Long before Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton was busy drawing, painting, sketching and building his carefully crafted world. When The Museum of Modern Art launched a major retrospective exploring the artist’s work, they approached us to reveal the exhibition in an interactive setting. Longtime fans of Mr. Burton, we created an environment that draws inspiration from the artist.

We began with three design directions. The first two were focused on abstract elements of Burton's work as well as his use of contrasting colors, shadows and extreme angles.

In the chosen design we employed a hands-on practice that Tim Burton is known for (stop-motion animation) and created model staircases with foam board covered in Spackle. We then conducted stop-motion tests, ultimately moving the models around a stationary camera.The resulting look, enhanced by hand drawn font and music by Danny Elfman, cast a mood that spoke to Burton’s dark, whimsical aesthetic and served as a gateway to his art.

The interactive experience will extend beyond the life of the physical collection, much of which was previously hidden from the rest of the world.