Current Sta
Tuition Guide: Changed the year, added new classes offered, removed unique #s, and moved the “last updated…” We want to possibly add “Registration begins April 8th” and “summer.utexas.edu”
Summer Course Banner: Still in the brainstorming stage, but leaning toward this layout:
Start: Oct 20th, 2023
To be Completed: N/A
Staff Guidance: De’sha
Project Description: I would create a new Figma tutorial based on Figma’s new feature and dive deep into how Figma can help designer/Web Dev to create digital prototype. In this tutorial, I would touch upon advanced Interaction flow inside Figma and variables for designers, dev mode for the collaboration with designers and web developers, and other small features such as Design Theme, Auto Layout and etc.
Dev Mode is a way to interact with Figma files, specifically designed with developers in mind. This mode is a way to reduce the friction in design handoff and allow for better communication and design implementation. You can toggle Dev mode on the right hand side of the top navigation or use the shortcut Shift + D
I find official document that introduce dev mode in the official website of Figma but there are repetitive steps repetitive and unclear description. I filter out some steps that we won’t use and create this tutorial to boost the collaboration between developers and designers.
For this tutorial I didn’t reply on the official document of the feature but create some of my own example in Figma.
Start: Noc 9th, 2023
To be Completed: N/A
Staff Guidance: De’sha
Client: Mike/LAITS
Project Description: Map created for the MEZ building, which the overall design should match the previously created Burdine map.
I finished the first draft of the campus map, indicating the MEZ hall on the campus by highligthing with bright orange. I also drew the floor plan for the first floor inside the MEZ hall.
After Thanksgiving break, I added on the label for room tour and parking slot for the visitors. Meanwhile, I integrated two assets into my spread so that all visitors could refer to this map to find our studio,
However, De’sha and I soon realized that the indication of office/studio is not that noticeable when the room is color-coded similarity. We noticed the wayfinding panel on the fourth floor and get inspired to only color code the destination.
We also found that it’ll be helpful to emphasize all entrance by added the 1st floor map/entrance on a 2rd floor map. The stairs could be identified as one possible entrance and therefore color-coded as grey.
Project: TBD Logo Update
Notes: Building a logo within a couple of hours, particularly with minimal design direction and reliance on a reference for direct inspiration, demanded a unique approach that balanced creativity with efficiency with this specific project. Luckily, I had a reference that served as a blueprint, offering a clear visual guide for structure and style. I experimented with different color schemes that were in relation to the site I was also building for this project. The client mentioned wanting to have color in the logo so I stuck with a color scheme that revolved around a blue color. Ultimately, I ended up choosing a logo that utilized one color, yet I believe this choice shows professionalism and something modern without appearing too convoluted.
Project: UTFC Green Screen
Notes: I worked on a UTCF green screen assignment I created myself. This sheet focused on anatomy and health vocabulary terms in French.
Project: UTFC Banner Redesign
Notes: I used some extra time in my shift to develop a redesign for the UTCF Banner. I discussed with a fellow STA, Princeton Tran, that the current banner appears outdated and difficult to read. How will students register what the city landmarks are if they are just introduced to the city? Another focus of this direction was to create a more efficient way to develop these deliverables. Using one image instead of three seems to be more cost and time effective as well. Below I made some iterations of some possible redesigns.
Project: Giving Feedback as a Project Manager/Art Director in Training
Notes:
The walk cycle rig is complete! I may go over and make more edits to it as I learn more on after effects but as of now, I’m really happy with the result!
There was a lot of trial and error with this project as I had to figure out what methods were not only best for the animation, but also more efficient.
First, I did the basic After Effects rigging of just parenting all the limbs together and using rotation to make the figure move.
While this workflow worked, there were efficiency problems regarding having to move the other limbs. My first problem was having to be more particular about leg placement as the foot kept passing through the ground. My second problem regarded having to animate all the limbs the same. It became a matter of me having to copy over values from every keyframe to make the walk cycle look clean. Overall, this workflow was fine, but became rather tedious.
I was recommended to look at this Linkedin Learning course specifically for After Effects animation.
There’s a tutorial that talks about using the puppet tool to just move limbs in place rather than having to place, limbs only using rotation. I was excited to use this method as it looked really easy, but it wasn’t a method that worked for my design unfortunately.
The movement looked unnatural and would bend at joints. The puppet tools seems more suited to rubber hose style characters so I’d have to go back and find a way to make my original workflow better
One thing my supervisor brought up that could help my animation significantly was to just animate one leg and arms at a time and just duplicate the animation, offset it, and place it behind the body to replicate multiple limbs. This seemed a lot simpler. While there was a bit of a workaround to figure out offset the limbs to match up the animation, it turned out to be the most effective and still obtained a good quality in the animation
I had a lot of fun with this project and learning about different After Effects methods I can use in the future!
Completion Status: Started on Oct 25
This week I completed a draft of my background that I’m doing for the KB research! I added on the following steps, shown through these images:
And then this is my final version so far:
I’m also excited to announce that my submission for the STA blog banner was chosen! I had a lot of fun making this background; I decided to go the route of “mentally I want to be here”, so now everyone’s caricatures gets a beach day field trip.
