Welcome to the future! And, take your guests there too! Virtual Reality is ruling the charts irrespective of the industry nature. Having a traditional wedding invite with calligraphic font has now been surpassed by wedding invites with quirky fonts and funky elements. Complementing this idea, we are always in search of innovative concepts that outpar all our previous creative projects. For a couple bitten by the technology bug, we decided to bring in a little time travel in the mix.
Time travel has been emphasised numerous times in Einstein’s special theories but nothing has been conceptualised ever since. Travel to the past is probably impossible. But to the future? That’s a different story. With this thought in mind, we stumbled upon the idea of working on a VR based wedding invitation and it all fell into place. With a headset and motion tracking, VR lets you look around a virtual space as if you’re actually there.
Leaps and bound ahead of any digital Whatsapp e-video, this Virtual Reality based invite allowed the guests to get a little flavour of the wedding festivities well in advance and to enjoy the Bahrain culture to be all excited to join in the wedding celebrations, right in the comfort of their home way before they actually head for the wedding. Virtual reality (VR) implies a completely immersive experience that shuts out the physical world. Putting on a VR Headset leaves you blind to your surroundings but will expand your senses to the experience within. Virtual Reality is a fascinating way to travel using nothing more than the power of technology.
Virtual reality headsets may seem modern to us, but the science, and history, behind them are centuries old. The first attempt at virtual reality experimented with a 360-degree Panoramic painting of the Battle of Borodino. However, the concept only got popularised by the 21st century. It works on our ability to perceive depth because of the subtle horizontal differences in the image that each eye receives when we look at something. In a nutshell, the wedding invite intermingled Bahrain (wedding destination) elements with the time travel perspective of virtual reality. The guests had to put on the VR headset to view the virtual wedding card which entitled the dress code and event date details for them to plan for this wedding trip.
The couple was eager to explore something new. They were keen on following an innovative and unique approach for their invitation yet they wanted a personal touch to their invite. Along with that, being tech savvy the couple wanted to explore the possibility of incorporating technology. Pratik and Kamakshi’s wedding invitation had lot of different elements but they were all weaved together to form a story that itself was extraordinary. Everyone has seen VR based wedding decorations, VR based dress but a Virtual Reality based wedding invite had never been done before.
Concept
The invite is based on Virtual Reality technology-A believable, interactive 3D computer-created world that you can explore so you feel you really are there, both mentally and physically. The invite engages both your body and your mind. It is the most immersive type of reality technology and was designed to give a glimpse of the wedding festivities of Pratik & Kamakshi’s Bahrain wedding, keeping in mind the actual wedding decor and dress code.
It all starts with a trunk-inspired world map themed explosion box that opens up to reveal about the various wedding events and corresponding dress codes. It goes onto Pratik and Kamakshi’s cutesy 3D cartoon characters standing gleefully amongst faux grass Island (depiting the Isand Nation – Bahrain). The story is then taken forward with a virtual reality headset. To enjoy the adventures of Pratik and Kamakshi in Bahrain, one has to plug in the headset to their mobile phone and place it on their head. The video then transports the viewer to the soon-to-happen blissfully wedding celebrations of Pratik and Kamakshi. Collaterals like a spinning wheel based wedding itinerary, pop-up thank you card, key card holder, welcome card were also sent out to complete the wedding story. It was a India’s first of it’s kind Virtual Reality based wedding invitation.
The World of Virtual Reality
Blending technology with the recent advancements in the wedding industry was the forte of this wedding invitation. To create a truly immersive virtual reality there are certain prerequisites that need to be followed. For a functional 3-D virtual experience, a frame rate of minimum 60 fps, an equally competent refresh rate, and a minimum 100-degree field of view is required. The frame rate is the rate at which the GPU can process the images per second, the screen refresh rate is the pace of the display to render images, and FOV is the extent to which the display can support eye and head movement.
If either of these are not set as per the standards, the viewer could experience latency i.e. too much time gap between their actions and the response from the screen. We wanted the response to be less than 20 milliseconds to trick the brain which was achieved by combining all the above factors in the right proportion.
We further synced the visuals with sound effects to create a very engaging effect. While crafting sound effects due care was taken about the consistency between the graphics and the sound. By using headphones and 3D sound effects, the user’s belief in the virtual environment was further reassured.
As virtual reality formed the basis of the wedding invitation, a VR headset was sent out with each invitation. With proper guiding instructions, the viewer is just a glimpse away from the multi-cultural wedding festivities of the couple in Bahrain. Carrying forward the look of the actual event, the 360 degree virtual video features Pratik and Kamakshi enjoying their big day and it’s functions with zest. From dress code to the event decorations, each element was coordinated with the wedding that took place in December.
An ethnically diverse region, Bahrain is famous for it’s cultural art forms-Expressionism and surrealism and calligraphic art. Picking visual inspiration from Bahrain’s calligraphic art and their particularly famous colours Copper and Gold, the invite is a reflection of the rich Bahrain culture.
LOGO & GRAPHIC ELEMENTS
Going beyond the visual experience of glyphs and forms, Arabic calligraphy is one of the world’s most ancient and respected art forms. The logo intertwines the old-fashioned fairytale with the celestial appeal of Arabic ‘khatt’. Designed around the concept of opulent lifestyle, the wedding logo was a synergism of Bahrain artwork with other cultural elements. The wedding logo adds a sense of majesty to the invite. Inspired by Cinderella’s dreamy horse carriage, the logo was a reflection of Pratik and Kamakshi’s soon-to-be fairytale life.
EVENT SYNERGY
Key Card Holder, Wedding Itinerary wheel, Welcome Card, Thank You Card, Digital Whatsapp Reminders, Wedding Stationery
DIGITAL COMMUNICATION
To maintain the excitement of the virtual reality experience, constant digital reminders were pushed out to the wedding guests. Subsuming the concept of the wedding invitation, wedding reminders, dress code information, wedding app graphic and flight information graphic were shared on Whatsapp.
COLOR PALETTE
Aqua Blue, Gold, Emerald, Crimson, Sand Brown shaped the primary palette for the design.
To get a quirky wedding invite for your wedding, contact us on +91-9911116743 or email us at [email protected]. Don’t forget to stand out for your wedding.
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