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ellatang.xyz

2024

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This site was designed as a digital home for work across studio art and interactive media through three main sections: Studio, Projects, Playground.

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It was built from scratch using HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

Web Design
Web Dev
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ellatang.xyz

A Personal Portfolio Website

Documentation

In the year 2046, a time with more advanced technologies, a capitalist-controlled Metaverse becomes the primary workplace. What is hidden inside the sugar-coated metaverse workplace is the labor exploitation that no one can escape from. People have to work day and night like hamsters on a perpetual wheel to sustain themselves.

As work takes over life, social relationships of people are built more based on virtual identities, and their real-world identities gradually diminish. As a result, death is no longer the end of biological life, but rather the moment when a person's real-world identity is entirely replaced by their virtual identities.

Rest in Metaverse

This 2 min 1 sec short video introduces the project setting in a non-linear narrative. The animation was modeled and rendered in Blender, and the final video was edited in Final Cut Pro.

In Memory of All the Deceased

Through scanning the digital screen that randomly displays a portrait of the deceased from by 100 AI-generated human faces with their mobile device, viewers will be able to enter a memorial hall in augmented reality. This AR experience was built in Unity.

Short

This 1 min 44 sec short video expands in a non-linear narrative.

Tech Overview

  • Microcontroller: ESP32 (WiFi + Bluetooth)
  • Motion: 2 DC motors controlled via Adafruit Motor Shield V2
  • Control Logic: Forward, backward, left, right, and stop
  • Connectivity: Bluetooth for wireless control via mobile device
  • Power: Rechargeable battery pack
  • Chassis: Custom 3D-printed duck-shaped shell

The Duck – Bluetooth-Controlled Robot

Context
Research
Solution
Prototype
Design

Role

Researcher

Designer

Tools

Figma

Context

Too Much Information, Too Much Fatigue

Today, people are saving more information than ever. Devices offer way more storage than before, and cloud services make it easy to save everything. But the more saved, the more need to manage. Despite having tons of productivity tools around us, from calendars to to-do lists to voice memos, many people still report feeling overwhelmed. This is because many of those tools still require decision-making on things like labeling, structuring, and prioritizing, which actually drains energy and leads to cognitive fatigue.

Research

001 Related Work

Cactus was built upon fundamental research in cognitive sciences about cognitive & decision fatigue.

A. Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller)

Less clutter = better focus

Working memory is easily overwhelmed by extraneous cognitive load from poorly designed interfaces and scattered information.

B. Decision Fatigue (Iyengar, Vohs)

Fewer choices = more energy

Too many choices can overwhelm cognitive processing, reduce satisfaction, and lead to decision paralysis.

002 Landscape Analysis

The landscape analysis focused on widely used tools, such as Apple Notes, Google Calendar, and third-party apps, such as Todoist, Sunsama, and Structured. While each app offers useful features, they also present limitations that Cactus aims to improve on.

1

Apple Notes

Simple and built-in — but lacks structure

Works basically as a digital version of a traditional paper notebook. Easy for information to become scattered and difficult to retrieve.

2

Google Calendar

Great for scheduling, not for general info

Requires manual adaptation for unstructured tasks

3

Todoist

Smart capture, priority levels — but has overwhelming UI

The mobile app feels overly simplified, while the desktop version can feel overly complex. The calendar view, though informative, can lead to visual overload due to the high density of interface elements.

4

Sunsama & Structured

Ritual-based and timeline-based interfaces — but require too much manual input

And too many unnecessary decisions, such as selecting color for each task. While color selection offers personalization, it often feels more aesthetic than practical, providing limited functional benefit and leading to more visual clutter.

003 User Studies

To better understand user needs, informal user interviews were conducted with family members and friends.

Too much manual input

Current tools interfaces are too complex

Hard to find things, don’t remember label

Input preferences: voice, text, or visual

Most open to AI but want control and clarity

004 User Personas

Based on the findings from competitor analysis and user studies, four primary user personas were developed to reflect these identified pain points people experience with current tools

The Forgetful One

Needs help remembering life’s little moments

The Structured Seeker

Wants structure, but no time for it

The Busy Multitasker

Always on the move — needs fast, hands-free support.

The Indecisive Prioritizer

Struggles to know where to start

Solution

"The Cactus Solution"

Talktive

Conversational AI & Voice interaction

The app allows storing and retrieving anytime anywhere through conversations

Smart

Auto categorization & prioritization

The app automatically categorizes, prioritizes, and organizes tasks behind the scenes, reducing theneed for manual input.

Chill

Minimal visual design & interfaces

The visual design is intentionally calm and minimal, avoiding overwhelm and keeping the interface quiet and focused.

Prototype

Visual Design

Down to Earth Simplicity: Designing for Calm and and Clarity

Cactus is designed to feel calm, grounded, and approachable. Instead of loud colors or complex shapes, it uses soft tones, clean lines, and open space so that every element has room to breathe.

001 Color Palette

The color palette is soft and neutral, inspired by cactus in natural environments. Functional colors are used just to highlight the tasks based on its level.

002 Typography

iOS Native Apple system font / San Francisco

003 Logo

The Cactus logo was designed to reflect both the personality and the function of the app.

The Frutiger typeface (Adrian Frutiger, 1975)
Sketch
Final

004 Icons

All the icons are 24px height and width and 2px stroke weight with theme variants in "Light” and “Dark” and state variants in “Selected” and “Default.”

005 iOS App Icon

Capriccio: Mob
Eyes wide, voices drowned,
Together we vanish,
without a sound.
Capriccio: Watch Out
Eyes above,
steps unsure,
danger hides in quiet lure.
Capriccio: La Vida
Born as breath,
died as rain
—woke againwith no face, no name.
Capriccio: Obsession
Wrapped in want,
I blur beneath—
now every thought wears your breath.
Capriccio: New Life
They walked into being,
and light followed—
as if things had quietly arranged.
Capriccio: Where There Is Light
She moved like fire through the dark,
each step a spark—
each spark a mark.
Capriccio: Obeisance
The body remembered
what the mind forgot—
a motion older than thought.
Capriccio: Symphony
The air split open in spirals and flame—
sound took shape
before it had a name.
Overview
Profiles
Design
Documentation

Role

Designer

Developer

Tools

Figma

HTML

CSS

Javascript

Where Play Meets Story

"Cute, fast, and surprisingly fun..."
"A collectible storybook you play over and over."

Mischievous animal fugitives have broken free! Armed with a catch box, it’s up to you to round them up before they escape. Each round is unpredictable, with randomly selected characters and distinct outcomes. Catch ‘em if you can in this retro fugitive-chasing experience!

  • Meet quirky animal fugitives, each with their own backstory
  • Move the box using cursor or touch input to catch fugitives before they disappear
  • Get different endings depending on who gets away
  • Enjoy retro visuals with glitch effects, and playful sound
  • Designed for web, optimized for desktop, functional on mobile devices

Profiles

Poster designed for each animal fugitive

Each animal fugitive in Wanted has a custom-designed poster as its character bio, including the fugitive’s name, crime, case number, and backstory, in the form of a wanted notice.

Design

Designed in Figma

The interfaces for Wanted’s core screens (Start, Game, and End) were initially designed in Figma. This stage focused on defining the overall visual language, experimenting with colors and typography while keeping consistency between the game’s narrative theme and its UI elements.

Documentation

Overview
Context
Problem
Goals
Design

Role

Designer

Developer

Tools

HTML

CSS

Javascript

Context

From studio to screen: a digital home for a multidisciplinary practice.

Coming from a diverse art background, my work has spanned across painting, sculpture, installation, coding experiments, and interactive media. As I transitioned into art and technology, I needed a portfolio that could reflect both my past in the arts and my current work in interactive media.

Problem

Existing platforms and templates too rigid to fit both art and interactive media.

Existing platforms and templates felt limiting as they often emphasized either static visuals or text-heavy  case study. As a result, they tend to fall short when it comes to showcasing multidisciplinary work.

For someone working across different media and both traditional and interactive, the challenge was to create a digital space that allows for experimentation, showcasing the playfulness while stays simple so users aren’t overwhelmed.

Goals

Balancing clarity, flexibility, engagement, and simplicity.

Clarity

Organize content so diverse projects (art, media, code) can coexist.

Flexibility

Support both static documentation (paintings, installations) and interactive experiments.

Engagement

Create an interactive “Playground” space where visitors can try live coding sketches.

Simplicity

Prioritize whitespace, typography, and clean navigation over decoration.

Solution

Final Design

The final design splits works into three sections: studio for traditional works, such as paintings and drawings; projects for flagship projects; and playground for playful, light works.

Home

Studio

for traditional works

Project

for flagship projects

Playground

for playful works