2021 - 2022
Wandering with Walt
Senior Capstone Thesis + Interactive Web Timeline
As seniors in the graphic design program at K-State, we're expected to research and seek out a design problem that relates to the Kansas City area and culture. We were tasked to write a thesis on said subject and compile all related research into a readable format. Along with procuring a design solution that relates to our chosen subject.
Art Direction
Animation
UI/UX
Client /
Kansas State University + Thank You Walt Disney Inc.
I believe there’s an opportunity to have animation history be relevant again to Kansas City. While I do not have the funds to build a museum dedicated to Walt’s time here in the city, I can build one virtually. I set out to create an interactive timeline for which online users can visit and learn more about how Walt got his start in the animation industry. The site will behave engagingly, befitting the technology available to us now versus a decade ago. The goal is for the website to be informative and captivating to a general audience without the need for extreme costs of building or renovations to be made within the city.
I learned so much from this project and it fully enveloped my thoughts over the entire course of my senior year at K-State. I explain a lot of my design process in the book/slides that I've created here for you to read through if you choose. I'll mostly treat this paragraph as a reflection since I didn't get a chance to do so while working on it.
I'm not all too familiar with Kansas City history and when I first found out that the storytelling legend and animator himself (Walt Disney) first started out here, I knew that I wouldn't want to dedicate my time anywhere else. There were restrictions on the thesis however, one of which included only using relevant information involving Kansas City, meaning I couldn't talk about Walt going to California. Not all was lost, I did heavy digging and learned a lot of interesting details about his contributions here within the city. This all lead to a rabbit hole of learning about the potential future KC could see as a new hub for digital storytellers.
Making the timeline was such an incredible feat for me. I mark it as a new milestone of design that I didn't think was ever possible for me, the sheer amount of outside learning and tinkering I had to do to figure out how even to make an animated figure respond to a user was both challenging and rewarding. Funnily enough, it was only possible too because I chose to animate in the same style that Walt did, frame by frame, that the JavaScript was able to interpret my animation through user input.
Style Guide
