Working to a broad concept of bringing the physical experience online, the team re-created the spatial quality of an actual visit to Singapore, augmented and enhanced with digital features. Accordingly, every touchpoint in the user journey was designed and tested by the Pico team.

The result was SWITCH’s centrepiece – a ‘digital city that never sleeps’ modelled after the Buona Vista district – the real-life nexus of Singapore’s tech community. The virtual district served as a one-stop innovation enterprise platform while highlighting the city as a global hub for innovation and tech start-ups.

Within its boundaries, exhibitors were located in various ‘villages’ differentiated by its own unique designs for the lobbies, showcases and exhibitor booths. As attendees navigate around these villages, they were immersed in and connected with more than 1,000 exhibitors and sponsors.

The striking variations of the village environments clearly differentiated the various sectors and encouraged attendees to explore more places in the event. It also helped direct users to the right content amidst a sea of information. The intuitive usability of the platform helped foster new partnerships and opportunities between innovation enablers, enterprises and start-ups.

Pico was responsible for the concept design, site architecture, user experience and a clear design structure consisting of an overall map design of three iconic areas in Singapore including the Buona Vista District, 11 custom villages (76 building architectures), 12 lobbies, 12 showcases, 42 booths and two special showrooms. Some interactive features such as agenda customisation and text chat functions for participants were incorporated in the virtual platform to ensure a high level of interactivity and personalised user experience.