Moody Monsters
Co-creation
Interactive Design
Photogrammetry
Moody Monsters is a research-based interactive project designed to help young learners explore emotional awareness through play. Featuring customisable monster characters, it encourages users to identify and express emotions in a creative, engaging way. Developed with a focus on accessibility and learning, it uses vibrant visuals and intuitive design to foster empathy and self-expression.
The project originated from a shared interest in storytelling as a means to support underrepresented voices. With a background in youth-focused design, we aimed to address emotional challenges faced by children through engaging digital technology.
The project originated from a shared interest in storytelling as a means to support underrepresented voices. With a background in youth-focused design, we aimed to address emotional challenges faced by children through engaging digital technology.
→ External Collaborator: Kensington Aldridge Academy
→ Collaborator: Ruby Bell
→ Showcased at Frameless, UK's largest permanent multi-sensory experience, as part of their 6-month 'Imagined Realities' Artist Residency.
→ Shortlisted as a finalist for Helen Hamlyn Design Awards which recognise creativity in people-centred and inclusive design.
Primary and Secondary Research
Resources like Collective Wisdom informed ethical co-creation practices, while Atlas of the Heart emphasized the importance of emotional literacy. Pixar’s storytelling methods and TeamLab’s interactive installations guided world-building and interaction design. Collaborative insights from Dylan Yamada Rice and Eleanor Dare enriched workshop methodologies.
Test Workshop
Inspired by emotional storytelling, such as Pixar’s Inside Out 2, we designed a workshop where participants create “emotion monsters” based on their own experiences. This activity aimed to engage young people in emotional literacy through character creation.
We first tested the workshop with RCA peers, using prompts, a feelings wheel, and play-doh to create characters, which were then 3D scanned using Polycam. This test provided crucial feedback to simplify prompts, enhance the scanning process, and expand world-building beyond just the characters.
Resources like Collective Wisdom informed ethical co-creation practices, while Atlas of the Heart emphasized the importance of emotional literacy. Pixar’s storytelling methods and TeamLab’s interactive installations guided world-building and interaction design. Collaborative insights from Dylan Yamada Rice and Eleanor Dare enriched workshop methodologies.
Test Workshop
Inspired by emotional storytelling, such as Pixar’s Inside Out 2, we designed a workshop where participants create “emotion monsters” based on their own experiences. This activity aimed to engage young people in emotional literacy through character creation.
We first tested the workshop with RCA peers, using prompts, a feelings wheel, and play-doh to create characters, which were then 3D scanned using Polycam. This test provided crucial feedback to simplify prompts, enhance the scanning process, and expand world-building beyond just the characters.
Workshop with young children
In June 2024, we hosted our first workshop with nine students from Kensington Aldridge Academy at the RCA White City campus. Over two hours, participants explored emotional literacy, using the 'Feelings Wheel' to identify emotions. They then applied their understanding to design emotion-based characters and contribute ideas for the digital world, offering valuable insights for the development of the project.
In June 2024, we hosted our first workshop with nine students from Kensington Aldridge Academy at the RCA White City campus. Over two hours, participants explored emotional literacy, using the 'Feelings Wheel' to identify emotions. They then applied their understanding to design emotion-based characters and contribute ideas for the digital world, offering valuable insights for the development of the project.
3D Scanning with Polycam
Play-doh sculptures created during the workshop were digitised using Polycam, a user-friendly 3D scanning app for iPhone and iPad. To streamline the process, we set up a dedicated scanning booth equipped with a rotating table and optimised lighting.
Play-doh sculptures created during the workshop were digitised using Polycam, a user-friendly 3D scanning app for iPhone and iPad. To streamline the process, we set up a dedicated scanning booth equipped with a rotating table and optimised lighting.
Workshop Activity Booklet
We developed an activity booklet to enhance the workshop experience and gather responses about the emotion monsters and the world-building ideas of the participants. It included key term definitions, a copy of the 'Feelings Wheel,' prompts for character and world creation, and resources for both digital arts and mental health support. The booklet featured pull-out activity sheets to capture participants' thoughts, such as one who envisioned a world where happy monsters lived on mountaintops and sad ones in valleys, which directly influenced the design of our virtual world.
We developed an activity booklet to enhance the workshop experience and gather responses about the emotion monsters and the world-building ideas of the participants. It included key term definitions, a copy of the 'Feelings Wheel,' prompts for character and world creation, and resources for both digital arts and mental health support. The booklet featured pull-out activity sheets to capture participants' thoughts, such as one who envisioned a world where happy monsters lived on mountaintops and sad ones in valleys, which directly influenced the design of our virtual world.
These sheets encouraged participants to describe their creations, answering prompts such as “What is your monster good at?” and “What does your monster need help with?” Additionally, they drew the environments where their monsters would live. These responses became a crucial foundation for shaping the virtual world design.
World-Building
The digital sculpture garden evolved alongside the workshops, with its design deeply inspired by Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown. We conceptualised the world as a heart-shaped landscape, symbolising a space where emotions reside. The prototype was sculpted in play-doh, a medium chosen for its accessibility and as a metaphor for the malleable, impressionable minds of young people.
To ensure the world felt immersive and believable, we incorporated thoughtful details such as pathways, archways, and dens. The play-doh model was 3D-scanned using Agisoft, refined in Cinema4D, and imported into Unreal Engine for further development. Early iterations used clay models from our test workshops to populate the world, situating each monster based on its characteristics and creating foliage and elements around them.
The digital sculpture garden evolved alongside the workshops, with its design deeply inspired by Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown. We conceptualised the world as a heart-shaped landscape, symbolising a space where emotions reside. The prototype was sculpted in play-doh, a medium chosen for its accessibility and as a metaphor for the malleable, impressionable minds of young people.
To ensure the world felt immersive and believable, we incorporated thoughtful details such as pathways, archways, and dens. The play-doh model was 3D-scanned using Agisoft, refined in Cinema4D, and imported into Unreal Engine for further development. Early iterations used clay models from our test workshops to populate the world, situating each monster based on its characteristics and creating foliage and elements around them.
Immersive Exhibit
As we were developing the project, an opportunity emerged to exhibit at FRAMELESS as part of the Imagined Realities residency in their Blank Canvas gallery. FRAMELESS is the largest permanent multi-sensory experience in the UK, based in London’s Marble Arch. The space presented incredible opportunities which required entirely re-thinking the way audiences would experience the world.The huge canvas at FRAMELESS allows visitors to stand directly inside the world of Moody Monsters and see the creations at larger-than-life size.We were also able to work with Lian Dyogi, our composer and sound designer, to develop an incredible soundtrack that brings a whole new dimension to the experience.
As we were developing the project, an opportunity emerged to exhibit at FRAMELESS as part of the Imagined Realities residency in their Blank Canvas gallery. FRAMELESS is the largest permanent multi-sensory experience in the UK, based in London’s Marble Arch. The space presented incredible opportunities which required entirely re-thinking the way audiences would experience the world.The huge canvas at FRAMELESS allows visitors to stand directly inside the world of Moody Monsters and see the creations at larger-than-life size.We were also able to work with Lian Dyogi, our composer and sound designer, to develop an incredible soundtrack that brings a whole new dimension to the experience.
