WINDOWPANE
DIGITAL PRODUCT DESIGN, USER EXPERIENCE, CODE — FALL 2021 - SPRING 2022
WEBSITE -> WINDOWPANE.GLITCH.ME
Windowpane is an examination of the self through art historical cultural ties, to better understand myself and myself as part of the Asian American diaspora. Cultural artifacts align us with a cultural self and actual self, and we become desperate to cling to anything that ties us to our culture. There is an erasure associated with diaspora and a tension regarding righting previous violations of this erasure, wether it’s something stemming from the self or something realized in art history.
How do we express diasporic experiences? Through the dithering of images and illustrations, layering, and disconnection in transmitted communication, the value of memory and effects of nostalgia arise. Emphasis is placed on obscurity versus clarity, and a breaking of ties in connection with feelings of displacement that are common among the Asian American diaspora. This project aims to visualize these emotions and give joy through the act of discovering. Beyond the nostalgia lies an optimism in the movement of seeing and being able to retell these cultural narratives, yet there a stability and closure in realizing some of these disconnections.
FEATURED ON: PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN, BFA COMMUNICATIONS DESIGN CLASS OF 2022
How do we express diasporic experiences? Through the dithering of images and illustrations, layering, and disconnection in transmitted communication, the value of memory and effects of nostalgia arise. Emphasis is placed on obscurity versus clarity, and a breaking of ties in connection with feelings of displacement that are common among the Asian American diaspora. This project aims to visualize these emotions and give joy through the act of discovering. Beyond the nostalgia lies an optimism in the movement of seeing and being able to retell these cultural narratives, yet there a stability and closure in realizing some of these disconnections.
FEATURED ON: PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN, BFA COMMUNICATIONS DESIGN CLASS OF 2022
The foundational questions I wanted to answer with Windowpane are “How can we explore and bring out the specific narratives and histories associated with Chinese cultural objects?” and “How is the cultural self and actual self connected?"
My initial explorations consisted of more documentary and archival approaches, like editorial, where it was focused on historical background, and then the form of a spreadsheet, which provided similar information as the editorial approach, but felt more organized and had the ability to be interactive and express connectivity by hyperlinking to different cells.
My initial explorations consisted of more documentary and archival approaches, like editorial, where it was focused on historical background, and then the form of a spreadsheet, which provided similar information as the editorial approach, but felt more organized and had the ability to be interactive and express connectivity by hyperlinking to different cells.
I then shifted to a more interpretive approach by building on my previous work. Instead of putting so much focus on the past and how to fit the present into that box, I started asking what the present says about the past, and started exploring the idea through written anecdotes and illustrative elements, as well as beginning to experiment with filtering. The importance of connection felt more realized to me in this approach, so I continued with it.
The final iteration is a horizontal scrolling site, and through the dithering of images and illustrations, layering, and disconnection communication, the value of memory and effects of nostalgia arise.
The final iteration is a horizontal scrolling site, and through the dithering of images and illustrations, layering, and disconnection communication, the value of memory and effects of nostalgia arise.
