How can we bring Microsoft's AI narrative to life in a physical office space?
Microsoft is a company that chose long ago to prioritise using experiences to bring their comprehensive narrative to life.
And with so many products and business lines within the company, there are many stories to tell within that narrative!
Here’s how Bump has collaborated with Microsoft to tell some of these stories:
Microsoft has jumped headfirst into AI, making substantial investments in AI research and development in recent years. Through tools such as its AI-powered Bing search engine, Microsoft aims to democratise access to machine learning tools and intelligent solutions, enabling businesses and developers across industries to integrate AI into their workflows.
To demonstrate the power of Microsoft’s AI-powered tools and tell this story in a tangible, physical form, Bump co-created a rapid temporary popup space in the Microsoft Innovation Center in Brussels that includes centralised work stations for people to get hands-on experience with Bing.
In addition, we developed a wall of prompt cards that are used to help inspire users and give them a sense of what is possible with the power of AI – through both simple everyday use cases as well as more complex and intensive work applications.
We are currently developing a more permanent exhibition based on this popup, and have had to get creative on how to adapt it over time. After all, it’s crucial to ensure the space is reactive and flexible to a rapidly changing industry.
As Microsoft explains, this project uses diverse flora to recreate five of the ecosystems found in Belgium in the hopes that it will attract various fauna and demonstrate how technology is making a difference in advancing the cause for protecting the environment. AI is playing an important role to help assess and protect our environment, as well as sensors and internet-connected devices, which analyse vast amounts of data quickly and accurately.
In order to show visitors how the garden works and to better understand the technology behind it, Bump collaborated with Microsoft to develop signage, stickering and mapping of the garden. These touchpoints allow anyone visiting the garden to learn more about the visible and invisible inner workings of how technology and nature can come together to make something beautiful, sustainable and effective.
Microsoft were early adopters of podcasting and have used podcasting as a way to not only share their own expertise on tech and policy, but have also allowed other members of the policy community to use their facilities.
Bump helped design and build the podcasting space that sits in the Microsoft Innovation Center in Brussels, complete with a customised backlit wall panel – check out the time lapse of some of the build process below.
Microsoft has a long track record of championing technology that closes the ‘Disability Divide’, which is the gap in societal inclusion for people with disabilities – including in education, employment and access to technology.
Their commitment to helping decrease the gap with affordable and accessible technology includes the Xbox Adaptive Controller and Microsoft Adaptive Hub, which is why the company teamed up with Bump to create a space that showcases these tools in a way that is inclusive, thoughtful and effective.
Through customised furniture and strategic signage, we have co-created a workstation that doubles as an accessibility touchpoint for people to get hands-on experience with the Microsoft accessories devoted to adaptive, accessible gaming and computing. Check out some of the sketches for the workstation design below.
Microsoft is a large company operating across a plethora of business areas, which is why it’s so important for their physical spaces to have a cohesive story as you navigate through their offices.
From cybersecurity to cloud computing to gaming, Bump co-created the customised signage and information touchpoints found across the Microsoft Innovation Center in Brussels, showcasing the many different technology areas in which Microsoft is innovating, testing and exploring new frontiers for the future of society.
Good news. So are we.
