Experiential Design: Why It Works
When I read that Volkwagen’s “The Fun Theory” and Nike Livestrong’s “Chalkbot” experiential design work won the 2010 Cannes Festival Grand Prix, I was ecstatic. We’re all aware that advertising is changing. But, it’s quite amazing to see that experiential design is elevating, and has gained acceptance as a communication device.
The Fun Theory is a competition itself where people can upload ideas designed to make mundane tasks interesting. Take the winning submission for example:
And the Nike Chalkbot was a machine that would imprint hopeful messages along the Tour De France– submitted through texting, Twitter and a website. The Chalkbot received some 23,000 messages to be chalked on the roads of France, so it was truly a viral experiential phenomenon.
What’s fantastic about these two projects is that they both incorporate people. They’ve humanized their brands by bringing the individuals who interact with them to the surface. And, what they’ve created is an artifact of real-time interaction. Volkswagen, instead of creating the experiences themselves, created a space to give others a chance at pure creativity — people designing for people. The Chalkbot allowed the community to be a part of spreading a message during the Tour de France, and this made people the world over feel as if they not only had a voice, but as though they were a part of the experience.
What’s even more interesting is just how invisible the brands tied to both of these pieces are. These are proof that you don’t always have to slap your logo onto a piece of experiential design to get the point across. Experiential design lends itself to a conversation. Through a good experience, your brand will be represented, and the people you’ve designed it for will have a new-found understanding of what you stand for.
I watched a documentary last night on ’2012′ that focused on the idea that the end of an era as predicted by the Mayans need not be about cataclysm and destruction…
Instead one interpretation is that it predicts a new age for man. In fact, the astrological age that we are now entering is indeed the ‘Age of Aquarius’. Perhaps that old 60s song was right all along – maybe this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius – where mankind listens to his better nature and comes up with ideas like the ones shown above, as opposed to the ones that pollute the earth with unstoppable black greed.
When I see videos like the one above, I’m deeply moved – as much as I am for people like Gandhi and Mother Theresa an the like because these people are engaged in thought and ACTION for the betterment of mankind. What a noble thing to do from within the heart of babylon!
Well done experiential design – I am now an ardent fan and I’ll see if I can create some of these great ideas too!
- Don
I think that’s a fantastic way of looking at it!