SYPartners, Mirada, Ralph Appelbaum Associates Inc. & George P. Johnson
THINK: An Exploration into Making the World Work Better
IBM
THINK: An Exploration into Making the World Work Better
THINK: An Exploration into Making the World Work Better
A cornerstone of IBM’s centennial year celebration, THINK was a multimedia exhibition that brought to life the many ways in which people are making the world work better through innovation. It was free to the public, drawing 25,000+ diverse visitors—from CEOs to school kids—in its month-long run at NYC’s Lincoln Center. THINK consisted of 3 distinct experiences: a real-time data visualization of NYC systems (traffic, solar energy potential, local air quality) being tracked, mapped, analyzed, and rendered on a 123-foot digital wall; a 10-minute film played in an immersive media field with 40 digital panels; and life-sized interactive modules.
2. The Brief: Summarize the problem you set out to solve. What was the context for the project, and what was the challenge posed to you?IBM asked the creative team to imagine a meaningful expression of the brand to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary. Diving deep into the history of IBM, the team recognized a legacy of inspiring widespread understanding of science and technology. With the last big public expression of that position well in the past (the Eames and Saarinen-designed projects of the 1960s), the team believed it was time to create a new bold public statement.
3. The Intent: What point of view did you bring to the project, and were there additional criteria that you added to the brief?The THINK exhibit aimed to change today’s conversation about technology, focusing on how people can make the world work better through innovation. The goal was to engage the public in a discussion on IBM’s Smarter Planet agenda. The challenge was to make the experience relevant to a broad range of audiences — from CEOs to school kids.
4. The Process: Describe the rigor that informed your project. (Research, ethnography, subject matter experts, materials exploration, technology, iteration, testing, etc., as applicable.) What stakeholder interests did you consider? (Audience, business, organization, labor, manufacturing, distribution, etc., as applicable)Once the creative team settled on the format and goal of the exhibit, they partnered with IBM to examine innovation and progress throughout history, identifying the patterns that have driven the perpetual forward momentum of humankind. The team worked with a broad range of experts — from researchers building traffic models to biologists studying the rice genome — to ensure scientific accuracy in every detail. Then the designers, filmmakers, developers, and architects translated the science into an emotional and visceral experience.
THINK consisted of 3 distinct moments: a real-time data visualization of NYC systems (traffic on Broadway, solar potential of rooftops, air quality in the city) being tracked and mapped on a 123-foot digital wall; a 10-minute film playing in an immersive field of 40 digital panels; and interactive modules that invited participants to contribute their thoughts on progress.
5. The Value: How does your project earn its keep in the world? What is its value? What is its impact? (Social, educational, economic, paradigm-shifting, sustainable, environmental, cultural, gladdening, etc.)THINK drew more than 25,000 visitors during its run at Lincoln Center. IBM polled exhibit visitors and found that more than 70% of adults felt inspired to think more about making the world work better. The survey showed a 57% increase in the public’s familiarity with the IBM brand and its Smarter Planet agenda. Press coverage included features by the New York Times, ABC News, Scientific American, and the Huffington Post, among others. More than 1.9 million Twitter impressions about THINK were logged from September 5 to October 28, 2011.
Extraordinary effort and scale from IBM, and good to see such a well-executed an ambitious presentation of everyday data introduced into the heart of the physical experience of the city – and yet the claims might not be backed up. We are beginning to understand that these simple feedback loops – presenting real-time data on urban performance – are not enough in terms of actual mainstream behavior change; which is the goal of this work. So this is a start, but a long way from what needs to happen in this arena. Tis a tough ask – but that’s what this work is about. – Dan Hill
Massively ambitious and some images represented a huge display representing (live?) data from the city. Communication was woeful in that very little of the system was actually presented, just lots of corporate puff. – Jack Schulze