ASU Designspace was a one-of-a-kind, mile-long sensory drive-through display inside Packard Garage on the main Arizona State University campus. It was designed by industry professionals and students from ASU‘s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, with guidance and mentoring from a team of Lightswitch designers, programmers, and technicians.
Designspace was born from a realization that occurred in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic: a lot of people in the lighting design industry were out of work, millions of dollars worth of equipment were sitting idle, and many junior and senior design and production university students — the years when students get most of their hands-on experience — were in lockdown and unable to do shows. With our friends from Video West, ILC, and HYBYCOZO, Lightswitch decided to do something about it!
We scouted several locations on the ASU campus and settled on Packard Garage, a new parking structure adjacent to the Sun Devils Stadium. Our team turned this large garage into a mile-long, COVID-safe, drive-through light + art experience. We curated the space by dividing it into “galleries.” Then design professionals and students — both graduate and undergrad — were invited to create immersive art experiences to populate the space. Lightswitch designed the overall look and feel of the experience, and Video West and ILC helped immensely in their support of the project and the students. Industry professionals Paula Dinkel and Adam Camp presented to the students, and a large group of Lightswitch designers, programmers, and technical staff committed their time and knowledge to the venture. Finally, Serge Beaulieu and Yelena Filipchuk of collaborative studio HYBYCOZO brought several of their pieces, as well as their expertise, to the project.
Hands-on experience is incredibly important for students starting out in the lighting design industry. That exposure is hard to gain at the best of times, and nearly impossible in the middle of a pandemic. As industry leaders, we felt it was our responsibility to step in and do everything in our power to help. Working with the student designers and technicians was profoundly rewarding. In the midst of some of the hardest times we have faced in our nearly three decades of business, it was incredibly beneficial for the Lightswitch team to have a project to focus on. Over the ten nights that Designspace was open, almost 5,000 vehicles passed through the experience, with an average of four people per vehicle. This means that not only were ASU students able to fine-tune their skills and give flight to their creativity during Designspace, but their doing so allowed around 20,000 people who were starved of live entertainment to enjoy an evening of light + art — we consider that a win!
Photography by Micah Rind
