Bulgari x UNIT9

The magic of the Roman Treasures

In light of the Christmas holiday season, Bulgari, the iconic Italian luxury fashion house renowned for its jewellery, sought to celebrate its deep connection with Rome's historic landmarks. They partnered with Google Zoo Paris and UNIT9 to unveil the Eternal City's influence on Bulgari's creations through an immersive digital experience. 

Our journey begins in the night sky, gently descending to a Roman cityscape as an introductory sequence to the experience. It's among the stars where we discover the stories that have inspired Roman culture.

Every detail, from the introduction screens to the journey interactions, from intricate UI elements to crisp 360° views, was expected to be nothing less than perfect. Each aspect had to be meticulously considered, aligning with the brand's values, evoking desire, and ultimately encouraging the audience to explore Bulgari stores worldwide.

Solution

Our approach was to fuse theatrical performance with a game-design narrative, history with innovation, craftsmanship with elegance, weaving all these elements into a single mesmerising journey. 

We envisioned a captivating stage, the "Roman Treasures", where users would embark on their journey through a bejewelled map wrapped in animated clouds, creating an aura of mystery and anticipation. The emblematic landmarks invited users to take a night stroll under imaginary celestial constellations. Guided by a narrated story, they were enticed to unveil the hidden beauties, enhancing their knowledge of Bulgari's iconic jewellery collections.

Navigating the Uncharted

Creating this immersive experience was a journey of continuous experimentation, starting with the navigation design. My challenge was to smoothly transfer users into the captivating world of the "Roman Treasures" and guide them through a series of individual 360° experiences.

The top-level user flows helped gather the initial experience requirements and established the foundations for the navigation design.

We delved into various approaches, including vertical and horizontal scrolling, physical and abstract maps, an array of icons, animations, and transitions, searching for ways to enhance the magic of the experience.

We settled on depth scrolling, allowing users to immerse themselves in each selected location from the map, much like turning the pages of a story.

The original scamps illustrate the depth scroll navigation concept.

A snapshot of the desktop wireflow, linking multiple experiences into a unified journey. Further into the project, we encountered additional challenges, such as ensuring clear navigation cues within the locations and creating shortcuts for smoother transitions between experiences.

The animated interactive map was designed as an intriguing gateway to the virtual journey, offering users a quick overview of the city and its hidden treasures. The sleek side navigation menu seamlessly transitioned into a more user-friendly version upon hover or tap, providing a continuous and intuitive experience throughout the site. 

Morphing Reality

Enabled by WebGL, we were able to create a fast-loading and smooth interactive experience within each of the locations - the Spanish Steps, the Piazza Navona, the Colosseum, the Baths of Caracalla, and the gardens of Villa Borghese.

To create the immersive scenes, the team captured and meticulously retouched numerous 360° panoramas of Rome's locations. These panoramas were then intricately stitched and blended with an imaginative night sky, forming enchanting 360° interactive domes.

Guided by an illuminated path, users were encouraged to interact with hotspots to learn more about the places and appreciate the mythical night skies and constellations. The highlight of each journey was the revelation of Bulgari's masterpieces, each inspired by the iconic landmarks.

The designs for the interactive scene at the Spanish Steps.

Through a seamless transformation, we gracefully morphed the monuments into exquisite jewellery pieces, unveiling the inspiring stories behind each creation to deepen the connection with the brand's rich heritage. For a chance to bring this magic to life, we further invited users to explore these treasures in person at the nearest store.

The original scamps illustrate the post-morphing transition to the product details.

The final designs showcase the transformation of the Spanish Steps, renowned for inspiring Bulgari's Serpenti collection with its architectural curves. 

Touch of Christmas Magic

To conclude this romantic adventure, we crafted digital Christmas cards adorned with warmhearted custom Bulgari wishes, ready for users to share via social media.

The personalised messages were elegantly embedded within the images of the explored locations. What made this experience even more special was its accessibility to a global audience, thanks to the multilingual site.

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© Natalia Esakova-Owen, 2023