EDITORIAL
LUMINARIES: PATTERN
Design agency Pattern specializes in website design for E-Commerce brands, including Ariana Grande’s r.e.m. beauty, Seth Rogen’s Houseplant, Metallica, Caddis, and Bobbie. Co-Founder Michael Janiak and Design Director Erica Randhawa share their thoughts on creative risk and AI tools.
ATOM63
You Zhang, a.ka. ATOM63, is a motion designer and CG artist at Microsoft who uses Cinema 4D and Octane Render to craft immersive digital landscapes. Inspired by the golden ratio, his Procedural Flowers series uses his arsenal of digital tools to render the beauty of the natural world in hyperrealism.
AMERICAN THEATRE WING
American Theatre Wing produces “Working in the Theatre,” one of the longest-running arts and entertainment documentary series in the country. For 44 years, the series has profiled the performers, directors, designers and craftspeople working in the performing arts today.
SHE PIVOTS (EMILY TISCH SUSSMAN)
Emily sits down with a diverse group of women to explore how their personal experiences led to their pivot and eventually their success. In partnership with Marie Claire, the podcast challenges the typical definitions of success and explores the role our personal stories play in our professional journeys.
LAUNCH: PHILIPS SLEEP HEADPHONES
Designed to be worn while sleeping, the headphones are a technological breakthrough combining the latest in sleep tech with the most comfortable design on the market. See how Lightdrop brought together hand-drawn animation, VFX and an Emmy-award winning director to execute their vision.
FACING LIFE
Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw and photographer/filmmaker Brandon Tauszik teamed up on the project Facing Life, a website dedicated to sharing the stories of eight individuals who have been released from life sentences in California prisons.
EXPERIENCE LIFE ON CLOUD NINE
Cloud Niners, an NFT storyverse project known as the “official airline of the metaverse”, partnered with Champagne and Gyoza to produce Experience Life on Cloud Nine. This short film is part of a multi-platform campaign that honors the eccentric vagabond ready to blast off in style to any metaverse.
KAT JONES, FOUNDER, MOTIV PR
Kat held multiple roles at Marvel Entertainment, home to the most well known and beloved superheroes. At Motiv PR, her clients have included Critical Role, Studio71, Upright Citizens Brigade, IGN, Blind Squirrel Games and many more. She outlined her thoughts on the industry and “hustle culture”.
DISNEY’S KIFF: VIRTUAL PREMIERE
Little Cinema and their digital agency, LCDigital used their proprietary event tech Flux to develop and host a fully branded and interactive digital event attended by hundreds of children and their families from around the world. Disney continues to use their framework for subsequent branded virtual events.
MGM COTAI WATERCOLOR STORY
How do you make casino guests feel like they’re walking through a watercolor painting? LED video wall and immersive installation specialist CFIRE was tasked with giving the serene watercolor style of Chinese art a modern twist and installing the multi-screen exhibit inside MGM’s luxury resort in Macau.
IT’S GOOD TO BE A DOG AT THE RIDGE
They say never work with kids or animals in showbiz, but Diane Macheers at The Ridge Senior Living and Jared Suhn at Game Changer Strategies love a challenge. They crafted a video to blow up social media and highlight the vibrant canine companions living with the residents of The Ridge Pinehurst.
JURY SELECTION: KRISTEN KIM
AIVA Juror Kristen Kim is the Host & Producer for Culture Kids Podcast, a multiple award-winning family show dedicated to empowering a generation of empathetic and creative global citizens. She shared her favorite creators, websites and digital tools– for adults AND kids.
RUDY MANNING, FOUNDER, PASTILLA
Rudy has played a pivotal role in shaping some of the world’s most successful products, companies, and institutions such as; Disney, SAP, ESPN, Coca-Cola, Golden Globes, the City of Los Angeles, and Pivotal Ventures. He also worked with Microsoft to introduce the Surface tablet to the world.
CAROL COSTELLO: BLIND RAGE
When 22-year-old journalist Carol Costello reported on the violent abduction of Phyllis Cottle in 1984, she could never have predicted that, almost 40 years later, she would revisit the story– this time, in podcast form. Carol uncovered the ups and downs of Phyllis’ case, and her family’s fight for justice.
SONIC BRANDING FOR MERRELL
In 2021, outdoor footwear brand, Merrell set out to revamp its brand identity. Creating a sonic identity, the marketing team realized, would be an essential element. The company tapped Sixieme Son, an innovator in the space, which resulted in a soundscape that captured the brand’s natural essence.