Galaxy Fold Unpacked
AT-A-GLANCE
Client: Samsung
Venue: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Fransisco
Scale: 44M+ total live stream viewers globally, 14.3M+ U.S. viewers, 1,278 press and media locally
Format: Broadcast and in-person – physical broadcast stage, pre-function space, product demo area
Role: Associate Art Director
Team Led: Graphics, spatial, print production leads
Engagement: Graphic application concept through onsite execution
Client: Samsung
Venue: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Fransisco
Scale: 44M+ total live stream viewers globally, 14.3M+ U.S. viewers, 1,278 press and media locally
Format: Broadcast and in-person – physical broadcast stage, pre-function space, product demo area
Role: Associate Art Director
Team Led: Graphics, spatial, print production leads
Engagement: Graphic application concept through onsite execution
THE BRIEF
Samsung launched the Galaxy Fold and S10 series in downtown San Francisco — Apple's backyard, with all the symbolism that carries. The device was under tight wraps until the keynote, which meant zero leaks tolerated for any creative asset. The venue, the historic Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, came with strict rules about what we could and couldn't touch. We had to turn it into Samsung's world for one night without leaving a mark on the building.
MY ROLE — Associate Art Director
Led a cross-functional team across graphics, spatial and production. Translation of key visuals to a fleshed out environmental and media-ready strategy.
Samsung launched the Galaxy Fold and S10 series in downtown San Francisco — Apple's backyard, with all the symbolism that carries. The device was under tight wraps until the keynote, which meant zero leaks tolerated for any creative asset. The venue, the historic Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, came with strict rules about what we could and couldn't touch. We had to turn it into Samsung's world for one night without leaving a mark on the building.
MY ROLE — Associate Art Director
Led a cross-functional team across graphics, spatial and production. Translation of key visuals to a fleshed out environmental and media-ready strategy.
• Establishing workflows and project mapping across graphic and production
• Development of signage strategy in partnership with venue and client
• Execution of highly-confidential print and onsite reveal
• Development of signage strategy in partnership with venue and client
• Execution of highly-confidential print and onsite reveal
10s, 10s, 10s
The branding strategy was to pull the phone's hardware aesthetic — holographic, iridescent — into every surface of the venue. Hanging banners, hallway treatments, even the giveaway totes carried the same texture, so the product launched into an environment that already looked like it.
VENUE AS A CANVAS
With the historic walls off-limits, we built a venue inside the venue. Freestanding branded walls took over hallways and press areas. Outside, we installed an individually applied printed mosaic across the auditorium's oversized windows — visible from blocks away, a giant "10" campaign anchor at street level.
VENUE AS A CANVAS
With the historic walls off-limits, we built a venue inside the venue. Freestanding branded walls took over hallways and press areas. Outside, we installed an individually applied printed mosaic across the auditorium's oversized windows — visible from blocks away, a giant "10" campaign anchor at street level.
Designing the Moment
The holographic motif extended into custom stage scenic. We kept the hallways outside the auditorium black and white on purpose, so when the doors opened to a colorful, lit stage, the visual shift did the work. Kinetic lighting and custom screen visuals were built for broadcast and for the "folded" stage design.
The stage was a custom 5-piece LED screen layout: hero screen, upper canopy, lower floor, two radius screens. 484 individually rigged kinetic globes hung above it, all scripted and time-coded to the show moments they needed to hit.
Precision Under Pressure
The security and venue rules forced us into what we called the Fortress Workflow. Final art files stayed at Samsung until the last possible moment. Once they landed, production ran in a closed room: 24-hour security on site, no phones, no photography. Nothing was leaked.
THE REVEAL
We built the environmental graphics to react with the programming in real time. Key branded walls were engineered to flip mechanically or expose hidden artwork the second the device hit the stage. The venue went from "teaser" to "launch" in a single beat.
We built the environmental graphics to react with the programming in real time. Key branded walls were engineered to flip mechanically or expose hidden artwork the second the device hit the stage. The venue went from "teaser" to "launch" in a single beat.
The Result: A Flawless Global Reveal
The livestream hit 44 million viewers worldwide as Samsung revealed six new Galaxy products: the Note, Buds, Fit, Watch, and Tablet. The moment the keynote ended, 558 of those products were live and in attendees' hands across the Product Experience and hallways.
ZERO LEAKS
The Fortress Workflow held. Despite the scale and the city, no creative asset leaked before the keynote.
ZERO LEAKS
The Fortress Workflow held. Despite the scale and the city, no creative asset leaked before the keynote.
CLIENT SATISFACTION
Samsung is the kind of client that sees every detail. The build met that bar, and the transition from the secret pre-show environment to the post-reveal experience went off clean.
Samsung is the kind of client that sees every detail. The build met that bar, and the transition from the secret pre-show environment to the post-reveal experience went off clean.
CREDITS
Agency
– Agency EA
– Agency EA
Graphics
– Madeleine Bennett
– Jordan Lipshutz
– Madeleine Bennett
– Jordan Lipshutz
Spatial
– Rudy Arroyo
– Pawel Puchniewicz
– Rudy Arroyo
– Pawel Puchniewicz
Print Production
– Donna Panacchia
– Donna Panacchia