UNC Asheville Multimedia Arts + Sciences and The Microsoft Corporation
Project Triggerfish examines the evolution of communication, connection, and information delivery. Our society is increasingly mediated by mobile computing and communication devices. The assignment to the students was to deliver a story, an animation, or game that reflects upon that. The guidelines were deliberately broad, but products from Microsoft were made easily available for students to use at their option.
Over the course of the semester, the students discovered that a project would be most compelling if it engaged and intrigued the user or viewer with basic aesthetic and storytelling values - surprise, humor, beauty, a unique personal perspective, or a comment on life. In making this work, the students were asked to explore the irrational, where desire does not come from pragmatic or everyday considerations; think of human curiosity and intelligent know-how; draw upon personal interests and strengths.
The responses from the students were gratifyingly diverse and their work ranges over wide territory. From the animated and humorous "IT Bob," to the enigmatic woman in "Savor," to the evolving landscape in "Imagine," to the otherworldly fish in "Triggerfish," the students personally define their experience with communication.
