“We're in the problem-solving business. Brands come to us with a challenge and it's up to us to figure out the best way to help them.”

- Andre Assalino, Executive Creative Director at Zappar

 

It’s been a really exciting time here at Zappar lately and if you’ve kept a keen eye on our social media channels, you certainly would have noticed the increase in new smiling faces! Our Zappar family continues to grow and it’s been both inspiring and a lot of fun getting to know our new hires, learning everything from fresh approaches to AR creativity to how they take their cups of tea.

I’m delighted to welcome and introduce to you our brand new Executive Creative Director, Andre Assalino. He’ll be leading our award-winning creative consultancy, responsible for the best-in-class AR campaigns we deliver for brands and businesses all over the world. These experiences shape our company-wide vision, so it’s important for our users and partners to get to know Andre and what he’ll be bringing to the table.

Andre was last at Oscar-winning studio Moving Picture Company (MPC) where he was responsible for concepting and delivering solutions across digital, mobile, VR/AR, experiential and social landscapes. As one of the global leaders in VFX, his experience adding visual wonder and creative expertise to the advertising, film and entertainment industries will be invaluable here. Prior to working at MPC, Assalino was Creative Technology Director at VCCP and held senior creative and technology roles at Karmarama and Publicis Chemistry.

I caught up with Andre to welcome him to the team, to find out about his career journey and his creative passion for all things AR.

 

Andre, our new Executive Creative Director, settles into his new surroundings

 

James Wright -  Hello Andre and welcome! What brings you to Zappar? What made you realize that this is the right place for you to take the next step in your career?

Andre Assalino - Throughout my career I've strived to be at the forefront of technological innovation in advertising.

I've worked on websites, mobile apps, experiential installations, VR pieces and the odd AR project, always trying to add a unique touch to each one.

There's an undeniable momentum behind AR at the moment, due to the efforts of companies like Zappar and the release of ARKit and ARCore, so I wanted to position myself somewhere where I could set the trend rather than follow it. That's what led me to Zappar and I'm really excited to get started with the brilliant team here.

 

“I wanted to position myself somewhere where I could set the trend rather than follow it. That's what led me to Zappar”

- Andre Assalino, Executive Creative Director at Zappar

 

JW - Can you broadly explain what the Executive Creative Director role entails and your responsibilities?

AA - We're in the problem-solving business. Brands come to us with a challenge and it's up to us to figure out the best way to help them. As Executive Creative Director, I'll be going through the briefs and identifying possible creative and strategic approaches, then liaising with the team to scope out feasibility.

Once a project is ‘in the building’, my main job becomes overseeing the quality of our output and ensuring the team has the support it needs to get the job done.

There are of course, managerial and commercial responsibilities too, but if I can ensure we have a solid, innovative team on-hand to handle whatever idea we come up with, everything else falls into place.

 

As Executive Creative Director, Andre will be leading our creative consultancy, delivering best-in-class AR campaigns for worldwide brands

 

Inspired by augmented reality

JW - What is it about AR as a medium that excites and inspires you in a creative leadership role?

AA - AR has always been an incredible proposition, but it’s previously been limited by the performance of the devices in people's hands. As technology catches up to our creative ambition, AR is becoming the go-to medium for rich experiences that captivate and enthrall consumers. It's an immediate way of providing contextualized content, and its potential for entertainment value is really exciting.

Each project that comes in is an opportunity to create something new, different and compelling - which makes my life easier as the team is always engaged, motivated and eager to contribute!

 

“AR is becoming the go-to medium for rich experiences that captivate and enthrall consumers. It's an immediate way of providing contextualized content, and its potential for entertainment value is really exciting.”

- Andre Assalino, Executive Creative Director at Zappar

 

JW - With your previous expertise gained at the likes of Moving Picture Company and VCCP, what will you bring to Zappar? What are you most excited to get going with?

I’ve started out as a designer, turned into a developer to bring my designs to life and then settled firmly in the creative technology space as I simply refused to choose just one of the disciplines.

I’ve honed my design and development skills in digital studios, learned more about the industry and developed my strategic and leadership skills in advertising agencies. I then peeked behind the curtain of production studios to get a better understanding of real-time rendering, 2D composition, 3D modeling, animation and grooming, motion design, color grading and even live action shooting.

I’m excited about having to learn a new way of working, making the most of Zappar’s unique set of tools, particularly Zapworks Studio. And once I’m up to scratch, I’m hoping I’ll be able to leverage my expertise to enhance the team’s creative output.

 

“Having worked on some of the world’s most creative, inspiring and of course, award-winning campaigns, Andre’s experience is second to none and we’re thrilled to have him join Zappar at such an exciting time in our accelerated growth phase...”

- Max Dawes, Managing Director at Zappar

 

JW - Working with Zapworks Studio 6 is going to be a big part of your role - how have you found getting to know the toolkit and its new features?

AA - Let me start by saying how grateful I am that Zapworks Studio exists in the first place! It gives the team a consistent and clear set of tools to work with and features to utilize, which allows them to do great things in a short amount of time.

So far I’ve found Studio really intuitive, and I can’t wait to become proficient in it so I can unlock its full potential.

 

Andre's work will be instrumental in inspiring the direction of our future branded AR experiences

 

JW - Zappar staff are into all sorts of things! How have you found your first couple of days here and what are your passions outside of work?

AA - So far I’ve found everyone to be really friendly and knowledgeable. I’ve felt very welcomed. There’s heaps to learn from everyone, so I’ll be trying to absorb as much as I can in these first few weeks.

Outside of work I’m into all sorts of things, such as spending time with my family, gaming, sailing, wakeboarding and snowboarding.
My new commute to Zappar is a bit of a beast, so I’ve recently bought a motorcycle and have been enjoying riding it in the nice weather we’ve been having!

 

Final Thoughts

Andre will be heading up the team responsible for our creative work with some of the worlds biggest brands, with a track record of producing top tier immersive AR experiences that deliver real value. If your business is interested in unlocking the power of AR, why not reach out and see what our expert team can produce for you? Our team is powered by Zapworks Studio, our complete AR creative toolkit. If you’d like to start experimenting and creating for the new era of spatial storytelling, why not find out more and try our 30 day free trial? Our active community of AR enthusiasts are always available for feedback, inspiration and support to help you on your creative journey on our Zapworks Forum.