Japanese Philosophy on "Death and AfterLife"
EXHIBIT EXPERIENCE
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EXHIBIT EXPERIENCE
Why Japanese exhibit?
I'm passionate about traditional art forms and, in my previous role, worked closely with Indian arts and crafts. There, I also discovered Sumi-E and Ukiyo-E, traditional Japanese art styles, which fascinated me. For this project, while exploring different themes, Ukiyo-E’s depiction of death and the afterlife caught my attention, inspiring me and my team to research further and develop our final topic
My role and timeline
Interaction Designer | 4 weeks
Project Goal
To design spatial interactions for a new museum exhibit experience with multiple digital and physical touchpoints.
Project Overview
Final Solution | The Exhibit
Exihit design
Entrance
Serves as a medium to put our users into the context of death
The Exhibit LAYOUT
This is the layout for our exhibit. It's divided into 4 parts viz. the Entry, the Death Phase, the Transition Tunnel, and the Afterlife Phase.
Death
Showcases different artifacts depicting death according to the Japanese culture. It also has interactive display kiosks to explore more details about the artifacts.
Transition Tunnel
Separates the Death phase and the Afterlife Phase. It has the fire sparks interaction through cherry blossom petals.
Afterlife
Houses artifacts depicting Japanese afterlife beliefs and the Obon festival. It also has multiple interactive display kiosks and Lantern Interactivity
Alright, let's dive into the individual design elements. We'll break down each part, starting with...
Alright, let's dive into the individual design elements. We'll break down each part, starting with...
Interaction 1 | Entrance
Cherry Blossom Path
Interaction 2 | Death and Afterlife Phases
Interactive Display Kiosks
Interaction 3 | Transition Tunnel
Fire Sparks walls
Interaction 4 | Afterlife Phase
Lantern pool
The Interactions
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Simply 'Click' to see the interactions
The Interactions
Personal Contribution
I also helped in overall research, conducted 2 interviews with employees and visitors in a museum, and helped in drafting the layout of our new exhibit
Where I made a difference
Interaction 1
I came up with the idea of using cherry blossom trees as a metaphor for death. My teammates created the artworks, but I was the one who suggested the interactive floor and wall concept.
Interaction 2
Conceptualized interaction 2. Created 3D models, GIFs of the kiosk display and rendered them using Fusion 360
Interaction 4
Helped in ideation of Interaction 4 and created the 3D renders and GIFs for the interactions. Also, inspired from Sumi-E paintings, designed the signages
Personal Significance :)
I just wanted to say I had an amazing time working on this project
Interaction Design
Besides creating beautiful and user-friendly UIs, I’m also really passionate about Interaction Design, which led me to pursue a Master’s in HCI. This project is special to me because it’s focused on interactions. It involved understanding different user groups, cultures, and contexts to design interactions that are not only fun but also accessible to most. We put a lot of thought into each interaction, testing them with various users to ensure the final design worked well for all.
Challenges
My favorite part of this project was finding the right balance between respect and playful interactions. It was challenging but also fun and exploratory. Since death is a sensitive topic, we focused on creating interactions that reflected the neutral tone of Japanese philosophy while still being enjoyable for users, without triggering strong emotions.
The Case Study
Exihit design
Explore the whole process, from setting the context to research, design iterations, and the final showcase.
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