Dome Demo

Tag: Zsassociates

  • Designing Realities: Where Brands, Behavior, and Immersive Tech Collide

    Designing Realities: Where Brands, Behavior, and Immersive Tech Collide

    I’ll never forget walking through a pop-up concept store for a major brand that had turned its physical space into an AR-enhanced playground. Shoppers weren’t just browsing—they were exploring, engaging, and immersed. What struck me most wasn’t the tech. It was the reaction. People lingered longer. Smiled more. Bought more.

    That’s when it hit me: the customer journey had changed—and it’s not going back.

    In a world where consumers fluidly shift between mobile screens, virtual environments, and real-world moments, the line between digital and physical has blurred. Today, immersive experiences aren’t a novelty—they’re an expectation.

    From personalized 3D environments to augmented in-store interactions, the brands that win are those that design for presence, not just presentation. This shift requires more than new tech. It demands rethinking how we discover, define, design, develop, and deploy experiences that create emotional resonance and measurable impact.

    But how do you do that at scale? What’s the role of AI, storytelling, and system design? And how do you ensure it doesn’t feel gimmicky, but human?

    I’ll be diving deeper into this topic with a group of brilliant thinkers and makers during an upcoming panel. I’m honored to moderate a conversation with:

    Together, we’ll unpack how immersive design is reshaping customer relationships—and what’s next. Let’s expand the way we think about experience.

    Are you ready to meet your customer in their reality?

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  • Beyond the Silo: Designing a Culture of Collaboration

    Beyond the Silo: Designing a Culture of Collaboration

    Imagine walking into a bustling creative studio where fashion designers, software engineers, marketing strategists, finance wizards, and visionary artists are all huddled around the same table. They’re not just sharing space—they’re sharing ideas, sparking each other’s imaginations, and spinning out concepts that might redefine an industry. This is the power of cross-functional collaboration in driving innovation. It’s not just about having brilliant minds in the room; it’s about breaking down the walls between disciplines and letting creativity run free.

    Building a Culture of Collaboration

    In many organizations, teams operate in silos. The design folks do their magic in one corner, data scientists crunch numbers in another, and finance is typically locked away in spreadsheets. When that happens, companies miss out on those electric “aha” moments that only come from combining diverse perspectives. Designing an app might mean you need the insight of a UX lead, the strategic vision of a brand manager, and the realistic budgeting approach from your finance team. Without them all in sync, your next great idea might stay a half-finished sketch in someone’s notebook.

    Fostering a culture of collaboration means structuring your processes—and physical spaces—to encourage spontaneous meetups and idea-sharing. Set up “creative corners” where marketing can chat up design. Arrange weekly “huddles” between tech and finance. The goal is to make the cross-pollination of ideas the norm, not the exception.

    Embracing the Power of AI and Data

    It’s also important to realize that innovation doesn’t stop at human ingenuity. AI can be a major ally, offering real-time insights into consumer behavior or automating routine tasks so your team can focus on big-picture brainstorming. Just ask Metamorphix, who’s used AI to create fashion concepts that captivate global audiences, or Christian Pierre, whose data-driven approach has powered award-winning campaigns. With the right blend of human creativity and machine intelligence, the possibilities are endless.

    Sustaining Momentum for Continuous Innovation

    Of course, the big question is how to keep this momentum going, especially once the initial excitement settles. That’s where consistent leadership and clear processes come in. Silke Meixner knows all about building structures that encourage innovation across massive organizations. And if you really want to be certain you’re designing something that truly resonates, remember to bring user research to the table—someone like Anna Cavazos will tell you empathy and direct feedback from consumers can make or break that shiny new product.

    Let’s Continue the Conversation!

    If this has your creative gears turning, join me, William Newell, along with METAMORPHIX. Christian Pierre, Anna Cavazos, and Silke Meixner at Digital Hollywood on April 23, 2025—a free event! We’ll unpack how design, tech, finance, and marketing teams can unite to drive the next wave of innovation.

    Come ready to challenge assumptions, share your story, and leave with fresh ideas. Let’s build what’s next—together.

    See you there!

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  • AR and VR Can Provide New Revenue Streams in 2023

    AR and VR Can Provide New Revenue Streams in 2023

    CES 2023 came to a close, and what a show it was. After years of remote presentations, we finally converged in Las Vegas; media companies, major manufacturers, agencies, services, developers, and the press came together again with renewed energy to resume full speed ahead “post-pandemic” business. Networking was in the air, and slowly but surely, we all got caught up and started looking into 2023-24 and the exciting opportunities ahead.

    After years of experimentation and hype, we can finally say that augmented reality and virtual worlds are now viable and within reach of consumers. The continued growth of 5G, the availability of edge computing, and the rapid adoption of W3 technologies have set the stage to incorporate digital media in all forms into the actual world, including persistence, and thanks to NFTs, we can make a digital “item” unique.

    CES 2023 Session AR and VR

    It was great to hear Eric Shamlin (Media Monks) and Emily Wengert (Huge) talk about the creative process and their approach to XR and the Metaverse. Rahul Sabnis shares news about iHeart Media events for 2023, which will include augmented reality offerings and more. We all look forward to these events with great anticipation. Silke Meixner (ZS Associates) shared key insights to help develop a sound digital transformation strategy than can facilitate and leverage W3 technologies moving forward. Ashley Crowder (Vntana) is working on solving 3D challenges, which will positively impact the business adoption of AR/VR and all virtual spaces, Metaverse, and games. Jenna Seiden (Niantic) shared exciting news for developers worldwide by announcing new tools and features to deploy AR experiences via browser. From us at SparxWorks, the news is that our platform now supports browser-based augmented reality and the use of QR codes in addition to our app-based capabilities. Our platform allows you to combine images, video, 360-degree images, 3D, audio, and text with AR image recognition, plane recognition, and more.

    At SparxWorks, we specialize in helping businesses reach and connect with their consumers at their point of need. Our customer-centric approach allows us to cultivate and extend your market share through the web, mobile, augmented reality, and, eventually, a persistent metaverse. To learn more come visit our website.