Sequence of Primitives

Research phase

In the DES240: Designing with Data course, we were assigned to create a black-and-white animation based on the statistic relevant to our chosen UN SDGs within the context of Aotearoa. The final result will be a GIF format animation with geometric primitives using the software Processing.

Image Source

The UN SDG that I decided to work on is Good Health and Well-being; specifically on mental health. As I know many people in the community including myself is suffering from anxiety and stress due to the pandemic, I wanted to create an animation based on this topic.

The statistic that I have chosen is:

Nearly 1 in 4 New Zealand adults (aged 18 and over) experienced ‘poor’ mental wellbeing on the World Health Organization’s WHO-5 scale.

- From Stats.nz

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Process phase

Based on the above statistic that I have chosen, I created six concepts.

Six concepts that I have developed based on the chosen statistic:

Some of the ideas were very difficult to achieve at the current state with my capabilities therefore had to come up with a simpler solution.

Therefore I decided to combine these two concepts into one final design.

The video that helped me with creating the final design:

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On the third studio session of the DES240 course, we were assigned to create a coded animation based on the example that we were given.

This had taken me more than an hour with the support of my peers to complete the coding like the exemplar. During the quiz, we were only given 30 minutes to complete the coding...

What I actually submitted:

More process can be found here:

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Final design

Final code

Drop[] drops = new Drop[600];

float rectX = 140;
float y = 200;

int counter = 0;
int totalFrames = 120;

void setup() {
  size (1000, 1000);
  fill(0);
  for (int i = 0; i < drops.length; i++) {
    drops[i] = new Drop();
  }
}

void draw () {
  background (0);
  noStroke();
  fill(255);
  circle(200, 500, 100);
  circle(400, 500, 100);
  circle(600, 500, 100);
  circle(800, 500, 100); 
  fill(0);
  rect(rectX, 200, 120, y);
  y =  y+10;

  for (int i = 0; i < drops.length; i++) {
    drops[i]. show();
    drops[i].fall();
  }

  //saveFrame("output/gif-"+nf(counter, 100)+".png"); //function to save into frames
  //counter++;
  //if (counter == totalFrames) {
  //  exit();
  //}
}

class Drop {
  float x = random(150, 250);
  float y = 400;
  float yspeed = random(10, 100);

  void fall () {
    y = y + yspeed;
  }

  void show () {
    stroke (0);
    line(2, y, 2, y+2);

    if (y >=500) {
      stroke (255);
      line(x, y, x, y+4);
    }
  }
}

Statement of Intent

From the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, I have chosen the third goal; Good Health and Wellbeing. Within the context of Aotearoa, the relevant statistic I have found was that 1 in 4 New Zealand Kiwi adults have 'poor' mental wellbeing. This statistic was by the World Health Organisation and was on the official New Zealand stats website hence the source is very reliable. The four circles represent people, and the one circle disappearing into rain is the one that contains poor mental wellbeing. The statistic that I am working with is an extremely high rate, which means many adults in the community - including those with whom I am close - could be suffering from depression and other mental illnesses. This could lead to the unfortunate deaths of people around us. Because of this, I wanted to create awareness of this problem which currently exists among the community and the people close to us. We need to be aware of our community and our own selves to prevent this matter, especially at this time of the pandemic, which may cause anxiety, stress and depression.

Reference

https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/wellbeing-statistics-2018

#DES240