Tastes Better Than People
I had a blast playing with the cool kids at W+K Lodge, the ‘Wayne Szalinski’ division of famed ad agency Wieden + Kennedy. I worked with Soylent during phase two of a Web GL experience starring Trish, a nutrition-loving robot created by W+K. The new-and-improved Trish would educate users on nutrition and Soylent’s product line in addition to providing a path to purchase. The cheeky edu-tainment site mimicked the gameplay of vendor shops found in old school video games. The Lodge needed UX expertise to distill the potential nutritional information into digestible nuggets for the user, navigate the paths of the story and address consumer feedback.
In parallel, we were brainstorming ideas for a new environment for Trish. The team wanted the shop to reflect the vibe of a juice bar with a twist of Trish’s quirky eccentricity. I liked the ideas that were thrown around and I suggested I do a little research and sketch something up to provide direction for the 3D modelers. By a stroke of luck and insanity, they let me. It was my first time designing an environment or providing direction for a 3D production artist. I did some inspirational research, collected the team’s ideas and sketched a quirky but clean environment that was both low-poly and did not obscure the onscreen copy.
Wireframes
Aesthetic Direction
Sketched Environment
Rendered Environment
Produced by W+K’s Production Dept
