Speculative Mars Project - My Framer Site

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Speculative Mars Project

(Collaborative )

April 2021

Multidisciplinary

(Project description)

The "Speculative Mars Project" was a collaborative, multidisciplinary project where we dove into a speculative future of labor and society on Mars. The project's narrative centers on a new form of communication among the first generation of Martian children, gen I. This new language is a therapeutic exploration of familiar and alien sounds, a kind of expressive symphony used to navigate their world. The final output consisted of a video that captured our proposed world and an interactive installation that served as a physical representation of this form of Martian communication.

(Design challenge)

The main challenge was to translate a complex and conceptual world into a tangible and interactive experience. We had to ground the speculative future of labor on Mars in a deeply human narrative, communicating abstract ideas like emotional expression and community through non-traditional media. A key part of the challenge was to create a cohesive project that integrated a physical installation and an audiovisual narrative into a singular, compelling submission.

(The process)

The project began with a collective ideation phase where our team had long discussions, drawing inspiration from contemporary thinkers and short stories to craft our speculative world. During the creation phase, we all contributed in our own way, blending our different majors and skill sets. I collaborated with another design student to create a typeface from an AI experiment that synthesized an alien language from several Earth based languages. Other team members built an interactive alien musical structure that would produce different sounds when touched. This installation became the physical manifestation of our core ideas about Martian communication. I took the lead on documenting our world, experimenting with lighting, clothing, and performance art in a studio to capture the feeling of our world. I then photographed and edited this footage into the final video submission for the class.

(Key takeaways)

This project was a masterclass in multidisciplinary collaboration and speculative design. It was a crucial experience in learning how to build an entire world from a shared vision and then translate that vision into a tangible and powerful reality. The project provided me with invaluable skills in conceptual design, team-based problem-solving, and in using performance art and photography as a medium for storytelling.