Creative Mode

 Creative     Today I tried an exercise called: Creative Constraints. Here's how it works: Pick a totally random limitation (like: only 3 words per sentence, or every character has to wear a hat). Use that constraint to design a story idea, character, or game mechanic. See how the limitation forces you to be more inventive. My Constraint: The entire game world is underwater, but electricity doesn’t exist. Alright, so I imagined a game world where humans (or humanoid creatures) live in submerged cities—like huge domes, coral structures, or mobile jellyfish pods—but they’ve never discovered electricity. No lights. No computers. No zapping things to death with sci-fi guns. So how do they function? Bioluminescence becomes currency. Some rare sea creatures naturally glow, and people harvest their light in jars or embed them into tools. Communication is done through conch-shell radios powered by compressed air and vibration—like watery walkie-talkies. Tran...

My Journey as a Designer      Seeing as my journey as a designer is still on going, my story will project into the future I'm working towards. And now to: The Beginning:     My design journey started in middle school, almost a decade ago, this is when my brain was in full creativity mode. I didn't get to take art class until my 8th grade year so little 6th grade me had to learn how to improve my drawing skills all on my own. Now, realistically, my design journey didn't start until a few years later, toward the beginning of high school. However, I consider my middle school years as my creative awakening. It was at this time when I created my favorite original character, first named Bulb and later changed to Lipsoidal. If you couldn't tell he's has light based powers and his "new" name, Lipsoidal, is based off special, super powerful pieces of theatrical lighting equipment called ellipsoidal. Where was I going with this you ask? You see one of my biggest rea...

 Instructions: Campaign Story Arc Planning:  Choose a cause or product you are passionate about and outline a  campaign  that uses the Launch–Build–Sustain–Reflect framework. Identify the campaign’s goal (e.g., to promote a new app or to raise awareness for animal adoption). Write down ideas for each phase of the campaign: 1. Launch:  Describe what the inciting incident or teaser will be – perhaps a striking poster, a viral hashtag, or a kickoff event – and what story angle it introduces. 2. Build:  Outline 2–3 follow-up content pieces or events that add to the narrative. How will you keep people curious and engaged? (For instance, short videos revealing more about the story, or testimonials that escalate the emotional involvement.) 3. Sustain:  Propose an interactive element or community engagement (like a challenge, contest, or Q&A) to maintain momentum. How will you encourage your audience to participate in the story? 4. Reflect:  Plan the ...

 Instructions: Design Your Own Story Arc:  Choose a medium (e.g. a short comic strip or a 1-minute animation) and sketch out a complete story arc. Begin by defining the exposition (who, where), then identify a conflict or inciting incident that kicks off the rising action. Plan a clear climax – the high point of tension or emotion – and a resolution that gives closure. Pay attention to your  emotional arc : under each segment of your outline, note how you want the audience to feel (curious, excited, anxious, relieved, etc.).  Create a simple storyboard or outline illustrating each phase of the arc.  Afterward, review it to see if the character undergoes any change (a mini character arc) and if a theme is suggested by the end. This exercise will help you practice constructing a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end that work together to impact the audience. My comic strip      For this assignment, I did a comic strip of a man living in the ap...

Creative     Today I tried a exercise called "The Product Pitch from Another World". Here's How It Works: Pick a completely normal object from real life. Pretend you’re a salesperson from a fantasy, sci-fi, or alien world trying to sell it. Explain what it is, how it works, and why it’s revolutionary in that world—even if it’s totally mundane to us. The object I chose: Umbrella My Setting: A medieval fantasy realm where weather is controlled by angry sky spirits. “Behold! The Skydome of Calmtide! ” Are you tired of being drenched by the relentless wrath of the Cloud Lords? Sick of soggy scrolls and damp tunics ruining your market strolls? Then rejoice, traveler, for the Guild of Unorthodox Inventions presents: the Skydome of Calmtide ! Forged from the hide of a celestial bat and bound with flexible bones of the Wind Serpent, this elegant dome-shaped shield springs forth at your command. With the mere push of a button—yes, BUTTON!—the Skydome expands, creati...

Keeping Happy Homes with Korky     Korky became a vendor for Home Depot back in 1992 in a campaign to, strengthen retail partnerships, promote american manufacturing and supplier diversity and just boost their popularity overall. They did invent the modern flapper plunger after all and they wanted people to know it. They were able to complete these objectives in a variety of ways. Like 1. CEO  Rhonda Sullivan preformed a Q&A style interview for the company 2. Testimonials about the Beehive plunger, fill valve install videos, and service experiences provide real‑world usage narratives. 3. The Home Depot feature recounts how in 1954, Lavelle Industries introduced the patented flapper—replacing the cumbersome ball and lift arm system.  4. On top of the last one, they also mention that their manufacturing facility is in the use, specifically Wisconsin

 Instructions: Mini Narrative Panels.  Think of a  simple everyday scenario  – for example, “running late for class,” “losing and finding a pet,” or “preparing for a school presentation.” Your task is to  tell that story in 3–5 frames or panels, without using any text  (imagine it like a short comic strip or storyboard). Step 1:  Identify the  story elements  in your scenario. Who is the  character  (maybe a student, a pet owner)? What is the  setting  (a dorm room, a park, a classroom)? What’s the  conflict  or problem (alarm didn’t go off, the pet ran away, stage fright)? What emotions will you convey (panic, sadness, excitement)? And what’s the  resolution  (they catch the bus just in time, find the pet at the neighbor’s, deliver a successful presentation)? Jot these down. Step 2:   Sketch the panels.  Panel 1 should set up the character and setting clearly. Panel 2 (and 3, if using more) s...

Instructions: Choose an abstract idea or theme (for example:  time, freedom, anxiety, hope, or teamwork ). Your task is to represent this idea in a single image using metaphor or symbolism – without relying on text. Start by brainstorming: list objects, scenes or animals that you associate with the idea. Pick one approach and sketch it out or create a simple digital collage. For instance, if your concept is “time flies,” you might draw a clock with wings like a butterfly. If your theme is “brainstorming ideas,” you might show a human brain as a literal storm cloud with bolts of lightning (insights) striking. Be as imaginative as possible – even surreal combinations can work (like  “hope”  as a tiny green sprout growing out of a concrete pavement). After creating your image, write a brief sentence or two explaining the metaphor or symbols you used. This exercise will train you to turn concepts into visuals and ensure that the meaning can be inferred by others. Share your m...

    Project Collage      For this exercise, I am to make a collage of my early projects, find patterns in colors, themes and how each feel. Then I have to ask a friend or classmate what they think my style is. Finally, I am to create a list of 3 things I want to emphasize more in future projects. Things I noticed     The most commonly used colors in my work are red and black. Other than that my color pallet was pretty lucrative. One of the most important things I noticed is that when present with the option to pick my projects theme, I typically settle for something anime related or something in the realm of fiction. Things I want to work on     There are quite a few things I want to change/improve for future projects. Firstly, I want to move away from the "childish" things I typically do for projects. Secondly, I would like to expand my colors pallet a little bit more and give red and black a bit of a break. Finally, I want to improve the ov...

Turning Data into a Story Launched in 2016, Spotify Wrapped is an annual campaign that transforms a user’s listening habits into a visually engaging story. Each December, Spotify users are presented with a personalized experience: top songs, favorite genres, most-listened-to artists, and total minutes streamed — all packaged in an interactive slideshow. The campaign doesn’t just summarize data — it turns it into a moment of celebration and self-expression. Spotify Wrapped has become a highly anticipated cultural event that dominates social media feeds, especially among Gen Z and Millennials. It’s an outstanding example of how a brand can use storytelling through design and interactivity to connect deeply with its users. Objective Spotify’s goal was to: Celebrate and retain existing users by making them feel seen and valued. Encourage social sharing to attract new users through word-of-mouth. Reinforce brand identity as playful, personalized, and community-driven. T...

Understanding extremes For one of this weeks exercises, our task was to draw a 3 panel comic strip showing a character being presented a problem and then a solution. Here's what I drew: In this story, the man is really dirty and smells really bad so he takes a shower and cleans himself up. In the dramatic ending the shower chisels his jawline and he becomes super cool, in the normal version he stays normal but doesn't stink anymore which makes him happy. This exercise helped me to better understand when and how to dramatize a scene effectively. In the future, I can use this technique to make seemingly boring scenes or moments a lot more exciting.

 Island of Unimaginable Horrors     This is a story of how a group of 3 friends find themselves on an island full of demons, monsters, and dinosaurs alike. The threat of death is around every corner as the gang tries to find a billionaire’s wife on a seemingly normal island in the pacific when they find out the island is not only full of unimaginable horrors but they have 7 days to find her and leave or they will be trapped forever. Design choices     I decided to redo our horror movie poster project from our intro class, where I did a poster based off a horror story I made for a DND style campaign I was designing for my friends. I that poster I used a lot of black & red so I decided to stick with that to keep the eerie feeling. However, for this new poster I decided to go for a more “artsy” approach. Similarly to the first poster I decided to reference the ending of the campaign, where my friends are stuck in a seemingly abandoned office building that is ho...

 Creative Today I decided to do an exercise called "Genre Jump", h ere’s how it works: Take a story, character, or idea you already like. Change the genre entirely. See how that new genre reshapes everything about it. For this one, I used: Spider-Man → But reimagined as a character in a gothic horror story. Here’s how that played out in my brain: Peter Parker is now a reclusive scientist living in a fog-covered Victorian city, doing morally questionable spider experiments in a crumbling tower. Instead of being bitten, he creates an elixir derived from rare venomous spiders—and it slowly twists his body and mind. His “webs” aren’t high-tech, they’re organic , gross, and pulsing—something out of Frankenstein meets The Fly . Villains like the Green Goblin become literal monsters, maybe former nobles transformed by their own scientific ambition. The city fears Peter—some call him a protector, others whisper he’s cursed. MJ is now a fearless investiga...

The Final Battle Against the King of Curses     This is a poster I made for a JJK themed DND campaign I made for my friends. I've talk about this battle in the past and the challenges that came with preparing for it. However, today I will be discussing the story and design choices behind this poster. Firstly: Design Choices I want to start off by mentioning Sukuna (the man faded into the background). I could've had him front and center but decided to add him into the background to show his looming presences. I also decided to make him large to add to this effect. Next I want to talk about the silhouettes of the people as well as the marks seemingly floating in mid air. These "marks" are actually slashes created by Sukuna's Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine and the people (these representing my friends) got caught in it and are getting massacred by the technique. This is to further show Sukuna's overwhelming power and violent nature. It is for this reason I d...

     This time I decided to switch it up and try a creative thinking exercise called “The Superpower Swap.” Here’s how it works: You take a classic superpower. You give it to someone totally unqualified to use it. Then, you build a story or character around the chaos that would unfold. For this round, I picked: Invisibility And gave it to: A person with zero impulse control. Here’s what happened in my head: This person immediately becomes the most unpredictable prankster alive. Not because they want to be evil—just because they think every single idea they have is hilarious. They’re invisible, but not silent—so now they’re constantly caught snickering in the middle of their own stealth attempts. They’d use their power for the dumbest stuff: stealing snacks from convenience stores, sneaking into concerts, or messing with politicians for fun. But eventually, the power backfires. Maybe they forget how to turn visible again. Maybe people start bla...