INTERVIEW - Brock
Batten, Creative Director & Michael Schneider,
CEO - Fluidesign
Q. Give us
a background of your company.
Fluidesign started as a web design agency in
1998. Over the years we’ve evolved into
an award-winning interactive agency, specializing
in branding, online experiences, web technology,
and online marketing.
Q. What is your
approach to developing interactive media solutions?
Our approach is custom based on both our client’s
goals and their industry. We strive to set standards
in everything we do, and have a well established
creative process that yields results, and pushes
the possibilities of the web.
Q. What was the
creative inspiration for your winning project?
The site was created to supplement a traveling
live exhibit, which was first displayed at Grand
Central Station in New York. We wanted to provide
the same experience on the web for those people
who couldn’t participate in the live exhibit,
so much of the graphic design style on the site
was directly inspired from the original set
design.
Q. What technologies
were involved with making the project?
Flash/Actionscript animations triggered by
audio events. We also used several video sequences
which were animated in After Effects and converted
to FLV’s. We also did a few non-digital
techniques, such as building scale models of
certain scenes to photograph as background elements,
spray painting stencils, etc.
Q. What were the
biggest challenges to making the project and
how did you overcome them?
The first problem was how to come up with the
best way to present all the facts about the
AIDS crisis in Malawi in the most effective
manner. So rather than a typical bombardment
of bulleted factoids and information, we decided
to approach the site from a narrative perspective,
guiding the viewer through the life experiences
of Malawian children. This not only reflected
the live exhibit, but it makes for a much more
intimate and atypical experience on the web.
After the concept and storyboarding were developed
the challenges were all the typical technical
issues that go hand in hand with web development.
Q. Did the project
achieve its goals?
Yes, aside from a happy client and the Horizon
Interactive Award, we also were honored with
a Webby Award. So we feel that many people are
seeing the site that wouldn’t have otherwise
been aware of the issues being addressed.
Q. Where do you
/ your team turn for creative inspiration?
Although we’re all immersed in the web
and with technology everyday, I find a lot of
inspiration indirectly from everyday experience.
I love taking inspiration from music and fine
art and applying it out of context to interactive
design. I also obsess over things like quantum
physics and psychogeography, which have many
parallels with information mapping.
Q. What trends
do you see in interactive media production today?
Rich media. Data Visualization. Information
Saturation.
Q. What are some
of your favorite websites?
As far as design portholes go, I’m frequently
on Cpluv and The FWA. That usually leads to
something inspiring.
Q. What projects
are you working on now?
We’re split between developing social
web 2.0 sites and apps and conceptually driven
rich media sites.
Q. What is your
overall feeling about the Horizon Interactive
Awards?
Horizon for us represents yet another validation
of our talent and dedication to both our clients
and the web. We are honored to be involved and
selected by such a prestigious organization.
Q. What does it
mean to win the Horizon Award?
Winning a Horizon Award is meaningful on multiple
levels. Not only does it validate that what
we’ve been doing is getting recognized,
it also provides a boost to our valued clients.
We don’t just think their site is great;
they don’t just think their site is great;
an independent and unbiased third party thinks
the work is great. We can’t think of something
more meaningful than that.
