By Austin Watson & Pedro Neves

Our relationship with WNDR started when we were commissioned to design and develop an interactive installation for the new museum location in Boston. At the time, we were playing with the idea of projecting on a surface that could be changed, using some sort of flexible fabric. After finding the materials that we were looking for, we collaborated with the WNDR team to develop a structure that could hold this fabric and make it interactive with the use of sensors and projectors.

Collaboratively, we designed Flex—a flat canvas that can be pushed and interacted with, revealing color blobs depending on the location and intensity of the push.

That whole process went really well, so we were then challenged to design and develop something for Chicago that shared the spirit of Flex. We thought that the form of a Cube would be an awesome way of having multiple people interacting with this technology, with the four faces reacting live to touch in similar fashion.

Content wise, we decided that Touch was going to be completely typographic, creating a big visual contrast to what can be experienced in Boston, yet complementary as a piece.

We want this piece to encourage people to reflect on their relationship with digital technologies. By focusing on typography—our fundamental system for conveying meaning—Touch allows visitors to physically manipulate and transform language itself. As words and letters respond to touch, digital content becomes tangibly malleable, blurring the lines between reader and creator while encouraging curiosity, exploration and of course… touch.

It has been wonderful and fun to work with such a great and hardworking team at WNDR, and we look forward to more collaborations in the future!