Good Magazine Installation

Concept & Creative Direction
Technical Direction
Development & Prototyping
UI/UX

GOOD Magazine came to RTOP looking for a way to engage the crowd at their SXSW launch party for the 2016 GOOD 100, an annual spotlight on individuals around the world who are tackling pressing global issues in extraordinary and innovative ways. This seemed the perfect opportunity to put into practice some of the more experimental techniques we’d been exploring.

We created a giant (or “architectural scale”?) interactive map revealing the names, contributions, and locations of each of the honorees, as well as six larger interactive features showcasing the work of selected figures. Each of these were presented as a black and white portrait which would come to life with color, sound and animation when touched.

Our intent was to create a sense of wonder and unexpected joy in engaging with a natural, tactile wood surface so dense in information. The technology was rendered “invisible” through the use of a layer of capacitive paint under the map with was wired to a capacitance-sensing Arduino monitoring the levels of electricity flowing through the circuit. A touch on the map would trigger a corresponding projection-mapped animation on the wall and change the color-coded LEDs behind the map’s frame, creating an ambient glow around the installation.

With just 12 days to complete this project from concept to execution, I led a team of 3 makers, one developer and one designer, to create a unique conversation piece for GOOD’s SXSW crowd and a project unlike any the agency had undertaken.

And the kids like it.