Google Creative Lab, London, was asked to design a public experience that would promote the low light capabilities of the Google Pixel 2 phone as part of Selfridges’ The Flipside exhibition.

It was during the department store’s Radical Luxury event, consisting of a group of installations centred around the theme, “the future of luxury.”

The experience needed to drive awareness and desirability of the product through a premium brand partnership. It also needed to inspire the public to consider what the notion of luxury means today, in order to align with the department store’s Radical Luxury theme.

Your Luxury Portrait was an experience which gave the public the tools to create their own definitions of luxury.

The challenge was to increase public awareness of the Google Pixel 2 phone’s camera capabilities, within an exhibition of brands responding to the theme, “Radical Luxury,” at Selfridges Department Store.

The result was an immersive installation in which visitors could select images of what the idea of luxury meant to them. A bespoke system generated a unique collage of the images, forming a backdrop for a portrait, captured by the Google Pixel 2.

The objective was to build something that would hero the product and enable visitors to express their thoughts on the “Radical Luxury” theme.

The experience was aimed at people who love discovering and posting on social media, which is why guests were sent digital copies of their portraits as well as receiving printed photographs on the day.

During the exhibition, visitors could also opt in to display their portrait in the window of Selfridges, meaning they became part of the amazing art displayed within a world-famous department store known for its incredible window displays.

The strategy of the project aimed to connect the notion of how special it is to relive memories through photography and the fact that the Google Pixel 2’s camera is incredibly powerful, even in low light conditions.

Housed within the dark foyer of the Old Selfridges Hotel, it was the perfect environment to test the limits of the phone’s camera in low light in an exciting way.

The solution was an installation in which visitors could intuitively scroll through images representing different notions of luxury. Animations and generative sounds led people through a selection process from which a unique collage was built. This formed the backdrop of a portrait captured by the Google Pixel 2.

Giant concentric rings hung within the space, replicating the lens of the Google Pixel 2. These rings formed the backdrop for the installation in which high definition imagery was projection mapped and reflected, giving guests a completely enveloping and intimate experience once inside the structure.

During the exhibition, visitors could opt in to display their portrait in the window of Selfridges. The experience was aimed at people who love discovering and posting on social media, which is why guests were sent digital copies of their portraits as well as receiving printed photographs on the day.

There were 17,829 visitors to the exhibition, 4545 pieces of content were generated and 70.6% of attendees opted in to display their portraits in the Selfridges window, which exceeded expectations and further enhanced public perception around the technical specs of the phone.