Kasmira Mohanty

I am a big science enthusiast—whether the subject is space exploration or making a potato clock. When the opportunity to refurbish the twelve-year-old artwork in the science hallway at my high school presented itself, I was delighted to take on the
 challenge.

Questions to Consider
There are several factors that must be carefully considered when creating an installation that can be enjoyed for many years. I carry a basic set of important questions in my head as a professional artist to use whenever I’m asked to create site-specific artwork. These questions also work perfectly when applied to a client-driven class project:

• What are the client’s needs and desires?
• Who is the audience?
• What is my budget and my timeline?
• How large can the installation be?
• What materials are durable, safe, and appropriate for the installation site?
• What type of lighting can I experiment with or need to deal with at the installation site?
• How do I avoid cliché or obvious design solutions?
• How do I inject my design aesthetic and personality into a project while meeting the client’s expectations?

A close-up of Individual microbes.

Framework and Foundation
I chose my advanced-level digital art students to hammer out the framework for the project. I tasked them with answering the aforementioned questions using the UX Design Process: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. I divided the class into four groups to complete a UX Design Process work packet.

The challenge was to find a way for each student to contribute to a collaborative art project based on the work of Rogan Brown.

Since this was their first experience designing for a client, I provided a foundation with additional information and resources. I shared ten different ideation techniques in a slideshow presentation for students to use at their discretion. The science department wanted the new work to be different from the previous artwork, which was a digitally illustrated space scene created by a former student of mine. Lastly, the artwork had to explore a scientific theme, and each student had to contribute a design feature as part of the completed work.

Inspiration from Artist Rogan Brown
Students decided to go in the opposite direction from the enormity of space to explore the world of microbiology. Based on this decision, I introduced them to the paper sculptures of artist Rogan Brown. The challenge was to find a way for each student to contribute to a collaborative art project based on Brownʼs work.

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