Interviews: Hanna Schrage

When asking Hanna about issues concerning face filters, I found her perspective was insightful in the separation of the designer and the interpretation of the work by the audience. Although the audience should be considered and the design communicates something, their interpretation cannot be the fault of the designer. This is something that can be applied to all aspects of designing as well just as face filters.

Do you see any issues with the way that filters distort our face and the growing use of them?
I think there are two aspects to this. I don't see any issue with the way that face filters that are used for fun. However, although everyone looks good in a photo with things like making your skin smooth, it really enforces beauty ideals and doesn't show us any ways of being beautiful that aren't like that. 
There is a really fun face filter that was created to ironically make you appear like you have had loads of mad plastic surgery, but then it became a really big thing and plastic surgeons were asking for face filters to be made for them like that so that people could see what they look like when they are done with their treatment. This was a huge misunderstanding because the filter was made to be ironic and be critical about plastic surgery. 
I think that everyone has do decide for themselves when it gets to a point when they feel ugly without it.

As well as finding out her thoughts on the implications that design for filters have on the audience, I wanted to ask about the face as a surface/canvas for design. She mentions how it has brought a lot of female designers to 3D design, which is important due to the amount of male 3D designers. Knowing that there are more female 3D designers is encouraging, as she later explains how it is so helpful in speaking with other female designers who create similar work so you don't feel isolated and alone in the work you do. So although not many people do 3D or VR design that I know of, there are still people out there in a similar position.

"I ask this as I am interested in how it is also being used for design. What are your thoughts on that?"
"Spark AR is a really easy software to use and brings a lot of women into 3D design and is a really positive thing."
"What specific place inspires you online and what specific place inspires you in real life?"
"The digital-gal collective is really inspiring; feeling like you are not alone in the kind of work you do and talking to other women and seeing their work and how they are doing. It is a great place to collaborate and hear about peoples experiences, but also looking at work that isn't like your own from other disciplines." She then explained how this is true to real life as well; the relationships and discussion with like-minded people.

When asking Hanna the virtual experience she has had that has inspired her, I agreed with her in saying that there has been a limited amount of work that is similar to what we individually want our VR to be like, however as research into this type of work has proven that more and more designers are emerging. This is exciting for being a source of inspiration and acceptance for the medium, but also something to be wary of - that it is not as new as we think, and the process of designing for VR and 3D is still to be considered, questioned and experimented with as much as traditional design.

"What virtual experience have you had that has inspired you?"
"When I did my first VR project I found that there was a lot of VR trying to be like the real world, which kind of counter inspired me. I didn't see any VR that I was thinking of; I didn't want to experience a replica of the room I was already in, I wanted something that would blow my mind. I was interested in creating a space that you have never experienced before. I saw a really good piece by Kirstie Crew which was more recent which is something I would like my VR to be like."

I wanted to understand what inspired her to work with 3D and VR, as I have been unsure of my timing in starting to learn the process. However after hearing how she began to work in this field of design and her reason behind it, I felt a lot more reassured that I was doing the right thing. It was comforting to hear that she wasn't taught the programs you needed for VR and 3D as I also have had to teach myself the software. Being in the position she is in now and hearing that she had stuck to what excited her instead of doing what everyone else was doing is really empowering and inspiring for my own practise; knowing that it can feel isolating now but could lea to more fulfilling opportunities in the future.

"What lead you to using 3D software and creating 3D environments in your practise?"
"When I started doing graphic design in Germany, the school felt like this place where all the graphic designers were using Helvetica and wearing turtle necks and I felt really alienating. I moved onto illustration where I found it was really important to me to create worlds. I started doing more graphic design and 3D type. I then started building the worlds I was illustrating in 3D, finding it was such a compelling medium that is a whole new level of immersion that you could never really have with drawing. This then lead to VR which I had no idea what I was doing but there wasn't that much of it around so it was difficult to do. After doing this for my final project I found a couple of new programs had come out that completely changed everything and made it really easy."

"I think graphic design courses are changing now which I am happy about, but when I was on the course, I felt like 3D design is a thing that was for mathematical geniuses; for people that a really good at technology. I felt like I wasn't that person as I was doing book design, making posters, screen-printing etc. But once I crossed into 3D I found it totally possible and found it so much more interesting than graphic design because you can do so much more. There are also many less 3D designers than graphic designers so you get paid much more, which is important to think about as graphic designers just get exploited. But the key thing is that I am 300X more excited by 3D design than graphic design."

It was interesting, as a designer that is mostly digitally based, to hear Hanna talk about consuming media and how it was an effect on ourselves as designers. Even if we work digitally, it doesn't mean we have to draw inspiration from our computers. It is possible that this can have more of a negative impact on your work.

"Could you show me an image that you have found online that has stuck with you?"
"I really struggled with this because there are artists I love on instagram, but maybe because of the way we consume pictures now, there hasn't been one that has stuck with me. I have more of an interest in actual physical  objects. If you look at the objects then my work it makes more sense. I think I draw more from real world textures and live interactions than I do online because I feel like you quite quickly fall into traps that you start to replicate the work you see."

LEAVEOUT
"How did the collaboration for UJU come about?"
"I did a residency at a uni, which is how the project came about, with about ten other students to work with. Three of them were interested in the project so I directed this vision. It wasn't entirely collaborative because two of them were very technical so dealt with the execution of it but the other was more of a collaboration. The residency came about through my uni; they emailed other unis around the world and I responded to it because it was specifically a VR residency, and I got it and spent three months in Korea."
LEAVEOUT

It was interesting in this question to hear Hanna talk about the way that the work created for VR is not seen as much for the content and experience, but simply for it as a medium. I think this is due to it still being new to the audience, especially for design audiences. I think as an aim, getting to the point where my VR work is so immersive and interesting as a concept itself so that the audience/user forgets about the form it is in would be an exciting place to reach, not just for myself but for all those who create VR work. Christie touched upon this in her interview explaining how her studio like to practise in the mindset that these softwares are tools to help us reach an end goal, not a God we should worship.

"What are your future intentions for your practise?"
"I would like to further explore VR work. Rather than being defined by the medium I'm using, I want to further explore the worlds you can create without trying to replicate the real world. I want to try and create something entirely new so that we position ourselves in a completely abstract digital space. It's always hard to find space between personal projects and making money, which I think is everyones problem, so there always has to be compromise. I got a really fun freelance project last year for Selfridges, which was really fun and they paid me well, so it would be good to get more work like that."

As I am unsure what I am going to do once I finish uni, especially with the kind of work I create, I found it important to ask for advise and understand how others have successfully found work. Hanna surprised me in saying that you move around a lot with jobs, but it makes sense in order to gain experience and find what is right for you. It was also interesting hearing that her and her friends got a cheap studio as I haven't previously heard of people doing that, but it sounds like a good way of sticking together and finding work.

"What did you do when you left uni?"
"I went travelling for a bit whilst writing out applications which I would not advise anyone to do ever because it just ruins your holiday. Then I got the residency in Korea for three months. Then when I got back I joined a cheap studio with all my mates which was really good to do badly paid freelance jobs and write out applications while also being with friends (because it's quite a depressing period). Then I got a job which I have been doing for two years now."
"Do you have any advise for those leaving uni?"
"Once piece of advise is that it is hard for everyone. I know two people that got hired form uni out of the hundreds of people I went to uni with. Most of the time you don't have any experience or very little so you have to lie a bit and pretend. 
The key thing is to not think that what you do after uni isn't what you do for the rest of you life. Don't weigh any application by thinking that you will have to do it for like fifty years. Just getting a foot on the ladder and starting something will give you experience to do something you like more. It's normal to move around loads so don't put too much pressure on that initial decision."

It was interesting to hear Hanna compare story telling and virtual reality as I never thought about in that way. For such different mediums, they are both creating a space that doesn't physically exist. Even though these spaces don't physically exist, they still have an impact on us, which is something to think about when using this medium for communication design - what impact do I want to have through the virtual space I create? How will the user potentially interpret what I have designed?

"How and why do you explore the relationship of the real and virtual world?"
"I suppose I just find it really interesting. I guess it's just what happens when we tell a story; why do we need anything more than the physical reality that we live in? For me it's just the extra layer we put on reality; we exist and then we put an experience on top of that which isn't real. By doing this we move through emotions and concepts that then feeds back into our lives. So the experiences we have virtually will change the perspective that we have on real life. I think the moving in and out of that is where revaluation of your reality happens, which is something really interesting to me."

LEAVEOUT
"What is your favourite work you have done and why?"
"My final project I worked on for my MA would be my favourite because I had so much time to work on it and think it through, and what I'm really happy about is that while I tried to conceptualise it, it is actually a really intuitive project where I stuck to my guns with it and did what I wanted to do. While this was really hard I did manage to bring it to VR and I still really enjoy watching it in VR. It is the only project that I'm not tired of. I don't know what it says, it says something, and it still feels really profound to me in the way that a lot of my projects didn't have that purity of focus that I had with that one."
LEAVEOUT

Both Christie and Hanna have complained about the amount of time that renders take, which I will need to expect when creating this type of work and consider when dealing with time frames and quality.

"What technology do you wish existed?"
"I hope that in twenty years I won't have to render ever again and everything will be pre-rendered."

LEAVEOUT"Do you see your practise changing with the new software and technology being created?"
"I guess I will keep adapting with it. It's quite exciting to get a challenge through new technology and it's just fun to play around with."
LEAVEOUT

I found her answer to getting stuck in VR interesting as it shows how much this route of design requires a range of skills. Hanna shows that if you want something that bad you have to just do it even if it makes you sick. To get to a point where you are happy with your work you have to learn.

"What would you do if you got stuck in VR?"
"I would explore and then try and find an escape. There is only so much time you can spend in there before feeling horrendously nauseous. I can be in it for quite a long time because of the VR game I made where I had to train myself. But especially when I was programming the player control was horrible because I'm not a programmer but I tried. I kind of succeeded but I made myself feel really sick for about three days."