"A client asks for a high-stakes AI competition with four days to build the entire experience from scratch. You lean into the chaos."
The Brief
Design and build four distinct interactive activations for India largest startup conference, AI Art, AI Prompt Challenge, Infobooth, Feedback Wall, in 96 hours.
The AI Art activation had a core UX problem: blank canvas anxiety. I introduced Strategic Presets, themed shapes and styles, so even non-artists could lead the creative process. We shipped 3–4 complete UI iterations without sacrificing quality.
AI Art Installation
Solved blank canvas anxiety with Strategic Presets. Choose shape + style, draw, submit, download AI-generated art via QR in under 60 seconds. Became the #1 zone at TechSparks.
AI Prompt Challenge
15-minute competitive experience: pick your weapon (ChatGPT, Midjourney, Sora, Gemini) and turn a brief into a poster, logo, website, or video, judged in real time.
Infobooth + Feedback Wall
Excel-powered live Infobooth updatable in 30 minutes. A tablet interface pushed attendee "vibe check" responses live to a giant LED pillar in real time.
The Trade-offs
Bold graphic identity over neutral event branding
Strong visual personality risked polarising some attendees, but created far stronger social content generation, attendees photographed the environment, not just the speakers.
AR photobooth over traditional branded photo wall
AR required more setup and maintenance, but delivered 5× more social shares per activation compared to a static backdrop.
Zone-based wayfinding over traditional signage
Colour-coded zones added design complexity but reduced wayfinding questions to event staff by over 70%.
"We transformed a complex technical process into a high-engagement competitive event that became the heartbeat of the activation zone."
— Abhinav Kaushal, TechSparks Debrief
What I Learned
Blank canvas anxiety is a design problem. Remove the blank page, remove the barrier.
Speed is a design constraint, not the enemy of quality. Three complete UI iterations in 96 hours forced clarity.
