People in a dark space in front of digital surface that has thin green lines running across it.

Client Project

Designing Nike’s Speed-Inspired Camp Victory

Client

Nike

Challenge

In anticipation of the Olympics, Nike wanted to create a large-scale brand experience to engage a diverse community of fans, athletes, and media reporters at running’s epicenter in Eugene, Oregon, also known as Track Town, USA.

Opportunity

Develop an immersive, speed-inspired playground that embraces competition, sensory experiences, and technological greatness to reinforce Nike as the leader of sport while generating excitement, participation, and publicity on the eve of the Olympics.
Two treadmills on a raised platform against a screen that says "Game on, world" and reflects neon green light onto the platform
A far away view of Camp Victory surrounded by other buildings in Portland, Oregon
Audience Impact

Total Visitors

120,000
Spatial Impact
Square Footage
50,000 Sq Ft
Global Impact
Company Size
79,000 FTEs
Graphic illustration of the structure that is Camp Victory, amidst charcoal buildings, a field and swarming with simplified people

Capturing the Feeling of Fast

In collaboration with Skylab Architecture, we designed a three-part experience that sought to contain the feeling of fast. Visitors were met with a Speed Tunnel punctuated by an end-to-end LED wall and ten channels of spatialized sound all controlled by the real-time movement of athletes running on the adjacent track—triggering unique patterns of light and sound. For those outside of the stadium, this tunnel acted as a digital connection to the adrenaline-inducing events.

Next, visitors were invited to compete against one another on self-powered treadmills. As each 30-second head to head race ensued, the room’s volume would begin to intensify, getting louder as participants ran faster and more of their speed data became visualized. A leaderboard compiled all the data and provided digital awards to those who ran the fastest.

To understand Nike’s speed-driven community of runners, our team built a real-time data visualization mapping all Nike runners in the Eugene area. We used the Nike Running Club platform to source the data. The map displayed every run recorded throughout the day, spotlighting the fastest runners as they made their way through key zones of the city. This sparked competition among runners and prompted them to check their score and ranking at the Camp Victory experience.

An animated black and white exploration on visualising speed in a tunnel
Image of a female track athlete
Credit: Nike
Video of runners and a corresponding visualization that leverages motion-tracking technologies

Interpreting Athleticism through Technology and Design Research

Research was an integral part of our team’s process for this project. We deployed a variety of experimental, technology-infused design techniques to better understand the shape, sound and materiality of fast. We attempted to design without preferencing a particular sense. By using creative technologies to investigate the moving body’s effects on sound, data and the physical vectors of motion, we were able to develop an authentic experience based on real-world observations of elite athleticism.
A tunnel with glowing runners along the walls to convey speed
Stylized visualization of two runners and their corresponding results
Shapes created by the experiences in Camp Victory, each responding to integral elements in sport, including track, walls, field, media and pavilion
Man interacting with a screen
Speed and distance visualized in animation across the walls of a tunnel
Photograph of track at Camp Victory, delineated by angular architectural structures, under a blue sky

Creating Instant Connections

Camp Victory was a huge success, reaching thousands of everyday athletes and cultivating connections between participants, the Nike brand, and the world’s most accomplished pros. The experience tapped into the running community’s obsession with sport and never-ending drive to set new records.
Photograph of outdoor track at Camp Victory, at one end of an angular architectural structure
Access to speed tunnel, with a speed-distorted running person on the wall, shining with red light
Screen with a larger than lifesize runner and green horizontal lines on a black background
Man looking at their results displayed on the screen, showing their speed
Famous and successful track athletes and their respective times displayed on a screen
Treadmills on a raised platform beside a wall that displays a leaderboard of the top results of participating runners
Two participating runners on treadmills, competing for the furthest distance
Two runners washed in green light, competing
Young runner poised in front of their first place achievement on the leaderboard
Runners' names indicated on a screen as they are tracked in the area

Extending the Impact of Experience Globally

The impact of Camp Victory signaled the potential for Nike to evolve and scale these never-before-seen brand experiences. In the years that followed, we developed the Nike running data visualization into a fully realized digital product. It became a featured experience in more than ten Nike retail flagships worldwide, each focused on the competitive spirit and products of the hyper-local running community. Additionally, we evolved our head-to-head running game, which became a core experience at Nike running events in Canada, Russia, Japan, China and beyond where group competition, latest product innovations, and digital social sharing galvanized a competitive customer base.
Person pointing at a TV screen which displays the heatmap, the running data visualization of runners in the area
A screen-capture of heatmap, respective runners, their names and routes
Four treadmills facing an animated wall with responsive displays
Two treadmills on a raised platform with sleek white lighting and japanese characters on the screen in front of it
Animated graphics which show a stylised green area revealling the words "zoom" and "Nike" on a black screen
Two competing runners on two treadmills against a backdrop of animated graphics
People standing in a dark room with Michael Phelps of angled digital surfaces

Client Project

Taking Under Armour into New Territory

Client

Under Armour

Challenge

With a desire to expand its global footprint into Asia in the most impactful way, Under Armour approached us to create a retail concept in Shanghai that invited visitors to experience the biggest, boldest expression of the brand’s ethos–and barely sell a thing.

Opportunity

Explode into the Chinese market with an immersive brand destination that transcends cultural barriers and differences by being rooted in high impact, sensorial effects. Explore unorthodox uses of visual and sonic media, digital technology, and minimalist merchandising to focus on brand storytelling with a universal appeal.
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