3 stories 3 installations
As part of the activities for the 100 years of Valrhona, their foundation wanted to use the opportunity to show Valrhona clients some of the projects the foundation has done, and make them adhere to their mission.
My solution was to create an interactive modular cube that projects animations on physical structures - check out the video above!
Idea & proposal
Through a simple gesture, the clients bring to life the foundation's projects that contribute to A FAIR AND SUSTAINABLE COCOA INDUSTRY and RESPONSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE GASTRONOMY.
The mapping tells 3 stories of 3 distinctive projects: A poultry farm in Ivory Coast, the construction of a school in Venezuela, and the Grains de pâtissier induction program in France.
1. Tech
To achieve my vision, I set up a team of experts in their respective fields, starting with Antoine, the developer.
In order to make this work, we needed to figure out the simplest way to activate the mapping animations. So we decided on a physical switch that sits at an angle so that the token never fails to activate it. The token also had to be made of metal to have a certain weight to make sure it doesn't get stuck between the switch and the side of the tunnel.
2. Art & animation
The projects existed already, so together with Cyril, the art director and Basile, the animator we decided to use a collage style and animate the characters in a puppet style.
This style worked well in animating the structures of each project, giving that wow effect when the audience interacted with the experience.
3. Physical
The physical part was quite a big challenge, as this needed to be aesthetic from the outside and ideally hide all the functionality to keep the surprise element. Together with Sylvain, who's a furniture designer and builder we designed a beautiful transportable modular cube that seamlessly housed and hid all the tech.
We opted for an organic environment and an abstract geometric model that stands out. Stickers helped direct the client towards the slot as well as communicate the foundation's mission.
The tokens were made of metal, painted black with the logo directly printed on them. This gave the heavy quality feel when the clients picked them up which in itself created a very effective thumping sound once it was dropped into the slot, right as the animation started.
The animations used for mapping
Modularity & Re-use
The project was planned to be modular and re-used from day one, which meant that it wasn't fixed to one location or one event.
One of the interactive cubes is now in the Chocolate museum of Valrhona - La CIté du Chocolat.
