Our Process and Idea:
When it came to choosing an idea/path to go for this project, we ended up wanting to pursue something that had to do with artists, more specifically, something that could show off an artist’s work in a unique way, unlike current means. Some of our earlier ideas involved utilizing soundwaves and color in our Adobe Aero environment to really show off the connection between the self and art. Another early idea was an AR version of a museum, one focused on showcasing traditional artists. Images below show some of our tinkering regarding these prior ideas before we settled on our final piece.
The images above showcase a little bit of our work on the museum idea, specifically an early version of an adobe aero environment and a 3d modeled stanchion we made in Blender, which was to imitate the gold/silver and velvet ones often used in front of famous art pieces.
Our final idea, in comparison to these two early pieces, was almost like a combination of ideas, we wanted to focus on a musician to create a more unique aero environment that would showcase physical things such as words and images but also use their music in the background to help create an atmosphere. Furthermore, to continue with this idea we wanted to create an environment that felt like the artist’s music, as we thought that this was much more intriguing and personal than using a museum-style space.
And this idea’s name is Sonder.
The Digital Side of Sonder:
These ideas came together to form a dancing meadow and a vibrant sunsetting sky with quaint wooden walls displaying our chosen artist – Leon Thomas – as well as his work, images of him, and links to a variety of pieces about him or with him in it ranging from articles to music to an interview. We felt that this environment embodied his work and created a positive and calming atmosphere in which an individual could listen to Leon’s work and learn more about him as a person. This goes beyond just a way to spread their music; it also acts as a way to show who they are, allowing people to grasp Leon’s story significantly better. This Aero environment provides a new means for artists to express themselves and show off their music, and we can’t wait to see how AR develops in the future. The process for our Aero Environment is below.
The Physical Side of Sonder:
When it came to the physical side, we were considering many things but settled on something that ties into the musical realm, this being CDs and, more specifically, a Mixtape. We thought that this idea was quite a fun juxtaposition in comparison to the high-tech nature of Adobe Aero, and ties into the fact that Leon’s musical journey started more than a decade ago. For the CD we utilized the maker space to help us create a case that could hold an NFC card which we chose to use over a QR code to get to our Adobe Aero Environment. But it wasn’t purely for the NFC card, we made sure to add a lot of character to the case and to the contents within it creating a mixtape-esque version of Leon’s first studio album Electric Dusk which was released just a few months ago. We believe that this was a unique way to show off the artist’s work acting both at a way to access the Aero Environment but also as a talking point of its own. The process for our CD Case is shown below.
How it came together:
Now that we’ve looked at both the digital and physical aspects of Sonder, it’s important now to see how they connect. Instead of utilizing a traditional QR code to get to the Aero Environment we ended up using NFC cards as we thought it would be a unique way to bridge the digital and physical aspects and in our testing has created a somewhat seamless transition, allowing for a compelling idea to continue with very little interruption from the CD case to the Adobe Aero Environment. The process of figuring out the NFC cards was quite quick, by writing the Adobe Aero link onto it, it could now be used just like a QR code would be, this was really nice to see as it is both quite cool and very practical for this project. Here is an example of how it works:
Now that we’ve gone through the different pieces we will now demo the Aero Environment! (Aero Link – https://adobeaero.app.link/OQijYiVRkFb)
What Sonder could be:
Before we end we just wanted to speak a little on our idea. From the start, we wanted to create something for the artists of the world, and we believe something like this could be used on a wider scale. If we were to implement a project like Sonder we would most likely start here at the academy and expand outward to USC and beyond. We hope that our project and presentation today were able to elucidate the value of creativity and also as the name Sonder suggests the importance of understanding the depth and complexity of the lives of all. Thank you!
Reflections:
Dom – For me, this project was fun because of how open-ended it was. I had a great group that was really symbiotic and worked well together. I got a chance to learn more about aero from my teammates as well as learn about NFC cards which was particularly interesting to me. I was in charge of the physical element and got to try a lot of new things. Laser cutting the plastic was hard to stabilize the piece as well as calibrate it just right as we only had one try. I got to experiment with fabrics and creating a whole experience with just a few square inches of fabric. It was physically limiting but encouraged me to approach it from a different perspective. Purposely roughing up the CD in order to give it an authentic feeling was interesting. It was difficult to cut the fabric perfectly as well as the paper to fit well but after several tries I got it. I’m confident that I would be able to use the skills learned in this project and create something similar on my own for the future.
Max – This Final Project felt like the culmination of all of the work we’ve done across the semester, and I’m really glad I was able to utilize a variety of the knowledge I’ve gained over the last few months. I had a fantastic time with this project and am happy I was able to work with Aero again and even try my hand at 3D modeling once more. I really enjoyed getting to do music-based stuff during this project and had a great time working with the team to create our final product. I believe there is room for me to grow in regards to my knowledge of physical making especially laser cutting and 3d printing and those are pieces I feel less comfortable with and thus have not personally used to their fullest extent. Overall though I had a great time with this project and with the class and can’t wait to utilize the 3d skills we’ve learned moving forward.
Samia – Overall, I greatly enjoyed this project. I was able to work with Aero in depth and experiment with adding various animations to different picture components. The hardest part was definitely navigating the amount of animations used throughout the space because it made the software slow down a lot, which ultimately slowed down the creation of the space. However, after deleting certain items and combining others, I was able to combat this to the best of my ability and eventually finish the space! While our group began with an AR idea that was more abstract, I’m really proud of how our museum-based visual came out!