Half a decade of interaction design

In October Sofie Desombere celebrated her fifth anniversary at Ocular. As Project Leader and Designer she takes the Ocular-projects to the next level. With her eye for detail and her talent for design, she creates complete experiences for our clients and their customers.

On the occasion of her work anniversary, Sofie took some time to look back and talk about the three projects that she's very proud of. All these projects came with certain challenges, but together with the rest of the team, Sofie made it happen!

?Health House

Health House was one of the first projects where Ocular was responsible for the design and build process. We got the full creative freedom to transform an empty room into an immersive experience. The goal was clear: we would use the Ocularium system to create a flexible digital base that would allow different scenarios and storylines.

My job was to create the digital flow, design the lay-out of the room and think about the interactive tools we could use. While doing this, I had to keep in mind some key elements: 1. there would be interaction between an active and a passive flow 2. the duration of the visits per room 3. the flexibility to personalize the content in order to elicit a response from the visitors and to keep control of the different groups.

Once the digital design was ready, we discussed everything with the set builder. Thanks to that collaboration I learned a lot about the integration of that type of installations in a room. It’s a skill I use all the time; it’s an important added value we have at Ocular.

More than 8.500 visitors from all over the world came to visit Health House and got inspired about technology and the possibilities. I’m very proud of the result!

The Techpeditie

To design a modular roadshow that would travel to 13 Flemish cities in the space of one year: this was a project I was very excited about! The scope of the challenge: design a pop-up expo about smart technology that will make our lives easier and more fun. The exposition had to showcase those solutions in a fascinating, interactive way, to attract and address a broad audience.

With this information in mind, I started to design some sketches and 3D models. I came up with an idea to transform 9 empty shipping containers into a circular space. Thanks to the different workshops with our partners we managed to level up the technology that was used in the containers. I also gained a lot of knowledge about the use of different materials and the constructions to create a modular system — again, this is know-how that will come in handy further on in my career.

In addition to the design of the containers, I was also responsible for the creation of different games and interactive applications that would make the Techpeditie an interesting and fun experience for the visitors.

The biggest challenge of this project was the timing: we only had 5 months from start to finish. But the fact that we managed to complete the job in time and that the result was successful, was very satisfying. The Techpeditie became a real success in Flanders. 

Barco Education Pod

The well-known company Barco wanted to renew its famous Education Pod and came to Ocular for advice. The first challenge was the oval and small shape of the room. And the second one was the fact that the installation needed to be functional for two different scenarios.

We decided to use a flexible desk that you can turn 180°, so you can use it for a presentation and for a 1 on 1 communication with the ‘virtual’ students seen on the videowall.

I was responsible for the lay-out and the use of the room, the adaptability of all the different technology used in this room and the technical drawings. I also focused on the general follow-up, to make everything go according to plan.

Recently, I saw the interior again in an interview with the CEO from Barco in a Voka magazine — a very rewarding feeling!

In short: every Ocular project of the last 5 years was unique on its own. I got to master a lot of different skills. The most exciting thing about working here is that you never know what the next project will be. I’m looking forward to the next 5 years!