During the height of COVID, Enchant Labs sought meaningful ways to give back to the community. They created a heartwarming digital experience that allowed parents to reconnect with the magic of Christmas through a real-time video call with a virtual Santa. This Unity-powered app used facial tracking technology—letting users become Santa themselves and make personalized calls to loved ones, all from a distance. A creative solution that brought joy and connection when it was needed most.
I focused on the Art Direction, moving towards a modern reinterpretation, a distinguished gentleman. A rugged inspiring explorer, vs a fat jolly character. For production, we partnered with Hossein Diba, known for his lifelike ZBrush characters, and a team who handled the Unity build. We ultimately made the character more recognizable and family-friendly for the app through user feedback with the simplified form.
It was exciting to be part of the development process and thousands of happy customers that were able to download and successfully use this app with their children over a difficult time. We also created a signature look for the Enchant Santas that attended the shows, bringing the experience round to be more integrated into the immersive brand. This was one of those products that was released ahead of the AI curve and would be much easier to implement now given advancement of digital characters.
Zeeshan: Project Manager
Turtle: UI App interface
Video: Rachel Larson
Graphic Design: Lisa Cheung
Character Model: Hossain Diba
Unity Developer: Partner
