Esri

Esri UC
2021

Events / Nominee
Esri

Events

"There has been a lot more focus on these experiences — and of course much bigger audiences for them — than in the past. That kind of visibility allows for more time and money to go into these experiences and in turn really pushes the medium." Esri
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Q: Can you describe your project and the concept behind it? A: With the pandemic in full swing, Esri's yearly user conference went virtual for the second year in a row. Our team worked to create an online event experience that mirrored the energy and excitement of the live event. With the theme of "Creating a Sustainable Future,” the art direction for the site celebrated our users as catalysts for creating that future by building actionable climate change solutions using location intelligence and GIS.
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Q: Tell us about your initial moodboard, wireframe, or prototype. How did things change throughout the process? A: Our initial prototypes were all very static and very much focused on the customer journey through the experience. The key art has a lot of movement and energy built into it. I think we were able to really bring that to life even more so through animations and motion graphics that showed up in live video and sessions throughout the event.
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Q: What influenced your chosen technical approach, and how did it go beyond past methods? A: Our team worked closely with digital event leader Freeman to bring the digital experience to life. The experience relied heavily on scroll-based animations, video and the integrations of our own mapping technology to create an experience that reflected the breadth and depth of our user base, and the work they do.

When did you experience a breakthrough or an "a-ha" moment during this project?

We put a lot of time and focus into the homepage experience and wanted it to be something that was constantly changing as the event progressed — to be a hub users could always come back to and get the latest recommendations, hear recaps of the days events and connect with other users. Finally mapping that very dynamic and changing experience was certainly one of the moments that really allowed us to move forward with the project.

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Q: What web technologies, tools, and resources did you use to develop this? A: ArcGIS Pro, HTML5, PHP, Adobe XD, Adobe After Effects, Photoshop, Adobe Premiere and Online Event Pro.
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Q: How did you balance your own creative ideas and technical capabilities with a fair representation of the client’s brand? A: Since this was an in-house project and we had some great development resources, the sky was the limit. We were asked to really push the entire experience this year and given the time and talent we had on this project I think we delivered on that ask.

Q: How did the final product meet or exceed your expectations? A: We pushed design and QA right up to a few hours before the event went live. In the end we were really happy with how the live experience lived up to our design and initial concepts. We had to make a few concessions along the way and design around a couple technical limitations we ran up against in the process, but overall the team was really happy with where this ended up.

Q: Why is this an exciting time to create new digital experiences? How does your team fit into this? A: With most events in the last two years having some kind of virtual experience attached (or leading), there has been a lot more focus on these experiences — and of course much bigger audiences for them — than in the past. That kind of visibility allows for more time and money to go into these experiences and in turn really pushes the medium.