ORGANS-ON-A-CHIP
Mock Editorial Cover
Description
This is a mock editorial cover for the scientific journal Nature. Based on a review article by Park, D. et al. discussing the topic of organs-on-a-chip, these small microfluidic devices contain human cells that can mimic organ structures, functions, and reactions to biological conditions.
Using a 3D medium, I chose to represent organs-on-a-chip through a visual metaphor of holographic organs and circuits. The goal of this project was to communicate the complex scientific topic of integrated organs-on-a-chip to an academic audience in a visually interesting manner.
Type
Mock editorial cover
Tools
Autodesk Maya, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator
Client
Stuart Jantzen, University of Toronto
Audience
Academic audience
Date
April 2022
Process Work
Thumbnails & Comprehensive
My ideation process started with a series of thumbnail sketches. After feedback from the client and my peers, I drafted a 2D comprehensive of my design. This included some colour palette and text layout tests. View the ideation process in this progression of thumbnails from left to right!
3D ModelLing
For my materials, I really wanted a holographic effect on the organs. I achieved this through the combination of a ramp and facing ratio node. This allowed me to create a lined and coloured emissions effect. The rest of my asset materials mainly just used an aiStandardSurface shader with modifications to transparency and emissions. An additional texture map was used for the material of the chip to provide a rough, plastic-like feel.
Finally, I rendered out my assets on different layers to better control the interaction of lights and reflective materials for post-production compositing in Adobe Photoshop.
References
Park, D., Lee, J., Chung, J. J., Jung, Y., & Kim, S. H. (2020). Integrating organs-on-chips: multiplexing, scaling, vascularization, and innervation. Trends in biotechnology, 38(1), 99-112.