To say that the last two years at Alt Ethos have been a whirlwind of busy excitement would be an understatement. That is why we are taking a moment to slow down and look back at everything we have accomplished and where we are headed in the coming years. Here are just a few moments that made the highlight reel:
Looking Back
After months of brainstorming, planning and recruiting, Alt Ethos landed our first major client in early 2017. The project involved creating Soundscape for the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. This first installation combined all of our passions: immersive projection mapping, interactivity, and spatialized audio and brought our vision to life.
Finding a New Home and Traveling
With plenty of passion driving us forward, we began producing lots of work and seeking new clients in several key markets. By this time, we had become full-time tenants at Commons on Champa. Our new home also became a client and we actually completed several installations in the space, including an interactive LED hallway. It was an amazing time for the company.
As part of our constant quest for new ideas and partners, Ethan traveled to the ix conference and Paul was off to the i/o conference to find inspiration and make connections. At the same time, we delved into the events industry with installations at both 5280 Magazine’s Anniversary Party, and Denver Startup Week.With each new experience, the company was gaining momentum and name recognition.
It wasn’t long before we moved our office to Prism Workspaces and celebrated with an open house. This most recent move has fueled our creativity and allowed us to expand our capabilities as a company.
Another milestone included a trip to Albuquerque in October to participate in the Creative Startups Accelerator program where we acquired a lot of new knowledge and workshopped various aspects of our business. This event helped us to developed a plan for the future and hone strategies that will take us to a whole new level. We found that this crash course/boot camp for creative businesses to be invaluable and we are constantly referring back to things we discovered and learned during our time there.
Notable Projects
Taking this newfound knowledge and inspiration, we started blazing a trail to what we now separate into two categories known as Events and Environments, which has resulted in partnerships with a myriad of new events.
Some highlights include:
Creating a 20’ tall lion sculpture for Gari Safari’s Halloween at the Church Nightclub. This project involved create a 3D rendering that was then turned into a physical object that included two moving heads and laser beams that projected from the mouth. It was quite a treat for party goers.
Installing our Balloon Hive in the form of a DJ booth for Meow Wolf’s Denver Announcement party. Different size balloons were attached to a wall and used as a projection screen that totally transformed the room. This same concept can be used in practically any space with stunning results.
Developing a fabric instrument that was showcased at two cryptocurrency conferences; ETHDenver and Token Fest. This interactive display not only created a conversation piece, but played a vital role in starting conversations and encouraging hackers to connect and collaborate.
Celebrating Our Second Anniversary in Style
To mark our second anniversary, we hosted an annual talk at The Commons on Champa, Denver Vision. As part of the night’s lineup, Ethan gave a keynote address and hosted a panel inspired by his blog article “The Meow Wolf Effect”. The event was a success and has spawned a series of meetings designed to keep the conversation going when it comes to fostering creative technology in Denver and its surrounding areas. Be on the lookout for more updates regarding these efforts in the coming year.
Since our anniversary, we have been working hard on creating more great experiences for people. We are continuing to push forward on our rental product line and beginning to offer more and more ready-to-deploy installations catered towards events of all kinds. Check out our rental page for more details about what we have to offer.
Our partnership with the Downtown Development Authority of Fort Collins, Colorado is also in full swing. This project will augment a mural painted by Italian artist Peeta, with interactive animations. During the day, visitors to Old Town will enjoy the amazing work of Peeta and at night the mural will come to life, tracking visitors who move through the space to influence the animations. Keep your eyes out for more details on this project as we move forward.
There are a lot of other irons in the fire, projects in development, fun being had, and coffee being consumed here at the Alt Ethos Studio. After looking back at all we have accomplished so far, I can’t even begin to imagine where we will be at this time next year. We will continue to bend reality and challenge perceived limitations in new and exciting ways. If you are interested in hearing more about our work, feel free to contact us. We never tire of talking to people about what we do and our vision for the future.
Creating an interactive fabric instrument that brings the Ethereum community together.
Background
The largest Ethereum hackathon in North America was looking for interactive ways to bring the Ethereum brand to life for their audience. The organizers had kegs of Kombucha, artisan food trucks, an art zone, and 1000 eager developers ready to progress the Ethereum ecosystem, but they still needed more experimental expressions of Ethereum and the arts to stimulate the imagination of their audience. To address this need, Alt Ethos transformed the three-dimensional Ethereum logo into a physical instrument that could be played by touching various lycra surfaces, allowing users to explore new possibilities at the intersection of experimental sound design and cryptocurrency.
Objectives
1.Connect strangers through a physical installation that fosters conversation and inspires new relationships.
2.Spark the imagination of the developer community through an interactive Ethereum experience.
Solution
Step 1: User Experience Research
The journey began with thorough user experience research to better understand possible manifestations of the Ethereum ecosystem in the physical realm. Through studying fundamental components of the blockchain, the ethos of the Ethereum community was identified as inquisitive, inclusive, and fully open to embracing experimentation and seemingly wild ideas. Paired with an understanding of the unique social dynamics of hackathon environments, the Alt Ethos team strove to create an experience that would spur further connections and conversations among strangers in the community.
Step 2: Design
The design phase highlighted that the three-dimensional form of the Ethereum logo presented an opportunity for two explorers to collaborate by taking advantage of the four unique faces on the floating diamond. The sound design specifically accentuated different tracks and audio synthesis methods in the musical composition when the user pressed two hands on two faces of the instrument. The intention was for the musical composition to grow and find a sense of synergy as another user pressed the remaining two faces, thus creating an intimate setting for two people to openly play together.
Step 3: Development and Testing
The development and testing of the exhibit occurred in a series of sprints. The major benefit of the sprints was iterative testing of the sound and light curation to ensure that the audio synthesis techniques on each face of the diamond smoothly integrated into a cohesive aesthetic. Using continuous data feeds from time of flight lidar sensing technology enabled the installation to become a low latency interactive experience, which was essential to forming a playable instrument with an instantaneous feedback system.
Step 4: Implementation and Delivery
The fabrication of the structure was purposefully modular in nature to allow for an easy take down, setup and transportation. The design of the software and firmware of the installation was automatically configured to allow for a simple two-step process to turn the installation on. After the pieces were put in place, all it took was for the power cable to be plugged in and the “on” button to be pressed to complete the setup process.
Step 5: Evaluation
After the implementation and delivery, the installation was a focal point of the art zone and acted as a key interactive tool in connecting members of the community through shared experimentation and a sense of discovery. When members of the audience watched others touching and listening to the instrument, they were inspired to come up and ask other members of the audience what they were doing. In teaching each other about the installation, the observer turned into an active participant and player often using the installation as an ice breaker to form a connection with another attendee.
Conclusion
Alt Ethos was able to create an interactive display that reinforced branding, addressed the unique environment of an Ethereum hackathon and encouraged participants to form new relationships through exploratory play. The system provided a creative solution that was able to get participants conversing and with a design that makes it easy to setup and install, the device has the potential to continue to engage audience members in the future.
Welcome to 2018. We’re on the verge of self-driving cars, holodecks, AI assistants, jetpacks, and drone pizza delivery. The shift in digital technologies is happening at such a staggeringly rapid pace that it can be difficult to keep up if you are not constantly watching the trends. In this post, we are going to take a closer look at one emerging trend – augmented reality (AR), and how it is being applied to marketing and brand recognition in the physical realm of trade shows.
Why Trade Shows Still Matter
Trade shows act as an important tool for sales generation and business development across many industries. In fact, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research reports that attendees spend an estimated $44.8 billion and exhibitors spend an estimated $24.5 billion at events annually. The challenge for organizers and exhibitors is finding ways to stand out from the hundreds of other booths on the floor. More progressive companies are looking at creative uses of augmented reality that drastically transform their trade show booth and create the buzz necessary to get people into the sales funnel.
While AR is still relatively new in the arena of virtual reality technologies, it made headlines back in 2016 with the release of Pokemon Go. Today, consumer uses of AR are becoming more commonplace (Google is working on an AR update to the Google Maps mobile app!), the B2B market has plenty of room to grow when it comes to utilizing this technology. Companies that recognize the potential stand to gain a huge edge over their competition in the trade show environment.
Utilizing AR in the Trade Show Environment
Below are just a few examples of how augmented reality can be used in your trade show booth.
Have a new product with something special that you don’t want anyone to miss? Let your guests zoom in and spin around a 3D model that places your product on a pedestal in your booth and creates a lifelike representation.
Do you operate around the world? Create an application that drops guests into exotic locations and let users get a taste of your global appeal.
Need better ways to convey key information? Augment traditional displays to uniquely display diagrams and infographics, videos and photos, and FAQ’s about your product in an interactive and engaging way.
Engage attendees. Expand your space. Create interactive product demos and infographics. Take ALL your products with you. Increase leads. Drive frictionless sales. Need we say more?
Today’s B2B companies need to leverage technology to get the most out of their trade show experiences and avoid becoming just another face in the crowd. If you aren’t using tools like augmented reality to create a more compelling and interactive booth and drive engagement, your competitors will be and that means fewer sales and new clients for you.
Contact Alt Ethos today to talk about your ideas about using augmented reality at your trade show booth.
Creating a high engagement museum exhibit with the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
Background
The Fort Collins Museum of Discovery was looking to activate an old exhibit space into an engaging experience, so they turned to Alt Ethos to create a lighting instrument. The previous exhibit displayed a looped video about the music scene in Fort Collins with a set of couches for visitors to sit to watch the video. The exhibit was passive; they wanted an environment that captured visitors’ attention and pushed deeper engagement.
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
Objectives
1.Create a unique instrument playable by multiple people at the same time.
2. Turn the space into an active experience that engages people of all ages.
Solution
Step 1: User Experience Research
The team began the journey with user experience research to better understand the community that enjoys the museum and the relationship between the vision of the organization, personas of the users, dynamics of the space, and interactions that connect people to the space and vision.
Step 2: Design
Paul and Ethan take a meeting to learn about the museum’s needs.
The design phase highlighted that the tucked away location of the piece was a unique opportunity to engage “sweater holder” parents as well that don’t often interact with the exhibits choosing instead to watch their children and sit off to the side.
The ideal interaction time was approximated around five minutes to ensure adequate flow throughout the other exhibits. The team moved forward with wireless sensing technology located overhead in the room to maximize the life of the exhibit by basing the interaction dynamics off of the position of audience members in the space.
Step 3: Development and Testing
A child dances among the lights, activating new sounds in the space.
The development and testing of the exhibit occurred in a series of sprints. The major benefit of the sprints was iterative testing of the sound curation because in generative sound environments it can be easy to be swept into a cacophony of sound.
Tuning the parameters to limit key aspects of the sound design along with smoothing sensor data was a major breakthrough in the design that pushed the aesthetic of the installation.
Step 4: Implementation and Delivery
Alt Ethos installed the installation over the course of two weeks ensuring that any major physical changes to the environment took place on the Mondays when the museum was closed.
An essential factor in a smooth delivery was remote access to the computers allowing for the team to make changes and improve the software while not onsite. This allowed for a faster delivery time and for changes to take effect rapidly during the installation phase.
Step 5: Evaluation
What formerly was a passive exhibit is now an active space for all ages.
The use of wireless sensing technology also meant that as soon as a person enters the space, they became part of the musical composition. After the implementation and delivery, this dynamic was identified as a key variable in converting passive adults to active participants in the museum experience.
Doing so created an environment ripe for more connections to the space that involved the whole family thus driving more memberships, donations, and buy in from the adults in the local community.
As a growing creative startup, finding a place to work and build in a rapidly growing city can be a challenge often overlooked. After working out of our home for over two years at The Commons on Champa we were ready for some growth into a space where we could work and build.
We still love The Commons and visit, hold events, or work there often. Searching for something at the scale we needed for the price we could afford was proving to be difficult. After scouring the market for a couple months our good friends at TVL Creative let us in on their secret.
They rented a space in an artist, maker, and creative workspace called Prism Workspaces. This conglomeration of a couple buildings sits on the outskirts of downtown just south of Mile High Stadium in an industrial park just a gust of wind away smells of greenhouses full of Colorado’s cash crop. The unassuming warehouse style buildings contain a labyrinth of workspaces for some of the most phenomenal creatives in Denver.
Outside of Prism workspace.
We moved into Prism in October of 2017 into a 1300 sq. foot unit for a fraction of the price of other spaces we had been looking at. Apart from the size, location, and price what has really excited me was the community and the passion people had for the work they did.
Day in and day out the noises from people building, and making things fills the air at Prism reminding us of the creative energy flowing heavily through the space.
This place is special.
In the social and political climate since the Ghost Ship fire, creative spaces have been uprooted in many places around the country. Makers, creatives, inventors, artists, and musicians have been reeling to find places to live and work since their displacement. The tragedy rocked the community and has touched many of our lives so very deeply.
Preventing something like that happening again is certainly important however the implementation of the enforcement has caused a lot of discomfort and even suffering among people in our community. Although Prism doesn’t solve any of the housing issues, the feeling of the DIY community workspace seems to thrive, while also maintaining a healthy relationship with the City.
The synthesis of professionalism and creativity shouldn’t be feared, and the feeling of the community can still flourish.
Our office inside of Prism.
After almost 8 months, we have really found a home at Prism. Our office and studio space allows for us to work together in a space we can be proud of. With ample space for desks and individual workspaces paired with a great meeting area and a large fabrication and build space, we have a natural and efficient flow to get a good volume of quality work built and designed. We have ample space to build out installations for testing or prototyping before we deploy final products.
Welcome to the Alt Ethos interactive installation factory.
Coming up 7 months after our first open house not long after we moved in, the Prism Community is hosting another open house. We are so excited to show you what we have been working on the past half of the year.
Please come by and see what we have in store for this event and also check out what our neighbors will have to show. The theme of this open house is Ultraviolet, so expect a lot of purple!
Come celebrate with us at the Prism Workplaces facility-wide open house to take in the work of talented artists, designers, and creatives. We are grateful to be a part of this community as we continue to expand our organizations into new possibilities.
The open house will be held on Friday, June 1st, 2018 from 5:30pm to 11:30pm at Prism Workplaces 999 Vallejo Street, Denver Colorado. Alt Ethos is located through entrance 2 at space #30.
