Tell us about Hype Entertainment.
We design and produce immersive audiovisual events that connect and captivate people.
Combining projection mapping, prop design and interactive tech, our creative team work behind the scenes to engineer mesmerizing experiences.
Then, it’s up to our awesome crew to bring those environments to life on the night. From concept to showtime, we love working with people to make their ideas become reality, and transport audiences to places they’ve never seen before.
What are you doing to design with humans in mind every day?
Everything we do is human-centred!
Events are all about the people that attend them, and we measure success by the number of people that go “wow!” when they step into a space we’ve created. That reaction is addictive, but you won’t get it unless you constantly place humans at the core of your design process.
Harry Potter charity project for Cerebral Palsy Society NZ, working alongside the talented team at Twig & Arrow
How can businesses keep humans in mind, when designing and creating experiences for people?
We design the events with humans in mind, and with that believe humans an integral part of the creative process. Design is always about empathy. You need to understand your audience to know what will thrill them, and how your creative choices can elevate someone’s night from the ‘good’ to the ‘unforgettable’.
At Hype Entertainment, we also place an emphasis on creativity as a collaborative process. We don’t do preconceptions here – even during the design process, we like to constantly step away from what we’re doing and look at it with a fresh pair of eyes (or several). The more diverse perspectives, viewpoints, and personal histories you can bring to a piece of work, the more people it will resonate with.
This year, you’re once again joining MOD as an AV partner. Why are you supporting MOD? Why do you think human-centred design is important?
We love CHQ! Their passionate team hosts amazing events that bring so many inspiring people together, and it’s always a pleasure to be a part of.
Plus, collaboration with people from all areas of expertise and walks of life is more than just important – it’s a fundamental tenet of human-centred design.
Where do you find inspiration for creating wow experiences?
For us, it’s about keeping our eyes open. We’re lucky to have such inspiring people around us, and even luckier to have had the opportunity to collaborate with so many of them. When you fire around enough ideas and toss out the boundaries, pretty soon you start to see how far you can push the envelope.
But finding inspiration is also about remembering where you come from – and where you are. My Grandad was a graphic designer whose imagery influenced me from a young age, and echoes of his work still have a hand in my own creative process.
Oh, and as far as energising physical surroundings go, you can’t beat Welly. If we’re really stuck, we’ll go for a walk around – it usually has the creative cylinders firing quickly!
How do you get beyond the creative block?
It’s about getting back to the places you feel most at home. For me, that’s always been outdoors – so hurdling a creative block usually means getting out of the studio and into the sea!
Nature helps too, as does meditation. When you’re working to tight deadlines, it’s easy to let junk thoughts pile up and cloud your creativity. Taking time out to contemplate a physical object or phenomenon – a fern, a sunset, even a handful of the chalky sand at Oriental Bay – puts everything in perspective and helps you get back to the space you do your best work.
Experimental projection mapping
What is something that you have learnt that you can’t read in a book?
For me, it’s being able to trust my own intuition. I feel like society teaches us from an early age to doubt ourselves, so it’s not always easy to have faith in your own instincts and potential. Likewise, I think it’s about learning to place trust in the universe – in our connections with others and in the energy that keeps the world going.
So many of my life and career’s key moments and people have come from serendipitous twists of fate and I’m unbelievably grateful for that. So I guess that’s it – always being open to new people, new ideas and new projects. Always being ready for the next adventure, the next experience and knowing that you’re right where you need to be.