This exhibit for the new Honda FCX Clarity, a limited production hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, features physical interactives, videos, and large-scale graphics. Designed and developed in collaboration with Hush and Second Story. (A detailed project description will be added soon.)
I completed this project while working as Director of Interactive Media at George P. Johnson.
Arm it. Crash it. Review it. That’s the concept behind this physical interactive that lets users experience all of the Honda safety features that come to life during a frontal car crash of a 2008 Honda Accord. Through the use of a series of physical controls, users set up and initiate the crash. Then using a jog wheel, they are able to scrub through the slow motion video in detail to see the exact moments in which each safety feature activates, and how they help to protect the body before, during, and after impact. This interactive was featured in the Honda booth at all four of the major North American auto shows and was designed and developed in close collaboration with the brilliant team at Small Design Firm.
I completed this project while working as Director of Interactive Media at George P. Johnson.
Print shops, paper jams and plugins. Oh, the fun and frustrations we had on this project. As part of Honda’s overall “visitor engagement” strategy within the auto show environment, this interactive car builder invites auto show attendees to customize and build a Honda Civic SI through three simple steps. The customized car is represented on screen by a dynamic 3D rendering which gives the visitor full control of their choices before it is printed onto a foldable dye-cut sheet of paper. The result is a fun, unique and Honda branded 3D paper model car that the visitor can fold on the show floor or at home. This interactive was featured in the Honda booth at all four of the major North American auto shows and was designed and developed in collaboration with Odopod.
I completed this project while working as Director of Interactive Media at George P. Johnson.
The idea for the Acura Interactive Oracles began back in July of 2006 during a few meetings I had with Geoff Mye, the creative director on the Acura account at George P. Johnson. Our discussions centered on ways in which we could help Acura in their continuing strategy to establish themselves as an innovative, technology-focused luxury brand. Geoff was starting to design the new Acura exhibit for the 2007 auto show season and wanted to create a space - that by its very nature - said “innovation”. Together we explored different ways in which we could extend this thought to more personal touchpoints within the space. We developed several different large-scale interactive concepts, before refining our idea for the Oracles.
Once we had our concept well established, we outlined four of the main goals for the project. The first was to create a unique, circular display system that could be approached from any angle and be used by multiple people at once. Second, the Oracles should integrate a sensor system that would allow people to use both of their hands at the same time. Third, the display system would need to be completely self-contained, so that it could easily be moved from one location to another. Lastly, we wanted to create a fun, engaging experience that would allow users to explore the Acura brand in a unique way.
After a week of design research, I created a prototype of the projection system that enabled us to figure out the height and width of the table, and if the project would indeed be feasible. Next, I enlisted the services of MOTO to help create the multi-user, multi-touch sensor system and integrate the projector, touch surface and optics. We collaborated with Mindflood and Ian Brewer on the design of the Flash interface and content. Phil Van Allen advised on interaction issues, and helped us develop a few small test projects, as we explored different interaction possibilities. The content on the Oracles was recently updated for the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show. Jonathan Jarvis and Sebastian Bettencourt helped to concept, design and refine the new interface and experience.
Each of the three Oracles that we built consist of a tabletop based projection with a high lumen projector mounted underneath, and a multi-user, multi-touch sensor system above. As visitors move their hands across the surface, Acura related graphics and symbols come to life with a flourish of activity and sound. Two interface elements allow visitors to control the experience. An inner slider / handle lets users select from four different categories of visuals: technology, connected, performance, and design. The two outermost sliders / handles, allow a user to control the color spectrum, from which the symbols will randomly select, when they generate themselves.
I completed this project while working as Director of Interactive Media at George P. Johnson.
Scion, a division of the Toyota Motor Corporation, challenged us to create a compelling interactive experience for their new auto show space that would help bring their brand to life. Working collaboratively with Mindflood, we focussed our attention on the process of customization, which is central to Scion’s brand, and developed a unique large-scale interactive display system for Mix It Up that immerses the user in the experience of creating their own customized virtual Scion. The content is shown on two 50″ plasma screens, one of which is used as a touchscreen interface to select a model, color, wheels, body accessories, applied graphics, and a background image. With each element chosen, the user is also laying down musical tracks – bass, drum, melody – to create a custom audio composition. By the end of the process, each user has created a unique mix that plays through a set of integrated speakers.
We designed the Scion Mix It Up Experience to deliver the final user-created content in two different ways:
T-Shirt:
Once the user completes their customized car, the kiosk sends the information to a print server which, in turn, prints the car out on iron-on transfer paper. Those print-outs are then fused onto a t-shirt using a hot press. Users walk away with their own custom scion t-shirt. This creates an ongoing interaction with the brand and turns each user into a walking billboard for Scion’s customizable and expressive identity.
Email:
Once the user completes their customized car, they enter their information and the kiosk emails them a screenshot of their creation that can then be used to decorate their desktop, cell phone or anything else they can think of.
Mix It Up was first revealed at the 2006 Toyota National Dealer Convention in San Antonio, TX, to more than 5,000 visitors. The second week of January it made its auto show debut at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
I completed this project while working as Director of Interactive Media at George P. Johnson.
For their new booth at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, Acura challenged us to come up with some inventive ways to highlight three of their most important vehicle technologies: VFT (Variable Flow Turbo), SHAWD (Super Handling All Wheel Drive) and NAV (Navigation System). It was important to them that the technology displays not only provide detailed information on each feature, but do so in a unique and engaging way. Geoff Mye, the creative director on the Acura account at George P. Johnson, and I focussed our attention on exploring the many ways in which we could tell each story through the use of different media types including interactive components, motion graphics and physical elements. We collaborated with Hush on the visual and motion design of all the media and I developed all of the software in Flash. In the end we came up with three unique displays that were designed in very different ways, yet still integrated well within the design language of the Acura auto show space.
One of the enjoyable aspects of working on this series of projects was the fact that each of the displays ended up being a custom build using different technologies, including a variety of sensors, microcontrollers, touchscreens, computers, display systems and software that required me to come up with some inventive solutions.
I completed this project while working as Director of Interactive Media at George P. Johnson.
Andrew provides a one-stop source for managing the entire lifecycle of a wireless network with a comprehensive portfolio of complete wireless solutions. Composed of two groups —Antenna, Cable and Cabinet and Wireless Network Solutions— the businesses cover RF site solutions, wireless infrastructure, network solutions, and coverage and capacity systems. This interactive model was created as a unique way to showcase their products and services at conferences and trade shows. Jamie Barlow brought me onto the project to help art direct the interactive components, code the Flash interface and direct the technical integration of the reactive lighting modules, each of which responds to a user’s selection on the touchscreen.
A dream project. That’s pretty much how I would describe it. It allowed me to continue developing the unique interactive mirror display system I had created for my MFA thesis project, In Search of Identity, with a bigger budget, and better technology. Joel McCall, the creative director on the Infiniti account at George P. Johnson, had seen the recent large-scale interactive installations I completed in graduate school and hired me to concept, creative direct and produce the Infiniti Interactive Mirrors, as part of the new Infiniti booth he was designing for the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. My challenge was to create a fascinating, emotionally rich, interactive experience that demonstrates how design manifests itself in Infiniti vehicles. An experience that had never before been seen in an auto show context.
The installation consists of three 8’ high by 3.5 ’ wide panes of mirrored glass placed side by side, each displaying rear-projected content from a high-lumen projector. A user standing in front of the mirrors has the unusual sensation of seeing their reflection and the projected content simultaneously. Sensors embedded in the structure above each pane register when a user reaches out to a “hot spot,” allowing users to navigate the projected content without ever needing to touch the “screen”. This, combined with the scale of the system, and the projected image being captured on the inside surface of the glass, creates a unique spatial experience where the content appears organically before the viewer. An additional sensor recognizes when a user approaches and automatically activates the mirror to welcome him/her.
To take advantage of the spatial experience, content was designed in three dimensions, using scale, motion and depth perspective to make users feel like they are immersed in and moving through the imagery, not just viewing it. Integrating full motion video, Flash animation, motion graphics, still photography, dynamic type and responsive sound, the resulting content enables users to explore the guiding vision of the Infiniti brand. This includes a broad sampling of ways this vision has transformed how Infiniti vehicles look, feel and move, as well as how each Infiniti model is an expression of the brand promise.
Designed and developed in collaboration with George P. Johnson, Mindflood, The Designory, and Phil van Allen.
For more information on the project please visit:
The Nissan Interactive Sketchbook is an interactive installation that allows auto show attendees to explore the Nissan design process through a large-scale, up close look at a car designer’s research and sketches. It was created as part of a series of media elements that together formed the design gallery of the new Nissan booth for the 2006 Detroit Auto Show.
The concept for the sketchbook was born during my first visit to Nissan Design America in San Diego. I had the opportunity to spend some time with John Cupit, Manager of the Exploratory Group and designer of the Urge concept car, as well as with Brenda Parkin, Manager of the Color Studio. They gave me some great insights into their design development process and I thought the sketchbook would be a wonderful way for the public to learn a little bit about how imagination is transformed into reality at Nissan.
I collaborated with Casey Sheehan on this project.
The Lexus Hybrid Zone was one of the prominent areas of the new Lexus booth at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. I worked closely with Mark Lawrence from George P. Johnson and the talented team over at Belief to help art direct the two different media elements within the space. The large background animation was designed to draw people into the space, while the smaller scale video was created to introduce visitors to the innovative hybrid system featured in the Lexus GS 450h and RX 400h and their performance, fuel economy, and reduced emissions features.
When you change the way you look at reality, amazing things can happen. That’s the Nissan spirit. The Nissan Shift. How do you take a traditional auto show wheelstand and give it the Nissan Shift? That was the challenge presented to me by David Lentz, the creative director on the Nissan account at George P. Johnson. I began the project by completing a series of design research studies and a competitive audit of all the wheelstands displayed at the most recent Detroit Auto Show. What I found was that, for the most part, they all took a very traditional approach to displaying information about each vehicle through the use of static graphics. One wheelstand per vehicle. My concept took a dramatic shift from this approach by thinking of each wheelstand as a dynamic information vessel, able to be rotated, and focussed towards each vehicle of interest, with a built in touchscreen interface for navigating the content.
Using a potentiometer, a microcontroller and Flash, I developed a prototype that was used to help refine the concept before working directly with Jamie Barlow, Mindflood, and Hüttinger, an exhibition engineering firm in Germany, to refine and finalize the physical, creative and technological development of the project. Each interactive wheelstand contains the entire Nissan vehicle lineup, and can be easily custom configured on site in minutes, through a simple application, once the final vehicle floor plan has been decided upon and the cars have been moved into place.
This interactive installation uses a human-scale display system to allow visitors to explore the photographic work of artist Tatiana Parcero on multiple levels of their own choosing. By developing a unique projection technique and by embedding a diverse range of sensors into the physical display, I created an innovative way for users to be incorporated into and interact with the artist’s work. The exhibit also includes a dynamic spatial interface that allows the user to explore a timeline of the artist’s personal and professional history.
Experienced at:
Help Wanted: Collaborations in Art
Center on Contemporary Art (COCA), Seattle, WA
March, 2005
Graduate Media Design Studio / Thesis Show
Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
December, 2004
This interactive facade installation allows users to explore a hybrid cityscape while controlling the actions of several unique characters. This was a commissioned installation for ResFest, which puts on a digital film festival each year with programs that include short films, music videos, and motion design. They asked me to create a unique interactive experience for a Nike “Art of Speed” film screening after-party held within the outdoor courtyard space of the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Taking advantage of this unique opportunity, I transformed one of the building’s multiple facades into an interactive projected narrative that incorporated visual elements from Venice Beach and the Hollywood area. I collaborated with stolen on this project.
Experienced at:
RES / Nike Art of Speed screening series
Egyptian Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
August 17th, 2004
This interactive projection responds to the flow of people entering and leaving a gallery space. The project was a unique collaboration between myself, Jamie Barlow and two other designers who run the UNO gallery in Los Angeles, CA. We created a projection on the exterior facade of their space that responded to the flow of people entering and leaving. Every time a person walked through the doorway the colors would shift 10% in hue and saturation. Inside, visitors were treated to a Video Show featuring selected motion graphics and short film work done by Art Center and CalArts students. Through the use of additional sensors placed on the sides of the windows, I provided an opportunity for visitors to control the test pattern colors directly through personal interaction with the facade.
Experienced at:
UNO Video Show
UNO Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
August 28, 2004
This interactive human-scale display system acts as an information beacon, helping visitors explore the Supersonic art exhibit at the newly-built Art Center south campus. The two main goals for the installation were to help visitors gain a better spatial understanding of a new building and to provide them with a visual guide that assists in locating a particular artist’s work. I collaborated with Scott Nazarian on this project.
Experienced at:
Supersonic
Art Center College of Design - South Campus, Pasadena, CA
June 12, 2004
This project pretty much started it all for me so to speak. It began my focus on exploring the possibilities of combining the worlds of Architecture and interaction design. Scott Nazarian was instrumental in sparking my interest in this area and it was an absolute pleasure collaborating with him on this project. So what is Studio Index? It was our first attempt at creating a unique human-scale interactive display system. We wanted to get away from designing media for small screens, and instead, develop large scale interfaces that abandon the use of a mouse, in favor of a dynamic range of sensors that allow the human body to be directly used as an interactive input device.
Using, a mylar screen, a computer, infrared sensors, a microcontroller and a projector we built an installation that allowed visitors to use their hands to explore some of our studio’s projects through the use of a simple Flash interface. Through this working prototype, we were able to ask questions about scale and encounter. Will a viewer perceive information differently when they are “immersed within it” instead of just “looking at it”? Will their experience be more emotional, viceral, or lucid?
Moments in time when a space is transformed by light. This interactive black and white photography exhibit contains a collection of 90 photographs that were taken during my three months of travel and architectural study throughout Europe and Scandinavia. They are studies in composition, proportion, light and shadow.
Born Magazine is a venue for art and literature collaboration. Since 1997, artists from all over the world have teamed up with award-winning writers to engage Born’s audience. Original projects are brought to life on the web every three months through the use of motion, sound, and interactivity. I was asked by Born to contribute to their Summer 2004 issue by collaborating with writer Simon Perchick. Special thanks to Adriana Parcero for helping out with the photo shoot. This is what we came up with:
From downtown to Santa Monica, use this interactive map of Wilshire Boulevard to explore Los Angeles’s architectural and cultural heritage, through a detailed look at the history of over 100 buildings. Designed specifically to take advantage of a user’s screen size, this map allows visitors to create their own custom tour, by filtering for buildings of interest through a wide range of options including architect, style, and function. It also lets users submit their own memories about each building, giving us all some personal insight into the already rich story of this famous Boulevard.
I completed this project while working as Design Director at Hello Design.
Characters Welcome. That was the concept we focused on for the rebranding of the number one basic cable network in the world. We wanted to celebrate the many unique and intriguing characters that make up the USA Network viewing landscape. Not only the characters in the original series, movies and sporting events like Monk, Denzel Washington and Andy Roddick, but also characters like you and me who enjoy the shows. We created a site that brought everyone’s personality to life through strong imagery, exclusive video features and interactive games.
We also developed showusyourcharacter.com, cable entertainment’s first digital social networking space. The site allows users to show off their own unique character by creating a profile and recording themselves with a web cam. They can then vote for their favorite characters, chat with their newly made friends and join show communities. The success of the website inspired the USA Network to create Characters Wanted, a nationwide character contest.
I completed this project while working as Design Director at Hello Design.
With boutiques in Santa Monica and on Melrose Avenue, Suzanne Felsen is a well respected Los Angeles based jewelry designer. This website was designed to showcase her unique collection, that balances classical warmth with a modern edge.
The Nyumbani Village project is a multidisciplinary studio closely examining the complex needs of elders and children who will reside in a prototype Nyumbani (”home” in Swahili) Village in Kenya. The village is a prototype for a series of sustainable communities in Africa for elders and orphans left behind in the AIDS pandemic. The Kenya Village Studio documented within the Nyumbani Village Concept Cards is the first result of Art Center’s involvement in a coalition of United Nations and Kenyan government agencies, local non-governmental organizations, and private-sector contributors that, together, will help confront this enormous challenge.
The studio was composed of 13 students, both undergraduate and graduate levels, from seven different majors. Because of the complexity of the project and the diversity of work produced throughout the term, a flexible, easily updateable communication tool was necessary to document the work of the studio. The Nyumbani Village Concept Cards is that tool.
The physical form of a set of cards was decided upon late in the term after months of design research, identity studies, and signage explorations. The cards are divided into five sections based on the five areas of the project: Research, Identity Studies, Village Planning, Housing, and Sacred Spaces. Different paper stocks and a color-coding system was used to identify these different sections. The cards are two-sided, with one side dedicated to text-heavy descriptive content and the other side to larger images. To solve the problem of reproducing large, detailed plan drawings on a small card, we allowed some cards to work together to form larger images, while also working separately to highlight certain features of the larger pieces.
We produced approximately 50 sets of cards for distribution to afore-mentioned organizations for promotion of the project. We also created custom-designed laser-cut packages for the cards that were assembled by hand. A short DVD documentary piece produced by a participating film student was included to complete the kit. We hope that this Kenya Village Project will inspire others in design education and practice to become involved in work that can truly make a difference.
This project explores personal voice through social commentary in relation to local community and current world political affairs. This 20″ x 30″ poster is composed of universal isotypes.