A Winter's Tale

Interactive Window Installation
MY ROLE
Art Direction
Illustration
Fabrication
TEAM
Anne-Michelle Gallero
Li-Chung (David) Chen
Yaming (Diana) Xu
WHERE & WHEN
Corner of Broadway & 10th Street, New York City
Sept 13, 2019 - Sept 19, 2019
PROJECT TIMELINE
7 weeks
SUMMARY

A Winter's Tale is an interactive window display that allows a user to turn the pages of a book through the window to trigger different elements in the scene.

"In New York City, every storefront window has the possibility to tell a story, spark a conversation or inspire an interaction"

Gabriel Barcia-Colombo

Process

Window Specs

Width: 8' 7", Height: 6' 10", Depth: 2' 2"

The location of this window is in the ideal location since it is right on Broadway, down the street from Union Square Park Holiday Market. There is plenty of foot traffic, so we wanted to create something that will fit in the window as well as spark the interest of people passing by.

Window-Mockup
Ideation

We went with a winter theme since the installation will be on display during the holidays. We wanted to convey a story of a traveler, exploring a forest, and every page of the book illustrates a different scene of the story.

The window can be interacted with through a simple wave of the arm, as if flipping a page of a book.  Motion is tracked through a Kinect, and actions are triggered using an Arduino and a series of motors.

The book will only have four elements that are interactive in the scene, however, the book will flip the pages infinitely in order to add to the magic.

Page 1: "A traveler chases light" - Lights on lantern turn on

Page 2: "To the forest in the night" - Trees rustle in the background

Page 3: "Golden birds take flight" - Birds fly up and down

Page 4: "While the winter fades to white" - Snow swirls around the scene

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Fabrication & Installation

Arduino & Motors

The Arduino and motors were built into the stand and designed to be as hidden as possible. 

Laser Cut Foam Core

Foam core was used because the motors needed to be able to support the weight of the interactive elements. 

Prop Modifications

Some props, such as the lantern and Christmas tree, were modified so that it can communicate with the Arduino.

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Woodwork

The book stand was completely fabricated from scratch using a CNC machine. Decorative elements were added to enhance the atmosphere.

Illustration

Finding a giant antique book was a difficult and expensive task, however, we located an old Leonardo da Vinci textbook. I used white gouache, Micron Pens and Sharpie markers for the illustrations and lettering.

IMG_0630
A traveler chases light
To the forest in the night
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IMG_0624
Golden birds take flight
While the winter fades to white
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