PROJECTS A Sixteen:Nine Podcast

  While shopping at Chicago's Magnificent Mile mall patrons can look to the ceiling and see a 190-foot long canopy of trees. Or, if they look at another moment, they may see a kaleidoscope of colours or a flock of local birds. That's because the skylight is actually a high definition LED canvas with content created at 16k resolution.And while the centrepiece of the installation is the magnificent ceiling, visible from all seven floors of the atrium, the entire mall experience has been informed with digital signage. I spoke with ESI Design's Director of Media Architecture, Greg Gallimore, via Skype about how they updated this 30-year-old high-end shopping destination by creating a unique atmosphere with thinking that was detailed enough to include The Cedar Waxwing, a bird local to the Chicago area.   Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

  The new Air Jordan store, opened in downtown Toronto in 2017, is a three-story retail environment created with the notion of providing a true customer experience.It features an underground kids-only concourse, an industrial-designed retail level, and an upper athletic training facility.While digital signage is limited to just two areas on the top floor, the way in which Air Jordan conceived of the store as a holistic experience, shows how screens and their content are just a part of the overall environment.On top of the DJ booth, you'll also find two separate zones for what's called the "Jordan Standard Games", which are interactive display-based grid tests that compare your agility level to Michael Jordan’s.I spoke with Mark McPherson, Executive VP and Scott Wouters, Director Project Implementation, from Advanced, an AV solutions provider in Toronto, about how this project is an indication of where retail could be heading in the future.    Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

  Chicago’s 150 Media Stream is a 127-foot long and 19-foot high permanent installation in the lobby of the new 150 North Riverside office building. It is comprised of 89 individual vertical LED displays or 'blades' creating a canvas of over 3,000 square feet. The content is driven by an ‘intelligent content library’ that constantly changes over time.Essentially it’s living content, using generative algorithms to mix content using data and programming to keep it relevant. There’s no advertising, messaging or monetization.The owners wanted something that would never get stale and they go so far as to seek and commission artists to create content. The custom built system allows playback of a huge variety of content, including gaming engines. I spoke with Chad Hutson, President of Leviathan, a digital design creative agency about this 'living sculpture'.   Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

  Imagine, while sitting in the lobby waiting for your next meeting, three walls around you change; placing you in a cocaine manufacturing camp in the jungles of Colombia. Minutes later they change again to drop you into a prison cafeteria in upper New York state.When Netflix was designing the lobby of their new Hollywood Head Office, they said they wanted "Wow Factor" and that's what they got with the 1.9mm 13K LED - 12’h x 80’w screen that dominates their lobby. The content is custom designed to promote Netflix programming, including Narcos and Orange Is The New Black.I spoke with Meric Adriansen, EVP of Systems & Technology for D3 LED, about this impressive installation.   Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia is home to both the 76ers basketball team and Flyers hockey team, as well as the usual stream of arena-scale concerts and events (I'm looking at you Disney On Ice).So imagine trying to install almost 20,000 square feet of interior LED displays throughout the venue without being able to impact the experience of the tens of thousands of fans attending each event.This episode we talk to Chris Mascatello, Executive Vice President - Technology Solutions for ANC. We discuss this large upgrade project that adds two impressive atrium display systems and new LED bowl fascia ribbons to the arena’s centre-hung display, two outdoor LED displays, highway facing billboards and digital menu-board technology, all controlled by the same system.   Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

  Personalized RFID check-in, transparent OLED, a 30-foot projection screen and virtual reality.That's just some of what the Minnesota Vikings put in place as they moved into their new U.S. Bank Stadium in 2016. The Vikings worked with Dimensional Innovations to create this space for fans, which allows users to catch a pass while wearing a virtual reality Vikings helmet or run the three-cone drill against a current Vikings player’s pace, plus a number of other innovative interactive elements. I spoke with Curtis Walker, Technology Director of Dimensional Innovations, about everything that's in the experience and the thinking behind it. This video highlights the installation. Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

This isn't a project that's large in terms of pixels or screen counts; its impact is in its scale. The Canadian city of Sudbury is about a four-hour drive north of Toronto. With a population a little less than Jackson Mississippi, it is the seventh largest municipality by area in Canada. Capital Networks has been working with the City since 2014 to help them coordinate their digital signage strategy to both employees and citizens across multiple City venues. That means over 45 locations including pools & recreation centres, Fire and Ambulance halls, arenas, public transit, and the Airport. Interestingly the 'ownership' of digital signage rests with the Technology department. This frees up business groups to focus on their message, not the technology. I spoke with Kelly Smith, Account Executive, with Capital Networks about whether IT ownership makes sense in all scenarios, and whether the lack of an overall message owner is an issue.   Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

  Downtown Washington, D.C.'s Terrell Place is an office and retail complex named after civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell, a founding member of the NAACP, who led the protest against segregation at Hecht’s lunch counter in the 1950s.Building owners, Beacon Capital asked ESI Design to transform the disjointed lobby, which is comprised of three connected components, including the former Hecht’s department store.ESI’s designers unified the space by treating it as a single canvas.Installing large-scale diffused LED displays with reactive media on the lobby walls and corridor portals created a sense of connection across the building’s common areas. The content is activated by passersby via an infrared camera system. The resulting scenes ebb and flow with the pedestrian traffic inside the lobby.At 80 feet wide x 13 feet high, the largest media wall is visible from the street through the oversize windows that were once the display windows of the department store.I spoke with Michael Luck Schneider, Senior Creative Technology Designer at ESI Design about this visually stunning installation and it's details, including ambient sound.   Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

  Every year Toronto hosts "Scotiabank Nuit Blanche" an overnight art event that takes place across the entire city. In 2015 SapientNitro (now SapientRazorfish) had just moved into their new offices and worked with their landlord, Allied Reit, to come up with something interesting for the lobby of the building. The idea they came up with was 'Mimir's Well', a very old story about the Norse God Oldin, who sacrificed his eye to drink from Mirmir's Well and gain the wisdom and memory of the nine worlds. Using Kinect technology, Unity 3D animation and parametric speakers guests stepping up to one of the nine sides of the exhibition were met with screens showing their own reflections, which soon morphed them into an animal of Norse lore.As visitors experimented with their newly adopted forms, sound enveloped them while their surroundings transformed into one of the nine Norse worlds. I spoke with Graham Ameron, who is Associate Creative Director at SapientRazorfish, about the technology and thinking behind this 12 hour installation. Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

This episode we're speaking with Dave Etherington, who is CSO of Intersection, one of the companies responsible for LinkNYC. In 2014 New York City set out to overhaul their payphone infrastructure. The result is LinkNYC which provides anyone in New York City with free phone calls to anywhere in the U.S., free wifi, local information and some other things that Dave and I discuss. It's all supported by advertising, but as you'll hear, that can be OK. This is a really big project, with over $200 million invested in new fiber optic cable to support the more than 7,500 Link kiosks that will be installed over the next eight years. In fact, Dave tells me that this is "the largest deployment of digital displays in the world". We talked about this Apex Award winning installation via Skype. Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS     

  This episode we talk to Vlad Edelman, CEO of HEROFI Website, who won a Gold medal Apex Award in the Food & Beverages category at DSE 2017 for their work with Buffalo Wild Wings.Although Buffalo Wild Wings is the largest sports bar chain in the world, operating over 1,200 restaurants, they were facing some challenges relating to identity, uniqueness and differentiating themselves in their communities. They worked with HEROFI to create BDUBS-TV, a private network that features user generated content broadcast to assigned stores based on location via the Hometown Highlights program. BDUBS-TV also has a broad range of locally targeted content, events and micro-streaming that expand the depth of relevant programming.They combine all this content with some extra data visualizations, original programming, and carefully curated licensed media. I spoke with Vlad on the floor of DSE about engaging customers via digital signage and why good content may be all about 'rules'. Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

  Movilok won the DSE 2017 Silver APEX Award in the Event Venues & Hospitality category for their work at the hotel La Fonda Barranco.The traditional hotel, in the heart of the very old city of Jerez, is the first certified hotel for the hearing impaired in Spain. Even though the installation is just a single screen, it's the functionality and interactivity of this "Bidirectional Interaction Information Point" that make it so interesting. Using a Chromebox with the Movilok App allows visitors to connect to the display with their mobile browser in their native language 24/7.When the display and the smartphone are linked, the mobile detects touch gestures, acting as a remote-control for the display.Information can be also downloaded to the phone for use by guests while they are out being tourists. This info includes maps (with points of interest), train timetables and coupons. I spoke, first to Luis del Ser, from Movilok and then to Alejandro Abrio, from La Fonda Barranco hotel, on the floor of DSE, just hours before they won their award.   Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

  This episode we feature Dan Hagen, CEO of 10net, based in Vancouver and Seattle. 10net won a Bronze Medal for their work for with cosmetic company Lush, during the Vancouver Ted Talks in 2016. "The Dream Lounge" was a temporary installation to expose Ted Talk attendees to the Lush brand and provide a sanctuary away from the hectic pace of the show. The highlight of the project was a hanging canopy of living greenery and moss, within which was a suspended a six foot square transparent LED screen playing ambient “Bath Art' content, which was also mirrored on a vertical LED video wall. The project required a custom built structure that allowed rapid deployment by two people, as well as a few other nice little touches. Dan and I grabbed a quiet(ish) corner at the back of the DSE floor to discuss the project.  Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

  If you like ambient content that is generated by data, then the lobby of 2 Queen St. East in Toronto is your kind of place. The original 1910 bank branch facade is backed with the conveniences of a modern office and unique lobby content that builds on the notion of past and present. Forge Media created the digital art installation entitled “Passage of Light” which combines constantly-shifting generative art, and the requisite tenant branding and event information, all displayed on two 12-foot-tall columns. Created using Unity, the 3D gaming engine, the content is never the same twice because isn't video, it's actually being created live. One really subtle aspect is a colour matching element outside the building that connects those passing with what's happening inside. I spoke with Laurence Roberts, partner of Forge Media, about how the project came together and how they turned windspeed at the airport into content downtown. Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

  This episode of Projects is about The Jacksonville International Airport, in northern Florida, which serves 5.5 million passengers a year. While their digital overhaul isn't as "spectacular" as some of our previous episodes, it is a complex and well thought out project, who's content is likely more relevant to its audience. Projects of this size are becoming more commonplace, so I asked Colleen Hamilton, Principle at Art of Context and Steven Shultz, Director of Information Technology for JAX, about some of the details involved in delivering a project like this, including engaging stakeholders, effective emergency messaging and avoiding scope-creep. People at airports rely on data a lot, and can get very cranky when things aren't correct, so it's interesting to hear how they got it right. I spoke with Colleen and Steven via Skype. Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

  AT&T's West Coast Flagship retail space at 1 Powell Street in San Francisco was built in 1921. The lobby of the historical building hosts “coded art” being generated live on a 48 foot long curved LED. Jeff Doud is Executive Creative Director at MaxMedia and a three-time Emmy winner, with a background in broadcast and graphics. He spoke with me about putting new technology into very old (historically registered) buildings, getting along with the locals, and how instead of saying "Don't mess with the brand" AT&T said "Show us what you think could happen." I spoke with Jeff via Skype. Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS 

   This episode we're looking at Dubai's City Walk, a new outdoor retail shopping concept that FLOAT4, based in Montreal and New York, has brought to life. City Walk incorporates over 100 million pixels of digital content spread across 30 areas, making it one of the largest retail digital deployments in the world. This is architecture, technology and content design on a massive scale.The final product is a multimedia show that merges sound, a digital canopy, LED, video mapping and water-screen projection into one experience. City Walk is made up of three main interconnected zones, each one a major project on its own: The Gateway, which is City Walk's main entrance, has two 85 metre LED screens and a digital canopy covering the space in cool content. The Showstreet is almost 100 metres long and connects the Gateway to the Place des Lumières. It includes ground projection that allows for an interactive experience, making it one of the largest interactive surfaces in the world. The Place des Lumières, with an artificial pond that contains four hydraulic arms that emerge to create a projection screen made of water. The circular space has over 20 projectors and 100 lighting features working together to create an centrepiece for all of City Walk. I spoke with Alexandre Simionescu, Co-Founder of FLOAT4 about entertainment, architecture and advertising within the City Walk shopping experience. You can find FLOAT4's case study here. www.float4.com @float4_mtl Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS   

  The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) hosts an amazing digital interactive learning space featuring 9 metre-high (27 feet) projections, 48 screen multi-touch interactive panels, and motion tracking technology. Called The Cube, it’s purpose is to engage and inspire the next generation of thinkers and doers, and provide an immersive and participatory experience for everyone to enjoy. The Cube enables people to discover, visualise and contribute to research projects and explore big questions of the 21st century. The content is produced in-house by a dedicated team of eight and draws in students, researchers, and artists from all over the world. They’re creating content on a real-world scale, allowing 'citizen scientists' as the public is called, to experience real project scenarios and explore some of the challenges being tackled at Universities with hands-on and interactive workshops.  On this episode we’re speaking with Gavin Winter, who is the Manager of the Visualisation and eResearch team, called ViseR, at the Institute for Future Environments at QUT. Gavin was the Project Manager for The Cube during its design, engineering, and implementation - and maintains a key role in the strategic planning of The Cube and QUT’s on-going technology research and development initiatives. He has some insight into this unique space and some advice about how to deal with networks in a large university setting... @GavinWinterBNE @QUTTheCube @IFE_QUT   Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS

   The lobby of the Cosmopolitan Hotel, in Las Vegas, is dominated by its eight columns covered in 384 screens, which appear even larger due to the reflective floors and mirrored ceilings. It is one of the most beautiful digital signage spaces around. The best part is the content doesn’t sell a thing, other than brand experience. Its artistic, often ambient, content is custom designed for the space. This provides a great User Experience but just as compelling for the hotel it creates User Presence with guests taking their faces out of their phones and realizing they have entered a hotel unlike any in the world. Katrina Crawford and Mark Bashore are partners in life and work. They've been involved in the creation of content for the Cosmopolitan Hotel since it's inception, while working for Digital Kitchen. Now on their own, as co-owners of Plains of Yonder, their latest commission combines a mixture of physical, traditional elements and animations and can be viewed here. I spoke with them, via Skype, about the early days getting the installation up and running, their latest installation, as well as their thoughts on content creation for digital signage in general   Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS