The String of Lights Effect

The Process

  • Think of your life story as a string of lights and each bulb represents a memory. Some bulbs burn brighter because those memories stand out. You carry this string of lights around with you, all the time. It affects the decisions you make. When you’ve had a highly engaging, multisensorial experience with a brand, you’re more likely to purchase or share that brand; we call that The String Of Lights Effect.

  • Not only does it quickly provide visual grounding for people to discuss the concept – it also bridges the gap between science and unique life experiences.

  • SOLE is GMR’s value proposition. It’s for their website, pitches, and prospective clients.

  • Semantic memory is facts and figures, whereas episodic memory is your life stories and experiences. The story starts in semantic memory before entering episodic for the remainder of the video. The art direction needed to make a clear distinction. Semantic is visualized in black and white to indicate no embellishments. Where as episodic uses cool colors to represent memories that aren't as clear, and warm colors for vivid, bright bulb moments.

The making of SOLE

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The making of SOLE 〰️

  • These storyboards communicate intention and inspire the team to visualize possibility. The design team’s next step is exploration and an animatic.

    During the process we adjusted the opening scene to an eye and transition the library floor to a book with flipping pages. Finding ways to seamlessly morph one moment to the next was a collaborative “what if” effort.

    Story: Jeff Bayson
    Creative Direction: Ken Black, Krista Hansen, Tarin Gessert
    Motion Director: Shannon Nickel
    Art Director: Shannon Nickel

  • Semantic memory is a type of long-term memory involving the capacity to recall words, concepts, or numbers, which is essential for the use and understanding of language.

    I encouraged the team to pull facts from their bright bulb moments to show in semantic memory space. I designed the 1989 Loft on Taylor Swift’s World Tour; I saw her concert on July 18th and that date is in the calendar. Stephen wants to go to Japan and Amber’s son was really into Saturn. Ignacio joined the team a month in, his hidden gems are in the bright bulbs and character design.

    Motion Graphic Designer: Stephen Guma

  • The ability to form, store, and recall memories of specific events that have occurred in the past, along with contextual details is episodic memory.

    This exploration showcases how we visualize episodic memory inside our heads.

    Motion Graphic Designer: Amber Webster