Obsidian

BADG is building a more equitable and inclusive creative culture by advancing a community of independent Black makers in creative industries.

Experiential

2021

Showcase the enormous talent at BADG and inspire a new generation to think big.


The Obsidian home explores spaces for Black families to thrive, and embrace ancestral futures, technological futures, sustainable futures, and joyful futures in modern dwellings. The home embraces a multiplicity of Black family identities and features a collection of items from Black designers. Project completed in partnership with Autodesk.

  • Art Direction
  • Information Architecture
  • Website Design
  • Website Development

Project

The Obsidian Concept House website provides a 360-degree walkthrough experience of the virtual home and property, including diverse multi-media content accessed on the central web platform.


UX

When researching the exploration experience it was important to us that the integrity of information was preserved through scale. Just as a museum map guides the patron through their discovery, the Obsidian dreamscape should offer locational context in the virtual space while allowing room for the visitor’s questions and imagination.


Obsidian
Obsidian

Floor Taxonomy

Our team was challenged with facilitating a clear navigation experience that prioritized the user’s personal body through the virtual space. This included a “you are here” mini-map and navigation that reveals more detail with each level of scale — Landscape, House, Room, Object. The Index of the web experience organizes the 28 cameras into 4 floors of the house represented through interactive, isometric navigation.


Obsidian

Concept

Obsidian is a dynamic material, slowly moving, and solidifying. As the visitor explores the BADG dreamscape, the “magma” transition interpolates scenes in the dreamscape.



Magma Transition Exploration

The transitional shader morphs each scene into the next; rapidly cooling and hardening into views of the house.


Obsidian

UI

Our team explored methods to overlay an interface to the 3D room renders allowing the user to navigate the 360 views and explore the various works throughout the home. This includes 4 floors of virtual architecture and the artist’s content through informational hotspots attached to the 3D spaces.


Obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian
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Obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian

Mobile Screens


Obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian
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Obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian

Results

The workstation received raving reviews, while the website remains active and still delivers on business goals to this day. We continued work with Fantom to support the project after the initial engagement.

See live website