Graduate student finds confluence of art and science in interactive design

Photo by Dennis Burnett
His experience in mass communications led Umyot Boonmarlart to seek a graduate degree in interactive design and game development at SCAD.

By: Emily Green

Published: Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The résumé of Umyot Boonmarlart, an interactive design and game development graduate student at the Savannah College of Art and Design, extends to three pages. Perhaps that’s because Boonmarlart already holds a Master of Arts degree from Thammasat University in Thailand, and his previous work experience includes serving as a promotion manager, a story writer, a creative director and a radio producer.

Boonmarlart said he sees the future of mass communications evolving into interactive mixed media, and that’s why he decided to leave home in Bangkok, Thailand, and pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree at SCAD. “I was looking for a good interactive department and major,” he explained. “SCAD gave me a scholarship, and now I’m here.”

He said he has discovered that the interactive design and game development program at SCAD covers more territory than he expected, which has allowed him room for creative experimentation.    

“Before I got into interactive design I thought it involved designing a Web site or game or mobile device, but actually, interactive design is much more than that,” Boonmarlart said.

For example, a SIGGRAPH curator selected two of his interactive installations, “Civilization?” and “Paradise Lost,” for the “SpaceTime” student exhibition at the conference, held in San Diego Aug. 5-9. Both installations tracked visitors and incorporated their movements into the overall functionality.

For “Paradise Lost,” Boonmarlart transformed nine lines from John Milton’s epic poem into a virtually tangible experience. As words fell from top to bottom on a large screen, participants’ hand movements were tracked and displayed in red on the screen, so they appeared to grab the words.

“Civilization?” questioned the modern definition of the word by using camera motion tracking and screen-in-screen technology that allowed visitors to be followed by a butterfly or to appear as contributors to the death of a tree.    

“My philosophy for interactive design is what I was taught from SCAD: It’s not just about creating a fun thing or a game,” Boonmarlart said. “The media doesn’t matter as much as the message or the idea you’re trying to convey or communicate.”

Attending SIGGRAPH required a week away from Boonmarlart’s summer internship at the Chicago branch of Critical Mass, a Canadian-based communication firm focused on expanding clients’ Internet strategy and presence. He landed the only design internship offered in the Chicago office when he attended SCAD’s job fair during spring quarter 2007.

At Critical Mass, Boonmarlart contributed to the redesign of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Web site. Other projects included a series of motion graphics for Albertson's kiosk campaign “Selection 07,” which featured foods racing for first place, and assisting in the pitch for the redesign of ESPN’s Web site, which featured a customized navigation called “ESPN Express.”

At the end of the internship, Boonmarlart created a micro-site at the request of his creative mentors. “A Day in Critical Mass” showcases his work, using the office as a backdrop. Users can set up a virtual desk by choosing the computer and clients. The lunch menu, books, music, pictures and stationary options feature interviews of various people in the Critical Mass office.

Boonmarlart described interactive designers as a combination of artists and scientists. “If I have something to express, I have the capability to not just use a canvas and paint or Photoshop,” he said. “I can be like, ‘Let’s get out of the box. What can convey your message the best?’ Then you go for it. So we’re half inventor, half artist, I guess.”


Visit Boonmarlart’s Critical Mass blog and micro-site, or view his personal Web site.


Green is a publications editor.