IBM
Interactive Hybrid Cloud Experience
Agency | AKQA
Role – Senior Designer (Experience / UI)
Scope – Interactive tabletop experience, data visualization, enterprise product education
At AKQA, I led the design of an interactive digital tabletop experience for IBM’s Think 2024 conference, created to help IT and business leaders better understand IBM’s Hybrid Cloud offering.
The experience was designed as a guided, use-case-driven learning tool. Users could select business scenarios and trigger dynamic visualizations across the tabletop, translating complex hybrid cloud systems into an intuitive format that supported real-time discussion and decision-making.
The final experience enabled deeper engagement by allowing users to save and print results, continue conversations through QR follow-ups, and connect directly with IBM subject matter experts for next-step discussions.
Impact –
Enabled clear, interactive education around a complex enterprise product
Supported high-touch, expert-guided stakeholder engagement
Delivered a scalable experience adaptable to evolving product definitions
Experience Architecture – The experience was designed as an interactive blueprint of IBM’s Hybrid Cloud, mapping relationships between applications, data sources, and infrastructure to establish a shared mental model before introducing real-world complexity.
Storyboarding the Experience – Early storyboards were used to map interaction flow and narrative pacing, helping shape how users would move through the experience before final implementation.
Translating the Storyboard into the Interactive Experience – The storyboards defined the structure and pacing of the experience, but the final execution required translating those ideas into a touch-driven, real-time tabletop environment. The interface was first designed in 2D to establish clear hierarchy, states, and interaction logic, then extended into a 3D space to create a more immersive experience.
This approach ensured the experience remained clear and consistent as content evolved, while allowing users to explore complex systems through intuitive, hands-on interaction.
Final Experience –The final tabletop enabled IT and business leaders to explore Hybrid Cloud behavior in real time, guided by subject matter experts. Users could save results, continue conversations via QR follow-ups, and extend the experience beyond the tabletop.
