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Adam Huth

Designer Across Scales


Digital Product Design
UX/UI | Graphics
  1. Let’s Eat!
  2. Flipout
  3. Fungi on Foot
  4. Hondezvous
  5. Exclusion in Design
  6. Social Media Profile Redesign
  7. Digital Art & Other Fun Stuff

Experimental Design
Provocation | Speculation
  1. Design for Uncomfortable Consumption
  2. Fruit Face
  3. Vitals
  4. STAR & ARTS
  5. MUTO-21
  6. Fungi on Foot
  7. Smiles by Mail

Industrial Design
3D Modeling | Furniture
  1. Alka-Seltzer Academy
  2. Table I
  3. Table II
  4. Bar
  5. Bed 
  6. Electronics Mounts for Rocket

Art
Interventions | Sculpture
  1. Picnic
  2. Projection
  3. Handing Off: Art in Pandemic Times (A Virtual Mail Art Exhibition) 

About Me
  1. A designer across scales with experience in digital product design, speculative design, entrepreneurship, and art, with a unifying passion of creating unique experiences that spark joy, provoke questions, and make the world a more accessible place.
Mark

5. STAR & ARTS


Using the STAR & ARTS iPad application to view the augmented reality art exhibition


2021
In collaboration with Kailin Li, Jiaxuan Ren, and Xingtai Huang
Augmented Reality; UX/UI Design; Community Engagement; Exhibition Organization


STAR & ARTS is a site-specific, interactive augmented reality art installation, showcasing works submitted by local Berkeley and Oakland artists. The installation was part of a larger community building event our team organized, where members of the public made art, shared personal stories, and enjoyed each other’s company.

The demo video our team made for STAR & ARTS

Our team was tasked with building a site-specific interactive AR iPad application. Sites had to be outdoors, 20’x20’x20’ in size, and less than a 20 minute trip from our studio. After exploring multiple public areas, we fell in love with the fire pit area outside of the Berkeley Art Center (BAC) after attending a public healing event, Quitting the Self, hosted by indigenous artists.

An organizer of “Quitting the Self” burning reflections from the pandemic
Collecting a site specific texture using charcoal from the fire pit
A texture sample of the ground near the fire pit

With a chosen site, we interviewed the organizers of the event, staff at the BAC, and members of the public. After learning of the site’s history (the majority of art centers and green spaces within the city of Berkeley art clustered in high income areas) and hearing about the struggles artists faced during the pandemic, we decided to build a community powered art installation and host a public event to build community and provide support to artists.

An early concept of an augmented reality instrument that uses the mosaic tiles as keys
A concept where participants slowly fill the augmented space with virtual creatures carrying hidden messages that the participant writes

We brainstormed a variety of ways to present community work, from a musically activated fire pit to flying magical creatures that lead viewers to the art. Our final MVP was inspired by The Planets, Op. 32 by Gustav Holst, with each planet in our gallery representing a theme (such as conflict or magic) that we asked artists to respond to. We advertised our event online, as well through physical posters with their own augmentations.

One of two event posters created to invite local artists; the poster became augmented when scanning with a phone
Hanging the second poster style in downtown Berkeley; posters were spread across the city to invite a wide range of artists from different backgrounds

After collecting works through our Airtable form, we built our interactive app with Unity and Blender. Using the metaphor of visiting a physical museum, we broke our interaction into three types of scenes: onboarding, gallery, and artwork. A participant activates their experience through an image marker placed in the site’s fire pit. From there, a solar system containing seven themed planets emerges - clicking on a planet takes the participant to the gallery, where they can ex- plore the works, tapping on them for a larger size and art work details.

A 3D scan of the site in Unity, with added planets and a lava texture for the ground; we chose to not include floor textures in the final implementation


The Star & Art app played a large role in creating a successful, community driven event - participants enjoyed exploring and interacting with the art at their own pace on the iPads. The event also encouraged participants to make artwork in a variety of mediums, mingle with the community, and share their personal stories.

The sun emerging from our image marker in the center of the site’s fire pit; the first piece of augmented reality a viewer experiences
The solar system, visited by tapping the sun, with each planet representing a themed collection of art; viewer’s screen

The gallery of “Peace”, containing photographs and paintings, along with 3D sculptural works; viewer’s screen
Enlarged view of the piece “Ice Planet”, along with title and description; accessed by tapping on the artwork; viewer’s screen

A participant displaying the work the created during the event, showcasing the focal tree in the site
Xingtai Huang sharing his personal experiences with art throughout his life
A collection of the pieces created during the STAR & ARTS public exhibition
Mark