Gao Huacong

Selected Applied Work · Cao Yu Theatre, Tianjin

Light & Shadow Theatre Café

A physical–digital café experience combining spatial projection, physical objects and cultural storytelling.

A team project in Tianjin’s Haihe cultural setting.

Three visitors around the curved café table, with projected flowers, cups and a vase.
Overall experience · Projected content becomes part of a shared café table.

My contribution

Projected Content · Interaction Guidance · Physical Touchpoints · On-site Implementation

I developed two projected narrative sequences, embedded animated cues to guide object placement, customised physical touchpoints for the existing magnetic trigger system, and participated throughout installation, calibration and filming.

01

Content Designed for Space

I developed two projected narrative sequences for an unusually wide, irregular tabletop. Composition and movement had to work across the physical surface.

Two sequences · My contribution

Floral Growth · Organic growth and bee guidance.
Da Gong Bao · Newspapers, opening books and fountain-pen guidance.

From content to a shared surface

The projections sit alongside cups, hands and conversation. The room-wide view shows how the content and physical objects come together in use.

Overall experience / team system · Includes object placement and the system’s response animation.

02

Connecting Projection & Physical Interaction

How does a visitor know where interaction can happen? I embedded animated cues into the projected content to suggest where to place an object.

A bee inside a glowing placement point, surrounded by projected flowers.
Bee · A placement cue within Floral Growth.
A fountain pen inside a glowing placement point on the newspaper surface.
Fountain pen · A placement cue within Da Gong Bao.

These are location cues within my projected sequences. The post-trigger response animation belongs to the wider team system.

Customised wooden coasters and a cup used as physical touchpoints.
Physical touchpoints · Customised cups and coasters.

Physical interface

An everyday object becomes a touchpoint

I designed and customised the coaster configuration, including the magnetic attachment underneath that allowed the physical object to work with the existing trigger system.

  1. Notice the animated cue
  2. Place the cup / coaster
  3. Existing magnetic trigger
  4. System response

My work connected the object to an existing system. The sensing technology and post-trigger response animation were outside my scope.

03

From Installation to Final Experience

I remained involved throughout installation and calibration, helping align the projected content with the physical environment and prepare the experience for use.

The team assembling the curved table on site, before projection setup.
On-site assembly · Working with the team during implementation.

Alongside installation, I designed and coordinated selected environmental details, including customised curtains and wall graphics.

I also participated throughout the final filming and documentation of the experience.

Hands, magnifying glasses, cups and a vase share a tabletop covered in newspaper projection.
The final experience · Projected stories meet objects, gestures and conversation.

Designing Beyond the Screen

This work shifted my attention to how digital content behaves on a physical surface, alongside real objects. Staying involved through implementation showed me how small visual and physical cues can make an interaction easier to discover.

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