Online story-telling portal development: alpha stage
Client: Digital Story Universe
This project was taken as a part of an internship for Digital Story Universe, where I worked with a small development team of programmers and audio specialists.
Digital Story Universe focuses on online storytelling experience, with elements inspired from video game design and digital reading platforms. Some of my responsibilities included:
- producing a wide variety of work ranging from interactive city maps, chapter icon designs, logo designs, concept artwork and digital magazine mockups
- conceptualizing appropriate theme and aesthetics to build around the written story by the client
- designing interactive features such as a ‘police board’ inspired dashboard, character profiles, maps and more
- prototyping one main website and one promotional website, building an immersive, interactive murder/mystery theme
- communicating with audio specialists on appropriate sound effects to produce based on the artworks
- producing a wide variety of work ranging from interactive city maps, chapter icon designs, logo designs, concept artwork and digital magazine mockups
- conceptualizing appropriate theme and aesthetics to build around the written story by the client
- designing interactive features such as a ‘police board’ inspired dashboard, character profiles, maps and more
- prototyping one main website and one promotional website, building an immersive, interactive murder/mystery theme
- communicating with audio specialists on appropriate sound effects to produce based on the artworks
Most of the work produced was still in alpha testing during my internship, with some aspects, such as the story reading pages, being released to a small focus group for beta testing.
A video walkthrough of the portal prototype can be found above.
"Riya worked as a graphic designer for 6 weeks full time during the summer 2022 for our company Digital Story Universe, a digital media tech start-up specialising in online storytelling.
Prior to this she had worked with us part time for a year as part of her graphic design degree course at the University of Reading. Our company required digital design in a number of areas primarily to provide images for our online crime story set in California.
Riya produced excellent artwork of a high standard that fitted very well the brief that she was given. This covered a range of subjects from immersive maps of San Francisco to portraits of key characters from the story. She showed real imagination in her work and brough to life key aspects of the story through her design work.
As well as high concept imagery she also designer more low-key elements such as chapter icons, again all to a high standard and within deadline.
As well as elements specific to the story she also contributed significantly to the overall user experience of the web portal, the main mode of accessing the story, helping us to create an interesting, visually stimulating and easily accessible interface for readers. She worked closely and effectively with our web developer in this regard, and also with our audio technician."
Jason Heppell,
Founder of Digital Story Universe
Founder of Digital Story Universe