We created a one-of-a-kind Augmented Reality Mural to illuminate the Nickel Plate Trail.
The Nickel Plate Trail is a paved, urban path that stretches five miles through the heart of Fishers, connecting residents with the city’s biggest events and attractions. But with some effort and investment, the City of Fishers knew the trail could become a destination all its own.
Our team helped brainstorm a series of potential installations for the trail, including stylized wayfinding signs and the idea of a projected mural. Our team is experienced in projection mapping, and we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to marry our animation with the skills of a muralist.
The City had previously commissioned artists to paint murals along the trail—but they loved the idea of creating a true showstopper piece at the main 116th Street intersection.
Collaboration was the key to creating one cohesive mural.
For this project, we partnered with Indianapolis artist Phyllicia Carr, who you may recognize from one of the murals in our own office! We worked together to design artistic concepts that would look good on the wall during the day—and powerfully come to life at night through our animation.
This started by workshopping the ways we could incorporate animation into the design, transforming the painted shapes and colors by projecting patterns over top. We then tested these ideas on our own mural to help Phyllicia envision how the two components would work together on the tunnel wall.
PROJECTION DURING THE DAY
Projection mapping requires everything to be pixel-perfect.
Once our concept was approved, INNOVATIVE got to work on the logistics, mapping the projection to exactly line up with the abstract shapes of the mural. (Think of it like a coloring book! The projection needs to stay inside the lines—and if it doesn’t, we have to adjust the animation pixel by pixel to ensure it stays in the space.)
Of course, the best time to do this was in the dead of night, when it was dark enough to clearly see the projection. This led to many late days on the trail, spending hours fine-tuning the projection.
PROJECTION DURING THE NIGHT
The finished Augmented Reality Mural sparks a sense of pride in the community.
From start to finish, it took Phyllicia more than a week of work to bring her design to life on the tunnel wall, painting a fun, abstract cascade of color radiating from the Nickel Plate Trail. We then animated bursts of light across the wall and embedded videos of Fishers residents within the mural’s shapes.
This mural is just one of the ways that Fishers has invested in the Nickel Plate Trail, turning the concrete path into a head-turning, stop-you-in-your-tracks, Instagrammable moment. So, next time you’re out walking the trail, be sure to keep your eyes open for the art all around you!