News
SapientNitro + Second Story
Our 18-year mission to ‘elevate the art of storytelling’ is amplified and expanded through SapientNitro’s acquisition. Together we will redefine storytelling for today’s always-on culture by crafting experiences that seamlessly blend physical and digital environments—from web and mobile to in-store and in-venue. Learn more at Adweek or on Sapient’s website.
Ars Electronica & Chris Carlson
Congratulations to Interactive Developer Chris Carlson on receiving an Ars Electronica Award of Distinction in the Digital Music and Sound Art category for his Borderlands Granular app!
LAIKA/house
A few lucky members of our staff recently spent some time with the talented team at LAIKA/house, the world-renowned short-form animation studio. Hop over to their blog for a recap of our visit.
WebVisions: R&D (&P)
Later this month, the Oregon Convention Center will host WebVisions Portland, a conference exploring “the future of design, content creation, user experience and business strategy.” Thomas Wester, our Innovation Director, will present R&D (&P), a session focusing on how research, development and play influence the creation of innovative interactive experiences. WebVisions puts together great events, and we’re looking forward to being a part of this one.
Keep Portland Wired!
On May 17th, our studio will be one of the stops on Keep Portland Wired!, a tech tour of Portland organized by Know Your City. The day will begin at Creative Mornings with a presentation by Mira Kaddoura and will include visits to Portland Incubator Experiment, Nike+ Accelerator, and Free Geek. We’re excited to be involved in what promises to be a fun day.
Collaborations for Cause
David Waingarten and Andrew DeVigal recently participated in Collaborations for Cause, a 2-day conference that brought together a diverse group of speakers to discuss the future of storytelling and the role of collaboration in shaping it. In their presentation, David and Andrew addressed how the communications landscape has shifted with the emergence of digital tools and what we can do to keep the public engaged.
Museums and the Web 2013
Museums and the Web 2013 took place in our fair city, and it kept us pretty busy! The day before the conference began, we discussed our projects and process with more than 30 visitors from around the globe. Alyssa Glass, Content Strategist, attended a variety of sessions, learning a lot along the way, and Daniel Meyers, Creative Director, Environments, participated in a panel discussion about using mobile technology to extend the visitor experience beyond the walls of the museum. Finally, our Man of the West, Man of the World project received an Honorable Mention in the Rich Media category of the Best of the Web competition! We hope Portland proved a welcoming host to all who attended, and we look forward to next year’s event, wherever it may be.
Harvard Business Review & Wired Articles
Andrew DeVigal, our Director of Content Strategy, is a popular guy! Harvard Business Review just published on their blog a post he wrote about using motion and interactivity to tell better data stories, and an interview with Andrew initiated nearly a year ago recently appeared on Wired‘s “Raw File” blog. Both are solid reads, well worth a look!
Grand Opening of The Emerging Issues Commons
For more than 2 years, we’ve been working with the Institute for Emerging Issues, a unique public policy organization, on The Emerging Issues Commons, a dynamic interactive installation focused on civic engagement where visitors come to learn, collaborate, and take action. The Commons’ grand opening and dedication ceremony took place today in Raleigh, NC, and our Julie Beeler attended to celebrate and talk about our involvement. Nearly every member of our staff contributed to the Commons in some way, and we are all proud to have been part of such an important project. Congratulations to the whole Commons team!
SXSW Interactive Festival
Innovation Director Thomas Wester and Interactive Developer Matthew Fargo left Portland for Austin this week to check out the action at the SXSW Interactive Festival where the Ecological Urbanism app we created for the Harvard Graduate School of Design is a finalist for an Interactive Award. Thomas and Matt can’t wait to meet the other finalists and check out what this year’s festival has to offer.
Boston Globe on Triumph of the Winter Queen
The Boston Globe recently paid a visit to the immersive experience we created for the Museum of Fine Arts. Take a look at what they had to say about the Honthorst Gallery’s Triumph of the Winter Queen, and, if you’re in the Boston area, make sure to pay the museum a visit!
Communication Arts Annual & Website Feature
Our Vault of the Secret Formula project is featured in Communication Arts’ 2013 annual and on its website, having received an Award of Excellence in its interactive competition late last year. Called “beautifully executed” and “inventive” by one of the judges, we’re thrilled that this project is continuing to receive attention.
DSE Content Award
The Digital Signage Expo 2013 Awards banquet took place last night in Las Vegas, and we took home a Gold Content Award for our Bubble-izer project. We’re grateful for the honor!
AIGA Article
Supporting experimentation and collaboration while encouraging efficiency, the layout of the studio is a crucial component of every design team’s success. AIGA and Adobe have launched an initiative to explore the future of the workspace, and Creative Director Daniel Meyers has contributed one of the series’ first essays. Read here about the studio we envision for 2015.
Arc at the Hollywood Theatre
Join us at the historic Hollywood Theatre on Thursday, February 28th for Arc, a theatrical program dedicated to the art, creativity, and complexity of animated infographics. The screening will focus on the confluence of storytelling and data visualizations, an intersection that will appeal to interaction designers, journalists, writers, researchers, number-junkies, and analysts alike. A panel with our Andrew DeVigal, former multimedia editor at the New York Times, and Dino Citaro of Periscopic will follow the screening. Click here for a sneak peek!
University of Oregon School of Journalism & Communication
Creative Directors David Waingarten and Andrew DeVigal spent yesterday evening with graduate students from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication discussing the impact of emerging media on their field of study. With the journalism industry in a perpetual state of flux, we relish the opportunity to get students thinking about new professional avenues to explore and different ways to apply their skills.
SVA Workshop
Last week, Producer Traci Sym and Creative Director Daniel Meyers traveled to New York to host a workshop for Interaction Design MFA candidates at the School of Visual Arts. Over the course of two days, the students explored the relationships between media, narrative, and space, inspiring our team with their creativity and enthusiasm.
PWA Career Day
We were delighted to once again be a part of Portland Workforce Alliance‘s Career Day. The organization fosters relationships between local businesses and Portland’s public schools, and for the past couple of years we’ve worked with them to share with current students a bit about ourselves, our studio, and our work. From developers to designers to creative directors, the high-schoolers spent time learning about the diverse professional paths our team members took before ending up at Second Story. We hope they enjoyed the day as much as we did.