Marley Mendez - Process Documentation and Reflection Paper
Marley Mendez - Process Documentation and Reflection Paper
Proposal 1:
Motion Graphics by Marley Mendez
Keywords:
Experimental, Graphic Design,
Motion Graphics, Skill building,
Video
Backgrounds and Motivation:
Motion graphics are under
explored here at UW-Madison and
the little experience in them has
had positive impacts on students
and has been fun. One class here
at UW-Madison offered a taste of
it, but there are no classes that
cover it specifically. Knowing
more about this topic could ben-
efit many graphic designers here
and this project would be a great
way to get them some more expe-
rience under their belts and add
some more projects to their port-
folios.
Summary:
This project will explore not
only what can be done when
using After Effects but how to ef-
fectively add movement to logos
or other typically static objects
that reside in the world of graphic
design. This could look like many
things, from creating my own logo
to add motion too or taking other
logos and adding motion to them
1
instead. It would be interesting to
try and add motion graphics to an
unfamiliar project so that it could
be explored more.
Audience:
The audience is future em-
ployers or other graphic design-
ers who don’t know much about
motion graphics. Showing design-
ers how motion can impact their
graphics could be a great learning
experience for them and help
them to think about their designs
a little deeper.
Precedent:
One project that comes to
mind is Netflix. Netflix’s logo is
the red N or just the word Netflix.
Most people who have used Net-
flix can hear and see the motion
that happens at the beginning of
a lot of shows or movies that are
on the streaming service. Color-
ful lines move backwards on the
screen to reveal the Netflix N.
This shows how impactful motion
graphics can be for people.
Another project that comes to
mind is a promotional video for
slack. It expertly uses the brand’s
colors to create a visual that goes
2
along with the story they are From there, I think it would be -Continue vectors
trying to tell to sell this product to good to delve into multiple ‘per- Timeline: • Wed Apr 5
its audience. Not only that, but it sonalities’ that motion graphics • Monday Feb 20th -Continue vectors
uses shapes that are like the ones can show off. It could even go as -Start selecting/making logos, • Mon Apr 10
someone would see when using far as doing a promotional video brands, etc. to animate. -Continue vectors
the application, tying the whole inspired by the slack one to really • Wed, Feb 22 • Wed Apr 12
thing together. It’s a great exam- give the project some extra ener- -Narrow selection, start story- -Continue vectors / start ani-
ple of what motion graphics can gy. boarding and sketching variations mating
do for brands. • Mon, Feb 27 • Mon Apr 17
Results or Outcomes: -Select sketches to move -Start animating
https://youtu.be/W8_tGC8pNvI The results of this project will forward with and start creating • Wed Apr 19
have educational value to those vectors -animating
who watch it and to me, seeing as • Wed Mar 1st • Mon Apr 24
I will be exploring motion graph- -Continue vectors -animating
ics in a way that I haven’t before. • Mon Mar 6th • Wednesday, April 26th
-Continue vectors -Finish animations
• Wed Mar 8th
-Start putting vectors in after-
effects
• Mon Mar 13th
-Continue animating
• Wed Mar 15
Approach and Methods: -Continue animating
For this project, I’ll be creating • Mon Mar 20
a video in Adobe After Effects. This -Finish up animating
video will present a topic while • Wed Mar 22
also showing off what motion -Select brand/logo for a pro-
graphics can do. The topic can motional video
vary, but from there, after show- • Mon mar 27
ing off the mechanics of motion -Sketch / storyboard
graphics, homing in on logo ani- • Wed mar 29
mations would be a great way to -Start vectors
show off branding personality. • Mon Apr 3
Marley Mendez - Process Documentation and Reflection Paper 3

Research Presentation 1
Netflix End Credits

https://youtu.be/IKhxRdN2UkQ https://youtu.be/Dk3n8MblyJY

• Very Strong with sound • Reflects movie: Playful and fun

• Play on old school television • Keeps viewers attention to the
screen even though there is no
more plot

Slack Apple

https://youtu.be/W8_tGC8pNvI https://youtu.be/66XwG1CLHuU

• Uses recognizable/ well integrat- • Important message made fun

ed shapes and engaging
• Simple but illustrative • Color used to show message and
• Brand colors its integration (Apple’s logo is usu-
• Animation isn’t limited to film or ally black or white, the addition of
television! the green leaf shows they are one
with their message)
Marley Mendez - Process Documentation and Reflection Paper 4

Proposal 2:
Graphic Design: The Game by Marley Mendez
Keywords:
About me, Educational, Exper-
imental, Games, Game Design,
Graphic Design, Motion Graphics,
Playful, Portfolio, Resume, Skill
building, Teaching, Video
Backgrounds and Motivation:
Design had a broad definition.
From interior design to design a
curriculum, its used in many dif-
ferent fields. While many of these
fields overlap, has there ever been
a overlapping of graphic design
and game design? This could be a
strong combination that changes
the game for designers every-
where.
Summary:
This project will explore game
design and graphic design as a
single unit. It will educate both
graphic designers and game de-
signers about the importance of
both fields and how strong they
can be, using myself as an exam-
ple. With the use of motion graph-
ics, game engines, and graphic
elements, I’ll walk designers
through the process of the impor-
tance of creativity.
Audience:
The audience is future em-
ployers or other graphic design-
ers who don’t know much about
motion graphics, game design,
or graphic design. Showing de-
signers and employers how these
things can impact their graphics
could be a great learning experi-
ence for them and help them to
think about their designs a little
deeper.
Precedent:
One project that comes to
mind are some games created
by Nicky Case. They are game
designer who has created a
handful of educational and nar-
rative based games about their
life. When looking at their work,
I looked specifically at https://
ncase.me/cos/ (Coming out simu-
lator) and https://ncase.me/trust/
(The Evolution Of Trust). These
games do a great job at sharing
information, being engaging,
and holding the player’s inter-
est. These are great examples of
getting information across in a fun
way. https://ncase.me/
Another thing that comes to
mind is graphic design games!
• Mon Apr 3
This article has a bunch of great Timeline: -Build the game!
examples that teach about graph- • Monday Feb 20 th • Wed Apr 5
ic design and are fun to play. From -Do some quick personal -Feedback!
fonts to bezier curves, this article branding • Mon Apr 10
does a great job exploring games • Wed, Feb 22 -Build the game!
that could help any designer! -Research game building soft- • Wed Apr 12
ware and see which is the best fit. -Build the game!
Approach and Methods: • Mon, Feb 27 • Mon Apr 17
For this project, I’ll be creating -Select software and start lay- -Build the game!
multiple small games that teach ing out the narrative of the game • Wed Apr 19
players about my skills within as a whole -Feedback
both graphic and game design. It • Wed Mar 1st • Mon Apr 24
will go over a little about me, my -Which part of the story will -Finish game based on feed-
portfolio, and a bit of my resume. have which gaming mechanics? back!
There are many ways I could go Start selecting those • Wednesday, April 26 th
about this, seeing there are many • Mon Mar 6th -Finish game based on feed-
different game building softwares -Which part of the story will back!
that I could start learning for this have which gaming mechanics?
project. Start selecting those
• Wed Mar 8th
Results or Outcomes: -Finalize narrative
The results of this project will • Mon Mar 13th
have educational value to those -Build the game!
who watch it and to me, seeing as • Wed Mar 15
I will be exploring design in a way -Build the game!
that I haven’t before. • Mon Mar 20
-Build the game!
• Wed Mar 22
-Feedback!
• Mon mar 27
-Build the game!
• Wed mar 29
-Build the game!
Marley Mendez - Process Documentation and Reflection Paper 5

Capstone Proposal Presentation

I Shot the Serif Construct 3

https://www.tothepoint.co.uk/us/ https://www.construct.net/en
fun/i-shot-the-serif/
Program Option 1
Game Example 1

Coming Out Simulator Bitsy

https://ncase.itch.io/com- http://make.bitsy.org/
ing-out-simulator-2014
Program Option 2
Game Example 2
Marley Mendez - Process Documentation and Reflection Paper 6

Research:
Books
Game Design Workshop What Video Games have to
teach us
by Tracy Fullerton
by James Gee

Graphic Design The New

Basics

by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole

Phillips
Marley Mendez - Process Documentation and Reflection Paper 7

Initial Sketches
Marley Mendez - Process Documentation and Reflection Paper 8

First Art Style

Marley Mendez - Process Documentation and Reflection Paper 9

Final Art Style

Marley Mendez - Process Documentation and Reflection Paper 10

Game Mechanic Example:

Customization
Marley Mendez - Process Documentation and Reflection Paper 11

Script 1, 2, & 3
START 1
• Tutorial stage
-Text in intro video!
• Graphic design stage
-Graphic design history
-Hierarchy
-Color & the importance of b&w
-Type do’s and don’t’s
• Game design stage
-Importance of Customization
-Slider bar
-Rewards
-Play test
-Player experience
• Combined powers!
-Motion graphics
-Playful / fun
-Immersion
-Working as a team
-Creativity
-Iteration
START 2
• INTRO video plays before the
game starts
-https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=p03UGL80xNs
-Solve design problems to win
-Falling
+Tutorial as falling
• Color (graphic)
-Start in black and white
talking about the importance of
visibility and silhouette.
+Contrast: Objects that can’t
be understood due to lack of color
which makes it a poor design.
Make player pick which button
looks most like a button due to
design choices. The correct but-
ton reveals a colorful door
+Door: Going through the
door leads to a very colorful
world, showing the buttons again
to see how different they look in
color.
-Bam game is in color now!
+Talk about color wheel -
Primary, secondary, and tertiary
Relationships: along with compli-
mentary and analogous.
-Which button should we push
based on color?
• Player experience (game)
-Games revolve around the
player, and what they may or may
not be experiencing as they play
games. Experiences can change in
games by changing anything.
-Leads to surprise
-Another set of doors lead to
different themes that give the
game a different feel.
+Medieval?
+Pixel?
• Customization (game)
-Talk about the importance
of customization while using the
slider tool to let the player choose
its character’s color? (I DID IT)
-How do i do this with less
words
• Hierarchy(graphic)
-Is this too broad?
-Narrow down to one element:
scale? Position? Shape? Positive
or negative space? Symmetry vs
asymmetry?
• Iteration(both)
-Process? Decision making?
-vteamwork(both but later)
START 3
• Level 1
-Tutorial
-Black and white button puzzle
+Teaches B&W before color
and silhouettes
• Level 2
-Color
+Explains last level and
shows the color wheel
-Puzzle with input: type your
favorite color and then click on its
compliment
• Level 3
-Scale
+This shows importance in
graphic design and effects a play-
ers experience in game design
+Forces the player to ask
themselves which door was made
for them
• Level 4
-Show the importance of cus-
tomization though hats and fun
colors!
Marley Mendez - Process Documentation and Reflection Paper
Reflection paper
This assignment has taught me
so much. Not only have I gained
new skills but I’ve also strength-
ened old ones as well. One ex-
ample would be workflow. Cre-
ating a timeline for a project isn’t
something I’ve ever done when
it comes to design projects so it
was new and rather useful. As a
designer, I am a very visual per-
son so seeing the timeline written
out like that was nice. I also got
to dwell on iteration in a new
way through this project. In past
projects, we focused on visual
iteration only, and while that was
something I applied to my senior
thesis project, I wasn’t well versed
in concept iteration or narrative
iteration. The script I had written
out to show the flow of my game
was changed and tweaked many
times so that was new for me. This
influences my design practice by
helping me let go of my designs
a little better, seeing as I know
something better is sitting just be-
low the surface. Being looser with
my designs helps me to combat
over-thinking projects.
The thing that went well with
this project was when I reworked
the aesthetics, title of the game,
and logo. The title and aesthet-
ics needed a little more work but
they still came rather easily to me
while the logo was super fun and
easy for me to create. The parts
that didn’t go as well was proba-
bly the scripting and actual mak-
ing of the game. Since I wasn’t
familiar with the program I chose,
it made it a lot harder to write a
script since I didn’t know what
could be done game mechanics
wise. Due to this, I was also over-
whelmed with the amount of
options I had for what could be
done within the timeline I created
for myself.
Since I started my Game De-
sign certificate 3 years ago, I was
always really interested in finding
ways to combine graphic design
specifically within the gaming
world and vice versa. When creat-
ing the first 2 proposals, I wasn’t
sure how to go about it but with
the help of my professor and
classmates, new ideas started to
bloom. The first thing my game
design certificate classes focused
on was education, so with that as
a foundation, it was pretty easy
for me to place my project within
that realm. The game went from
being about me and my graphic
design career to a display of the
similarities between game design
and graphic design. This combi-
nation of things was important for
me to get across to my peers but
it eventually evolved into having a
more general and younger audi-
ence.
If I were to do the assignment
again I would change only a hand-
ful of things. I would spend less
time researching programs and
more time familiarizing myself
with one (preferably Construct
3). I would also take a little more
time thinking about the similar-
ities and differences between
game and graphic design in order
to fully realize and apply game
mechanics that would make the
content not only fun to interact
with but also fun to learn. I think
I worried a bit too much about
the concepts I was conveying and
not worried enough about how I
displayed them.
It was really helpful for me
to play test with my classmates.
They gave me good insight as to
how different sets of eyes and
brains would interact with the
game. It was harder for me to
present my ideas and show my
work to them just because my
work was a lot less visual in com-
12
parison to those who had printed
things, and yet they still gave me
great feedback every time. I’d like
to thank my classmates for that
reason. I’d also like to thank my
professor for not only support-
ing and encouraging me and my
project but helping me flesh out
my ideas into something not only
more manageable for me but
great for the project overall.
I think rather than the multiple
presentations we had throughout
the semester we could have one.
To replace the others, it could
help to have a more formal as-
signment to show your progress.
Another thing that could be done
is within the timeline we could
create a day in which certain
things need to be done, obviously
depending on the individual and
their project. While timelines work
for me, it is often hard for me to
stick to it in a timely manner. I can
be a person who works well under
pressure. While it was nice to have
the timeline, it was often hard for
me to get things done since in the-
ory I had a lot of time to do it.