Potion Design
Encyclopedia
Potion Design is a private interactive design firm
located in New York City
. It was founded in 2005 by Jared Schiffman and Phillip Tiongson, who had previously studied together at the MIT Media Lab
. The firm's specialty is interactive kiosk
s, especially flat surfaces that respond to human input through a combination of light displays and overhead video camera
s.
Museums for which Potion Design has created installations include the National World War I Museum in Kansas City
, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York City
, the National Building Museum
and National Museum of American History
in Washington, D.C.
, and the Museum of Science and Industry
in Chicago
.
They have also created interactive installations at bars and restaurants such as The St. Regis Hotel
and the Clo Wine Bar.
Potion Design has also done interactive software development, most notably creating the "Biblion" iPad app for the New York Public Library
, which presents an interface for viewing images, documents and text from the library's archives. Alexis Madrigal, a senior editor for The Atlantic, called Biblion "one of the slickest media consumption experiences that I've seen for the iPad."
Potion Design has won a variety of design awards, including various American Association of Museums
Muse Awards and Communication Arts interactive awards. They were also finalists for the National Design Awards
in both 2009 and 2010. In 2010, Fast Company
magazine listed Potion Design at #8 in their list of "most innovative design companies", lauding them for creating "interactive installations that get computing out of the box."
Design firm
A design firm is an organization that designs any of a variety of things, in one or more of the design fields, such as graphic design, web design, architecture, engineering, interior design, or industrial design....
located in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It was founded in 2005 by Jared Schiffman and Phillip Tiongson, who had previously studied together at the MIT Media Lab
MIT Media Lab
The MIT Media Lab is a laboratory of MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Devoted to research projects at the convergence of design, multimedia and technology, the Media Lab has been widely popularized since the 1990s by business and technology publications such as Wired and Red Herring for a...
. The firm's specialty is interactive kiosk
Interactive kiosk
An Interactive kiosk is a computer terminal featuring specialized hardware and software designed within a public exhibit that provides access to information and applications for communication, commerce, entertainment, and education....
s, especially flat surfaces that respond to human input through a combination of light displays and overhead video camera
Video camera
A video camera is a camera used for electronic motion picture acquisition, initially developed by the television industry but now common in other applications as well. The earliest video cameras were those of John Logie Baird, based on the electromechanical Nipkow disk and used by the BBC in...
s.
Museums for which Potion Design has created installations include the National World War I Museum in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the National Building Museum
National Building Museum
The National Builders Museum, in Washington, D.C., United States, is a museum of "architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning"...
and National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and the Museum of Science and Industry
Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)
The Museum of Science and Industry is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA in Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park neighborhood adjacent to Lake Michigan. It is housed in the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
They have also created interactive installations at bars and restaurants such as The St. Regis Hotel
The St. Regis Hotel
The St. Regis New York is a Forbes five-star, AAA five-diamond luxury hotel in Manhattan. It stands on Fifth Avenue, four blocks from Central Park.-Construction and opening:...
and the Clo Wine Bar.
Potion Design has also done interactive software development, most notably creating the "Biblion" iPad app for the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
, which presents an interface for viewing images, documents and text from the library's archives. Alexis Madrigal, a senior editor for The Atlantic, called Biblion "one of the slickest media consumption experiences that I've seen for the iPad."
Potion Design has won a variety of design awards, including various American Association of Museums
American Association of Museums
The American Association of Museums is a non-profit association that has brought museums together since its founding in 1906, helping develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and advocating on issues of concern to the museum community...
Muse Awards and Communication Arts interactive awards. They were also finalists for the National Design Awards
National Design Awards
The National Design Awards, founded in 2000, is funded and awarded by Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. There are seven official design categories, and three additional awards...
in both 2009 and 2010. In 2010, Fast Company
Fast Company (magazine)
Fast Company is a full-color business magazine that releases 10 issues per year and reports on topics including innovation, digital media, technology, change management, leadership, design, and social responsibility...
magazine listed Potion Design at #8 in their list of "most innovative design companies", lauding them for creating "interactive installations that get computing out of the box."