by ethanbach | Feb 15, 2018 | Awards, News
“An entrepreneur with an eye on the future’s future, Ethan Bach and his crew specialize in experimentation with digital media and virtual reality — projected in domes, across walls and on interactive screens — in his search for the next big thing in visual technology. And as the guiding light at two startups — the media studio Alt Ethos Ltd. and Denver Arts + Technology Advancement, a nonprofit that provides residencies for new-media artists — Bach is interested in connecting with audiences through mind-blowing imagery and technological tricks of light. Catch him if you can, as he answers the 100CC questionnaire.”
We are honored that our CEO, Ethan Bach is recognized as Westword’s 100 Colorado Creatives 4.0. Bach moved to Denver three years ago to start our two organizations – Alt Ethos and Denver Arts + Technology Advancement (DATA). He built our teams through a collaborative structure and a vision for how humans can find a greater connection with each other through creative technology. Bach’s hope is to become more involved with urban planning design, public and private organizations, and leave his mark on Colorado by invigorating the creative economy through the DATA and Alt Ethos.
Our favorite highlights:
Westword: What (or who) is your creative muse?
Ethan Bach: My current creative muse is the vision of a humanity with a bright future. I am driven by the idea that humans are in a state of evolution. I participate in the exploration of human communication through using creative technology in ways that expand connection and consciousness.
Westword: What’s your best or favorite accomplishment as a creative?
Ethan Bach: My current work — building two creative organizations, Alt Ethos and Denver Arts + Technology Advancement (DATA) — is my favorite accomplishment as a creative to date. These sister organizations were created on the same day, and both continue to grow and expand.
Kudos to our CEO who is responsible for holding the vision of the company, providing strategic leadership by working with the Members and other management to establish long-range goals, strategies, plans, and policies. He models our company’s culture, builds and leads the executive team, and drives the company to success. Read more here.
The views, information, and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policy of Alt Ethos and its employee.
We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.
by ethanbach | Jan 31, 2018 | Awards, News
Alt Ethos is honored to be recognized by 303 Magazine as Denver Artists to Watch 2018. We started this company to band together and create art infused with creative technology that is bigger and better than we could have achieved on our own. Together we create engaging environments by transforming physical spaces into shared interactive experiences that meld various forms of light and sound into creative technology. Our goal is to create moments that disrupt, engage, and inspire that help to elevate museums, public places, events, and others. Please see our write-up below.
You can read the entire article here
Light displays are no longer exclusive to live concerts—they are being used to create ambiance, mood and improve engagement to many other facets of social interaction. Alt Ethos is a talented group of artists and computer programmers who spend their time “cultivating memorable experiences that disrupt and inspire.” Ranging in age from early 20s to mid-40s, Ethan Bach, Zac Layman, Eric Davis, Paul Elsberg and Amy Lynn Herman each bring their own set of unique skills to the group. “We are trying to create things that are memorable,” Elsberg explained. “Why create things that are memorable? So they can help people find meaning, they can sneak back up on them. I think of really good conversations months or years later and it resonates with me in a new way. And I think that the desire to create art or technology, but really an experience, is the same. It’s about creating a disruptive moment that gets you out of yourself and comes back to you over and over.”
These experiences Alt Ethos designs and curates come in the form of virtual reality programs, projection mapping, digital dome projection and temporary light displays. Each one is particular to the experience Alt Ethos wants to amplify or draw attention to, which makes their style hard to pin down. Much of their energy this coming year will be focused on digital dome projection, where they are casting images or videos onto a half-sphere ceiling [through] the nonprofit that founding member Bach started called Denver Arts and Technology Advancement, or DATA.
The marriage of technology and art comes more easily to the members of Alt Ethos than it does to most. That’s their biggest obstacle at the moment— convincing people that technological art can be just as reliable as the computers we keep in our pockets every day. What puts them on the path to success is their desire to provide education to those who are skeptical or wary, as well as their eye-catching and engaging installations. Just in the first month of this year, Alt Ethos provided unique experiences at two separate parties— the Meow Wolf artist mixer and Moxie’s Dark Fairytale event. Next month they will represent Colorado at a small business showcase in Washington D.C. and as soon as they return they’ll be working (through DATA) on their annual international artist-in-residency program for digital dome projection.
Their largest project so far this year will culminate in November in old town Fort Collins,, where they will continually project images and light onto an exterior mural. The mural artist will work with Alt Ethos to envision a collaborative design in the hopes that Alt Ethos’ projections may illuminate the mural in an enriching manner as well as light it up at night when mural art is not appreciated as much. “We want this to be a one-of-a-kind experience for people,” Layman commented, “and the challenge of making it permanent is part of the joy of doing it.”
The views, information, and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policy of Alt Ethos and its employee.
We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.
by admin | Nov 2, 2017 | Highlights
Alt Ethos invites you to our first open house in our new office/production studio. 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, November 3, 2017 from 5:30pm to 11:30pm at Prism Workplaces 999 Vallejo Street, Denver Colorado. Alt Ethos is located through entrance 2 at space #30.
A sneak peek photo from moving weekend.
Meet the team and see a showcase of our work. Please click “Going” on the Facebook event page. We are delighted to share our new space with our sister nonprofit organization, Denver Arts + Technology Advancement (DATA).
I have listed some recent highlights of activity below:
Check out the new office!
Say hello to our new Project Manager, Amy Lynn Herman!
Creative Startups Accelerator. Albuquerque, New Mexico
Denver Startup Week Audio Interactive Projection Balloon Sculpture at Pon Pon
Alt Ethos creates engaging environments that transform physical spaces into shared interactive experiences that meld various forms of creative technology into compelling stories. This creates moments that disrupt, engage, and inspire.
by ethanbach | Sep 20, 2017 | Highlights
Alt Ethos: Experiential Design Studio creates disruption at Denver Startup Week by melding various forms of light, sound, interactivity and creative technology into memorable interactive experiences. Alt Ethos will showcase four exhibitions and participate in one panel discussion during the sixth annual Denver Startup Week. Alt Ethos has come a long way since last year’s Denver Startup Week. Events will take place September 25 – 29 at various locations in Denver, Colorado.
The Commons on Champa has been the home of Alt Ethos since its inception. The support of this public hub for entrepreneurship serves as a platform for Alt Ethos to give back to the community during Denver Startup Week (DSW) where The Commons serves at Basecamp. Alt Ethos will showcase three exhibitions; “Gateway”, an interactive LED Hallway; “Social Wall”, where members of a community get their photo taken to create a mosaic of self-portraits to form a larger symbol logo of DSW; and “LED Clouds” illuminating the event space with ethereal lights. The Commons on Champa is located at 1245 Champa Street.
Pon Pon is the late night hangout of Denver Startup Week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, nights, 9pm to 1:30am, during Denver Startup Week and is located at 2528 Walnut Street. Free beer, wine & wells with DSW wristband with DJs and dancing. Alt Ethos fills the ceiling with a balloon surface sculpture and audio interactive visualization mapping in the gallery to entice late night socialites to fill their heads with wonderment.
Win a cloud! Come drop your business card into the fishbowl in the events space at The Commons and be entered in a drawing to win your very own LED Cloud.
Alt Ethos’ Paul Elsberg shares his expertise as a regional representative for Hackster.io for the panel entitled, “From Idea To Production”. Come and hear from the experts at Hackster.io and the Hardware Studio – a joint initiative from Kickstarter, Avnet and Dragon Innovation. Learn about the essentials of creating a compelling story that launches your idea into the marketplace while preparing yourself to scale! The panel is sponsored by AVNET and will be held at the Alliance Center in Denver from 2-5PM on Tuesday, September 26.
Alt Ethos is seeking contractors for hire and will be at this year’s DSW Job Fair and Showcase. Come visit the Alt Ethos booth to find out more about positions in creative technology. The Job Faire will take place on Wednesday, September 27th, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm, at the McNichols Building in Civic Center Park at 144 W Colfax Ave.
At last year’s events, Alt Ethos was listed as “Companies to Watch from Denver Startup Week” from Denverite and participate in DSW with a presentation entitled, “The New Dispensation: Virtual Reality” presenting a VR experience. They also introduced the Denver audience to “the Cube” a 6’ tangible interactive projection cube. The cube has since shown up at events around Denver such as 5280 Magazine’s Top of the Town. Since last year, Alt Ethos has proven themselves as a viable local company working with museums, local businesses, and public institutions.
Zac with the new Alt Ethos t-shirt and a sneak peak at the Social Wall.
Please join the celebration and education of Denver Startup Week, September 25 – 29 at various locations in Denver, Colorado. Help Alt Ethos celebrate their successes by visiting the disruptive experiential design on display at The Commons on Champa and Pon Pon.
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Alt Ethos is an experiential design studio specializing in creative technology. We are a group of dedicated creators, designers, and engineers creating innovative projects for the modern world. We meld various forms of light, sound, interactivity and creative technology into memorable interactive experiences. We create a variety of custom creative technology solutions with an emphasis on storytelling, hands-on participatory learning, and user experience design to amplify interactions with various media in the physical space.
Alt Ethos donates a portion of its revenues to its sister organization, Denver Arts + Technology Advancement (DATA), a nonprofit organization striving to create a vanguard community center for public engagement, cultivating and strengthening local community by putting research, education, creation, and exhibition together under the same roof.
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For more information,
Contact ethan.bach@altethos.com 303-800-4243
Visit Alt Ethos’ website
by admin | May 3, 2017 | Research
Alt Ethos News- Wednesday May 3rd, 2017
Companies are quickly realizing that the most effective way to reach a broader audience is to approach them with a creative, 3-Dimensional experience. Give people an opportunity designed to suspend attention, live out their desires and sensibilities in the most immediate sense: Right before them. Whether this brightens their day or in some cases changes their life, it will leave an imprint.
Hubspot lists 7 companies whose approach captivated attention and brought unique delight.
Experiential Marketing is further amplified by the use of social media. Experiences grab audiences attention, social media allows them to spread the moment among their own circles. An experience is shared in the moment – Social media sharing effectively extends and measures these experiences in likes and shares.
One of the most beautiful aspects of this approach is in it’s genuineness. You may find that it’s much harder to scroll past an experience than an ad; Trust me, I’ve tried both. As humans we’ve molded our creations as extensions of ourselves. Experiential Design extends our reach one step further, inviting groups to interact with design and most importantly have fun.
Give people something which involves their participation. Let them draw, press a button, swipe a card, play a game, in short – express themselves, and they’ll be inclined to share with friends. The challenge isn’t in getting people to interact. We naturally want to interact. How often are we given the opportunity?
As companies evolve so should their images. Reinvention is necessary to stay fresh. Showing another dimension spikes intrigue and can bring people who may normally never meet together in one place.
Now you may be wondering “If Experiential Design is so great why isn’t everyone applying it?” which is an excellent question. My answer is twofold:
Experiential campaigns characteristically range in cost, complexity, creativeness and duration. Quality Experiential Marketing studios will consider budget, scope, customers and message all thoroughly planning along side in transparency. The key ingredient is creativity.
Experiential Design lives in our everyday environments though we may not recognize it as such. This is largely because the term is fairly new and as not widely associated with a specific title. Our attention is commonly more focused on the gesture itself than penning it with a specific term. Now consider these recent studies:
“Customer Experience is the Future of Design. Adopting practices that elevate the customer experience will undoubtedly produce a return on investment and provide a steady foundation for your brand.” – UX Magazine, 2016.
“Experiential Design increases brand awareness by 81% and increases a deeper customer involvement by 57%”. – “Brand Survey Report”, Event Marketer, 2015.
“Experiential Design activates chemicals in the brain: Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphins; These increase happiness, productivity, and customer loyalty.”“The Neurochemicals of Happiness” Psychology Today and Technology Advice, 2014.
To learn more, here are a few of our favorite posts on Experiential Design:
The Rise of Experiential Design: What You Need to Succeed
Stores Must Learn to Think Like Facebook
Why Experiential Marketing and Social Media Go Hand-in-Hand
Matt Maes is a Denver animator focused on immersive and interactive technology. He is Chief Influence Officer of Alt Ethos, Ltd and is also an executive member of the nonprofit organization Denver Arts and Technology Advancement (D.A.T.A.)
to many other facets of social interaction. 
The marriage of technology and art comes more easily to the members of Alt Ethos than it does to most. That’s their biggest obstacle at the moment— convincing people that technological art can be just as reliable as the computers we keep in our pockets every day. What puts them on the path to success is their desire to provide education to those who are skeptical or wary, as well as their eye-catching and engaging installations. Just in the first month of this year, Alt Ethos provided unique experiences at two separate parties— the Meow Wolf artist mixer and Moxie’s Dark Fairytale event. Next month they will represent Colorado at a small business showcase in Washington D.C. and as soon as they return they’ll be working (through DATA) on their annual international artist-in-residency program for digital dome projection.
images and light onto an exterior mural. The mural artist will work with Alt Ethos to envision a collaborative design in the hopes that Alt Ethos’ projections may illuminate the mural in an enriching manner as well as light it up at night when mural art is not appreciated as much. “We want this to be a one-of-a-kind experience for people,” Layman commented, “and the challenge of making it permanent is part of the joy of doing it.”
Win a cloud!
