Resume, Writing, and Research

Resume

Design and Media Critique

The Uncanny in Avatar: The Last Airbender

An examination of an unusual use of the uncanny in traditional 2D animation in Avatar: The Last Airbender. It manages to be appropriately scary for its target audience and effectively uses elements of the uncanny without relying on the eeriness of stop-motion or photorealism to play upon making the familiar strange using color, insectoids, and the concept of “face-stealing”. October 2019.

Color, Nuance, and Trust in Through the Woods

An analysis of Emily Carrol’s graphic novel Through the Woods and how her story choices rely on previously established visual and comic design to put trust and audience interpretation in the readers to understand the nuances of her work. December 2019.

The Mythology of the Afterlife in Limbo and Journey

Interpretations of an afterlife abound in most religious traditions. It is a universal experience to be curious about what happens when we die and answers to this question have been addressed by the religious and areligious alike. Limbo and Journey both subtly rely on theological and religious aesthetics to explore the idea of an afterlife throughout their stories deliberately leaving room for interpretation and creating a more personal experience. October 2020.

Automation

            “Automation||自動化”, replicates both the Japanese and English announcements of the Tokyo train line audio prompts. Even though the artist statement claims that the piece is reminiscent of poetry, it serves better as an example of absurdist reproduction of an automated system. This is especially true given the context of the original inspiration; hypercorrected Japanese and poorly translated English versions of that source text. April 2021.

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Research

AR Adventure Proposal

AR Adventure is an interactive educational experience that relies on tangibility and physicality to aid teachers in creating a memorable learning experience. It draws on Augmented Reality (AR) by means of Max8 to add “monsters” to a real-time video of the participant. The goal was to create something accessible for teachers that can be implemented in the classroom while relying on embodiment to keep students engaged in learning. May 2020.

Newspapered Room Research Design Project

A breakdown of the research design, hypotheses, and background information regarding the “Newspapered Room” interactive fiction game. December 2020.