WORKSHOP 3D, LLC

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Experience Design, an agency that creates effective interdisciplinary experiences that change behaviors, increase knowledge, and expand minds. Our work is experienced across marketing, branding, learning, and specialized engagement programs and activations.

For what projects/services did your company hire WORKSHOP 3D, LLC?

We have hired WORKSHOP 3D for a variety of programming services, centering on Augmented Reality design, programming, and app development.

What were your goals for this project?

The challenge: increase awareness of a state-wide credit union and create opportunities for credit union staff to engage the public at events. The client desired a digital solution with the ability for the audience to interact with company values and deliver the results in a text message.

How did you select WORKSHOP 3D, LLC?

We have worked with WORKSHOP 3D Founder Ray F. on many previous successful projects. When we had a need to explore the boundaries and possibilities of Augmented Reality, we immediately chose WORKSHOP 3D.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

After working with us on the framework for the project, WORKSHOP 3D created and/or sources the 3D models required for implementation, including all materials, textures, and graphics that would appear in the scene.

They developed an interface for the app that included a tiered questionnaire with numerous types of input and selected, activated, and positioned the objects as a result of the answers. A screenshot function created photos of the user in their scene that was emailed through a back-end created by WORKSHOP 3D.

What was the team composition?

We worked primarily with WORKSHOP 3D Founder Ray F., who was the lead designer and programmer, and with Jeff Mihalyo, who developed some of the in-scene graphics. The Interplay team provided creative direction, art direction, and fabrication of the augmented reality display structure and targets.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Although the app functioned well, we had difficulties with some of the real-time data collection that we attempted to employ through the app in a large crowd with limited internet coverage.

We learned a lot about the integration of real-time data-processing into the projects that we develop, which has served to inform our other projects, whether they implement Augmented Reality or another technology that depends upon network and connectivity.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow between Interplay and Workshop 3D was very effective. Workshop 3D worked seamlessly with us, usually staying one step ahead of the process and never missing a deadline.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

WORKSHOP 3D is impressive in many ways, starting with its highly effective management of every aspect of the creative process. They can produce conceptual design through to graphic and interface design, 3D modeling, app design, execution, and deployment.

It is this ability for a small team to work through all phases of the project without losing focus that sets WORKSHOP 3D apart from any other vendor or creative company we have used.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They could have encouraged and facilitated more on-site and field testing of the entire system, including both their app and the other hardware and network solutions that were in place for the events. The weakness of the system was in the overall infrastructure, not the app itself. There were two iterations of the app, and the second dealt with this issue more successfully.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the public affairs officer at Grant County Public Utility District. We’re a publicly owned energy company that serves a population of about 95,000 people. We operate two dams on the Columbia River.

What challenges were you trying to address with WORKSHOP 3D, LLC?

We were looking for a way to help the public understand how hydropower is generated as well as how fish passage through our dams works. We hired them for 3D animation and AR services.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed an augmented reality mobile application. Users can experience what it is like to travel down the river and through the hydroelectric turbines in the dam. 

What is the team composition?

Ray (Founder & CEO) was my main point of contact. 

How did you come to work with WORKSHOP 3D, LLC?

We saw the work that they did for a museum in our county. The museum team gave Ray and his team great reviews. After hearing about their experience and having some preliminary discussions with Ray, we decided WORKSHOP 3D, LLC would be a good fit for us. 

How much have you invested in them?

The total cost for the project was around $12,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in August 2019. They completed the app, but they’re still working with us when we have questions or issues with it.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We don’t have a lot of quantitative data yet. We wanted to roll the app out as part of a public outreach campaign. However, all those events were put on hold because of COVID-19. We’re waiting until things open up again to promote it. 

So far, users that have downloaded the app have positive feedback. We’re excited about what we’ve seen so far. 

How did WORKSHOP 3D, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

The project was a bit more complicated than most of their past engagements. The app utilized some drone footage and they had to have additional insurance coverage to fly the drone over the dams. I think a lot of other companies may have decided that the project wasn’t worth it. However, WORKSHOP 3D, LLC was accommodating to our unique situation. 

Though we had to change the deadline as a result of weather-related delays with the drone shoot, they delivered on the modified deadline. The team was good to work with, and they stayed within our budget. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They took a broad vision of what we wanted and condensed it down into an experience that is worthwhile for the user. They were also flexible and easy to work with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It could be helpful for them to have a better understanding of what it is like to work with multi-department organizations such as ourselves. They had to overcome a lot of challenges in working with different departments within our organization and ensuring that they met all the requirements. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

They’re very good at what they do, but it’s helpful to have some idea of what you want the finished product to look like. Keep the vision of what you want at the forefront of the engagement. You’re the expert in your field, so you need to communicate clearly about the factual and visual experience you want users to have.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of operations for the Quincy Valley Historical Society and Museum. We operate a historic home and have several other buildings including a restored church and a newly constructed heritage barn. We do a lot of educational programs like school field trips as well as event rentals for weddings.

What challenge were you trying to address with WORKSHOP 3D, LLC?

We needed someone with technical expertise in terms of providing some high-tech add-ons to the exhibits we were building. We wanted people to be able to connect with what was happening out in the field or to be able to hear from farmworkers, and we thought a visual or high-tech platform might be the way to go since we can’t bring a farmer into the exhibit all the time.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project evolved throughout because we weren’t sure what we wanted. When I met them at their booth they had targets that you could point your phone or tablet at when you’d opened an app, and through that, they displayed things in a museum’s collection. These were items that the museum didn’t have room to physically display. That wasn’t really what we wanted, so we started brainstorming with them. They ended up creating a mobile application for us that utilizes augmented reality.

We also have a man in our community who’s a teacher and owns a drone, who films what happens in the field in every season. There’s a panorama part of the app and he’s been uploading footage of the crops growing every season. He’s done the winter and the spring, so it’s ongoing. People can access this footage anywhere.

Another thing Ray and Jeff have come up with are these gift cards. We’ve been closed due to COVID-19, but they made greeting cards that have the AR target. If people download the app on their personal phones, they can access the content anywhere.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Ray (Founder & CEO), but they also came over and I met everyone on their team. I really enjoyed being able to know their entire operation. Being from a small town and being a small business owner myself, we really like that personal content, which is definitely what you get with them.

How did you come to work with WORKSHOP 3D, LLC?

I met them at a museum conference and was intrigued by what they were doing. They had a promotional booth there.

How much have you invested with them?

It was a $15,000 project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since October 2018.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We get a lot of comments from people, and if you’re trying to engage younger generations in a presentation or exhibit then you definitely want to be able to use something like AR.

We very much wanted it to be able to help draw in younger generations that wouldn’t be as interested in static exhibits like older people or interactive exhibits for kids, and the app has absolutely done this. People are amazed at the features of the app, how it has people jumping out of the wall to talk to them when they use it. Additionally, the older generations love the app as well. Once you show them how to use the tablets and the app, they just go nuts; they love it. I was not expecting that, but they will often go farther than younger generations in watching all our content.

How did WORKSHOP 3D, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve had no issues working with them at all. They’ve had to wait for me on things, not the other way around. I’m happy because I think they’ve made some other connections in our area because of what we did. There are no museums around us that have anything like this.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I didn’t have a great idea when they started, but they were very helpful with that. They helped innovate and brainstorm what this could look like for us. Because they were a startup, they were willing to think outside-the-box for us. It was very much a creative process, and they were with me every step of the way.

They’re focused on being able to listen to you and helping you figure out what’s going to advance your project. Their creativity and ability to innovate are very much strengths. Their technical ability is great, but you still need to listen to a customer and innovate. They go a lot further.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t know right now. When we first started, they were just starting up, so the only minor frustrations we might have had was that we were trying to figure a lot out together. I’ve seen their progress and it’s been great; they’re evolving.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared to engage in a creative process with them. Don’t expect to turn this over to someone and say “do this.” You’ll get a lot more out of them if you commit to engaging in the creative process.