Step Up To It - a joy reactive sculpture made out of sugar

Step Up To It

Our role in the The Happy Show by Sagmeister & Walsh Inc. was to project animations onto typography that was created out of sugarcubes. While Sagmeister’s designers and a team of volunteers tirelessly glued sugarcubes into the phrase “Step Up to It,” we began working with Christopher Fung and the folks at Ladies and Gentlemen on the projections.
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We thought about the show as a whole, and kept coming back to the idea that there are some things in life that only happy people see. Naturally, we suggested that the "Step Up to It" projections would only reveal certain animations to happy viewers. In doing so we imagined a way to actually create happiness in the process. It’s hard to be unhappy when you’re smiling.

A sculpture crafted from 80,000 sugar cubes comes to life with generative graphics, activated by the smiles of onlookers.Step Up To It - smiles make it workStep Up To It - a joy reactive sculpture made out of sugarStep Up To It - a joy reactive sculpture made out of sugarStep Up To It - a joy reactive sculpture made out of sugarStep Up To It - a joy reactive sculpture made out of sugarStep Up To It - a joy reactive sculpture made out of sugarStep Up To It - a joy reactive sculpture made out of sugarStep Up To It - a joy reactive sculpture made out of sugar

“Step Up to It” animates in pure simple black and white until a viewer smiles, causing the sugar to light up with bright colors.

Step Up To It - unmapped sugar type
Step Up To It - projection mapped sugar typography
Step Up To It - detail of the sugar cubes

Team

  • Zander Brimijoin - Art Director
  • Daniel Scheibel - Technology Director

In Collaboration with Sagmeister & Walsh

  • Creative Direction
  • Typography
  • Sugar Cube Construction


Thanks to all the volunteer sugarcube gluers.

Related Press/Media

RTP - Radio e Televisão de Portugal, "The Happy Show" para ver no Maat, Apr 2018
Frieze, Critic’s Guide to the Best Shows in Lisbon, Apr 2018
MAAT: Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology Lisbon, MAAT: Stefan Sagmeister - The Happy Show, Apr 2018
Time Out Lisboa, The Happy Show: a felicidade pode morar no MAAT, Apr 2018
Badische Zeitung, Sagmeisters "The Happy Show": Eine Geschichte des Glücks - Ausstellungen - Badische Zeitung, Dec 2017
Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, ZHDK Museum für Gestaltung – Schaudepot: The Happy Show, Oct 2017
Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, Museum Angewandte Kunst: Stefan Sagmeister - The Happy Show, Apr 2016
Pixi mit Milch, Wien-Tipp: The Happy Show von Stefan Sagmeister im MAK - Pixi mit Milch, Jan 2016
Center for the Future of Museums, Happiness, Design, and the Urban Future, Dec 2015
Kleine Zeitung, AUSSTELLUNG: So ein Glück: "The Happy Show" in Wien, Nov 2015
Wallpaper*, Design for life: Stefan Sagmeister's 'The Happy Show' arrives at MAK, Vienna, Oct 2015
Jitter Magazin, STEFAN SAGMEISTER: The Happy Show, Step Up to It, 2012, Oct 2015
Jitter Magazin, Stefan Sagmeister: The Happy Show, Oct 2015
Artsy, Stefan Sagmeister: The Happy Show, Oct 2015
MAK Wien, MAK Museum Vienna: STEFAN SAGMEISTER - The Happy Show, Oct 2015
Hailey Coral, ‘The Happy Show’ & the pursuit of inspired action, Oct 2015
Cas Parto, The Happy Show | Vancouver, Sep 2015
Montecristo, "The Happy Show" - MONTECRISTO, Apr 2015
Vancouver Courier, The Museum of Vancouver gets happy, Apr 2015
Museum of Vancouver, Stefan Sagmeister: The Happy Show | Museum of Vancouver, Mar 2015
thestar.com, The Happiness Show at the Design Exchange aim is to be more pleasurable than educational, Jan 2013
Stefan Sagmeister: The Happy Show Blog, Making of “Step Up To It”, Jul 2012
Eye Magazine, Giant monkeys in Sagmeister’s soul, May 2012
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