Infiniti: Interactive Mirrors
This project 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 different focus, 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.
Client: Infiniti / George P. Johnson
Agency: madein.la
Roles: Concept, Creative Director, UX Director, Technical Director, Producer