MAGIC (Media, Arts, Games, Interaction and Creativity) center at RIT is in charge of developing interactive gaming projects. Their relevance has grown in past years and as part of their marketing strategy, a bolder presence at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) has been a priority. The Game Developers Conference is the biggest gaming conference in the US, attracting over 23 thousand assistants to San Fransisco every year. It represents a key opportunity for MAGIC to showcase their skills, create new partnerships and expose the students to potential job opportunities.
MAGIC was looking to have a stronger presence and attract potential partners, create awareness about the organization’s potential and expose students with potential job opportunities. After understanding the objectives and strengths of the organization, several experience maps were put together to create a continuous flow of attendees that could understand the variety of skills that MAGIC has to offer.
The project was developed in conjunction with New Media design students Ryan Kiley and Jack Wilson, and with advisory from the creative team at RES exhibits. Keeping in mind the key objectives and finding a branding strategy to represent MAGIC, several sketches were developed based on modularity, ease of installation and production, as well as abstract representations of architectural elements from the center.
Inspiration was drawn to create a simple exhibit that could create this statement and provide the right atmosphere to interact with staff, test demos and learn more about the lines of research being developed b the organization. The theme is based on building custom experiences, and recognizing the students’ work as the building blocks of the center. Technical drawings were developed for back wall, custom built furnishings and graphic element locations. The exhibit was executed by RES Exhibits in Rochester, NY.