The 2022 IDM Showcase made its in-person return to Brooklyn, but the projects spanned multiple worlds

The Integrated Design & Media (IDM) program at NYU Tandon aims to foster creative practice, design research, and multidisciplinary experimentation with emerging media technologies, and each year the program’s students showcase their work at a gala event that draws a curious and engaged audience.

As in years past, the 2022 projects — displayed in person for the first time in three years at 370 Jay Street — encompassed everything from traditional fine art to film to virtual and augmented reality, showing just how applicable IDM’s unique approach can be.

“The showcase consistently proves that coding and technology are creative endeavors as well as scientific ones,” said Industry Associate Professor Mark Skwarek. “Our IDM students are representative of the best of both worlds, and this is their chance to show the broader community what that means.”

The dozens of compelling undergraduate and graduate works exhibited can be explored on theIDM Showcase website, and, as always, there was something for everyone. While it would be difficult to point to highlights in a field of standouts, here are a few suggestions of where to start if you ...

Are concerned about unrealistic beauty standards:

Dive into Filter Culture by Michelle Wong, a site that explores the effects of the beauty filters that have now become ubiquitous on social media

or

Carely by Jing Yao (Stacey), a platform that provides an interactive and supportive space for young women as they develop a positive body image and learn to love themselves

Love to read:

Goodreads Improved by Thao Nguyen, a reimagining of the popular social media platform aimed at making it more accessible and appealing to a wider range of literature lovers

Are a passionate cook:

Plumeria Cookware by Jason Tsao, a brand that melds high performance with natural and aesthetically pleasing materials

Care about the environment:

Shower Power by Leila LI, an app that uses musical cues to encourage people to take shorter showers–a significant step considering that standard showerheads use 2.5 gallons of water per minute

or

The bacteria-inspired bottle by Julia Haskins, who fabricated her product with the help of the bacteria S. pasteurii and envisions them being sold in solar-powered vending machines at parks, campsites, or wherever litter has been a problem

Are thinking about exploring nonfungible tokens:

The Personal NFT Hub by Sia Chang, a platform that provides a primer and tool kit for anyone, especially artists, interested in participating in the NFT community

Have an interest in Black Culture:

BlackPrint Magazine by Charitssa Stone, a print publication that seeks to reveal the roots and history behind the trends and subcultures while also showcasing Black people who currently dominate those areas that don't get spoken about enough

Are still processing your experiences during COVID-19:

Could Isolation Be Beautiful and Meaningful? by Jiangying Guo is a photographic installation that places viewers in curtained seclusion to ponder images taken around the world over the course of the pandemic, in an effort to reconstruct and reimagine memory

Turned over rocks as a kid to see what might be living underneath, name and talk to your plants, or still appreciate a well placed set of googly eyes:

Thresholds: Interactive Sculptures by Dylan Reitz-Cruz, facilitates communication, empathy, and playfulness with the natural world by using embedded motors and sensors to animate objects such as tumbleweeds and oyster shells.

Want to communicate better:

Augmenting Emotion by Kristian Zadlo, amplifies the non-verbal cues used in face-to-face interactions, taking inspiration from emojis, GIFs, and avatars to create Snapchat filters that can be used to entertain and clarify communication with peers online

Need to relax:

Inner Light by Sounak Ghosh, a hybrid art and science project that uses virtual reality and EEG neurofeedback to provide audio and visual guides to inducing a relaxed but focused mental state

Are ready to interrogate the dynamics between the politics of gender, body, and other identity markers (and look amazing doing it):

Neither a Cyborg, Nor a Goddess by Ran Luo features a refashioned head-mounted VR device that enables an experience meant to help destabilize systemic patriarchal control over the female body and to regenerate power and autonomy on a more fluid panorama of non-binary realities

Just really love cats:

Feline Fashion In Future by Heyue Fu merges her background in fashion, knowledge of cat breeds, and technical know-how for a fun and colorful online experience

“The showcase brings together some of the most powerful work of the year, all of it displaying the wide range of talents possessed by the artists, designers, programmers, and engineers in the IDM program,” said Scott Fitzgerald. “Their work allows us to see the world from new and different perspectives and provides a window into how emerging technologies can be used to further the human experience.”