Illinois Tech, also known as the Illinois Institute of Technology, is a leading tech institute in Chicago. The school is home to seven colleges and four institutes and boasts a campus largely designed by famed architect Mies van der Rohe.
When Illinois Tech decided to honor board chair and major donor Michael P. Galvin, whose family founded Motorola and had supported the institute for decades, we saw an opportunity to create an optimal thank-you that doubled as a brand experience: There would be no plaque on the wall. Instead, we would inspire additional donors while creating a new “welcome mat” for the university through a permanent, experiential takeover of the first floor of the recently renamed Michael P. Galvin Tower.
Interactive physical-digital media is a large-scale undertaking with a lot of planning and many teams involved—the content development, design and installation process took over a year. The experience eventually included several unique technological installations specifically designed to welcome the surrounding neighborhood, honor the Galvin family and the Motorola story, collect student and visitor stories for data visualization and, not the least of these, position the school as a technological leader from a brand perspective.
Eventually, our team developed a motion-sensing interactive wall, a touchscreen experience to collect stories from visitors, a live-data window projection wall and a robust microsite with supporting archival content. I worked extensively with two professional archivists, one from Motorola and one from Illinois Tech, to develop historically accurate content and collect digital materials. Additionally, I curated a collection of physical artifacts including an original DynaTAC cell phone, historic Motorola technology and a Presidential certificate appointment. I even defined furnishings for the space.
The Galvin Tower interactive installation was unveiled during a live event as part of Illinois Tech’s Homecoming celebration 2022 to great surprise and delight.
Illinois Tech, Blue Telescope, Spence, Creative Technology, Chicago Scenic Studios, Nom De Gueree Films, GroundFire Pictures.
My role was to develop the user experience, 3D design, motion graphics and content treatment.
Illinois Institute of Technology
