you know and love. That’s not forbidden, but re-creating your favourite design is in no way original. Make sure its originality is crystal clear. And no: Flappy Pig, Diggy Bird, and Flingy Pig are not meaningfully original.
· Explain how you have integrated one or more of the theories and concepts discussed in the lectures (or lecture videos). Engage with the discourse of topics such as ‘generative art’, ‘cybernetics and human/machine creative behaviours’, ’emergence’, etc.