Interaction Design / Thesis Project / 2025
Interaction Design / Thesis Project / 2025
Cosmic Legends
Cosmic Legends
Introduction
Introduction
Cosmic Legends is an interactive storytelling tool designed for touchscreen kiosks that lets users explore how cultures across the world interpret the same stars.
Cosmic Legends is an interactive storytelling tool designed for touchscreen kiosks that lets users explore how cultures across the world interpret the same stars.
My Role
Tools used
Timeline
UI Designer, Researcher
Figma, Adobe After effects, Adobe Photoshop
16 weeks ( Jan 15 - May 5, 2024)
My Role
Tools used
Timeline
UI Designer, Researcher
Figma, Adobe After effects, Adobe Photoshop
16 weeks ( Jan 15 - May 5, 2024)
Problem
Problem
Astronomy tools today largely overlook cultural interpretations of the stars, reducing them to scientific data. This leaves most users unaware of the diverse stories and meanings cultures have associated with the night sky.
Cosmic Legends addresses this by shifting focus from pure science to shared storytelling.
Astronomy tools today largely overlook cultural interpretations of the stars, reducing them to scientific data. This leaves most users unaware of the diverse stories and meanings cultures have associated with the night sky.
Cosmic Legends addresses this by shifting focus from pure science to shared storytelling.
Solution
Solution
Cosmic Legends is a culturally inclusive, interactive platform that invites users to explore the same star through multiple cultural lenses. By blending storytelling, motion, and voice, it transforms stargazing into a myth-sharing experience that fosters understanding and accessibility.
Cosmic Legends is a culturally inclusive, interactive platform that invites users to explore the same star through multiple cultural lenses. By blending storytelling, motion, and voice, it transforms stargazing into a myth-sharing experience that fosters understanding and accessibility.
Goals
Goals
Design an interactive educational experience exploring cross-cultural interpretations of the star Betelgeuse.
Engage users through animated storytelling, voiceover, and accessible design.
Foster curiosity, cultural understanding, and meaningful learning across diverse audiences.
Design an interactive educational experience exploring cross-cultural interpretations of the star Betelgeuse.
Engage users through animated storytelling, voiceover, and accessible design.
Foster curiosity, cultural understanding, and meaningful learning across diverse audiences.
Design Process
Design Process
Research & Discovery
Conducted cultural research on Navajo, Tupi, and Japanese interpretations of Betelgeuse; gathered user needs and accessibility requirements.
Conducted cultural research on Navajo, Tupi, and Japanese interpretations of Betelgeuse; gathered user needs and accessibility requirements.
Ideation & Design
Created wireframes, visual designs, and interactive prototypes with animated transitions, voiceover scripting, and caption integration.
Created wireframes, visual designs, and interactive prototypes with animated transitions, voiceover scripting, and caption integration.
Prototype & Testing
Prototype & Testing
Built a high-fidelity interactive prototype in Figma, optimized for a large-format kiosk, and iterated based on user feedback and accessibility audits.
Built a high-fidelity interactive prototype in Figma, optimized for a large-format kiosk, and iterated based on user feedback and accessibility audits.
Challenges
Challenges
Lack of Awareness: Many users are unfamiliar with Indigenous or non-Western interpretations of stars.
Eurocentric Tools: Current apps center Western astronomy, sidelining global perspectives.
Educational Gaps: Cultural storytelling is rarely embedded in science education.
Translating Myth into Interface: Myths aren’t linear—they’re poetic, symbolic. Designing an experience to hold that nuance was a major challenge.
Research and Discovery
These insights revealed an opportunity to design a tool that makes room for narrative plurality and visual clarity.
Primary Research: Conversations with educators, astronomy lovers, and students unfamiliar with Indigenous sky knowledge.
Secondary Research: Scholarly work on ethnocosmology, visual anthropology, and UX for accessibility.
Accessibility Audits: Using voiceovers to ensure usability for deaf and visually impaired users.
Competitive Review: Examining apps like Stellarium and Night Sky revealed a heavy focus on Western science with minimal cultural context.
These insights revealed an opportunity to design a tool that makes room for narrative plurality and visual clarity.
Primary Research: Conversations with educators, astronomy lovers, and students unfamiliar with Indigenous sky knowledge.
Secondary Research: Scholarly work on ethnocosmology, visual anthropology, and UX for accessibility.
Accessibility Audits: Using voiceovers to ensure usability for deaf and visually impaired users.
Competitive Review: Examining apps like Stellarium and Night Sky revealed a heavy focus on Western science with minimal cultural context.
Visual Inspiration
Visual Inspiration
The stunning scene in Moon Knight where Khonshu shifts the moon and rewinds the night sky, leaving behind glowing trails of stars, deeply influenced the visual direction of Cosmic Legends. That moment’s blend of myth, magic, and cosmic motion inspired the idea of animating stars and constellations in my project, using glowing trails and transitions to evoke wonder, movement, and the timeless connection between people and the sky.
Each sky stars had to look different and hence explored different placements.
Initial emitters exploration to create the scene for changing skies.
Material experimentation and gamma emission adjustments for star simulation.
Exploring placements of emitters.
Post layering the stars, the sky looked more natural.
Initial emitters rendering.
The exploration phase began with 2D experimentation.
Before diving into 3D workflows, I created a flat, interaction-based version of the tool
Experimented with physically stacking each star in layers in 3D world space
Creation of background planes and stacking stars in layers.
Initially exploring with in-built Cinema 4D skies and features.
Initially exploring with in-built Cinema 4D skies and features.
Technical process
With a strong focus on technical experimentation, this phase was guided less by traditional storyboarding and more by hands-on discovery. From particle behavior to sound sync, each design choice was stress-tested directly in 3D and motion tools.
Technical process
With a strong focus on technical experimentation, this phase was guided less by traditional storyboarding and more by hands-on discovery. From particle behavior to sound sync, each design choice was stress-tested directly in 3D and motion tools.
The exploration phase began with 2D experimentation.
Before diving into 3D workflows, I created a flat, interaction-based version of the tool
Initially exploring with in-built Cinema 4D skies and features.
Initially exploring with in-built Cinema 4D skies and features.
Experimented with physically stacking each star in layers in 3D world space
Creation of background planes and stacking stars in layers.
Each sky stars had to look different and hence explored different placements.
Material experimentation and gamma emission adjustments for star simulation.
Post layering the stars, the sky looked more natural.
Initial emitters exploration to create the scene for changing skies.
Exploring placements of emitters.
Initial emitters rendering.
Why Betelguese?
Why Betelguese?
In the beginning, there was just a question: What if the stars weren’t the same for everyone? That idea led to the selection of Betelgeuse a culturally resonant star visible across hemispheres. From there, research and mythology shaped the tone.
It’s one of the brightest and most recognizable stars in the Orion constellation, observed by civilizations across the globe for centuries.
Its fluctuating brightness and eventual supernova fate add a narrative layer to the experience, it’s a star that is both physically dramatic and symbolically resonant. More importantly, Betelgeuse serves as a point of convergence: from the Navajo’s First Slim One to the Tupi’s Old Man to the Japanese celestial investigator, it embodies the diversity of cosmic storytelling.
Splash Screen
Intro screen with project title and prompt.
Map Detection
User location detected to begin cultural journey.
Final Screens
Below shows the user flow and the interactive journey.
Begin
User taps to begin their journey
Navajo Sky
Navajo sky loads with Betelgeuse as First Slim One.
Star Tap
User taps the star Betelgeuse to start exploration.
Navajo → Tupi Transition
Sky transitions from Navajo to Tupi story.
Tupi Sky
Tupi sky shows Betelgeuse as the Old Man.
Tupi → Japanese Transition
Sky transitions from Tupi to Japanese legend.
Japanese Sky
Japanese sky shows Betelgeuse as the Investigator.
Outro
Final screen closes the interactive experience.
Future Possibilities : AI
Curate myth journeys based on user curiosity.
Personalize learning through emotional storytelling
Allow users to build and save their own “constellation narratives” across cultures
Public Showcase
This public interaction reinforced the project’s core purpose: to inspire cultural empathy and curiosity through design.
At Imagine RIT, Cosmic Legends turned from a prototype into a powerful conversation starter. Visitors of all ages tapped Betelgeuse and watched in awe as the sky transformed across cultures. Many said they’d never seen stars feel so alive and meaningful.
Critical Evaluation
While the kiosk prototype successfully created an immersive cultural learning experience, technical constraints like render times and interface limitations restricted scalability.
Future iterations will explore cloud rendering, multilingual support, and dynamic myth expansion.
Insights
This project highlighted how emotionally resonant interfaces emerge when research, accessibility, and narrative are treated as equally important design inputs. It also emphasized the power of speculative features (like AI storytelling) to extend cultural relevance and imagination. Because the sky belongs to all of us and so do its legends, it’s a constellation of stories waiting to be retold.
Final Screens
Below shows the user flow and the interactive journey
Begin
User taps to begin their journey
Splash Screen
Intro screen with project title and prompt.
Map Detection
User location detected to begin cultural journey.
Navajo Sky
Navajo sky loads with Betelgeuse as First Slim One.
Star Tap
User taps the star Betelgeuse to start exploration.
Navajo → Tupi Transition
Sky transitions from Navajo to Tupi story.
Tupi Sky
Tupi sky shows Betelgeuse as the Old Man.
Tupi → Japanese Transition
Sky transitions from Tupi to Japanese legend.
Japanese Sky
Japanese sky shows Betelgeuse as the Investigator.
Outro
Final screen closes the interactive experience.
Future Possibilities : AI
Curate myth journeys based on user curiosity.
Personalize learning through emotional storytelling
Allow users to build and save their own “constellation narratives” across cultures
Public Showcase
This public interaction reinforced the project’s core purpose: to inspire cultural empathy and curiosity through design.
At Imagine RIT, Cosmic Legends became more than a prototype, it became a conversation starter. Visitors from all age groups interacted with the kiosk, tapping Betelgeuse and watching with surprise as the sky changed form and meaning.
The experience sparked curiosity and dialogue. One guest said, “I’ve seen Betelgeuse on star maps, but I never knew it meant something beyond coordinates.” Another remarked how they “felt transported” by the seamless shift the skies.
Critical Evaluation
While the kiosk prototype successfully created an immersive cultural learning experience, technical constraints like render times and interface limitations restricted scalability.
Future iterations will explore cloud rendering, multilingual support, and dynamic myth expansion.
Insights
This project highlighted how emotionally resonant interfaces emerge when research, accessibility, and narrative are treated as equally important design inputs. It also emphasized the power of speculative features (like AI storytelling) to extend cultural relevance and imagination. Because the sky belongs to all of us and so do its legends, it’s a constellation of stories waiting to be retold.