Vibe Vault
Mixed Reality Photobooth Rooted in Nostalgia
Brand Activation
2023
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— The Vibe Vault transformed a simple sponsorship footprint into a dynamic fan experience that celebrated connection, nostalgia, and technology. Developed during Honda Center’s 30th Anniversary season, the activation reimagined the familiar “photo booth” as a living digital memory wall—one that grew with every fan who participated.
In the world of sports and entertainment, brand partnerships are the lifeblood that power fan experiences—and those partnerships are evolving fast. Our client wanted an activation that made people stop, engage, and remember. With deep experience designing digital experiences for arenas and major sports brands, our team saw the opportunity to create something that honored the Honda Center’s 30th anniversary while redefining what a sponsorship experience could be.
Responsibilities
Concept Design | Visual Design | Motion Art Direction | Team Management
Concept Development
THE CHALLENGE
Our concept began with a question: what if nostalgia could be interactive? Using nostalgia as our lens, we tapped into the magic of memory—reminding fans that connection isn’t just built through technology, but through the shared joy of remembering where it all began.To bring that to life, we had to move fast—aligning designers, developers, and stakeholders around a vision that balanced craft and speed.
Every decision, from software to hardware to user flow, became a collaborative act of problem-solving under pressure. The activation was built around a simple but powerful loop: capture a fan’s info via the an iPad check-in, delight them with playful AR outfits, and display the growing mosaic across three screens—turning individual moments into a shared, fan experience.
Visual Expression
A MARRIAGE OF BRANDS
Tasked with creating a true visual partnership between their brand and the Honda Center’s 30th anniversary identity, I identified and shaped a visual throughline that connected both brands’ identities into a single, cohesive experience—the 30th anniversary seal’s radiating lines and our clients lens motif—and extended them into dynamic animations that tied the screen graphics, digital mosaic, and environmental graphics into a single cohesive look and feel.
The Vibe Vault identity leaned into motion as much as form. Client-branded colors anchored the design, while animation conveyed a growing audience—lines trickling in, swelling, and coalescing to reveal the Honda Center 30th Anniversary logo in unison. Those echoing lines then traced a path to the Vibe Vault logo, emerging from the same lens container, uniting both brands. The visual language extended to typography with retro neon treatments, while particles of all sizes reinforced the sense of a crowd coming together—turning 90’s nostalgia into a dynamic, immersive identity system.
The field of particles would fill in over time, slowly creating a mosaic of fans dressed in their 90's best.
The interactive experience was built around gesture-driven engagement. Using a touch screen paired with a Microsoft Kinect camera and a photobooth plugin with skeletal tracking, fans could move, pose, and see themselves seamlessly integrated into the experience. I worked with the team to design the “90’s closet,” curating instantly recognizable outfits—from Biggie Smalls’ iconic sweater to Fresh Prince-era looks and early 2000s grunge—so each fan could step into a playful, personalized moment. Every interaction was carefully choreographed to feel intuitive, fun, and visually delightful, reinforcing the magic of the Vibe Vault.
LAUNCH
The Vibe Vault launched with the start of the 2023 hockey season, drawing roughly 100 fans per night into the activation. Nostalgia proved to be a hit—early 2000s grunge was the most popular outfit—and the playful AR experiences kept fans engaged and coming back. We also learned a great deal about activating in high-traffic sports arenas, and were pleasantly surprised by how well the software scaled the interactive artwork to fit all body types, from the very tall to differently-abled participants, ensuring a seamless and inclusive experience for everyone.
FUN FACT
Our team conceptualized, designed, modeled, and engineered the entire experience in 8 weeks. An impressive feat made possible by a team united by a passion for interaction design.
Meetings while testing the Vibe Vault were made better by how well the neon effect printed on these wall wraps
