Over 150+ projects completed in the last 10 years
Draw & Code boasts over a decade working with some of the worlds biggest brands including Google, Sony, Mercedes, Red Bull, BBC, Warner Bros and many others.
Skepta/Dystopia 987 - AR
The brief was to create a ‘placebo’ experience that touched upon the heightened visual and audio experience created by psychedelics – except this was to be a drug-free, healthy alternative.
The question that was to be answered was whether technology could be used to create a stimulant to physically bring people together and to give them more of a sensory rush than other less salubrious alternatives.
Google Pyramids of Meroë - AR
Google Brand Studio commissioned Draw & Code to create a web-based augmented reality experience that celebrates Sudan’s Pyramids of Meroë. This series of over 200 structures form one of the ancient wonders of Sudan, and were built by the Kushite Kingdom, one of the great African civilisations.
Draw & Code’s role in the process of creating this immersive web experience focused on the 3D and augmented reality components of the project.
Terracotta Warriors - Immersive
Draw & Code were tasked with bringing the world of the Terracotta Warriors to life using a suite of the latest immersive technology including a bespoke projected augmented reality set-up.
Working closely with our technical partners Adlib, the project was to combine projections with audio, olfactory and practical effects such as false-perspective spaces, it created a wonderful environment that showed the Warriors in the context of the world they inhabited.
Mercedes - AR, MR, VR
Draw & Code were commissioned by events and communication agency Meet & Potato to create three immersive experiences for Mercedes-Benz Vans.
They formed the centrepiece of a roadshow that was to tour the UK with three experiential installations that sought to explain the Mercedes vision for the electrified and connected future of mobility. The full XR spectrum was to be represented – AR, MR and VR.
John Lewis & Partners - AR
Draw & Code worked with John Lewis & Partners to create an in-store augmented reality app that forms part of a radical overhaul of its stores that brings experiences, technology and personalisation to the fore.
John Lewis & Partners decided upon an in-store configuration tool as opposed to a distributed app. Utilising marker-less augmented reality, the app will allow the in-store experts to curate, present and customise key pieces of furniture.
Pink Floyd - Web AR
Sony Legacy Recordings worked with the band on The Later Years box set that compiles recent works into a collection that seeks to appeal to Floyd aficionados. What better way to engage the fanbase than to use augmented reality to bring designs, symbols and scenes from famous Pink Floyd LPs into the world of their fans?
The request from Sony was to use web AR rather than developing an AR app. Web AR is all about lessening the ‘friction’ of downloading an AR app by enabling the user to jump straight from viewing a web page into the augmented experience.
Philips - AR, MR
ISE in Amsterdam is the biggest showcase for the A/V industry and Philips Displays are one of the key attractions at the exhibition. Philips wanted to utilise immersive tech to offer something unique. There were two aims for the immersive experiences – the first focused on offering ISE delegates a playful way to explore the latest Philips products, while the second was to be a functional toolkit for A/V industry.
Hyundai - Projection Mapping
For the UK press launch of the new Hyundai Ioniq – the world’s first car offering three electrified powertrains – Draw & Code were commissioned to co-create an ambitious, immersive presentation designed to wow the assembled automotive, lifestyle and tech press.
This was to be no ordinary presentation – instead it was to feature an immersive 360 degree projection that explored the Ioniq in great detail. The aim was to use animation to showcase elements of the car’s design and engineering in ways that film alone could not.
SHELTA - VR
The University of Liverpool have teamed up with Draw & Code’s VR design experts to create SHELTA (Support & Help Environment for Learners to Access), a new virtual reality app designed to support the mental health of students.
Meta (nee Oculus) Quest 2 was the chosen virtual headset platform, with virtual reality being the chosen medium in the hopes that the platform can take users away from their issues and allow for them to experience 1:1 tutor support, mindfulness sessions and group peer support in a soothing, serene beach environment.
M&S Snowflake Trail - Projection Mapping
Liverpool BID Company, in collaboration with Open Culture, commissioned us to make a rolling 15 minute projection show to animate the city centre as part of their seasonal programme of events.
We used a 3D laser scanner to acquire the exact measurements of the building, a process that included sticking point markers over the whole area. The resulting point cloud data was used to create an exact 3D model of the building.
This allowed our brilliant artists to map animation and lighting effects precisely to the architecture of Marks & Spencer, thus creating the illusion of the building coming to life.
Nokia Bell Labs
To highlight Nokia’s commitment to the celebrated US-based Bell Labs, the beloved technology brand wanted to create an engaging visitor experience for Barcelona’s MWC.
Draw & Code were tasked with creating two video game experiences within a custom Igloo Vision projection dome. Both had to be intuitive and had to foster engagement between players.
A purpose-built Igloo shared-VR space and bespoke wrist-mounted wearable controllers had to be developed. Draw & Code’s LBE designers set about creating two experiences in a custom hardware configuration for the unique setting of the Nokia MWC stand.
Warner Bros and Unilever - AR
Draw & Code partnered with Snatch to create inventive AR interactions and brand-specific mini-games for Warner Bros and Unilever.
When Snatch approached Draw & Code to create augmented reality content the app was already in a very limited beta release. It consisted of the core geo-location game with a single AR interaction.
Draw & Code were tasked with making new augmented games that were more compelling both in terms of gameplay and also making fuller use of the potential of this technology.
All We Are - VR
The genre-spanning Liverpool band All We Are contacted Draw & Code about collaborating on a virtual reality music video. The result was an ambitious research project that went beyond 360 video to explore the future of video performance as a truly spatial and volumetric music experience.
Their vision was to create something that was technically innovative, taking the music video to new places. For the ultimate feeling of freedom and immersion we selected the HTC Vive as the VR headset to use for Ebb/Flow.
GP Bullhound - Projection Mapping
From 2016 onwards Draw & Code have been an official technology partner of The Northern Tech Awards organised by investment experts GP Bullhound, and D&C have provided a unique projection mapped backdrop for each occasion with differing briefs and varying inspirations.
In total there has been over 60 individual stings and animations produced for the events so far, along with associated graphics and branding assets. The next GP Bullhound Northern Tech Awards is currently in production.
Aspect App - AR
Aspect is an augmented reality viewer that brings artwork to life.
The Draw & Code team wanted to create an AR experience that complements the original artists’ work and enables the viewer to feel like they have the art in their hands.It had to be accessible on a majority of smartphones and tablets, yet it also needed to be built around a powerful enough platform to enable us to add interactive elements.
Augmented reality and art have come together on occasion, but often it is a clunky experience. It was essential that this felt compelling and professional enough to attract gallery visitors to download the Aspect app.
Bird Hive 360 - VR
The annual Lakes Alive arts festival held in Kendal wanted to capture the beauty of the area and to take visitors on a journey that few could ever experience for real – a flight through the countryside like that of a bird without leaving their seat.
The resulting immersive experience was to be rolled out at events but it was also fulfilling a secondary purpose to contribute to the campaign for UNESCO World Heritage Site status that was in a critical stage at the time.
The Lakes Alive festival and Lake District National Park teams brought in expert collaborators including Manchester Metropolitan University and Salford University along with Liverpool’s drone filming dons Ironbird to ensure the complex logistics and technical demands of the Bird Hive 360 VR project went as smoothly as possible.
Companion AWE - AR, VR, R&D
The Draw & Code team were frustrated by the solitary nature of a typical virtual reality experience.
Our solution is Companion – a tool that enables developers to sync up multiple devices into one 3D world. In the prototype we have run several devices simultaneously, ranging from the latest Samsung Gear VR headset to our trusty laptops.
This also presents the possibility of moving the virtual reality experience to outside of the headset. While one person inhabits the first-person virtual reality view, we have other users interacting from a third-person augmented reality perspective.
IFB Creative Kitchen - Projection Mapping
Draw & Code’s brief was to create an installation to display the work of local artists during the IFB (International Festival for Business) held in Liverpool. However, rather than simply using a screen or projecting onto a flat surface, we decided to do something truly unique and very challenging.
Using only a single projector we illuminated 44 separate surfaces – each carrying its own unique moving images! The whole installation was made to resemble a row of photographs being exposed in a darkroom. Not only did it have to work as a gallery, it was also to be used as an ambient projection that complements the venue itself.
Heckington Illuminations - VR, XR, R&D
The project began life as an R&D collaboration with Newcastle University to explore whether the immersion offered by the latest tech could help drive education and engagement between the church and the community.
This project was unusual in that nearly all the work was done on site and not at the studio. That meant uprooting desktop PCs and taking developers and designers across the country and out to a centuries-old church.
This was an unusual combination of a historic setting and source material that dated back centuries coupled with cutting edge technology and techniques.
Liverpool One Revo App - AR
The Revo Conference is the UK’s largest retail property event and for 2017 it was held in Liverpool. Draw & Code were appointed to create an augmented reality app that helps to tell the story of Liverpool One.
The brief was to create an augmented reality app that brought oversized replica shopping bags to life around at the trade show and around Liverpool One itself.
Using physical objects as AR markers was at the limit of what mobile AR technology was capable of at the time, so the design had to be perfect to allow the user to trigger animations and information to be overlaid onto the objects and their surroundings.
LJMU Experience - AR
Draw & Code were tasked with creating an augmented reality experience that brings to life the different aspects of Liverpool John Moores University’s engineering and science courses in an interactive and engaging way.
Draw & Code created a point-and-tap contextual AR experience that put the University’s promotional poster at its heart. At education events the LJMU stand was adorned with this artwork and staff handed tablets to visitors to enable them to explore the course via AR interactions.
3D animations that illustrate the areas of study appear to pop up from the poster. From there the user is invited to click on other content such as behind-the-scenes footage from the course or to learn how LJMU are investing in engineering facilities.
Squixy - AR
Squixy is a children’s book that brings colour and adventure into mathematics and wider STEAM subjects. The eponymous US start-up enlisted Draw & Code to create an immersive children’s workbook that is brought to life with augmented reality.
The book needed to work in its own right but had to be especially engaging when teamed with the accompanying Squixy mobile app. The Squixy squad value the concept of gamification enhances the learning experience.
It is standard for Draw & Code to be enlisted as the augmented reality app developers on a project such as this, after all this is what we are known for, but our creative team were also tasked with creating an children’s workbook in the style of an eye-popping comic.
The Neuron Pod - VR
The Neuron Pod was proposed to be a trailblazing building built on the grounds of Queen Mary University in London.
The team behind the project wanted to use architectural VR visualisation to see the design come to life ahead of a key milestone in its development.The Neuron Pod was to form part of the Centre of the Cell science education venue.
Architectural VR visualisation provided the ideal medium for showcasing the exterior and interior of the new building.
Draw & Code were invited to collaborate with architects aLL Design to produce an architectural virtual reality experience that enables potential stakeholders to walk around and experience the visionary building long before any construction had taken place.
NHS Keyworkers - Projection Mapping
As the pandemic swept the world, the role of key workers, particularly in healthcare, was to the fore. Events were being transformed or outright cancelled, including Liverpool’s Light Night.
For 2020, organisers Open Culture re-thought the evening and came up with Light Night at Home. As part of this we joined forces with regular collaborators Adlib to create two projection mapped animations – one on each of Liverpool’s cathedrals.
As this was a hurried project that had to be turned around in days, this wasn’t the usual 3D-based projection mapping project. Instead, 2D designs and animations would be tailored to the gigantic display area using Adlib’s suite of projection kit.
Merge Cube - AR
Draw & Code were initially commissioned to produce two augmented reality games as launch titles for this deceptively simple piece of hardware. The Merge Cube acts as both a display surface and a controller that sits in the palm of your hands and the brief was to produce games that were instantly playable but exploited this new medium to the fullest.
Draw & Code’s experience producing SwapBots, the augmented reality toy and game, certainly stood us in good stead for designing for Merge.
Like SwapBots, this was a cuboid toy aimed at a younger and wider audience than most immersive tech currently on the market. It also followed similar principles of mating physical and digital play by way of using marker-based augmented reality.
