The Beauty of You
A two-part interactive experience connecting users with positive AAPI media representation.
Focus: AAPI Representation & Digital Storytelling
Video Trailer
The Beauty of You — Thesis Trailer
Video coming soon — add a YouTube or Vimeo embed URL tovideo_url in the thesis markdown file.
Abstract
The Beauty of You is a two-part interactive experience addressing the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) characters in mainstream media. The project invites users to walk in the shoes of diverse AAPI protagonists through a combination of immersive digital narratives and tangible physical artifacts.
Part one is a kiosk-based interactive story in which users make choices that reflect the daily lived experience of AAPI individuals navigating cultural identity, family, and ambition. Part two is a set of physical objects—letters, photographs, and mementos—that users handle while listening to narrated memories, grounding the digital experience in material culture.
Design Challenge
Existing media representation for AAPI communities is often reductive or absent. When stories are told, they frequently center conflict over complexity. The Beauty of You frames representation as a design problem: how can interactive media expand empathy and self-recognition for AAPI audiences while educating broader audiences?
Technical Approach
The digital experience was built in Unity with branching narrative logic. Physical objects were laser-cut and screen-printed in the IxDIA maker space. Audio narration was recorded and mixed with spatial audio positioning to heighten presence.
Outcomes
The project was exhibited at the IxDIA 2023 Spring Show and the CSUEB Department of Art Spring Exhibition. Visitor feedback emphasized emotional resonance and recognition from AAPI attendees.
Process Documentation
[Add process photos, wireframes, character design sketches here]