Harris - Global Innovation Center
The premier client briefing center for the aerospace and defense technology innovator.
THE ASK
When Harris executives are introducing the complicated world of communications and GPS technologies of the company, it’s far easier to show than to tell. At the time, Harris had a Client briefing center that utilized antiquated physical products that were decades old and needed a facelift. Our team was tasked with breathing life into the new client briefing center that visually represented their technologies in action and gave users a truly immersive experience into the world of Harris and their cutting edge aerospace and defense technologies.
THE SOLUTION
With the help of a team of 3D/storyboard artists, creative technologists, art directors, programmers, producers and all around amazing people, the Client Briefing center became a state-of-the-art museum where 13 interactive experiences were created to showcase the stories of the variety of technologies that Harris had to offer. From immersive theaters and holographic displays, to 30 foot interactive murals and Mixed Reality (MR) booths, we created truly unforgettable experiences that were educational and left the users beaming with excitement.
KEY CONTRIBUTIONS
Led the UX for (4) concurrent projects (2 Immersive theaters // 2 Mixed Reality Experiences)
Developed User Flows for all experiences
Creating prototypes for all (4) experiences in an extremely compressed timeline.
Worked closely with 3D / Storyboard artists, programmers, art directors and producers to develop efficient workflows and sprint schedules (using the Mavenlink project management tool).
Tools Used
Axure
Mavenlink
UNITY
Inform
When clients and guests are given a tour of the global innovation center, they are typically escorted by a guide, and during these tours, the guides need to educate and inform the guests about their fascinating technologies. Thats where inform comes in. An immersive interactive presentation theater where the user (tour guide/guest) can walk up to the podium to begin learning about the innovative aerospace and defense technologies in an engaging and fascinating experience. The experience is separated by a podium and a theater screen the mirrors most of the content for all the guests to see. Of all the projects in the global innovation center, this was by far the most complicated since there were so many technologies to showcase.
Storyboard Sketches
After being briefed on the project, I collaborated with the storyboard artist to have over 100 different scenes drawn out for the prototype.
Developing the User Flows.
In order for the developers and project coordinators to understand the breadth and scale of the experience, I created user flows to showcase the different pages and their various states. This became a critical piece of documentation for the developers to implement the 3D models into UNITY.
Building the Prototype.
As part of the process for keeping the client aware of every corner of the experience, I built out the entire experience over the course of two months. I was in constant communication with the creative director, the client and the their legal team to ensure that every aspect of the experience was accounted for.
Check out the experience for yourself!
Success.
After months of back and forth, and several revisions, Inform launched in the global innovation center. The interactive experience continues to serve Harris’ clients today.
After Action Report:
Immersive Theater
Let’s face it, most of us will never drive at the helm of a military Humvee, let alone be in live combat, and that’s certainly a good thing. Though in with this immersive theater, the guests of the Global Innovation Center are able to watch a short film to get a taste of what soldiers go through and see what kind of technology they use to stay alive. The experience then ends with a gallery of technologies that the user can browse through to get a closer look a the technologies that were used.
Wireframes
In collaboration with the storyboard artist, we built a rough idea of what the experience would look like from the perspective of the viewer where the short film is playing at the top, and the below is the screen for what the user would see.
Begin.
Browse.
Dive in.
Success.
Here is a quick look at the immersive experience where you can see how the user interacts with the screen after the movie has played.
Mixed Reality Light Boxes
Since the previous innovation center was largely a museum of the older physical devices, the team figured it would be great to pay homage to the past,
and merge the old with the new. In these experiences, users would be able to view the physical object behind a transparent screen
and interact with the screen to learn more about the physical object. A simple idea, with beautiful results.
Brainstorming
With the business requirements and product structure laid out, I brainstormed with the the executive producers and creative directors to determine the user flows, layout, and overall Information Architecture.
Fixed Wing Systems
This experience allowed the user to learn about the new technology inside of the F-35 fighter plane. A scale model of the plane was placed behind the transparent screen and the user could tap any of the hotspots on the screen to reveal more information about specified technology.
Evolution of Radios
With something as mundane as radio technology, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t challenging to present this information in an engaging yet educational manner. This experience was designed to show the evolution of the radio technology over the past 25 years. The light box had three military radios behind a transparent screen and the user would be able to move the slider over to learn about the the technology improvements over the years.
Success.
From simple sketches on a whiteboard to transparent screen, it’s always great to see ideas come to life.
RESULTS
The culmination of the project was lauded by congressmen & senators from the state of Florida, and ended up being the largest project in the agency’s history—a feat that all team members were extremely proud of. Working on this project was certainly some the hardest work we put in, as it took a village to bring the global innovation center to life, but we are grateful to have built an experience that will educate and engage curious minds for years to come.