BRIEF
ADOBE SUMMIT: Back to the 90s
Giant Spoon, 2019
Role: Sr. Designer
Adobe approached us to create an experience that celebrated the 25th anniversary of the digital ad and first e-commerce transaction. The activation focused on promoting the Adobe Experience Cloud by demonstrating the challenges of the early internet, how far we have come, and how Adobe’s software made work easier over the years. Guests were transported “Back to the ‘90s” to experience this first-hand.
The immersive experience included spaces drenched in Memphis design, nostalgic furnishings, and actors that guided guests on journey through Adobe Experience Cloud touch-points involved in a “pizza and movie night” while highlighting the frustrations of the “old-school” way of doing things like making a banner ad, renting VHS tapes, and ordering pizza while demonstrating the features Adobe's Experience Cloud products.
The experience concluded with a walk through an immersive tunnel that transported guests back to the current day where guests could learn more about the advancement of Adobe products through time.
Ad Agency
The first scenario took us to a familiar place, the ad agency office. Actors replicated the hustle and bustle of a busy office on the verge of creating the first banner ad.
My attention to detail was borderline obsessive throughout the experience. The “Ad Agency” featured Rolodexes full of a variety of fake business cards that parodied various 90’s businesses like Gateway computers, individualized employee badges, hand-labeled floppy disks, cheesy inspirational posters, Furby, and Tamagochis (the OG fidget toy).
Video Store
Once the first banner ad was launched a set of filing cabinets swung open to reveal the entrance to the “Videostore”, an ode to Blockbuster… RIP.
This was my favorite section of the experience to design. Detail was key to immersion here as well, and included a fully functional point-of-sale system with working membership cards, over 200 unique labeled VHS tapes with working SKU barcodes, and category signage that incorporated Adobe Experience Cloud product logos. I had so much fun designing the posters and parody movie cardboard cut-outs.
LIVING ROOM
After renting their movie for the night, guests were lead through the “adults only” curtain, transporting them to a living room drenched in Memphis Design aesthetic. In this room our guests would use a computer to order pizza for delivery on a fully functional website.
I got a lot of strange looks from my co-workers while I was designing the “Pizza Hat” website. Cackling like a mad-scientist as I broke nearly every rule of contemporary web design; bombarding pages with an eye blistering amount .gif’s and dreaded fonts like Comic Sans and Papyrus, that combined in an almost comforting interpretation of 90’s websites and the lack of restraint shown by early web designers who were too excited to play with the new medium of the time.
Portal & Museum
After the “pizza and movie night” guests walked through a portal that played a video showing the progress of the Adobe Experience Cloud suite of software throughout time. At the end of the portal guests could further learn about the features and solutions provided Adobe software.
Photobooth
The final stop of the experience was the photobooth, where guests immortalized their trip to the 90’s with a wide selection of nostalgic quirky props.
T-shirts & Take-homes
Mechanicals
PRESS
