Sacrificial Tree App – “Small sacrifices for big blessings”

Team Yellow: Olga, Fond, Susan, Carolina, Carmela, Tuuli
Midterm Project w/Aalto


(First, Second, and Final Concept from left to right.)

The App:
Allows people to place a small object on a surface with a shape detection mechanism. A shape detection mechanism identifies the object, and then based on its shape triggers a change in the tree or its environment. Depending on the weight of the offering there will be a scale calculating how much is being given to the user in return. Each object will be tied to a different desired outcome – for example, placing a toy on the altar will bring your children luck in school, placing a ring can bring luck in a relationships, etc. Furthermore, the type of items being offered will be categorized into different groups – for example, relationships, work/school, money, health, etc. and the items will show different scenarios. For instance, the health group will trigger a specific type of feedback in the tree – so placing a health object will make the fruit grow on the tree, or placing money makes flowers grow at the root of the tree.

The Backstory:
The tree in the app is meant to look as real as possible and is based on a tree that exists somewhere in the world. The imagined company who developed the app would have chosen this tree and turned it into a “sacred tree” purely through marketing, getting fake testimonials from people saying how it changed their lives, etc.

The Objective:
This project seeks to make a commentary on the growing disconnection between human beings and nature, and our ever-growing reliance and dependency on technology to solve all of our problems.

Presentation link:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1x2iUR97ox3QM3CwobNq5UkKJ9PKsuoV4cNVUmY7Y9oc/edit?usp=sharing

Additional Documentation:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lVetOBarFVcW31ii8LWTP2xAlYzqANij?usp=sharing

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Job duties for the Project:

Tuuli
– Concept Brief
– Updated sketch

Carolina
– Tree Illustration
– Physical Materials/Prototypes

Olga
– Tree phases animation

Fond
– Atmospheric Sound

Susan
– PowerPoint presentation
– Physical Materials

Carmela
– Physical Materials