Award-winning Interactive Design

November 5, 2020

“Elysium” is a pair of web-based interactive applications, created by an RIT student team of designers and developers, that educate people about the importance of preserving the Amazon rainforest.

The interactive design was among the 2020 capstone projects annually produced through a collaboration between students in the New Media Design and New Media Interactive Development majors. The project was honored in the University and College Designers Association (UCDA) Design Awards, capturing Silver and Judges’ Choice Awards in the student competition. “Elysium” was one of 21 award selections out of hundreds of print and digital entries to the competition, which highlights the best work in educational design.

The interactive design inspires users to imagine a better future. Users can adjust variables of human activity — renewable energy usage, population, reforestation rate, carbon footprint, etc. — and “Elysium” then creates a visualization of how that affects the future rainforest landscape.

Team members:

Jordyn Antinore
Dylan Davis
Zainab Hasan
MacKenzie Karwas
Wyatt Lynch
Rohan Pawer
Theresa Piersall
Kaitlin Plane
Cassy Smithies

A title slide for Elysium. — **Elysium was designed by New Media Design and New Media Interactive Development students.**

The interface of a drawing application. — A drawing application focuses on the creatures of the Amazon rainforest, allowing users to create their own animals while visualizing their ideal rainforest. The team's aim is for children to have fun and expand their knowledge of the Amazon.

An interactive design visualization of the Amazon rainforest. — **Visualizer 1**

An interactive design of an Amazon rainforest visualizer. — **Visualizer 2**

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