Frustrated with a series of unsatisfactory proposals for the interior of their newly-acquired Manhattan office space, Western Union approached experient (now called Rockskip) for suggestions on how to create an office environment that would reinforce Western Union’s brand story and global importance. The success of the communication was tantamount, as the office would be hosting dignitaries, fund managers, investors, and C-level executives from around the world.
Experient gave me a shout, and after examining Western Union's needs, I wrote 'The Journey', the emotional story of an ideal visit to a conceptual Western Union office by a foreign dignitary.
Western Union's CEO was so taken with 'The Journey' that they awarded the entire project to experient with one simple demand: bring 'The Journey' to life.
At that point, I had to shift from storyteller to communication architect. I deconstructed 'The Journey' and designed a three-act communication flow that would allow the Western Union brand story to unfold for visitors and enable a full understanding of the global importance of Western Union's micro-transactions.
From there, I worked with a team of graphic artists, installation artists, programmers, and developers to create static artwork, real time data visualization programming, and interactive installations that – in concert - would answer Western Union's charge.
Finally, in order to gain final approval on the massive undertaking, we created a 3D walkthrough of the final space (including representations of all installation artwork), which I've included here.
The buildout was a huge success, and Western Union was so pleased with the work that they awarded experient with the environmental design of their new, state-of-the-art WU Ventures Lab in San Francisco.