Through this project, I wanted to bring in the community and collaborative aspect of collage, spinning the prototypical idea of a personal journal into a more ephemeral, interactive, and unexpected piece.

Participants can connect to this digital canvas by scanning a QR code on their phones, which allows them to add and manipulate gifs to create a constantly changing, audio-visual installation.

Inspired by the idea of the old internet, I wanted to create a world reminiscent of sites like coolmathgames and myspace, where I first experienced the playfulness of the web.

I chose GIFs as the primary element for the canvas because of their pixelated nostalgia and their connection to the charm of the early internet. The background is inspired by the checkered transparency of a PNG, reinforcing the idea that this site is a limitless creative space—just like a PNG where layers of elements can be freely added and arranged.

If no users have interacted with the site yet, this is the landing page! It sends users to the QR code link and constantly populates and depopulates the page with random gifs.

The site lives and changes on its own.

The user is meant to interact with the site on their phone, like a mobile game. Participants can select any sprite (out of over 50!) to place on the canvas.

The sprite will automatically be manifested on the canvas, and on the sprite controller page, the users can manipulate how it looks and sounds. For instance, they can move it vertically and horizontally across the canvas, flip the gif, play its sound, etc.

TV, stickers, postcards, and a QR code invite passersby to interact with the site.

You can try it out yourself with just your phone and a laptop!