Wireframe Studio : About Us

Wireframe Studio (together with technology partner Formula-D with whom we share our studio space) were commissioned to develop over 20 interactive exhibits for a Science and Technology museum in Saudi Arabia - part of a newly opened university.

The flagship exhibit is a 5 metre multi-touch table allowing multiple users to interact at the same time and displays an interactive timeline of Islamic contributions to science and technology over a 1500 year period. We took it upon ourselves to build the hardware from scratch as we had previously built a large format multi-touch screen for another project and figured 'how hard can it be?'. The table surface is illuminated from below by over 30 infra-red lights and uses 12 infra-red tracking cameras to pick up touches on the table, driving this are 3 quad processor computers connected to 6 short throw projectors (all built into the base of the table). The software was developed in flash using a live socket connection to sync the 3 machines (as we have animations that span the entire table). We had a number of challenges, the main being a very tight deadline of less than 6 months (for all 22 exhibits), a serious technology learning curve and not least of which having to display content in both English and Arabic (considering Arabs read everything from back to front this did present an interesting design challenge!).

Apart from the 5 metre touch table other exhibits included a 1 metre square multi-touch table allowing users to design their own Arabesque patterns using simple tiles that they could combine and lock together to create their own patterns, a portrait mounted 56 inch touch screen whereby a user drags an on-screen magnifying glass over an illustrated human body revealing early Islamic knowledge of human anotomy, a wall mounted sliding plasma screen engaging a pulley system allowing the user to drag the screen from left to right to navigate/scroll through content, a top down projection onto a resin based relief surface with contours showing an animation of how early Islamic settlements were formed and grew over time as well as a numner of uniquely designed touch screen applications covering a wide range different topics.

Link to KAUST website: http://www.kaust.edu.sa/about/museum/museum.html

Below are some screen shots and a video clip showing some of the applications.

top 100

We have done work for
the following clients:

20Twenty
AB Mauri
ABSA Bank
Acceleration
Adlines
Anglo Coal
BAT SA
BP SA
Bristol Myers Squib
Broadcast Resources
Caltech
Cape Grace Hotel
Caltex
Coca Cola
Coronation Fund Managers
CS Holdings
Delta Interiors
Design Indaba ’99, ’02, ‘03
Dulux
Fantastic Racing
Flavours of Africa
Forwardslash
Franklin Templeton
Gabriel Shock Absorbers
Grey Advertising
Holland Moorehouse
ID Technologies
iAfrica
Internet Africa
Ikineo
Investec
INXCOM
Jam Warehouse
Jawits
Johnson & Johnson
Jupiter Drawing Room
Kinetic
La Couronne Hotel
Learning to Lead
Letseng Diamond Mine
Loeries ’97, ‘98, ’99
Match Creative
Medical Research Council
Metropolitan Life
Mnemonic
Mossel Bay Tourism
Mortgage SA
Mountain Marina
M-NET
MTE Studios
Musica
M-WEB
M-WEB Africa
NASPERS
Nedbank
NHU Africa
Nokia
Occhiali Eyeware
Old Mutual
Ogilvy
Open Society
Pam Golding
Psitek
Primi-Piatti
Primi-Royal
Prism
Prodigy Asset Management
Rand Merchant Bank
RGBC
Research Surveys
REMAX
Robben Island Museum
Sanlam
Santam
Seatrans Shipping
Seeff Properties
Schick Razor Blades
Sekunjalo Healthcare
Shell
Smith Group
Solution Dynamics
Southern Comfort
Spier
Sportal, SA
Sun Air
Sterns
Stocks & Stocks
Sun West
Synovate
Telkom
The Engine Room
The Hall Collection
The Heart and Stroke Foundation
The Union TMSW
Tinderbox Interactive
Tracker
Tradewinds
UDV
Uwin Iwin Africa
Villiera Wines
Vodacom
VW
Wild Talk Africa
Xiba

2Envision, USA
Absolut Vodka, Sweden
Anglo American
Aqua Danone, Indonesia
Brandhouse WTS, UK
BAA (British Airways Airports)
C.O.M., Germany
Domaine Grier, France
Fizier, Netherlands
Hoffman Reisler Schaltz DDB, Germany
Kestrel, UK
Martindale Hubbel, UK
MIH, China
Pacific Contractors, USA
Premium TV, UK
Roche
Quo Vadis, Germany
Scientific Commercial, USA
Scrum, UK
Sportal, Australia
Sportal, UK
Sun Microsystems, USA
TESCO, UK
Thinc Digital, UK
Thinking Fish, UK
Tio Pepe, UK
Ultrashock.com, USA
Yellowtail, Netherlands
Yulia Nau, Germany

loeries 2010
1 gold, 1 silver

Adobe 10 years of flash
finalist

loeries 2005
3 finalists

ntva stone awards 2003:
1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze,
2 craft awards

cannes awards 2003:
finalist

loeries 2003
2 finalists

construction awards 2003:
2 finalists

ntva stone awards 2002:
1 gold, 3 bronze, 2 craft

favourite web site awards:
October 2002

loeries 2002:
1 gold, 1 gold craft

construction awards 2002: 1 grand prix, 1 gold,
2 special mentions

ntva stone awards 2001:
1 stone, 1 gold, 2 silver,
4 craft

avanti awards 2001:
1 silver, 1 bronze, 4 craft

loeries 2001:
3 nominees, 1 gold

construction awards 2001:
1 bronze

newmedia invision awards,
san francisco 2001:
1 silver

avanti awards 2000:
1 silver, 1 craft

one show interactive,
new york 2000:
2 bronze pencils

ntva stone awards 2000:
2 stone, 1 gold, 2 silver,
2 bronze, 3 craft

one show interactive,
new york 1999:
1 merit award

macromedia people’s
choice awards, usa 1999:
finalist

ntva stone awards 1999:
1 stone, 1 gold, 1 silver,
2 bronze, 7 craft

one show interactive,
new york 1998:
1 bronze pencil

loeries 1998:
2 gold, 2 silver

spada awards 1997:
1 spada