Description: Passive toxins is an interactive object that explores the contemporary relationship between food and us. Eating is for many of us a pleasing activity. However, as we become aware of the food we are eating, we realize that some toxins are entering in our body. The speed of the damage is slow and hidden by pleasure. We might want to change this but the system does not allow much change. The imagery used is chalk-paint graffiti made by the author. Manipulations of reverse time, saturation and brightness are applied to support the visual rhetoric.
Responsibilities: interaction design, representation concept
Advisors: Professor James B Brent.
Company: As a PhD in design student
Date: 2010.
Link: Click here to visit project

Description: The goal of this game is to entertain players while learning models of democratic participation. Players will learn about the importance of participation of all citizens in democratic elections. The audience is young adults that are active voters beginners.
Responsibilities: conceptual game designer
Advisors: Professor Sauman Chu.
Company: As a PhD in design student
Date: 2010.

Equity board game

Description: Project designed for Smart House, Livable Community exhibition website (Goldstein Museum of Design, University of Minnesota). “Community learning module is an interactive tool that will challenge your skills and teach you about making better parks and community environments for baby boomers. You goal will be increasing the visitors of the community space investing wisely.”
Responsibilities: conceptual game designer, interaction design, ActionScript.
Co-author: Tony Carton (intro, conceptual design).
Advisors: Professors Sauman Chu and Marilyn Bruin.
Company: As a PhD in design student
Date: 2010.
Link: Click here to visit project

Screenshot

Screenshot

Book chapter published in Metaplasticity of Virtual Worlds
Book edited by Dr. Gianluca Mura
Coauthored with Felipe Cesar Londoño and Paula Andrea Escandón
Date: accepted 2010 published 2011.

Description: visualization of statistical knowledge. The image has two information levels: one uses technical concepts and the other is for dummies because uses simple questions/answers.
Responsibilities: conceptualization, visualization. Advisors: Shuyan Sun and Mike Zender.
Company: as master of design student
Date: 2010.
If you are interested in a PDF file, please email me. mauriciomejia[at]disenovisual[dot]com.

Paper accepted at 1st International Congress of Design and Innovation of Catalonia
Escola Superior de Disenny. Universitat Ramón Lull
Barcelona, Spain, 18-19 March, 2010
Coauthored with Mike Zender
Date: 2010.

Paper presented at IASDR 2009 Conference
International Association of Societies of Design Research 2009
Seoul, South Korea, 18-22 October, 2009
Coauthored with Mike Zender
Date: 2009.

Project supported by a Colciencias grant (Colombian National Institute of Science and Technology) and Universidad de Caldas’ funds.
Abstract: this applied research project designed a serious game for citizenship values learning in children and plans to evaluate its learning efficiency in Colombian context. This project was an interdisciplinary process conducted by the designers, educators and developers focusing on conceptual strategies. The team prioritized game immersion in order to achieve children attention in a non-common game topic for children. Indeed, the popular concept of individual competence, often used as a challenger in game design, was replaced by collective cooperation in a multiuser game where all players have a common goal. In order to keep motivation, it is used the metaphor of survival and social interaction.
Responsibilities: co-researcher, lead conceptual game designer, principal investigator(2007-2008).
Co-investigators: Felipe C. Londoño (current PI), Liliana Villescas, and Carlos A. Cuesta.
Advisors: Diego Villada, Fany Osorio, Mauricio Vega, Armando Silva, Aki Järvinen.
Company: Universidad de Caldas
Date: 2007-2009.
Link: Click here for project descriptions in Spanish

Screenshoot

Screenshoot

Graduate Student Summer Fellowship from University of Cincinnati
Abstract: when people interact with objects and spaces, environmental, object, and human variables affect the information and energy exchange. To improve design results, designers need to be aware of these variables to improve objects and spaces for perception and interaction. This exploratory research will study the variables of visual hierarchy and levels of abstraction in visual information that affect performance of objects and spaces when they interact with different human beings. Within the scope of this study, the criteria to identify these individual differences are visual intelligence and mood. It will be selected a sample from two groups of visual intelligence profiles (Business and Art and Design students). The resulting knowledge will address the relationship between human complexity and information to make objects and spaces more versatile and universal. This thinking is not new in design. The awareness of differences among individuals and contexts has become essential in design practice. Universal design, for example, has addressed the problem of design for a broader range of humans; however, it has been primarily focused on aging and inclusion of humans with disabilities. The outcomes will empower designers with general principles for inclusion not only of physical disabilities but also simple and everyday individual differences.
Responsibilities: principal investigator. Advisor: Mike Zender.
Company: as master of design student
Date: 2009.

Description: design of initial icon system with reusable graphic elements for epilepsy. The users will be physicians especialized in epilepsy.
Responsibilities: visual designer
Company: as a research assistant. Prof. Mike Zender.
Date: 2009.

pending authorization to exhibit