Simone Downie (R) and Kayla Lehman (L) pictured here are both Graduate Students in the OSU Department of Design. They will present their thesis work at the 36th Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum Friday, March 4th, 2022. 

Beyond the Text: Encouraging Learners to Explore Narrative in Multimodal Ways Through Gameplay and Tactile Touch
Simone Downie, MFA candidate, Department of Design

Abstract: For some individuals, a singular focus on text-based representations simply doesn’t align with how they learn and share. Such students may come to view reading as a passive act that leaves no room for imagination or creative interpretation. Unsurprisingly, this view causes such learners to lose the motivation or desire to engage with text at all, a phenomenon known as aliteracy. The goal of my project is to design an interactive multiplayer game that encourages these aliterate learners to re-engage with stories in hands-on ways to help them recognize that their personal and creative ways of making meaning are valid. The game takes the form of a physical storybook that blends pop-up scenes with computer-projected elements. Players must work and communicate together to manipulate tactile objects and harness the ability of words within the story to solve puzzles and help guide the main character, Lucy, through a dark and mysterious forest. By encouraging learners to engage with narrative in multimodal ways, it’s my hope that players will develop an awareness of how multiple senses and modes contribute to our understanding and comprehension, which will in turn improve their confidence toward and enjoyment in literacy-related activities.

Self in Progress: Designing an Animated Mental Health Narrative Inspired by the Principles and Aesthetics of Surrealism
Kayla Lehman, MFA candidate, Department of Design

Self in Progress is an animated short film project that investigates how the aesthetics of Surrealism and Surrealist animation can be used as inspiration for visualizing a multimedia animated film centered around a woman’s journey with anxiety and mental illness. The film illustrates the protagonist’s experience with anxiety and her journey to a healthier mental state through acceptance and self-compassion. Surrealism was an art movement with a focus on dreams and the mind, which makes the art movement a great source of inspiration for visualizing the mental and emotional experiences in this animated mental health narrative. The film explores the relationship between aesthetics, narrative, and theme and how these elements combine and strengthen one another.