BC Hydro at the PNE

AllCreative Strategy + ConsultingBrand Identity + DesignExperiential + Environmental Design

Aug 31

The Brief

This project was done in .Co-llaboration with Inventa out of Vancouver, BC. The project for BC Hydro was to create an engaging and educational interactive installation at the World Famous PNE Fair in Vancouver, BC. The main goal was to showcase the benefits of going electric and what BC Hydro is doing for the community all while providing a fun and entertaining experience for visitors. Sustainability and environmentally friendly approaches are always at the forefront of our mind, so we upcycled our clients existing old worn-out bicycles, installing LEDs, fun graphics, and QR codes, giving them a second life. Overall, the project successfully achieved BC Hydro's goal of creating an engaging and informative space for visitors to learn more about the benefits of going electric while having fun so much so that this engagement is now being used at multiple events by BC Hydro going forward.

Considerations…

Installation is indoors
Light Conditions
Noise/Sound levels
Staffed vs unstaffed
Sustainable and environmentally friendly design
Must be fun and entertaining while also informative and educational

The Result

The end result was a fun, competitive, and interactive experience consisting of over 5000 custom-programmed LED lights throughout. These lights were both for engaging with the competitive users as well as functioning as a backdrop for those more artistic content creators, all while reinforcing BC Hydro's messaging. The final product included a turbine, an electric car model, an energy bar and two stationary bikes that allow users to manually charge the power bar.

Play solo or race a partner. Cycle to spin the turbine and power up the charging station. The first one to light up the electric vehicle in their colour wins.

The Process

Concept Design

We wanted to create a player experience where the user is educated through fun competition. Two users cycle bicycles that are attached to alternators that power the energy bar (light installation). The faster and harder a user pedals, the more the energy bar will illuminate - taking over their opponents’ lights and ultimately winning by eradicating their opponents’ lights.

Information about how the game works and how it relates to how the process is similar to BC Hydros turbines with dams was then shown through accompanying graphics.

2. Detailed Design

We next went through each item that needed to be built and figured out the dimensions and how they would be fabricated, mocking up how each product would look at the site.