The purpose of this project was to design a futuristic weather report using Adobe AfterEffects. I was told to imagine being in the distant future where one can simply walk up to a spot and call up a weather report. Highs, lows, and climate conditions for 4 cities over a 3 day weekend were required. From the information structures of location, alphabet, time, category, and hierarchy, I needed to pick three structures to use motion transition from a blank screen to four random cities then into three different structures then back to a blank screen. Once on screen, none of the core data was allowed disappear until then end.
With this context in mind, I began brainstorming ideas for the report and created storyboards for the organizational structures of location, hierarchy, and category. Then, I composed my ideas in AfterEffects. I challenged myself with new techniques of animation. The organizational structures were sequenced in a way so that the structure was easily recognizable. The context of the assignment formed many aspects of the design. I wanted the viewer to be pleased aesthetically while keeping the information structures evident. I learned how to add and edit audio and video files in Aftereffects while making the project. This first video is just the weather report.

This video shows the weather report in the project’s context.

The object of this assignment was to prepare for an adventure in an urban landscape. I needed to pick items to take with me that could be useful, along with a bag to keep it all in. I was prompted to envision various scenarios that I may encounter on the trip. I carefully considered each item I chose and how it relates to me as a person. After choosing all my items and bag, I needed to photograph everything individually and arrange them onto a 17X22 inch poster. There was no particular layout requirements except having all items on the poster. I used Photoshop to make the poster. I used new techniques to separate objects from their backgrounds in a photo. I also learned about resolution and color profile.

Location, Alphabet, Time, Category, and Hierarchy are all organizing principles in design. This project required me to design 5 short movies. They needed to start and end with a blank screen. I was allowed to use any typefaces, graphics, or color choices. I needed to think like a motion designer, which entailed choreographing information in a creative way. AfterEffects was used for the animations. This was my first experience with Aftereffects. I made storyboards for each video that showed the sequence of events. After completing the storyboards, I began to piece together my ideas onto Aftereffects. Through trial and error, I learned how to manipulate objects in three dimensions. While making the videos, I thought about how the information would be received to a viewer. I wanted to successfully organize the elements to their respective structures and make my intent evident to the viewer. My intention was to make the structures easily recognizable, and to make the videos visually interesting to watch. The first video shows the organizational structure of location.

This video shows the structure of alphabet. I learned how to change the color of text in After Effects, which was useful to distinguish the alphabetical order.

This video shows time. Here I chose the clock design because I thought it would be more interesting than if I had done a calendar. I learned about anchor points and rotation while making this video.

This video shows category.

This video shows hierarchy. The font and color choices were made to indicate wealth. The hierarchy starts at the top with the richest person, down to the least wealthiest person.

For this assignment, I had to show my understanding and prove my capability of animating objects in three dimensions. Each of the squares show a different form of manipulation in Adobe Aftereffects.

The goal of this project was to create a mental map of a decision. There are pros and cons to any major decision, and through this project I wanted to visually display the internal process of the way to a particular decision. This map shows the process of making a decision on where to go for vacation. The choice were either the beach or the mountains. For the beach and mountains, I made a list of pros and cons. Then, with Adobe Illustrator I made icons for pros and cons. A decision is eventually made and is indicated ny the green light at the top.