Evan Hirsch,  ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee Member and Managing Partner of Engine Co. 4
“Designing Emotional Interactions”

December 13, 2017
Bldg. 36 / Room C211 - 11:00 AM
(Cookies available at 10:30 AM)

While technology trends and shifts have massively shifted our culture over the last 10+ years, it’s hard to overestimate the impact freemium apps have had on our culture, and how they forever have changed how people interact with, and consume information. Regardless if a message or app is scientific, financial or simply entertaining, consumers demand products be aware of “who” they are, what their “individual” needs are.  Success requires engagement in a meaningful way, every time by forming connections and emotional bonds with users not in days, but in seconds.  This talk will show how techniques pulled from filmmaking combined with free-to-play game design tools and a dash of psychology can be used to create successful and engaging end-to-end user experiences for any medium.

Evan Hirsch is managing partner of Engine Co. 4, LLC a consortium of senior business, creative and technical executives providing strategic creative direction to clients in games, healthcare and research and co-founder of The PlayNice Institute. Most recently, for the American Medical Association (AMA), Evan conceived of, secured the initial $15M in funding for and launched Health2047, the AMA’s innovation lab in San Francisco.  Working with USC’s Institute for Creative Technology, he provided creative direction for their Medical VR based Military Sexual Trauma project (currently in testing at the VA) and the design of counter-terrorism training games for the US Naval Postgraduate School. Other recent clients include; The Pokemon Company, Ubisoft, and the Walt Disney Company. Previously, Evan was the Creative Director at Microsoft’s Live Labs incubation unit and also for the launch of Surface. He has held leadership roles in Visual Effects and Feature Animation studios in London and was Head of Visual Development for Electronic Arts’ Worldwide Studios. In his free time, he is a Director on the Executive Committee of ACM SIGGRAPH, and is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

IS&T Colloquium Committee Host: Eleni Kostis

Sign language interpreter upon request: GSFC-Disability-Programs@mail.nasa.gov or (301) 286-7348.