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Case Study:
Giant Cranium XR
Co-Founding & Leading Creative Strategy in Immersive Tech

My Role: Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer (CCO)

Company: Giant Cranium XR

Duration: 2017 - 2020

Project Overview & Company Mission:
As Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Giant Cranium XR, I spearheaded the creative vision and strategic direction for a startup dedicated to crafting innovative Virtual Reality (VR) and Extended Reality (XR) experiences. Our mission was to harness the power of immersive technologies to deliver unique solutions for clients spanning entertainment, enterprise, and marketing, establishing ourselves as a trusted partner in this rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Challenges We Addressed:

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  • Educating a Nascent Market: Many potential clients were new to XR, requiring us to clearly articulate its value proposition and guide them through the possibilities and practicalities.

  • Translating Ambitious Ideas into Feasible XR Projects: We often needed to bridge the gap between high-level client aspirations and the technical and budgetary realities of XR development, ensuring deliverable and impactful experiences.

  • Building Operational Capacity from the Ground Up: As a startup, we had to define our creative and production pipelines, source talent, and manage resources efficiently to compete and deliver quality.

  • Defining Best Practices in a New Medium: Establishing effective user experience (UX) principles, narrative techniques, and visual standards specifically tailored for the unique demands of immersive VR/XR environments.

My Key Contributions & Strategic Solutions as CCO:

Client Engagement & Consultative Solution Design:

  • Action: Directly interfaced with diverse clients (from startups to established brands) to identify their core objectives and explore how XR could provide innovative solutions.

  • Process: Led discovery sessions, translated business needs into creative concepts, defined project scopes, and outlined pragmatic logistic and technical approaches.

  • Impact: Secured and successfully delivered a range of XR projects by building strong client relationships founded on clear communication, creative problem-solving, and a deep understanding of their strategic goals. My ability to act as a "translator" between client vision and technical execution was key.

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Creative Leadership & Cross-Functional Team Direction:

  • Action: Provided overarching creative direction for all projects, leading internal and external multidisciplinary teams encompassing art, design, and liaison with engineering.

  • Process: Established and maintained visual standards, guided the creation of 3D assets, defined interactive narrative flows, directed UX/UI for immersive environments, and ensured all creative output aligned with project goals and client expectations.

  • Impact: Delivered engaging and high-quality XR experiences by fostering a collaborative team environment and ensuring a cohesive creative vision was executed effectively, balancing artistic ambition with technical performance.

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Strategic International Partnership Development:

  • Action: Identified, vetted, and established strategic international partnerships with specialized development studios and technology providers.

  • Process: Negotiated collaboration terms, defined joint workflows, and managed these key relationships to augment Giant Cranium XR's internal capabilities and project reach.

  • Impact: Significantly enhanced our production capacity and access to specialized expertise without the overhead of a larger internal team, allowing us to take on more ambitious and diverse XR projects for a global clientele.

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Foundational Production Pipeline & Scope Management:

  • Action: Collaborated closely with production and technical leads to define realistic project scopes, provide detailed art asset lists, estimate timelines, and contribute to the establishment of our foundational XR development pipeline.

  • Process: Championed clear communication and early integration between creative and technical teams to anticipate challenges and optimize workflows.

  • Impact: Contributed to more predictable project execution, effective resource management, and helped manage client expectations by grounding creative proposals in production realities.

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Key Outcomes &
C-Level Learnings:

  • Successfully co-founded, creatively led, and strategically guided an XR startup through three years of operation in a challenging and emergent market.

  • Demonstrated ability to secure and deliver diverse XR projects by effectively managing client relationships and building strategic partnerships.

  • Cultivated a deep understanding of the entire business lifecycle for creative technology ventures, from initial concept and client pitching to team building, production management, and final delivery.

  • This intensive C-level experience solidified my belief in the critical interplay between strong creative vision, pragmatic operational design, and strategic business development – principles that now inform my approach to building next-generation production pipelines like "The Trunk."

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