week 1/28-2/2

This week, we had Quarters, so we shared our two directions with the entire faculty at the ETC! We also improved our mirror and window ideas throughout the week, doing short test demos by making a mock-up window and new concept art.

ADVISOR MEETING

During our meeting with Mo, we went over the concepts that Deeplocal liked and how we could improve upon them. We decided to focus on the Window Box and the Mirror ideas and improve them in tandem so we could present these two directions during halves.

While discussing with Mo, we had two innovations that significantly improved the momentum of the two directions. For the mirror, we decided to build it as a smart mirror, so that guests would be able to see digital elements on the user’s face, like a filter.
For the Window Box, we realized it would be much cooler if this was installed next to the user’s bed and had a parallax effect, really making the screen feel like a window. We decided that if we can figure out a way to make the screen not look like a window, we would develop this concept further.

Team Brainstorming

As a team, we discussed how to improve the mirror idea. We loved the action of wiping away the fog on the mirror to reveal something, but we struggled to make this mechanic something thematically relevant to both the brand goals or the project goals. We did, however, like the AR smart mirror aspect of the direction and felt it was a strong fit for Spotify and for our influencer audience.

We had the idea of making it as a smart filter, which would pull elements from the song or the album cover to create filters that would match the vibes of the music. This would allow people online to share what they’re listening to, as well as a cool filter relating to that song, and some stickers. This idea played into the idea of being a photobooth in your phone that you could also take mirror selfies with.

On the Window Box, we discussed with tech how we would be able to get the depth of field effect we were looking for. We had a few ideas, such as layering multiple displays using one backlight, or making use of Pepper’s Ghost.

Preparing for Quarters

For Quarters, the team prepared a cardboard sheet that had the general overview of our two directions. Thank you Yawen and Kira for building the sheet!

Quarters

For Quarters, the faculty gave us a lot of great feedback on our project and which direction they liked. As we continued to explain the pitch, we got better at explaining and describing what we were planning on making and our client goals.

Here is some of the feedback was thought was important:

The rainy window was evocative
We’re almost making something to enhance the set (the bedroom) of the actor (the influencer) , creating a backdrop for performative sadness
We should ask Deeplocal what the message for the campaign is, how can we back up the message for the marketing campaign
The mirror connects to the brand better, but liked the other idea more
We should be communicating with influencers and Gen Z teenagers
The mirror fits the influencer audience better and could go to market
The fantasy of the window is stronger, the mental image of looking outside the window and being sad is a common one in media
Procedural animation to the beat of the song for the window would be really strong
We have to nail the metaphor of the content
The window should have an interesting shape
The traveling idea for the window makes sense metaphorically

Client Meeting

We showed our client the progress we have made in both directions so that we could solidify one and move forward with our project. The team was excited about both directions and felt that either product would be strong, both hitting the brand and client goals. Sean and Jake liked both of the ideas, saying that the smart mirror fit Spotify’s brand image a bit more while the window box was much more interesting and emotionally evocative. They also gave some suggestions on how they would improve each direction.

After the meeting, the team decided on moving forward with the window box as we were all excited about it.

Conclusion