Rux

I’m a Creative and Technologist passionate about disembedding technology in peoples’ lives to make them better and happier.


I’ve been collaborating strategically with brands and creative agencies on interactive experiences, research and product innovation.

I also teach at the Interactive Telecommunications Program – NYU, lead workshops and speak regularly at Industry events.

 LinkedIn

Werx

Tower of Faces

Since the founding of the museum 30 years ago, visitors to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have been captivated by the photographs of ordinary people in the Tower of Faces gallery.
Hundreds of portraits depict family life, celebrations, and friendships in a small town. Almost all of the Jewish townspeople were murdered by Nazi German perpetrators and their local helpers in the span of a few days.
How could augmented reality help give museum visitors insight into the lives and fates of this community?

Client: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Role: Lead Creative Technologist
Year: 2023

Ancient Olympia: Common Grounds

A global initiative with the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sport of Greece and Microsoft to digitize and preserve the ancient site of the Olympics using AI, AR technologies.

Made at: A_DA
Client: Microsoft + Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sport
Year: 2020-21
Role: Lead Creative Technologist, AR/AI Technical Direction

Tango Territories

A go-to document for Creative teams to reveal and demonstrate ATAP’s Project Tango Augmented and Mixed Reality capabilities and its creative potential for Brands.

 The goal was to demystify 
the technology through tangible experiences and inspirational building blocks for creative ideation.

Made at: Google / The ZOO
Client: Google ATAP - Project Tango
Year: 2015
Role: Lead, Research, Creative Direction

Lays’ Smiles

Frito-Lays asked us to amplify their Smiles Campaign in partnership with Operation Smiles, which provides surgeries to children suffering from cleft lip or cleft palate. Lays donate to Operation Smile through proceeds from sales of its campaign packaging.
And then we discovered that 95% of surveyed Lays consumers would smile more if they knew it could brighten someone’s day!

So, we created an experience that would allow everyone to share their smiles with a Lays package (real or virtual). And because their smiles should also be celebrated we rewarded them with moments of joy and humour on YouTube to energize their day.

Client: Frito Lays
Made at: Google BrandUnit
Role: Lead Creative Technology
Year: 2018

Rice Krispies Treats Kitchen

Kellogs asked us to create memorable moments with Rice Krispie Treats during the Christmas holidays.

We looked at users’ data and behaviours and realized that we had an opportunity to create a storytelling platform to bring kids and their families together in fun and exciting activities.
Google Assistant revealed itself as a perfect platform, letting users interact naturally with their voice and keeping their (hmm.. sticky!) hands-off.

Made at: Google Brand Unit + Leo Burnett
Client: Kellogs
Role: Lead Creative Technology
Year: 2019

Prototaping with Jacquard

Jacquard is a special technology framework from Google ATAP that enables connectivity and interactivity in apparel.

Alongside the Project Jacquard team, we developed a series of workshops with potential partners to demystify the technology and reveal insight-driven opportunities for collaboration.

Made at: Google / The ZOO
Client: Ralph Lauren, Cintas, PVH
Year: 2017
Role: Vision, Lead Creative Technology, Facilitation

Project Shelf

A user-first mobile shopping assistant that leverages Google technologies like Machine Learning and Physical Web to address changes in consumer behaviours and provide a personalized and seamless experience.

Created as independent modules each component can work independently or leveraged in a tightly knit and symbiotic ecosystem.

Made at: Google / The ZOO
Client: Procter & Gamble
Role: Project Lead, UX, Creative Technology
Year: 2016

Super-*

Super-* is a platform answering the calls from Brands and Users for interactivity on video platforms.
It expands the interactivity potential on YouTube and video through Augmented Reality and Second Screen experiences.

Client: Google / YouTube
Agency: Google BrandUnit
Year: 2017
Role: Lead Strategy, Creative Direction / Technology

What’s in a name?

What stories can a name tell? What meanings can it have in popular culture? What are its fact, statistics and myths? We decided to offer each and every Coca-Cola drinker a magic opportunity to reveal what’s in their name.

Made at: Google / The ZOO
Client: Coca-Cola
Role: Creative Technology Lead
Year: 2015

House of Walker Tasting Tables

For its 2014 House of Walker events, Jonnhie Walker tasked the Lab with augmenting the tasting experiences at the House of Walker events.
We created a multisensorial environment augmenting the tasting ceremony from within its most basic element: the tasting table.

Made at: Havas Worldwide
Client: Johnnie Walker
Role: Lead Creative Technologist
Year: 2014
:

Moving Words

For the 2014 Chicago Marathon, Mutual Liberty tasked Havas with making sure that every runner would feel supported.
Through RFID, Social Media and large displays we were able to create a realtime dialogue and letting friends and family be closer and encourage the runners when they most needed.

Client: Mutual Liberty
Role: Lead Creative Technology
Agency: Havas Worldwide
Year: 2014
Awards: Cannes Lions 2015, Bronze Creative Data - Social Data 


Tactonic Drumpads

Drumpads is an immersive gestural interface leveraging multi-touch and pressure sensing technologies.
It is also a study in expressive, intuitive, yet, effective gestures for pressure sensing surfaces.
Drumpads is the product of a partnership with Tactonic Technologies.

Agency: Havas Worldwide
Partner: Tactonics
Role: Lead Creative Technologist
Year: 2013

Havas x Intel

Part of the Havas Innovation Lab’s role is to spark change and foster cultural change.
As part of that remit, the Lab established a collaboration protocol with Intel’s Perceptual Computing Group:
We were early in the access and experimentation with their multimodal SDK inclusive of hand and face tracking, voice recognition and depth-sensing.
One high point of our collaboration was the Perceptual Computing Hackathon:
For two days Intel’s Perceptual Computing team joined the agency creative technology team and guests in a Hackathon to explore RealSense technology and create new interactive experiences using Natural User Interfaces.

Agency: Havas Worldwide
Partner: Intel
Role: Thought Leadership, Event Organization and Production
Year: 2012

Havas x LittleBits

Part of the Havas Innovation Lab’s role is to spark change and foster cultural change at the Agency by pushing for innovation and creativity.
The Lab collaborated with LittleBits and created a unique workshop using their technology as tools and toys to demystify technology, inspire and – more importantly!- to create.

Made at: Havas Worldwide
Partner: LittleBits
Role: Thought Leadership, Event Organization and Production
Year: 2013

Wherever Ships Could Sail

As a digital extension of the “Keep Walking” campaign for Johnnie Walker, we created an interactive experience allowing users to navigate a story using expressive and relevant gestures.
 We immersed the user in the narrative and empowered their gestures to control and trigger Johnnie Walker’s Reasons To Believe that made the history of the brand.

Made at: Havas Worldwide
Client: Jonnhie Walker
Role: Lead Creative Technology
Year: 2013

/ Awards

2023
Core77 Design Awards 2023: Winner Interaction Award
Tower of Faces United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
2023
Core77 Design Awards 2023: Notable Emerging Technologies Award
Tower of Faces United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
2015
Cannes Lions 2015, Bronze Creative Data - Social Data
Moving Words Mutual Liberty, Havas Worldwide

(w)Here

/ Experience

Oct 2020 - today
Creative Technology Lead / Spatial Computing Consultant.
Clients include: Google Cerebra, Meta Reality Labs Research, Microsoft, RLab, Listen, Tessellate Studio, ..
New York City, United States
Jan 2016 - today
New York City, United States
Oct 2014 - Oct 2019
Creative Technology Lead at Google
New York City, United States
Sep 2012 - Oct 2014
Lead Interaction and R&D Designer at Havas' Innovation Lab
New York City, United States
Apr 2010 - Jan 2011
Creative Technologist and Researcher at T-Mema / EyeWriter
Brooklyn, United States
Oct 2009 - Aug 2010
Interaction Designer at IDEO
Chicago, United States

/ Talks

2023
MIT Reality Hack - Mentorship
MIT, Boston, US
2021-22
Augmenting the World
Masterclass - Remote
2021
Hack the Hospital 1st Edition (Mentorship)
5G Transatlantic Lab, Boston - Barcelona
2019
Experimenting Interactions
ATA Creativity Global, multiple locations, China
From Screen to Scene Workshop
ATA Creativity Global, multiple locations, China
More than Stories in a Box
Luxe Pack New York, New York, US
2018
Augmented is the new Diminished
AR In Action, Boston, US
Magic Windows and Mixed-Up Realities
AR In Action, Boston, US
Augmented is the new Diminished
Creative Technology Week, New York City, US
2017
Keynote Speaker
Heroes 2017, Maratea, Italy
Building Blocks of Innovation
GMDC Executive Summit, Mountain View, US
Blending Retail Experiences
Coca-Cola Executive Summit, Atlanta, US
2016
From Collanders to Pixels
Creative Technology Week, New York, US
2014
Experimenting Interactions
XI Dia C - Club de Creativos, Pamplona, Spain