Trauma through time
An interactive scrollytelly on the epigenetic inheritance of trauma
Purpose
This project was created for the Advanced Media Design Technologies course offered by the MScBMC program at the University of Toronto. The goal was to work collaboratively to design and develop an interactive narrative.
Our project explains the concept of epigenetic inheritance and its relevance for children of trauma survivors.
Team
Emily Min Mao, Molly Wells
Client
Alexander Young (University of Toronto)
Date
April 2024
Role
Visual Research, Development, UX/UI Design, Documentation
Format
Scrollytelly website
Audience
Educated lay audience familiar with trauma
Tools
Adobe After Effects, Google Docs, Figma, Trello, Webflow
Select scrollytelly screenshots
Project workflow
Visual research
I was responsible for conducting visual research for the overall style and feel of the project. I assembled a moodboard for team review, and we ultimately settled for a soft, mellow, friendly, and clean visual style.
We settled on a style that combined both 2D and 3D elements, for both visual interest and separate content. 3D assets were used for our scientific elements to distinguish them from the 2D environment.
Feedback
To ensure our content and script were presented in a sensitive yet accurate manner, our team conducted rigorous feedback sessions across eight script drafts and seven storyboard versions. I was responsible for moderating and facilitating the feedback process, acting as a neutral third party between the two team members in charge of writing the scripts and developing the storyboards.
The script was written and edited in Google Docs, and the storyboard was developed on Figma for easy collaboration.
User interface
As the team's developer, I also took on the UI/UX design. I selected fonts and colours optimized for online legibility and accessibility, and designed various user interface elements, including icons.
Web development
To build a fully functional website, I used Webflow, incorporating various scroll-based interactions and custom HTML and CSS code. I also optimized the team's visual assets for web use and seamless integration within Webflow.