Thesis: Proposal Part 1
Updated: Sep 24, 2020
Introduction
Currently I am working on my thesis project for the Visual Communication Design program at Montclair State University. These series of blog post are meant to document my process and thoughts throughout this project. The project can be about anything I am interested or passionate about. Not only will this be challenging me to create a topic from what interests me and then explaining it through the eyes of a designer, but it will be challenging my ability to think critically and provide deeper meaning to my work.
Generating Ideas
The first step of this project was to find what interested me, or what I am passionate about. Being someone who tends to live in the moment, I never really think about what my interests are. So to do that I spent an entire week making lists of my interests and mind mapping to come up with at least three topics I would be interested in doing. I then had to think about how I could give it a unique angle to prevent it from being too broad.
The three topics I came up with are listed below.
#2 is the one that was chosen to work with.
1. Animation has been around for decades and illustration has been around for centuries. This world of 2D and 3D imagery that mankind has created not only provides entertainment but has influenced and documented many other aspects of our lives. How has it improved since the first animated cartoons? How do we as a species portray other cultures and economic issues through animation and illustration? How have we learned from each other to improve techniques that allow us to create these unique worlds and perspectives? It's not just a form of entertainment, it helps us see the world from a different point of view.
2. Recently I've began having an interest in gaming, as most people have. Everyone's experience is different though. Some may have started with the classic Nintendo consoles while others may have started with Xbox or PlayStation. There is always talk about a new game or console coming from the U.S. or Japan and we hear a lot about those two cultures but what about the other countries in the world? What are they're experiences like? How are game developers influenced by cultures around the world and how has it influenced us? Where did this all begin and what has been forgotten? I'd like to work on a project that visually answers these questions.
3. Dreaming is a mysterious but entertaining part of life. There are many theories and studies that believe it is connected to memory, creativity, and problem solving but there isn't a complete answer as to why we dream. Dreaming allows us to do many things such as emptying memories we don't need, thinking through a problem that needs to be solved, or it may give us an interesting story to tell. What fascinates me the most is everyone dreams differently or they may not dream at all. I would like to explore this topic more and create a visual representation that not only informs on how we all experience dreaming to an extent but portrays the feeling of dreaming as well.
What's Next?
After a painful week of trying to come up with ideas, I shared my three ideas mentioned above with my class. Turns out that they were too broad, as expected. Luckily I had help to get an idea of how to take my second topic and narrow it down to something a little more specific.
For the next two weeks I will be playing around with ideas that involve; the similarities and differences of the development of video games and consoles in Japan and the U.S., how the cultures and events of these countries have influenced video game development, the effects video games have on modern social skills, and trying to incorporate my relationship to the subject.