In my Creative Tech (CT) Core Lab Environments, we delve into the magical realm of DT learning methods and creative teaching pedagogies. We focus on environment design across both virtual and physical dimensions, fostering a deep understanding of perception, sensory registrations, and psychological and philosophical awareness around self—mainly phenomenology and Qualia and subjectivity, self and environment.
Core Elements of Our Approach:
- Site Visits - We explore various environments to understand how they influence and shape perception. Questions we ponder include: What elements in our environment shape our perceptions? How do these perceptions mold our interactions with space?
- Designing Spatial Experiences - Whether working with virtual installations or physical spaces, it's crucial for designers to recognize key elements that govern and shape the immersive experiences of spectators and performers. These experiences often play with the participants' imaginations, drawing from their past experiences, vague desires, and envisioned passions.
- Embodied Design (Embodied Cognition) Workshops and Prototyping - Hands-on workshops allow students to embody their design ideas, moving from conceptual frameworks to tangible prototypes.
- Unity Fundamentals - Students learn the essentials of designing and building virtual environments and sensory experiences. This includes understanding physics, creating first-person controlled sensory interactive environments, and mastering techniques such as gray boxing for scale and spatial design, as well as integrating lighting and audio triggers.
- Bringing Virtual Designs into the Physical Realm - We challenge the boundaries between the digital and physical by incorporating Unity environment designs into physical spaces, using creative technologies like Unity and projection mapping. This fusion invites spectators into a freshly immersive experience.
- Understanding Perception - We discuss how perception is inherently fragmented and subjective, captured moment-to-moment through our limited sensory receptors. This fragmented perception is the birthplace of our unique narratives.
In the Creative Tech Lab, aspiring artists and designers have the opportunity to explore and expand their skills in Unity, projection mapping, installation, and spatial experiences, bringing fresh perspectives to both the digital and physical realms.
Pedagogical Approaches: Metacognitive learning process