Verizon AR Wayfinding

Verizon's initial brief was straightforward: a mobile AR application using arrows to guide guests through their New Jersey headquarters. But the app had dual objectives — showcase the advances of 5G and cloud computing while serving as a functional demonstration for prospective partners like theme parks, museums, and shopping complexes. Arrows weren't going to carry that.

We recommended shifting from a purely functional tool to branded entertainment: an interactive adventure led by Gabe, a small goblin with a jetpack, guiding visitors through the building and into parallel universes. Verizon enthusiastically approved.

I led the project. To design Gabe, I brought in Academy Award-winning designer Chris Walas — creator of Gizmo from Gremlins, Cronenberg's The Fly, and the Ewoks of Star Wars. We then captured Gabe volumetrically, and he became the heart of the experience.

We 3D-scanned Verizon's physical architecture and overlaid interactive 3D environments that aligned precisely with the real-world spaces. Players followed Gabe through puzzles, battles, and exploratory challenges, with witty one-liners along the way. The entire development ran remotely at the height of the pandemic, which meant inventing workarounds while coordinating closely with Verizon's on-site team.

The project succeeded creatively and technically, and Verizon spun the framework into multiple iterations, folding in new technical elements as they went. What began as a wayfinding tool became a working showcase of what 5G and cloud computing could support. Gabe still sits in our conference room, waiting for the next adventure.