April 22, 2010

James Tichenor and Joshua Walton of The Rockwell Group LAB will speak on May 4th at 6 PM in the Bossone Auditorium as this year’s Design & Merchandising Program’s 2010 Distinguished Speaker. The LAB, located in New York City, is home to Rockwell Group’s digital interaction design team. The LAB embeds sensing and reactive technologies into things and places to create narratives that give people deeper and more valuable experiences. They work on architectural and interior design projects ranging from museums, exhibits, restaurants, hotels and theaters that combine high-end video technology, handmade objects, special effects and custom fixtures and furniture. They have created a digital ring that directs travelers where to go and can be seen from all three JetBlue concourses at JFK Airport, interactive entrance installations for the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale, Trade Show displays for Coca Cola, an inhabitable jewelry box for New York City jewelry shop Mauboussin and much more. Their work includes in-house design and creation of interactive environments/objects, scripting software, science and technology consultation, and maintaining networks of technology solution providers.  They work with custom hardware and software for RFID, UPC scanning, video processing, sonar, capacitance, shape memory alloy, LED and lighting technologies, wireless communications, and screen based dynamically composited animation.

Tichenor received a Masters in Design and Computation from MIT where his research focused on the intersection of design, electronics and materials. Borrowing from the world of robotics, Tichenor began building interactive prototypes to study his ideas. He continued his technology and electronics research at the Interaction Design Institute of Ivrea in Italy. Walton received his Masters degree from the Cranbook Academy of Art where his work focused on non-linear narrative in new media. He is an interactions designer and educator who works primarily in reactive video, programmatic motion graphics, and interactive architecture. Walton has worked with award winning museums, design firms, and interaction studios in New York and San Francisco. In 2000 he was part of a team that received a presidential teaching award for their work with at-risk youth in San Francisco. Today, both Tichenor and Walton work as New Media Lead Designers at The Rockwell Group LAB.

Event Facts:
What: D&M Distiguished Speaker 2010: Rockwell Group LAB
Where: Bossone’s Mitchell Auditorium, 3128 Market Street
When: Tuesday, May 4; 6 PM
Cost: Free and open to the public
More information: 215-895-1029