© Brian Bird.

About Me

Brian Bird

Hello there.

I’m a Creative Technologist and Tech Director specializing in Immersive Media. I’ve worked for the world’s top ad agencies over the past 15 years with roles across Technology and Creative.

My work varies greatly, and I’m always looking to push the envelope where creative and tech converge. I’ve built video walls in Tokyo, programmed robotic arms in Shanghai, architected particle simulations for Times Square Jumbotrons, animated soda cans on American Idol, and constructed AR photo booths with virtual celebrities. Never a dull moment!

Beyond production roles, I'm also skilled at leading development teams and streamlining creative/tech integration workflows. I've worked in embedded digital teams at companies like Nike, P&G, Comcast, and Goldman Sachs.

These days, I concentrate mostly on Experiential projects including Game-Engine Development, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Reality.

I am available for freelance and full-time gigs.

Email: brian [@] birdinthecity.com

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Download CV

Portfolio

  • Everything
  • Interactive
  • Experiential
  • Mobile
  • AR
  • VR
  • Robotics
  • Press
  • Motion
  • Sensors
  • 3D
  • Web
Experiential, Interactive, 3D, Sensors

Smithsonian Futures Museum

Smithsonian FUTURES: Interactive Exhibit

Smithsonian: Interactive Exhibits

Futures: East Hall Interactive Exhibit
Year: 2021
Client: Smithsonian Museum
Agency: Lab @ The Rockwell Group
Deployment: National Mall, Washington D.C.

Description: The Smithsonian‘s Arts and Industries Building re-opens in 2021 as an exhibition hall dedicated to many visions of the future; both past and present. LAB @ Rockwell Group was tasked with creating interactive installations, allowing visitors to share their opinions of the future. I helped flesh out the LAB's designs, building interactive quizzes for each hall, controllable via gesture input.

These interactive kiosks utilize Ultrahaptics force-feedback hardware, so visitors feel touch-free haptic taps as they submit polling answers. All visitor input is aggregated into lush dynamic visualizations, which are displayed throughout the museum.

My role: Unity App Build, UX, Look/Dev, Prototyping, Back-End Database

Experiential, Interactive, 3D, Sensors

Illuminarium Control Panel

Illuminarium

Illuminarium Control Panel

Illuminarium Main Hall
Year: 2021
Installation: Illuminarium
Agency: Lab @ Rockwell Group
Deployment: Atlanta, GA

Description: Illuminarium is a state-of-the-art experiential showspace in Atlanta. Its halls feature 360° projections, mixing linear playback with dynamic flourishes, to transport vistors into its virtual worlds.

Given the complexity of the system, I was asked to create an employee-friendly front-end GUI, which grants administrators high-level playback controls, generates system health reports, and provides a live-stream visualization of its people-tracking LiDAR system.

I designed and built a Unity-based 3D map of the space, featuring layers of live data that allow admins to focus on relevant systems. I also built a backend database (Node/MongoDB) to store and recall historical data, accessible via a timeline view.

My role: Unity App Build, UX, Look/Dev, Prototyping, Back-End Database

AR, Experiential, Interactive, 3D, Sensors

Unity Gallery @ FLDC Museum

Faith and Liberty Discovery Center: Unity Hall

Unity Gallery: Interactive Visualization

Unity Gallery
Year: 2021
Installation: Faith and Liberty Discovery Center
Agency: Local Projects (via Remote Control)
Deployment: Philadelphia, PA

Description: The Unity Gallery at Philadelphia's Faith and Liberty Discovery Center serves as the museum’s final exhibit hall. As visitors pass through, they are presented with a collection of images projected upon the walls, detailing their journey through the musuem. Totems carried by each visitor track musuem progress, ensuring that the displayed imagery is uniquely tailored to all who pass through.

Given the hall‘s theme of Unity, the display system had a requirement of grouping individual collections under common themes, such as Love, Justice, and Freedom. The system had a complex set of multi-user rules to display visual “bridges” between instances; illustrating the interconnectedness of participants.

The transient nature of the hall created many edge-case scenarios with visitors constantly entering and leaving the experience. To solve for many possible scenarios, I built a virtual hall that allowed us to group mock users and see how the system responded to different user configurations. This allowed us to identify edge cases, and helped our team create a cohesive set of UX rules to govern how groups should form and dissolve within the visualization.

My role: Unity App Build, UX, Look/Dev, Prototyping

AR, Experiential, Mobile, Interactive, 3D, Web

Team USA Augmented Reality App

Team USA AR App

Team USA Augmented Reality Web App

Year: 2024
Brand: Xfinity
Agency: Xfinity Creative
Deployment: 300+ Xfinity Stores
Video copyright: Andreas Berner

Description: For the 2024 Olympic games, the goal was to capture the essence of Xfinity's superior coverage by harnessing the power of Augmented Reality.

With help from Ntropic and Metastage, we recorded signature moves in full 3D from some of Team USA's legendary athletes. The animations were brought to life on your tabletop with our "Portal to Paris" app.

My role: On-Set Volcap Producer, Look Dev, Webapp Tech Director, Prototyping, 2D/3D Animation

AR, Experiential, Interactive, 3D

Undisclosed Olympics Augmented Reality Project

Undisclosed Olympics Project

Undisclosed Olympics Project

Undisclosed Olympics Project
Year: 2020
Brand: Undisclosed
Agency: Huge
Deployment: Tokyo, Japan

Description: Undisclosed

My role: Unity App Build, Look/Dev, Prototyping, 3D Animation, Motion Graphics, Sound, Menu Design

Interactive, Experiential, Robotics, Sensors

SK-II - China International Import Expo

SK-II - China International Import Expo

SK-II at CIIE

Year:2019
Brand: SK-II
Agency: Huge
Deployment: CIIE in Shanghai, China

Description: For the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, we modified existing SK-II fixtures from previous installations and re-tooled them for the Chinese market.

ROBOT ARM — Because the robot arm requires precise calibration, we did some preliminary configuration in our warehouse space, but the majority of the work was done by me on the showroom floor. The robot arm delivers products to the user in a unique visual style that is perfect for the Instagram generation.

TESTER BAR — The SK-II Tester Bar utilizes two pieces of innovative tech to deliver an awesome user experience: RFID tags and Tobii Eye-Trackers. The RFID tags are attached to the bottom of each sample product, which allows the system to respond intelligently when products are lifted for use. Tobii eye-trackers allow users to make screen selections without even touching the monitor. The seamless UX was a big hit with the Chinese and had long customer queues to sample the products.

My role: Robot Arm Programming, HTML5 User Interface Refresh, HTML5 Functionality Updates, On-site Support

Interactive, Experiential, AR, Mobile, 3D

Wells Fargo Asset Management AR App

Wells Fargo Asset Management AR App

Wells Fargo Asset Management AR App

Year:2020
Brand: Wells Fargo Asset Management
Agency: Huge
Deployment: Internal Enterprise App (iPad)

Description: Built as a fun and educational conversation starter for wealth managers, we engineered an augmented reality prototype for use at trade shows and company events. This tool transforms the cover of Wells Fargo’s 2020 Forecast into a 3D table-top experience. Each of the six sections dives deeper into themes from the report and offer supplementary content to explore.

My role: Unity Development, Prototyping, Look/Dev, 3D Animation, Texturing

Interactive, Experiential, Motion, Sensors

SK-II - Confetti Pop-up Entrance Wall

SK-II - Confetti Pop-up Entrance Wall

SK-II - Confetti Pop-up Entrance Wall

Year: 2019
Brand: SK-II
Agency: Huge
Deployment: Case-W Pop-up Shop, Tokyo, Japan

Description: A huge interactive wall greets visitors as they enter the SK-II pop-up shop in Tokyo. Built with special LED panels, the wall appears transparent when switched off, and opaque when the LEDs are lit. The wall displays strips of SK-II’s “confetti” branding that animate based on the position of customers as they pass by. Those who pause to admire the wall are treated to a special “Power of Pitera” branding moment when the on-screen confetti clears and the backdrop behind the LED panels is illuminated, revealing the message.

My role: Unity App Build, On-Site Support, Look/Dev, Prototyping, Hardware Sensor Integration

Interactive, Mobile, AR, 3D

Wizarding World Mobile App

Wizarding World Mobile App

Wizarding World Mobile App

Year: 2019
Brand: Wizarding World (Harry Potter)
Agency: Huge
Deployment: Android and iOS apps (Globally)

Description: I joined the engineering team very late into the development of this cross-platform mobile app, working specifically on refinements to the AR “Sorting Hat” quiz section. Having taken the quiz more times than I can count, I can confidently say that I am a Hufflepuff.

My role: Unity Development, Quality Assurance, Launch Support

Interactive, Experiential, Motion, Sensors, 3D

Comcast - X1 Voice Remote Walkthrough

Comcast - X1 Voice Remote Walkthrough

Comcast - X1 Voice Remote Walkthrough

Year: 2017
Brand: Comcast Xfinity
Agency: Elephant
Deployment: Studio Xfinity — Washington D.C. Flagship Store

Description: This project began as a rough interactive prototype with many experimental input methods. We tried gaze tracking, finger tracking, and eventually landed on a voice-activated experience, with IBM Watson’s speech-to-text service providing the best comprehension via a shotgun mic. The Unity app guided users through Xfinity’s Voice Remote and allowed them to explore its many features.

App features motion graphics created by Rare Volume.

My role: Unity Development, Prototyping, Look/Dev, Hardware Sensor Integration

Interactive, Experiential, VR, Sensors, 3D

Xfinity - VR Goalie Challenge

Xfinity - VR Goalie Challenge

Xfinity - VR Goalie Challenge

Year: 2017
Brand: Comcast Xfinity
Agency: Elephant
Deployment: Studio Xfinity — Washington D.C. Flagship Store

Description: For Comcast’s Washington D.C. flagship store, we were tasked with creating a tech-forward celebration of Xfinity’s NHL superior coverage. We created a virtual reality slap-shot game, where customers become an NHL goalie to defend the net. We used an Oculus Rift headset and two motion-tracked controllers to transport players onto the ice, allowing for an unforgettable immersive experience.

My role: Unity Development, Gameplay, Physics, UI, UX, Prototyping, Look/Dev, Quality Assurance

Interactive, Mobile

XPrize Conference App

XPrize Conference App

XPrize Conference App

Year: 2012
Brand: XPrize
Agency: The Luv
Deployment: XPrize Conference — Los Angeles, California

Description: My team and I developed an app for X-Prize conference attendants to sign-up for scheduled events, interact with fellow participants, and vote on conference objectives. All app data was controlled via a content management system.

The most memorable part of this project was providing on-site tech support to Elon Musk, who asked me a couple questions.

My role: Mobile Front-End Development, UX Lead, Project Management

Interactive, Mobile, 3D

Baytown Outlaws — Shooting Gallery App

Baytown Outlaws — Shooting Gallery App

Baytown Outlaws — Shooting Gallery App

Year: 2012
Brand: LLeju Productions
Agency: The Luv
Deployment: iOS App Store

Description: Built in the early days of the app store, this tap-to-shoot gallery game was created to support the release of the movie The Baytown Outlaws. Built entirely in native objective-c code with Cocos-2D, it’s a fun relic of the iPhone’s simpler days.

My role: Mobile Front-End Development

Interactive, Experiential

Rizzoli & Isles — SMS Quiz Game

Rizzoli & Isles — SMS Quiz Game

Rizzoli & Isles — SMS Quiz Game

Rizzoli & Isles — Times Square Event Rizzoli & Isles — SMS Quiz Game
Year: 2010
Brand: TNT
Agency: The Luv
Deployment: Times Square, New York City

Description: TNT wanted the Times Square premiere for the detective show Rizzoli & Isles to include an interactive element. We created a SMS-based trivia game to allow attendees the chance to solve the crime right alongside the show’s stars. I built an automated SMS system that provided real-time feedback to participants via text message. I also created a custom video playback system that displayed a live tally of the quiz results, which we showed on the massive Times Square jumbotron.

My role: SMS System Development, Motion Graphics, Custom Video Playback System Development

Interactive, Mobile

NY Festivals — Voting App

NY Festivals — Voting App

NY Festivals — Voting App

Year: 2011
Brand: NY Festivals
Agency: The Luv
Deployment: iOS Enterprise App

Description: This app allows event participants to judge an advertising competition with ease. Designed to automatically display the content under discussion, the app provided related media in addition to the voting ballot. The platform kept one hundred iPads synced to the same content, across four simultaneous sessions.

My role: Mobile Front-end Development, Project Management, UX Lead, Quality Assurance

Motion, 3D

Starbucks — Times Square Jumbotron Takeover

Starbucks — Times Square Jumbotron Takeover

Starbucks — Times Square Jumbotron Takeover

Year: 2007
Brand: Starbucks
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy
Deployment: Times Square, New York City

Description: After W+K Studio had several failed attempts to capture video of coffee falling great distances, I was asked to re-create the effect in 3D. Given the long fall, I used high viscosity and surface tension to keep the particles together in a somewhat unnatural flow. Real Flow was used for the liquid simulation and FumeFX provided the accompanying steam. Fortunately, I was back in NYC to see its Times Square debut on the Reuters and Nasdaq Jumbotron screens.

See lo-fi footage of the live version here.

My role: 3D Animation, 3D Simulation, Compositing, Post-Processing

Motion, 3D

Coca-Cola — Diet Coke Endcard

Coca-Cola — Diet Coke Endcard

Coca-Cola — Diet Coke Endcard

Year: 2007
Brand: Coca-Cola
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy
Deployment: American Idol (Fox)

Description: This simple animation was my first and only piece to air on broadcast television. Used during the early days of American Idol, it was created in 3D Studio Max with After Effects for post.

My role: 3D Modeling, 3D Lighting, Post-Processing

Web

Nike ID — Shoe Customization App

Nike ID — Shoe Customization App

Nike ID — Shoe Customization App

Nike Id
Year: 2013 - 2016
Brand: Nike
Agency: R/GA
Deployment: Web

Description: Our team created and maintained the NIKEiD platform, which allows for customers to build and customize shoes.

Our large dev team was split evenly between Nike engineers out of Beaverton and our New York-based R/GA group. We built new features and triaged bugs via an Agile-based development workflow.

My role: Front-End Web Development, HTML5 and Flash

Web

Marcus by Goldman Sachs

Marcus by Goldman Sachs — Front-End Web Dev

Marcus by Goldman Sachs — Front-end Web Dev

Marcus By Goldman Sachs
Year: 2017
Brand: Marcus by Goldman Sachs
Agency: Elephant
Deployment: Web

Description: Working alongside the Elephant tech team at Goldman Headquarters, we created and launched Marcus.com, the companies entry into consumer finance.

The Elephant team was responsible for the front-end only which incorporated whimiscal CSS animations, built to delight users.

My role: Front-End Web Development

Motion, 3D

ESPN — NBA Mini-Site Animation

ESPN — NBA Mini-Site Animation

ESPN — NBA Mini-Site Animation

Year: 2011
Brand: ESPN
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy
Deployment: Web

Description: This fun animation was created for ESPN’s NBA mini-site. I did the full animation, including particle effects and RV modeling.

My role: 3D Modeling, 3D Lighting, 3D Animation, Post-Processing

Expertise

Creative

3D Studio Max

8.5

Figma

7.5

Photoshop

9

After Effects

8

Final Cut Pro

6.5

Real Flow / FumeFX

5

Blender

5

Maya

5

Substance Painter

6.5

Tech

Agile Development

8.5

Git

7.5

HTML/CSS

9

Angular

8.5

Google Cloud Platform

5

Javascript/Typescript

9

Firebase

8.5

Greensock

7.5

React

6.5

Immersive

Augmented Reality Dev

9

Objective-C / Swift

7

Unity Engine Dev

9

C#

8.5

Performance Capture

7

Unreal Engine

5

IoT / Sensors

7

Three.js / A-Frame

5

Virtual Reality Dev

9

Rating Scale:

5 = Limited Knowledge
6 = Basic
7 = Intermediate

8 = Solid / Limited Advanced
9 = Advanced
10 = Mastery

Work History

Xfinity CreativeTech Director, Retail

  • Harnessed emerging technologies including presence detection, smart sensors, eye tracking, haptics, mixed reality and computer vision to develop prototypes into production-ready retail fixtures
  • Managed a team of technologists, developers, artists, and designers to build high-impact interactive experiences for customers across hundreds of Xfinity retail stores
  • Produced and directed an augmented reality app which featured volumetric 3D captures of Team USA athletes for the 2024 Olympic Games
  • Coordinated software launches with Comcast’s Marcom team, including on-site installation and testing
2022 - 2024

Rockwell GroupFreelance Creative Technologist (Immersive)

  • Integrated gesture detection and touchless haptics into interactive kiosks featured throughout the Smithsonian’s Futures exhibition
  • Layered live data within an explorable 3D map for use by Illuminarium’s staff to monitor system health and track visitor foot traffic
  • Translated user journeys into concise UX build schematics, creating optimized workflows within the app
2022, 2024

Remote ControlFreelance Creative Technologist (Immersive)

  • Synthesized complex stakeholder demands into actionable UX build documents for user / group interactions in the FLDC museum’s Unity Hall
  • Generated UX support docs outlining edge case considerations, and user flow recommendations
  • Verified coverage of the museum’s dynamic visualization system with a custom-built test suite featuring virtual visitors in a reconstructed 3D space
  • Created a product roadmap for Stageverse’s dev team; writing tickets for feature development and prioritizing the app’s VR livesteam backlog
2021 - 2022

HugeSenior Software Engineer (Immersive)

  • Collaborated with work teams, freelancers, external vendors, and client stakeholders in the design and development of mixed reality experiences targeted for launch in the Athlete Village of the 2020 Olympics
  • Supported on-site tech deployment and installation of interactive fixtures in challenging international work environments (Shanghai and Tokyo), including on-site client management
  • Built standalone and network-connected augmented reality apps harnessing ARKit’s advanced features: light estimation/directionality, world persistence, human occlusion, and dynamic shadows
  • Prioritized feature backlogs and refined 3D asset pipeline to maximize efficiency and reduce cross-team blockers
  • Defined best practices and streamlined workflow for game engine development across creative and tech teams
2019 - 2020

ElephantEngineering Lead / Unity Developer

  • Designed and built all gameplay systems for two virtual reality experiences which debuted in Comcast’s flagship Washington D.C. store
  • Utilized advanced features on proprietary video playback systems (YCD, BrightSign) to provide rich interactive consumer experiences
  • Decoupled media from build for easy post-release content management
2016 - 2019

R/GA Freelance Web Engineer

  • Implemented features, fixed bugs, and maintained service across Nike’s mobile and desktop apps for shoe customization
  • Embedded directly with Nike’s Beaverton-based software development team
2013 - 2016

The Luv Co-owner / Engineering Lead

  • Co-managed a Soho-based advertising production shop, along with a remote back-end team in Budapest
  • Built, deployed, and supported the creation of 3D assets, native apps, websites, videos, and rich-media ads for our clients
2010 - 2013

Wieden + Kennedy 3D Generalist / Web Developer

  • Led development/deployment of mobile AR apps for banking and skincare clients
  • Programmed and assisted installation of interactive retail experiences in China/Japan
  • Created and deployed mobile and desktop apps for banking and skincare clients
2007 - 2009