Nau
Final Project

For my final independent project at the University of Derby, I focused on the value of time. At first it was my endeavour to create a project which commodified time in to a product - able to extend or shorten time for a price - for the sake of satirical parody on capitalism. This rapidly became less of a dark humour and more of a bleak reflection.

I chose to shift direction. At first I showed my project to a lecturer from a different discipline than my own, hoping to get an outsider's perspective. They suggested I illustrate a clockwork mechanism. The more I filled the page, the more it felt empty and colourless. It was when I injected colour into it that I found the joy and hope my project had been lacking, despite every effort to show it.

I decided the best way to demonstrate the value of time in a person's life was through an active use of daily reflection. Studies have shown that by use of daily reflection, people are more likely to feel an increased sense of mindfulness and presence in any given moment.

My app concept was to introduce a novel method of reflection. One which people may not necessarily consider on a day to day basis. It began as an exercise I printed and shared with my student group, but rapidly became a varied mix of unusual ways to chart a person's life. The most important thing I felt must be maintained within the app as a whole, was each reflection should never take so much time from a person's day that they lose their day entirely. This was my brand: Nau.

My usual process of working on the overall structure of my research was halted when I considered the need to use a marketing method I had never used before: live-action video. I knew that the best video would need good natural lighting, as well as pleasant weather in the outdoor settings I hoped to use. The weather forecast for the spring time of 2026 I was aiming for was dismal aside from one singular day. I kept that day for filming but did so before my brand guidelines or full branding had been completed, purely for scheduling.

Once I had completed the video I got back to my branding and overall structure, and - through feedback on each iteration in the development process - I realised the emotion and sense of day to day life, was missing.

Once I had cemented the structure and framework of my project and branding, the logical step for live-action was to create sting ads to evoke the feeling of the branding and app, without over-complicating them.

With the consent of the ceramics lead for the university, the owner of a high-end cafe in Oakwood, and the meijin of a local martial arts dojo, I began filming. Following development and some adjustments to framing, as well as deepening the simulated app on screen, Nau became a brand I was proud of. The emotional depth, greater examples of app design, and vibrance, all helped create a strong and hopeful entity.

It was at this point that I felt live-action alone may not be enough to bring a day to day feel to each sting ad. There needed to be something more - a link to the modern day and current events. Something to bring the sense of awe and hope which was in the current zeitgeist around the time of my project's creation: Artemis II.

At this point, I took a further step into the unknown with 3D modelling in After Effects. I had never done this before, but I also couldn't find a rocket to fly me past the moon to film it myself. The video began with the process of modelling the earth and moon as two spherical objects with accurate and aesthetically-pleasing albedo maps sourced from stock image libraries. I then created a null object and simulated a 35mm camera to attach to it, and fly around the back side of the moon. Then I found sound effects from pixabay and overlaid them to create an audio space reminiscent of space flight. The link below is that sting ad.

Once these had been completed, I collaborated with the cafe's owner from one of my sting ads, and shared a reel promoting my project within their space. In this video, I moved away from the branding of the project and closer towards my own personal brand of unhinged humour. This I then learned to caption with Premiere Pro, and posted onto my Instagram with a link to my GoFundMe.

The final stage in my project was to create a reflective video of my own, going back through the process of creating my brand, exploring the rationale for each decision, and allowing my assessors to see exactly what my brand's direction was.

Overall, I'm very proud of this project. It took many turns in its process, but by following my usual process of reasearch-first and strong structure, I was able to create an app concept's branding which was all my own. Something which I feel would genuinely bring a positive outlook to users' lives in the long term.

Now that I'm at the end of my seven year return through higher education, I am excited and nervous for what my future may hold. Whatever comes, and whether I develop this app or not, I know this was a project worth creating.