Autodesk, the leading 2D and 3D design software company, built a new customer experience center in its Lake Oswego, OR, offices to target manufacturers and engineers. The company wanted to create an attractive, exciting, and informative space that explored the world of “digital prototyping” for business decision makers and technical decision makers. Autodesk’s software allows designers and engineers to take products from ideation to development and testing to manufacturing. Autodesk asked Downstream to develop a new CEC that demonstrates the value of its software to its customers.

Demonstration was our watchword for this project. Part of our design solution was a series of three free-standing transparent glass panels carefully arranged in the center of the space to maintain sight lines. Each panel is an interactive display driven by the visitor’s interaction with a curtain of infrared light washing the surface of the glass. One of the three panels, focused on consumer products, gives visitors the opportunity to design a golf club, from shape to materials. To create another level of interaction, we re-engineered the technology in a standard Nintendo Wii controller to create an Autodesk-branded devise. Visitors can take a swing with their newly designed golf club.

In strategizing Autodesk’s messaging goals, Downstream approached the storytelling and space planning from the perspective of the visitor. To stay true to Autodesk’s clean visual aesthetic, it was crucial that information was never overwhelming and that the content and user experience was innovative but also accessible. This led to careful choreography and the combination of motion graphics, a lenticular supergraphic, and several hands-on tactile displays. The Autodesk CEC is a fully immersive and interactive space that uplifts the brand and uses dynamic, innovative deliver methods that make for a memorable experience.