Your Brain on Google: A Study on Info Mapping
Research Paper
Information Mapping
VR
Project Overview
Design is fundamentally about communicating information. This project focuses on visually conveying complex ideas, translating research into compelling 2D and 3D spaces to enhance audience understanding and engagement.
Team members
N/a
Client
N/a​
Role
Research, Visual Design, Game Development
Year
2022 (7 weeks)
Problem Statement
How can visual design enhance the communication of complex ideas to a general consumer audience?
Target of Research
How does daily use of Google impact our Brains?
Research Paper
Founded in 1998, Google has evolved into a major multinational technology company, widely recognized for its search engine. This easy access to vast amounts of info has unlocked a world of learning for individuals. However, I became curious whether this constant availability was gradually altering our brains over time.
Research Discoveries
Impact on Memory and Recall
Frequent Google use alters how we recall information, leading to reliance on online searches with younger generations showing significant declines in basic fact recall.
Changes in Attention and Cognition
Constant internet use could correlate with shorter attention spans and changes in neural circuitry, affecting our brain's responsiveness and overall ability to concentrate.
Challenges in Information Literacy
The 'Google generation' often struggles to assess information relevance and accuracy, indicating weak critical thinking skills despite greater access to knowledge.
Mind Mapping
I then used all the information I had gathered and started to visually organize it in a mind map.
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Organizing Research Findings: To clarify the connections between Google’s impact on memory, attention, and information literacy, to show how these themes interrelate.
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Engaging Presentation: To enable the audience to quickly grasp the main points and understand the overall narrative of my research.
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Information Overload
When bringing visual elements into my mind map, I realized the amount of info and connections became overwhelming.
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Pull out crucial info: I aimed to include all my research, but found it hindered my ability to effectively communicate my findings.
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Clarify connections: I found that a few of my points were lost in this overly complicated presentation.
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Final Poster
Softwares Learned
Next, we focused on communicating the information within a 3D space by transforming our mind maps into immersive VR worlds, which involved acquiring foundational skills in three different software applications.
Unity
We used Unity as our primary game development software, concentrating on features such as lighting, physics, animations, and object behaviors.
Visual Studio
To ensure our worlds functioned as intended, we practiced coding in C# to define the world's logic and allow it to be run through a VR headset.
Blender
I also utilized Blender for 3D modeling of my environment, opting to import assets from there rather than building them directly in Unity.
Virtual Reality World
Final Thoughts
Reflecting on this project, I’ve realized how transforming traditional research into interactive, user-centered design can reshape learning experiences. Distilling complex research into visual experiences can help viewers to connect quickly with the material. This process reinforced the power of simplicity in design and the value of interactive formats for complex topics. Moving forward, I’m excited to explore these design boundaries further, and how VR can be utilized as learning tool