JULIE ZHU
I'm Julie 👋
A restless UX Designer
where visual art meets technology and user experience. My goal is to craft designs that are both efficient and engaging, blending simplicity with creativity.
Currently UX Designer @ Verizon
Previously @ Parsons
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OVERVIEW
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Timeline
Oct-Dec 2020
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Role
Creative Technologist, Visual Designer, Unity Specialis
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Members
May Zhou, Kyle Xiao, Danni Peng, Yijie Zhu
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Output
VR experience​
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Site Observation
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GOWANUS PARK PROPOSAL
Purpose
Petition Pushes For Vacant Gowanus Site To Be Turned Into Park​
Turning a vacant brownfield site next to the Gowanus Canal near Fifth and Smith streets into a waterfront park.
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Methodology
We made background research on the history and marketing of this area, to decide the theme and targeted main visitors.
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Methodology & Tools: Research, Site Trip, 3D modeling, Interaction Design, Unity Technology
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Surrounding Communities
Demographic Characteristics:
It is a residential area mostly made up of families, the elderly, children, and young parents.
Nearby Facilities:
The neighborhood is surrounded by schools, daycare centers, warehouses, and commercial yard spaces.
The neighborhood supports the day-to-day and essential activities of local residents, thus resulted in low non-residential traffic.
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Surrounding environment
Historical Evolution:
The site was heavily polluted and was once called "lavender lake”. The water contains noticeable impurities. We think this is the major reason why the local was drawn away from any activities related to the water, resulting in a distant relationship with nature.
Current Conditions of the Site:
We observed that the site is currently not well maintained. The site also suffered from stormwater overflow issues.
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Design Objectives
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Cultivate a Sense of Community
Create a safe and well-maintained environment to encourage interactions for all age.
Attract non-locals and popularize the neighborhood.
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Increase Environmental Awareness
Build a water filter system filtering out overflowed water and using the water run a water fountain.
Project virtual creatures on to water to create an immersive experience and strengthen the human-nature relationship.
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Enable a great variety of virtual projection designs
Using projecting technology allows high flexibility in a different immersive experience. Collaborate with local artists and students to launch seasonal/holiday exclusive projections. Hold events for educational purposes (eg. Teaching people about the local site history)
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Design Concept
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Cultivate a Sense of Community
Base on the observations, we set up a few goals for both the community and the environment;
An safe space for all ages and everyone, also encourage social interactions; we are also hoping to attract people that are not local to come and visit, to popularize the neighborhood. from the environmental aspect, we are aiming to create an ecological park that is self-sustainable;
we are also looking to create immersive experiences using projections to highlight the history and environmental developments of this site
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Visitors will be able to access the park from multiple entrances; we are also placing the water fountain & light projection and windmill stained glass installation alongside the street and subway area, which we believe will catch people's attention and attract more foot traffic
secondly, we are also creating a slightly elevated hillside; so people can have a great view of the riverside and its light projection.
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Design Iteration
Public seating
-A social place that can be changed in size
-A playground for children
-An adjustable resting place
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Windmill with Art Installation
-Public art installation
-Functional - for sustainability
-Landmark for the park to attract foot traffic
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Water Installation
-live in harmony with environment
-Improving the user experience
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The fountain projection will be more interactive with visitors, to bring more traffic to the neighborhood and enrich the community.
It can be updated to display any art creations, enabling endless possibilities — collaboration with local artists or schools, launching seasonal/holiday exclusive projections.
Waterside projection
The projection on the river will be mainly about
-marine creatures
-create a submerge viewing experience
-build a feeling of surrounded by marine creatures.
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In this second iteration, we created a rendering of the envisioned projection effect. We also added more a few more design details, such as brining wooden stair to provide both activity and sitting area.
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FINAL EXPERIENCE
