Project Literacy
3D 360° Interactive VR Dioramas
Creative Director | IDEO, Pearson
Project Literacy: The Lives Unseen is an immersive VR campaign that debuted as a powerful installation at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Designed to inspire global empathy for the often-overlooked struggles of illiteracy, the project leveraged groundbreaking virtual reality techniques to place participants directly in the shoes of individuals affected by this issue.
Through three distinct VR experiences, the installation highlighted how illiteracy intersects with challenges such as gender inequality, violence, and malnutrition. By premiering at such a prestigious event, the project not only shed light on an urgent global problem but also showcased the potential of VR as a tool for education and advocacy on the world stage.
User Experience & Interface Design
Balancing creative storytelling with cutting-edge technology, I played a pivotal role in shaping the artistic and technical innovation of this VR installation.
From the outset, I led a multidisciplinary team in crafting the groundbreaking “frozen moment” technique, combining stereoscopic still images with real-time rendered 3D to create an immersive and visually striking experience unique to VR. The duality of an interface that bridged both stereoscopic imagery and in-engine objects proved challenging, but ultimately was intuitive and emotionally engaging.
Team Leadership
Working closely with our partners at IDEO and Pearson, I guided the project’s conceptual framework, ensuring the narratives were deeply empathetic and resonated with our audience.
My duties involved ushering the artistic vision throughout the production experience, managing the team, and ensuring that the final product matched client and audience expectations.
My leadership extended to managing a distributed team across coasts, fostering a collaborative workflow and emphasizing efficiency. By harmonizing high-level design, artistic oversight, and team coordination, I ensured the final product not only met but exceeded the expectations of our clients and the global audience at Davos.
Project Outcomes
- Garnered 8.5M impressions across traditional and social media, and elevated global awareness of the $1.9 trillion economic and social costs of illiteracy by presenting its VR installation to influential leaders at the 2016 World Economic Forum.
- Fostered deep empathy and understanding by immersing participants in the personal struggles of individuals affected by illiteracy, transforming abstract statistics into relatable human stories. This helped to achieve £4.2M in charitable donations from media, non-profit, corporate, and individual sources.
- By pioneering the use of innovative VR techniques for advocacy, the campaign demonstrated how immersive technology can drive meaningful discussions and inspire action on global issues