Creative Changemakers

Théâtre D'opéra Spatial © 2022 Jason M. Allen

When ‘Theatre d’Opera Spatial’ won the digital category at the Colorado State Fair fine art competition it became one of the first artworks created using AI tools to win such a prize.

Jason’s use of the generative AI programme sparked a heated global debate and a backlash from artists who accused him of cheating. But he had openly credited his use of AI in his entry, believing that his collaboration demonstrates a progressive tool within the creative industry. He responded: "I’m not going to apologise for it… I didn’t break any rules”

Besides winning this award, Jason runs a studio, Incarnate Games, which produces tabletop games. His exploration of AI began with a curiosity of how the new breed of AI image generators would compare with the human artists whose works he commissioned.

Jason was invited to a Discord chat server where people were testing Midjourney, a platform that uses a process known as ‘diffusion’, turning text into custom images. Consequently, he became very passionate about this process and began creating hundreds of images, one of which he submitted to the Colorado art competition.

Jason wanted to create a change in the industry and inspire others to use AI as a tool for their own art. The publicity around ‘Theatre d’Opera Spatial’ certainly achieved that.

Electric theatre collective: 'Masterpiece' for Coca Cola

‘Masterpiece’ is a campaign for Coca-Cola’s Real Magic platform, which invites artists and creatives to use AI tools to generate original artwork with iconic creative assets from the Coca-Cola archives. 

The film is set in an art gallery, where Andy Warhol’s 1962 artwork ‘Large Coca-Cola’, comes to life. This iconic Coca-Cola bottle is then passed from one famous animated painting to another. As the bottle is passed between artworks, it is transformed to match the style of the artist it has been passed onto, including the likes of Turner, Munch, Van Gough, Hiroshige, and Vermeer. As well as artworks from modern masters, the advert also introduced the world to new contemporary artists. 

The VFX team at Electric Theatre Collective and creative agency Blitzworks used a mix of live action shots, digital effects and stable diffusion AI to create the commercial’s animation style and its complex transitions.

Creative Review wrote ‘it is still quite rare to see this technical craft packed into an ad… it’s an interesting signal of how machine learning might be incorporated into projects of this kind moving forward.’ The project won the The Electric Theatre Collective team a D&AD Yellow Pencil for Visual Effects and Computer-Generated Work.

Through this project and others, Electric Theatre Collective has demonstrated the expertise to enhance and bring imaginative creative projects to life with the very latest techniques.

Epic Games: Unreal Editor for Fortnite

With the release of the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), Epic Games have changed the way in which users will experience gameplay for a long time to come. Rather than waiting for developers to release new content or create new worlds to play in, thanks to UEFN, players can do this for themselves. 

When Epic Games launched the Fortnite Battle Royale feature of the game in early access on September 26th, 2017, they reshaped what a traditional shooter game looked like. The world had never seen a battle royale game of this depth before and it was this creativity and innovation that launched Fortnite to where it is today. Epic Games reported in 2021 that there were more than 400 million registered users on Fortnite. That number is likely to be even higher in 2023.

Now, they are doing it again. Creatives can now use this open platform to build their own metaverse experiences, playing the game how they want it to be played. 

Carols Bott, Games Development Course Leader at Ravensbourne said: “While other entertainment companies and cryptocurrency companies tried - and failed - with their implementations of the metaverse, Epic Games understood content is king. You need an open platform for industry creatives to create and build experiences. And Epic Games and Unreal Editor for Fortnite will provide it.”

Richard Howarth: Apple Vision Pro

When Apple’s VP of Design, Richard Howarth, presented Vision Pro AR Goggles to the world, he potentially launched a new era in mixed reality technology.

This new “Spatial Computer”, including Apple’s first 3D camera, has the potential to change the way we work, communicate, and collaborate, making everyday lives easier. Having the ability to access applications and communicate with other people at life-sized scale, it might revolutionise how we work from home, how we communicate and how we create.

Product and user experience design has always been key to Apple’s success. Stylish, intuitive interfaces and icons enable people to use their technology and software with ease. Ravensbourne alumni Richard Howarth has had a hand in creating many of the Apple products, including the design of the original iPhone model. With over 800 patents naming him as co-inventor for Apple, he is a key part of the creativity and innovation at Apple HQ.

The Vision Pro is Apple’s most ambitious product to date, the result of decades of experience designing high‑performance, mobile, and wearable devices. A singular piece of 3D formed laminated glass acts as an optical surface for the cameras and sensors. The flexible light seal and a cushioned, breathable headband are designed to deliver a comfortable and precise fit. Navigation is made easy through the use of voice, hands and eyes, while speakers are positioned to deliver spatial audio without blocking other sounds.

Apple CEO Tim Cook claims the new headset “seamlessly blends the real world and the virtual world” opening new possibilities and pushing mixed reality boundaries further than they have been pushed before.

Yasmeen Lari: Zero-carbon self-builds

Yasmeen Lari, Pakistan’s first female architect, won a RIBA Gold Medal in 2023 for championing zero-carbon self-builds for displaced populations. This achievement, one of the world's highest accolades for architecture, marks a shift in the industry from a fascination with ‘starchitecture’ into a focus on purpose.

Once famous for her Brutalist buildings, since retiring in 2000 Lari has used her ‘second career’ to champion humanitarian architecture. She co-founded the disaster relief nonprofit organisation Heritage Foundation of Pakistan.

In August 2022, Pakistan received over three times its usual rainfall, with one third of the country under water, a catastrophe affecting the lives of 33 million people. Lari responded with a design for a self-build model of zero-carbon, flood-proof bamboo shelters. These temporary, sustainable, octagonal structures can house a family of five with an eco-toilet, water, solar power and stove.

At her Zero-Carbon Campus, Lari trains female artisans to build these shelters, helping communities to develop artisanal skills using readily available materials. A team of artisans can build up to 100 shelters in four days.

Lari now aims to build Lari Octa Green (LOG) Emergency Shelters for the recovery and rehabilitation of 1 million households affected by catastrophic floods across the country by 2024.

After studying in London and founding her first architectural firm in Pakistan at the age of just 23, Lari is still changing the world with her work in her 80s.

Manel Torres: 'Spray-on' dress for Coperni

Dr Manel Torres designed the spray-on dress which was debuted by the Supermodel Bella Hadid last autumn. This conceptual design opened the eyes of the world up to new innovative and sustainable materials in fashion.

At the beginning of October, Coperni’s Spring/Summer 2023 runway presentation of the dress during Paris Fashion Week became one of the most talked about moments of the season. Images were shared far and wide across the press and social media. Following the viral sensation, Bella Hadid was named Model of the Year at the 2022 Fashion Awards.

Dr Torres founded the research company Fabrican to develop this unique spray-on technique. It produces an instantaneous, sustainable, non-woven fabric that can be worn directly on the skin. The technology addresses concerns around sustainability in the fashion industry, since the material can be washed, reused and finally, when the garment has come to the end of its use, dissolved for re-spraying. It also compresses the fabric’s supply chain, reducing reliance on overseas suppliers and reducing its carbon footprint.

Originally from Barcelona, Dr Torres moved to London to study his Masters in Womenswear Design at the Royal College of Art. Throughout his career, he has always been concerned with the future of fashion. He and his team are only at the beginning of their journey with this invention, which they believe can change the world’s fabric manufacturing industries forever.

Charlotte Regan

Film director Charlotte Regan tells working-class stories differently. Her debut feature, Scrapper, won a Sundance World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic in January 2023 and opened the London Sundance Film Festival in July.

Charlotte grew up in London and started shooting grime videos when she was fifteen. Her reportage shots of the London riots were published in all of the UK’s papers. After graduating from Ravensbourne in 2016, her first short film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and won a Sundance award, a BFI fellowship and a BAFTA nomination. Charlotte still shoots music videos, as well as commercials with Knucklehead and TVs show for Apple.

Speaking about Scrapper, she told Sundance: “The working class films I had seen didn’t feel like the truth of what I felt growing up. To me, those worlds are full of happiness. There’s for sure struggle and tough moments, but what never falters is the joy and the love. The dark humour that comes out of not having much. As a kid, in particular, I feel like you don’t know that your upbringing is any different to anyone else’s. You look around and see magic everywhere you look.”

Hamza Shaikh

Architect Hamza Shaikh is Creative-Tech practice area leader at world-leading practice Gensler in London. He has become known for his thought-leadership and for making architecture more accessible through his Two Worlds Design podcast, Instagram, YouTube channel, and speaking appearances. He celebrates architectural drawing in his book ‘Drawing Attention: Architecture in the Age of Social Media’ and champions the use of generative AI as a tool for architects.

Two years ago, Hamza was awarded ‘Individual of the Year’ by Thornton Education Trust for inspiring future generations in architecture. Today, Hamza is rapidly becoming a recognised influencer and artist in generative AI, particularly pursuing the future of ‘AI hybrid craft’ which integrates traditional drawing methods with innovative AI technologies. He was the lead curator of ‘Vanishing Points – Architectural Imagination in the Digital Universe’ showcasing historical architectural drawings alongside contemporary works.

 Speaking about ‘Drawing Attention’, he told Architecture Social: “The book is all about drawing processes and styles from all over the world and demystifying the drawing process. Finding your drawing style at architecture school is difficult to try and find your drawing style, and that’s why people took to social media.” 

Liy Grant

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Creative copywriter Liy Grant works for London agency, Mother, where, together with her creative partner Georgia Armstrong, co-founder of Nuff Said LDN, she produces adverts for brands including H&M, IKEA and Samsung. Liy champions diversity in the industry and is an active member of Familiar Faces, a network for people of colour in advertising.

Liy graduated from Ravensbourne in 2020 with a first-class degree in advertising and brand design before joining mother, with Georgia, in 2021. With a passion for mental health and diversity initiatives, she has been mentoring young people to overcome barriers to entering the creative industries though Ravensbourne’s Kickstart! programme.

Speaking about entering the advertising industry, Liy told Derek Yates, Head of Creative Lab at Ravensbourne University London: “Don’t underestimate how important your voice is in a room. I realised that I wasn’t seeing people like me in the industry, and I’m still yet to see a plus-size, black, gay woman in the industry that works in my field. I realised that it was important for me to step in and be that voice, because there may not be another one”.

Alexa Sirbu

Co-founder of XK Studio, Alexa Sirbu is renowned for her digitally manipulated supernatural scenes and landscapes, creating animated motion graphics for well-known brands including Apple and Hubolt. She also champions careers for women in computer-enabled motion graphics, 3D visuals and film. 

Originally from Romania, Alexa formally began her design career when studying Multimedia Computing at Coventry University. After graduating she worked at various design studios in London, before co-founding XK Studio, with her friend and business partner Lukas Vojir. Together they have worked with clients such as Apple, for the launch of the new supercharged MacBook Pro, and Hublot watches with the design of their Neon-Yellow innovation. The h.air series, her most recent cutting-edge, computer-generated work, explores the beauty of hair and its captivating movement.

In a recent interview with Lunatum Magazine, Alexa shared her passion for bringing nature and man-made design together: ‘Looking at the natural world to solve a problem is very, very satisfying because you work with these two fascinating subjects and when they merge together it becomes something very exciting’. She also says: ‘It’s really important for universities to stay up to date with what’s happening in the world and what’s happening outside of the four walls of the class.’