Sun Life

Sun Life Financial, a multinational insurance company, asked Thinkwell Studio Montréal to design and develop a collection of “digital canvases” that would integrate engagement points and interactive technologies throughout its corporate headquarters in Toronto.

The digital canvas project pushes the boundaries of art and design in a corporate space, creating a unique and engaging environment for Sun Life employees. Nine separate interactive digital installations work together to channel the intangible essence of day-to-day connections that make large-scale, positive change possible around the world throughout Sun Life’s operations. The installations made use of furniture design, high-impact visual displays, ambient reactivity, and creative use of audio-visual technologies to present content that educates, surprises, and sparks conversation in their corporate headquarters.

The goal was to create digital installations to answer Sun Life Financial’s needs: to showcase employee and guest interactions in different spaces throughout and allow them to come together through collaborative use technology. Some of the key interactive and digital canvas installations include:

• The WEfi Wall: Take a selfie with a co-worker and have it added to an array of projections on the wall. Visitors need to work in a team – hence the name “WEfi” – and the resulting collage of employee group photos spells out words along the wall of a main hallway in the office. The wall also had the capability to be reskinned for various events.
• Sun Life Interactive Wall: Projectors cast a variety of information on an interactive wall, giving users the ability to select and move information such as social media posts, news or weather reports around as-needed to present to colleagues.
• Executive Table: Two tables and the integration of the interactive system (projection and sensors) were designed by Thinkwell Studio Montréal. Projectors inside each table project on a spherical screen in the center, one of which displays motivational content, quotes, or historical photos, the other displaying news about the Sun Life headquarters around the globe. There is also a camera inside the table for automatic projector alignment and user interactivity (it detects and tracks fingers when touching the screen). The installation also includes an overhead projector and an additional camera that detects people passing and automatically activates the table when someone is nearby.
• Projected Skyline: The projected skyline is a display wall that activates a variety of images from employees and guests as well as images of the Toronto Skyline through the movement of people as they pass by the wall.
• Sun Life Timeline: This is a wide multi-touch screen that allows users to scroll through the history of Sun Life Financial. Highlights and events that defined the company are displayed on a long screen that also provides the opportunity to click and dig deeper into key corporate events and milestones.