Studio Tour

This past Friday I went downtown to tour a few of the prominent interactive studios in the city. The day began at the FITC headquarters on Augusta Street, in what I have to admit was a pretty non-descript building--you could easily walk past without noticing there was anything in there; once you went in, though, there was a display of design books, magazines, t-shirts etc. (the front of the unit is a store). Following a short intro by Tim, a former DMA student, we split into groups and set off for the studios.

I was struck by the open and friendly work environment; everyone seemed really relaxed and happy, very laid back. This was especially so at Organic, our first stop; there were toys and action figures on a lot of desks for inspiration (which is what Joe has been pointing us to since our first class).

Outside Teehan+Lax

Despite the toys and the fun attitude, these places obviously meant business--all of the studios we visited were really impressive physically, sometimes taking up several floors of a building, such as at Blast Radius. And at every place, they were doing some really amazing work. Teehan+Lax showed us some particularly innovative projects, one of which was a Facebook application commissioned by Telus--it involved creating a fishbowl on your page, decorating it as you wished, and inviting your friends to join. It was a fun way to advertise their Fave 8 plan.

I'm really glad I went on the tour--it was a great way to see how current employees in the field are applying the skills we're learning in DMA. Also, it gave me a more detailed response to the constant query I get ( 'What will you be doing once you've finished your studies?'). Hopefully two years down the road I'll find myself in a workplace similar to the ones we visited.

On a completely unrelated note, I saw this giant thimble sculpture in the fashion district (I'm sure it's nothing new to most, but it's HUGE).