This is a branded experience that promotes “Citizen”, a start-up application designed for smartphones. The application’s mission is to keep people aware of crimes in their area.
The main design tool for this pop-up event is light.
In 2016 the application launches for the first time with the name “Vigilante”, but 48 hours later the App Store pulls it off. In 2017 it re-brands and returns as “Citizen, a crime avoidance tool for metropolitan areas”.
However, many people are skeptical, as they believe that “Citizen” still raises some thorny ethical questions.
When it comes to this controversial application, the design challenge is to create a branded experience which encourages visitors to form their own opinion on the Brand. One of the major goals is to present Citizen’s mission in a clear way and restore its name.
The branded experience takes place inside a black cube of 20x20x20 feet, placed inside one of New York City’s architectural iconic landmarks; the Domino Sugar Factory, in Brooklyn.
The branded experience is designed for groups and it aims to strengthen the sense of community. It is about an open plan space, where three different lighting scenes are taking place.
The audience is adult citizens of New York, one of the two metropoles where the app is now available.
The concept unfolds in three different lighting scenes and it is inspired by the way that the application works;
1. The police is informed about the suspicious activity
2. The action starts
3. The application's data run in real-time to reach and inform the citizens.
The materials used in the space are light-sensitive and interact to create different spatial qualities depending on the three lighting scenes. The show lasts for 5 minutes.
Scene 1
The police is informed about the suspicious activity in a neighborhood of New York. A sound and light installation inspired by police car beacon starts. The visitor can only see the reflection of the light to the ceiling and the room is painted rhythmically in red and blue hues.
Scene 2
The ceiling becomes dark again and the walls illuminate. Outside these concrete walls a silhouette chases another one in a distorted image. The visitors are standing at the center of the action and observing. At the same time they hear sounds of NY and a man's footsteps.
Scene 3
Now the focus is given to the front wall and the floor. The green lights reveal specific phrases of these surfaces, covered in photoluminescent graphics. Digital sounds are on.
A detailed research of lighting fixtures has been made in order to chose the most appropriate products to light the Citizen's branded experience.
This project was created for the lighting course of Michael Stiller, in the Master’s Program of Exhibition and Experience Design, Fashion Institute Technology, NY.
The inspiration images come from the series “High Fashion Crime Scenes” of Melanie Pullen, a LA based, photographer and visual artist.
