Mars Mission Experience Design
In the summer of 2017, the Design Team at EdLab was tasked to plan and produce an inaugural event for the grand opening of the Smith Learning Theater, which is an experimental multimedia space for education research, located within the Gottesman Libraries at Teachers College. Under the guidance of the director of the library, the Design Team iteratively prototyped and created an immersive Mars-themed event, in which participants were guided through a series of playful activities that provided small nuggets of information about Mars and space travel.
The main objective of the project was to showcase the full potential of the space while providing a fun interactive experience for the prospective users of the Theater. It was a large collaborative effort among different teams at EdLab, including the Design Team, Services Team and Media Team, and some help from the Publishing Team.
My main role in this project were spearheading the visual design, producing signages, insignia and game pieces, and setting up the space. In addition, I participated in some of the test runs as an audience to closely observe other participants in order to learn the pain points.
Design Process
Insignia Design
I was responsible for selecting a typeface to be used throughout the event and designing the insignias for the activities. These insignias were an important factor that helped the participants get excited at the beginning of the event and be ready to role-play an astronaut on a mission to Mars. The designs were used in the signage, game pieces, props and projections. I paid particular attention to selecting four distinctive colors that worked for colorblind audience as well, as the colors were an important element in one of the activities during the event.
Below is the final set of insignias.
Production of Badges
Once the design was done, I was tasked to produce the physical badges. I experimented with different sizes and coloring methods. The final badges were made out of acrylic sheets. It was a labor-intensive process that involved careful planning of laser cutting, masking and spray painting. The badges were attached to the participants’ clothes using magnets.
Design and Production of Signages
Another key task I had was to design and produce various signages for the event. Based on the visual design I had developed for the insignias, I created banners for the “launch bay” and signs for each “spaceship.”
Creating the Game Pieces
The activities during the event included a collaborative card game and a survival board game. My task was to refine and produce the game maps, pieces and cards. The game pieces were created using spray-painted plywood and laser cutter. The maps and cards were created using the plotter and laser cutter.
"Window" View
Part of the Mars Mission experience included a view of the Mars landscape from within the hypothetical spaceship. I was tasked with designing a "spaceship window" for this scene, so that the participants would feel like they were inside a spaceship that just landed on Mars. The challenge was getting the scale right, as the projection spanned an entire wall of the Theater. After a few trial and errors, I was able to make a window that aligned with the physical elements of the theater, such as the doors and the exit signs.
