LESI

Brand and design experience consultancy Collins has partnered with graphic designer and programmer Jono Brandel on a very special project, collaborating to create the Live Experimental Spacial Instrument (LESI), an interactive engine that allows users to control their own experience within a given platform. With Collins' creative direction and Brandel's technical background they came up with LESI, a piece of art, created in code, that they hope will capture a moment in time in California and the creative world. LESI’s concept was developed around the idea of gravitational waves, black holes in space, and the Voyager Golden Record, phonograph records from 1977 that contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth. Record producer Nosaj Thing has written a piece of music that LESI can react to, in order to create a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork (the site will also respond to sounds when computer microphones are turned on). The intention of the piece is to visualize sounds over the period of time the music is played. It will respond differently every time, as this project puts the user in the shoes of the artist, with LESI being the canvas for creative freedom. Collins debuted LESI on Friday night (9/30) at its client Pop-Up Magazine’s ticket-only venue. The one-night-only experiential event was hosted at the Greek Theatre at Berkley and celebrated the stories and sounds of California and its musicians, writers, filmmakers, radio producers, and artists – fusing the astronomical with the tactile to create an out of this world experience that both artists and guests could enjoy in real-time.