An interactive experience designed to boost fun, excitement and interest in the foyer of one Google’s Digital Skills training centres. Designed to help break the ice with people who are scared of technology.
Google Digital Garage is a space where the public can take free classes to improve their online skills. For the grand opening in Manchester, we retrofitted a piano made in 1870 to transform live music into animations - all real time, no internet connection required.
Each of the 88 keys on the piano triggers a different piece of content that showcased Manchester’s pride and history - all told through a Google Product and Brand lens.
We worked with illustrators, animators and paper artists to create an array of content that was engaging and delightful. This included playful Mancunian themed puns and key facts about the city - which is loved for both its music and invention.
For the piano’s octave keys we used Google’s own tools - namely Street View and Earth View - to tell the story of Manchester through a product lens. We also integrated Mancunian themed Doodles and popular Search trends.
With an infinite combination of animation sequences, we also created a design system of patterns to keep the content varied. To make the experience feel tangible, we designed it to react to the velocity of notes being played, so the animation sequences grow in size depending on how hard, or softly you are tinkling the ivories.
We partnered with Stink to develop a technical solution that ensured the animation sequences would run smoothly in 4K resolution at 60FPS on a 85”4K UHD LED screen. We had less than seven weeks to create the experience and had great press and social coverage on the day of launch.