// LEAPS BY BAYER_

// OVERVIEW

BAYER DECIDED TO LAUNCH A NEW ORGANIZATION [LEAPS BY BAYER] COMMITTED TO LEAD BREAKTHROUGH INNOVATIONS ACROSS HEALTHCARE & AGRICULTURE, WITH THE AIM TO CONQUER 10 HUGE WORLD-CHANGING CHALLENGES IN LIFE SCIENCES THEY CALL “LEAPS.” WHILE THEY MAY SEEM IMPOSSIBLE TO SOME — BAYER BELIEVES OTHERWISE & SOUGHT OUT TO PARTNER WITH CRITICAL MASS TO HELP LAUNCH 'LEAPS BY BAYER' PUBLICLY FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER & ELEVATE THEIR PRESENCE AT THE SUMMIT LA17 CONFERENCE HELD IN DOWNTOWN LA.

INSPIRED BY THE STORY OF AARON 'JAWS' HOMOKI VS. THE LYON 25 — WE DECIDED TO RECREATE THE 25 STEPS TO SPEC AS A DIGITALLY AUGMENTED, PHYSICAL INSTALLATION. OUR GOAL WAS TO DELIGHT & EDUCATE BY SHOWCASING THE 10 LEAPS IN UNIQUE WAYS & ALLOW ATTENDEES TO EXPERIENCE THE EXACT SCALE & MAGNITUDE OF HOMOKI'S IMPOSSIBLE LEAP.

— LEAPS BY BAYER CASE STUDY VIDEO —

// PROCESS

MY RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDED HELPING THE EXEC TEAM DEFINE THE OVERALL CONCEPT & DRIVING THE CREATIVE DIRECTION, WHILE LEADING A CORE CREATIVE TEAM CONSISTING OF ART DIRECTORS, UX DESIGNERS, CREATIVE TECHNOLOGISTS & STUDIO ARTISTS.

TOGETHER, WE SPENT THE FIRST 6 WEEKS CONCEPTING, DESIGNING, PLANNING AND PROTOTYPING EVERY TOUCHPOINT OF THE EXPERIENCE.

— INITIAL ROUND OF CONCEPTS —

— FABRICATION PROCESS MONTAGE —

THE FOLLOWING 8 WEEKS WERE SPENT WORKING CLOSELY WITH SELECTED CONTRACT DEVELOPERS, ARCHITECTS & FABRICATION PARTNERS TO BUILD OUT THE PHYSICAL & TECH COMPONENTS.

I ALSO MANAGED THESE RELATIONSHIPS DIRECTLY WITH THE CLIENT THROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF THE PROJECT.

// EXECUTION

THE BASE OF THE EXPERIENCE WAS A LIFE-SIZE 1:1 SCALE REPLICA OF THE 25 STEPS IN LYON, FRANCE. A TOTAL FOOTPRINT 26’W x 18.7’H x 40’D FT. THE RISERS WERE LINED WITH 750 RGB LED MATRIX PANELS.

A TOTAL OF 1.5 MILLION INDIVIDUAL LED LIGHTS. CONVERTED THE STRUCTURE INTO A MASSIVE LED WALL. 

WE INTEGRATED AN INTERACTIVE LAYER FOR THE LEDs, INVITING ATTENDEES TO CREATE, PERSONALIZE & SUBMIT THEIR VERY OWN PIECE OF GENERATIVE ART DIRECTLY FROM THEIR MOBILE PHONES IN REAL-TIME.

THE PROCEDURAL ENGINE WAS BUILT IN THREEJS/WEBGL — DESIGNED WITH A SHAPE & COLOR LIBRARY DEVELOPED AS A PROPRIETARY VISUAL LANGUAGE REPRESENTING THE 3 MAIN CATEGORIES OF EACH LEAP. WE NAMED THIS LANGUAGE THE BAYER LEAPS DNA.

THE NEGATIVE SPACE UNDERNEATH THE STEPS NEEDED TO BE MODULAR & FLEXIBLE. WE SOUGHT OUT TO MAKE IT FEEL LIKE AN IMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENT WHILE ALSO PROVIDING AN OPEN AREA FOR CONVERSATION & MEETINGS. SUMMIT ALSO CHOSE TO HOST SOME TALKS WITHIN THE SPACE & EVEN SETUP AN IMPROMPTU MORNING YOGA SESSION FOR SELECT ATTENDEES, MANY OF WHOM ARE LUMINARIES KNOWN AROUND THE WORLD.

NOTABLE CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS & NODS OF APPROVAL INCLUDED USHER, CHRIS ROCK & KIMBAL 'NOT ELON' MUSK.

SINCE ITS DEBUT AT SUMMIT, THE LEAPS INSTALLATION HAS BEEN TOURING ALL OVER THE GLOBE PROMOTING THE LEAPS MISSION AT VARIOUS CONFERENCES, EVENTS & SCHOOLS SPONSORED BY BAYER. AFTER ITS RUN, THE STRUCTURE IS PLANNED TO BE CONVERTED AS A PERMANENT INSTALLATION AT BAYER AG'S WORLD HEADQUARTERS IN LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY.

// PROJECT DETAILS

CLIENT_
BAYER AG
OMNICOM

AGENCIES_
CRITICAL MASS
OMNICOM (TLGG)

TIMELINE_
CONCEPT: 6 WEEKS
EXECUTION: 2 MONTHS

AWARDS_
CANNES LIONS HEALTH
— BRONZE

// CREDITS

EXEC TEAM_
CONOR BRADY, CCO
GRANT OWENS, CSO

CREATIVE DIRECTION_
PRISCILLA GOMEZ
SIMONA TERNBLOM

AD & DESIGN_
ANDY WONG
SEAN KELLY
PRISCILLA GOMEZ

TECHNOLOGY_
RICKY BACON
HOGAN LEE
MATT DESLAURIERS

STRATEGY_
JARED FOLKMANN


COPY_
MICHELLE ERICKSON
GEOFF ROECKER

ACCOUNT & PRODUCTION_
CHRISTINA DIPHILLIPS
FELICE ARCHBOLD
NICOLE FERRARIS

3RD PARTY VENDORS_
DREAMLAND, ARCHITECTURE
NUSSLI, FABRICATION