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Alchemy Unltd.
X
Digital Futures
Alchemy Unlimited used a collaborative,
arts-based design process to create meaningful connections between a
top-tier research institute and the surrounding community. The approach resulted in a pioneering augmented reality installation.
(5 min read)
Opportunity
The potential of storytelling
What might be possible if we used immersive storytelling technologies to create a glimpse behind the curtain of an interdisciplinary research institution? Could we empower visitors and potential partners to connect to deeper meaning and value in the work?
In early 2021, the Office of Research at the University of Cincinnati came to Alchemy Unlimited seeking to build on these possibilities for Digital Futures: UC’s first and only interdisciplinary research facility where UC faculty, students and staff partner with industry, government, and the community to solve problems that matter. Not tethered to any one college or discipline, the Digital Futures program of research is designed to foster moon-shot thinking and high-risk, high-reward, applied R&D.
With a fall 2022 launch fast approaching, leaders at UC had the ambition to welcome visitors to the new facility in immersive ways that tied together intellectual curiosity, creativity, memory, and technology in the same spirit found within the building’s state-of-the-art labs. But first, they needed to understand more about this opportunity, to navigate its many possibilities and identify key pathways that eschewed the “norm” while still obtaining validation from a broad base of primary stakeholders.
The initial scope of work between Alchemy Unlimited and Digital Futures laid out three phases of development across sixteen months. The first two phases were intended to co-create design criteria with a broad cross-section of stakeholders as well as produce initial concepts for possible interventions.
The third phase, completed in September of 2022, focused specifically on translating these design criteria into a physical intervention: an evergreen installation on the ground floor of the building.
Strategies
For this project, the Alchemy Unlimited team turned to some of our well-proven creative production approaches. In particular, we emphasized strategies that put people at the heart of our process.
In early conversations with the team at Digital Futures, it quickly became clear that producing a resonant outcome would hinge on our ability to facilitate human connections across a broad stakeholder group from start to finish.
Activations
Putting our process to work
Story Coaching
Intensive one-on-one sessions to tease out common themes and support key stakeholders in developing their own framework for communication.
Hackathon
Engaging student designers in the process of conceptualizing and prototyping possible solutions.
Think Tanks
Trusting the expertise of everyday experts to envision outcomes that make sense for their communities.
Key Discoveries
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More than technological whizbang, our stakeholders desired sincere and authentic connection between analogue and digital experiences.
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By centering local voices and initiatives, we could create compelling content that would draw in global audiences.
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Artistic integrity and impactful storytelling emerged as unifying values across all audiences and collaborators.
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Stakeholders possessed a strong appetite for interdisciplinary knowledge and experiences that bring together different fields and disciplines.
Outcomes
Possibilities realized
The process and discoveries resulted in Alchemy Unlimited designing and installing Kaleidoscope, a first-of-its-kind augmented reality exhibition for the lobby of the Digital Futures building.
Powered by Artivive, a platform for AR art that allows creators to add digital layers to physical art, Kaleidoscope takes its inspiration from the visual language of Cincinnati itself. Its large-scale panels feature recreations of local murals found around Cincinnati, curated in part by the Digital Futures lab leaders and featuring thematic connections to their own work and personal narratives. They are juxtaposed to original artworks by local artist Sharareh Khosravani that explore the idea of home as an integrative, aspirational space for ideas and for all of us.
While the installation can be enjoyed on its own, visitors of all ages to Digital Futures can activate deeper layers of meaning using their smartphones to trigger the AR experience. Using the Artivive app, the panels spring to life with animations created by University of Cincinnati student Jared Fleckner and express stories told by the Digital Futures researchers in their own voices about the inspirations and impacts of their work.
Visitors are invited to get curious and explore. The augmented reality introduced in the installation is free and easy to use, smart, playful, and can be taken home. What’s more, this immersion experience offers a novel entry point into the hearts and minds of the people within the Digital Futures labs and across the complex and compelling city of Cincinnati.
Premiered at the building’s grand opening, the installation captured the imagination of over 600 guests on its first day. It continues to engage audiences as a semi-permanent feature of the lobby space, serving as a meeting point for visitors and researchers alike to share ideas and experiences. The L-shaped forms are modular and can be rearranged in the space to meet the needs of various functions and activations. The panels are also interchangeable, allowing for future storytellers to add their own narratives that grow along with the building.
"They were able to extract a story from within me I did not think was possible. The outcome means a lot to me and has enhanced my motivation and love for all I do."
Dr. Kelly Cohen, Director of the AI Bio Lab at Digital Futures
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