Interactive Art Director
An app for EA Games that let people turn themselves into a Sims Social character with their webcams and generate avatars.
The problem
The Sims is an extremely well-loved brand. In trying to use that brand love to launch a new game online, the Sims Social Facebook game, there was a need to help promote the application to a new set of users on Facebook. How do we raise awareness of the game on Facebook and build the same fun in people's hearts?
My role and process
I was the art director and lead designer for this application. This role required me to brainstorm the concept, create initial wireframes and mocks, and collaborate with the development firm that ended up implementing the tool. I also worked directly with a copywriter.
The solution
With the iconic status of The Sims plumbob (the green object above characters in game), we decided to create an avatar generator for Facebook users. Even if you don't play The Sims, you probably know this symbol. This Simify Yourself app worked by using the user’s webcam to generate a sSm automatically. The user could then style it as they wished.
The impact
With the simple application, Sims Social was able to gain large adoption on Facebook, and join the Facebook app craze of the time. This was also an early adopter of this practice, which is kind of cool when looking back.
