Overview
Cosmic Legends is an interactive storytelling tool designed for touchscreen kiosks that lets users explore how cultures across the world interpret the same stars.
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.
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.
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 Process
Research & Discovery
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.
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.
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.
Visual Inspiration
A major visual and conceptual influence came from the TV show Moon Knight, where ancient Egyptian mythology, glowing constellations, and shifting skies are used to visualize memory, myth, and identity.
Scene from Moon Knight
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.
User Story
Future Possibilities
Personalize learning through emotional storytelling
Allow users to build and save their own “constellation narratives” across cultures.
Curate myth journeys based on user curiosity
Multilingual Narration: Offering legends in native languages, with regional dialects and voice actors.
Expanded Star Library: Including more stars and myths from African, Oceanic, Indian, Chinese, and Inuit sky traditions.
School Curriculum Modules: Interactive educational kits and classroom kiosks to support cultural astronomy education.
Public Showcase
Key Takeaways
Cosmic Legends brings cultural astronomy to life.
Merges narrative, design, and accessibility.
Reminds us that every star holds more than one meaning
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.
