Apex Franchise Show
Project Description
After Apex converted to a franchise model (they previously only sold licenses), we decided to promote our opportunity at the largest show in the United States, the International Franchise Expo. The event was held at the Javitz center in New York City in June of 2016. I was tasked with designing a booth experience that would not only draw attendees in, but provide the perfect setting for us to share all the details that make owning an Apex franchise so special. The booth design was extremely interactive and had we had several franchisees in attendance to share their personal story.
Work Performed
- Experience Design
- Graphic Design
- Presentation Design
Client
Apex Energy Group (Employee)
Booth Design
We decided to create a Virtual Reality experience as the attraction for the booth. Google had just released their Cardboard glasses, along with a Unity framework, making VR more easily accessible. We centered the booth design around this VR experience of a hot air balloon ride to explore Apex’s Flipside® approach. We got a real balloon basket that had been halved (as a movie prop) and I designed a backlit panel of an aerial view that we used as a backdrop to create a more immersive feel. The basket was flanked by four kiosks with iPads and information for us to have independent conversation about the Apex franchise opportunity.
VR Experience
The VR Experience would take users on a hot air balloon ride above a neighborhood and let them see how Apex’s Flipside® business model works; all from a “balloon’s-eye” view. The booth visitor would step up into the basket and place the Cardboard VR headset up to their eyes and then control the experience by launching the balloon, tapping on each house to navigate through the different marketing campaigns, and finally explore the scene by looking for the “X” balloon to complete the journey. I designed these custom-printed Google Cardboard headsets modeled after the ones early aeronauts would have worn when piloting their balloons.
Recap Video
Here’s a little recap video I put together highlighting our experience. You can see the booth in action and some of the fun we had along the way.