IBM: THINK APP

Credits & Description:

Advertiser: IBM
Agency: SYPARTNERS
Category: Best Visual Design/Aesthetic
Interactive Designer: Chris Ballard (Mirada)
Lead Android Developer: Jens Zalzala (Mirada)
Creative Director: Jesus De Francisco (Mirada)
Illustrator: Josh Cochran (Mirada)
Producer: Andrew Merkin (Mirada)
Lead iOS Developer: Mahmud Din (Mirada)
Creative Director: Mathew Cullen (Mirada)
Producer: Peter Nelson (Mirada)
Interactive Designer: Hye Jung Bae (Mirada)
Art Director: Kevin Lau (Mirada)
Art Director: Mark Brinn (Mirada)
Creative Director: Susana Rodrigez De Tembleque (SYPartners)
Creative Director: Nicolas Maitret (SYPartners)
Production Coordinator: Ryan Hitch (Mirada)

Brief Explanation
IBM commissioned iPad and Android tablet versions of its immersive THINK exhibit, a large-scale interactive installation that debuted at New York’s Lincoln Center in September 2011. The production studio designed and executed the interactive and real-time data visualization components of the exhibit, which showcases how various innovations are making the world work better. IBM realized that this interactive portion of THINK would be a great educational tool that lives beyond the life of the THINK exhibit, and tasked the studio with transforming the data into a widely accessible app format.The studio redesigned THINK and optimized it for tablets. The THINK app features hundreds of entries and images spanning the history of science and progress, plus glimpses into future technology that are still in development. Users can interact with dynamic models, navigate historical timelines, hear innovators explain their tools firsthand, travel a virtual globe to learn about progress in different parts of the world, and much more. THINK is also optimized for teachers, offering THINK lesson plans, free downloads, and hands-on learning opportunities. The app also features social media functionality via Facebook and Twitter. Apple featured the THINK app as a “new and noteworthy” app upon its release.The team faced technological challenges in building the app architecture so that it can be dynamically expanded and updated as new knowledge and initiatives come to fruition, and keeping the app at a functional size given its depth of content. The team was able to pull off this stunning app, on multiple platforms, in just four months, and is looking forward to adding additional content as researchers and innovators learn more about our world. The THINK app will continue to be a valuable resource for years to come.