_01 Paint ‘n’ Play
client: National Gallery of Art
role: producer
software: HTML web app
description: Paint ‘n’ Play is a painting app designed to highlight the different brush techniques of artists featured in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC for the museum’s younger audiences. It features handcrafted brush stamps created and scanned from physical paper markings. The app is playable on NGA’s website, or on the gallery floor itself.
Design questions:
How can we make digital painting still feel textural?
Which common paint program tools (color, opacity, size, eraser) are essential, and which are more superfluous?
How might we direct kids’ attention to the educational elements of the app while still keeping things fun and creative?
_02 Resonant
client: CyArk, Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, Hopivewat Learning Center, Hopi Public Library
role: producer, game designer, UX/UI designer
software: Meta Quest VR experience built in Unity
description: Resonant uses a digital model of Hopi cultural sites in Wupatki National Monument in AZ and Mesa Verde National Park in CO to create a historical interactive that explores Hopi history and culture among a changing climate. The interactive is aimed at Hopi youth looking to learn more about their heritage, and was funded by the NEH. The interactive is playable on the Meta Quest store.
Design questions:
What’s the most respectful way to share Hopi cultural knowledge for both Hopi and non-Hopi audiences?
How might we design tutorials and control systems for an audience that isn’t seasoned in VR environments?
How do we incorporate spoken Hopi language into the experience?
_03 Bajillions
client: Marsico Institute for Early Learning
role: producer
software: HTML games and mobile app
description: Bajillions is a series of early math learning games for 3-5 year-olds with a robust feedback and leveling system designed to give students challenging enough tasks for wherever they are on their math learning journey.
Design questions:
What variables can we subtly tweak to increase the difficulty of a question within a given math topic?
How do we create feedback that reinforces concepts, but doesn’t over-explain the solution to a problem?
How do we make different math tasks feel connected within a narrative world?