Insite was a class-wide research project I worked on in 2019, lead by Dr. Stacy Doore. I helped prepare accessible interfaces and conducted/processed user interviews in order to increase accessibility for the visually impaired at Bowdoin Art Museum. I also assisted in database work in MySQL used to catalog the physical space, which contributed to an audio navigation system solution, as well as the project's logo design.
Our work on the UX/UI team culminated in a number of solutions, such as 3D printed, relief-based braille art and navigation aides and three tiered visual descriptions (consisting of basic, spatial and visual descriptions), in order to facilitate independent traversal and enjoyment of the museum grounds. This was supported by interviews conducted with the Iris Network in Portland, Maine. We provided additional UI/UX support to the mobile app development team.
This painting is titled Apollo and Daphne and was completed by Jacopo da Pontormo in 1513. It is a black and white oil on canvas. It is rectangular in shape. 24 3/8 inches tall by 19 1/4 inches wide. It is displayed in a bright metallic gold wooden frame.
The figures are located in the center of the portrait. They take up about 1/2 of the picture. The portrait has Apollo standing in the right of the portrait. He is reaching out to Daphne with his right hand. Daphne is located in the left of the painting. She has her back to Apollo. She is dressed in a flowing fabric. Daphne’s fingers and arms are growing up into tree branches.
Pontormo’s haunting rendition of the tragic legend of Apollo and Daphne takes place in a shadowy nowhere land. This portrait portrays the futile romance between Apollo and Daphne; Apollo is deeply in love with Daphne, a woman who abhors Apollo’s advances. Located in the foreground center, Apollo is dressed in armor reaching out with his right hand towards Daphne's shoulder. As Apollo reaches out to lay his hand on Daphne, her fingers and arms in the left top background begin transforming into tree branches. In the portrait we witness the initial instant of Daphne’s transformation branches springing upward from her arms while the rest of her body remains in human form. The look of longing on Apollo’s face is apparent, both of them appear to still be moving leftward out of the image, as if in mid-chase. The transformative depiction of Daphne signals the end of the chase as she turns into a tree beginning with her hands and the top of her head. Apollo's touch reveals the futility of his desire, as well as the violence and persistence with which he pursued Daphne.