Project #2

NIX NUX, INTERACTIVE RETAIL EXPERIENCE, 2017

Projection Mapping, Illustration, Stop-Motion Animation

10 ft × 10 ft

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DIRECTIONS: Touch the illustrations on the easel that are conductive and they will reveal what inspired the patterns. 

Nix Nux is an interactive retail experience where shoppers can connect with the clothing and videos that inspired the clothing patterns and motifs. As part of a larger thesis exhibition showcasing Nix Nux, a lifestyle brand, this interactive elements helps to engage the shoppers (especially the little shoppers) as they peruse the goods in the shop. The intention is to make a connection with the shopper and increase their chances of purchasing and becoming collectors of this line of products. 

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For the second project for Emerging Media, I wanted to create an interactive retail experience for my children's clothing line that I am working on for my thesis, nix nux. I wanted to create a scenario where the presentation would be part of a larger pop-up shop and/or trade show space. When I shop for clothing, especially kids clothing, I always think about the design and what may have inspired them- so I wanted to tell my customers and viewer that story. 

Accompanied by playful music, the three short stop-motion animation advertisement spots are meant to show the vibe of the lifestyle brand visually and through animation. During the researching phase of the project i because absolutely obsessed with conductive paint and had to give it a try in this project. Equally, projection mapping became something that I felt strongly drawn to, especially after seeing examples of clothing line projection mapped during fashion shows. 

The first thing I did was design three dresses (patterns and illustrations) that were inspired by the handmade folkloric dolls that I make. One dress was Belsnickel (PA Dutch Santa type of character), Penny Olive (a character from my book that teach's kids about PA Dutch culture) and finally Wassernix (water nymph or mermaid). These illustrations/patterns would be projected onto the dresses continuously during the installation. I decided it would be fun to have them animated ever so slightly, so Belsnickel's eyes shift, the hex signs spin like pin wheels in the wind and the mermaid blinks and wags her tail. 

Second step in the process was to shoot and create stop motion animations of my kids (who are the inspiration) interacting with the dolls in places that inspire the line (Manatawny Creek, Oley and PAGCHC, Kutztown). They did a great job - and I got a ton of footage. Since I had never done animation or stop-motion before, I first watched many tutorial on choosing speed of footage and details like that that were crucial to grasp while creating the look I wanted. It took a long time editing the photos, compiling them and setting them to the perfect music. It took several days to edit the footage and create short advertisements for the brand. 

The next step was to take the illustrations from the three dresses and apply them in conductive paint to a wood board that would be the trigger for the short films when touched by viewer. I carefully created a layout of the three illustrations, keeping them close to the edge of the panel. Once painted I attached copper, conductive tape to the edge of the paint and attached the clips to the copper tape and arduino.

Finally setting up the space and three dresses, time to mask the three shapes for the projection mapping. This step was extremely tricky but very cool when completed. Once this was mapping Josh helped me gather all the elements into processing and code them to work as I envisioned. There were a few bumps in the code road, but we fixed most of them and things worked beautifully.  

Finally I added a vinyl banner and a set up that felt more like a retail shop then a sterile space. 

For this project I stretched myself the most of all of my graduate school courses. I learned about coding and processing. I learned about stop-motion animation and projection mapping. I have a vision about interactive retail experiences and I think that vision can lend itself nicely in my pursuits of licensing opportunities in the future. I received a lot of great feedback from viewers and it was amazing to see this concept come to life!