Coalesce | Digital Product Agency

A great map can make any place seem like a theme park. (Here's the one we designed for the Hudson Film Festival this upcoming weekend.)

Break out of the pack by doing something different. It's not as risky as you think. We're full of good ideas. >> Shoot your UX and web design questions over to hello@coalesce.nyc

Pulling off real “immersion” is incredibly hard. It takes teams of creatives. And the constraints are everything (we don’t have to link to the Glasgow fail of the Willy Wonka pop up, do we?). But if you choose the unexpected, know your audience really well, and execute your vision exceptionally, you can make even the smallest “immersive” project far more rewarding to fans (and you don’t have to run a full theme park for a decade to recoup your costs). That's how the McGoblin burger truck came to life. (What we're allowed to tell you in the recap below...)

Confused how to score Olympic gymnastics? Yeah, us, too. So we brought in our favorite superfan and gymnastics expert Ashley Ross to give us a quick How it Works on the women's team, scores, and changes. The US won team gold in 1996, 2012, and 2016. Silver in 1984, 2004, 2008, 2020. Bronze in 1992, 2000. We've got a great chance to clench gold again in 2024. The "perfect 10" ended in 2006 to introduce new scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (although college teams still score this way). No gymnast has earned a 10.0 on execution since the rule change. Most scores range 12-15. Top eight teams (out of 12 countries) qualify for team finals. And the top 24 individuals (out of 36) qualify for All Around (two per country). The top eight individuals on each event qualify for event finals (also two per country). This is "four up, three count" which means you take the top three scores out of four. With finals, it's "three up, three count" so, well, everything counts. In the individual apparatus finals, there are two vaults. Why? Um, them's the rules. Why does it feel so much more fun now? Well, it's kind of a new era for the sport. The Larry Nassar scandal and outing of the Karolyis reshaped USA Gymnastics. There were investigations, firings, and drama. The gymnasts are now freer to let loose, to have more fun, and to be a team. (Makes it more exciting to watch as a spectator, too.) Go team USA! Our next How it Works is coming up at the end of August. >> hello@coalesce.nyc to get an invite.

Ever wonder WTF is Good Design Machine Learning? Join us and Konrad Piercey today at 4:30 EDT as he talks about how he's creating a new design thinking methodology after working with 11 different consumer tech products across 3 continents. We'll talk about what "intent" really means, how AI manipulates your favorite digital products, and how to design for trust. RSVP below.

Happy to support another year of Hudson Film Festival. Tickets on sale now for an amazing line-up of features, docs, shorts (plus shop favorite Fantastic Mr. Fox) for August 9-11 in Hudson, NY. Pop over to hudsonfilmfestival.org to see our handiwork and get yourself an All-Access pass.

A few weeks ago we hosted Seth Porges for a most-excellent (and illegal?) talk in our How it Works series. His topic? Robbing Banks in the 90s. We learned the tactics employed by Scott Scurlock (aka the Hollywood bandit) featured in Seth's new Netflix documentary, "How to Rob a Bank." We can't share all those juicy secrets here, but once the conversation turned to the making of the film, Seth had some key suggestions for aspiring filmmakers. Mainly: Choose a story that already has an end (historical vs. unfolding now), and make sure it's one you won't get tired of telling over and over for the three years it takes you to get it made. Our next How it Works is on the calendar for July. Get on the invite list: hello@coalesce.nyc.

Join us and Netflix documentary filmmaker Seth Porges (Class Action Park) this Wednesday at 4:30 EST for our next How It Works series! Seth will be discussing his new true-crime documentary “How to Rob a Bank”. This documentary follows a charismatic rebel in 1990s Seattle as he pulls off an unprecedented string of bank robberies straight out of the movies (think Point Break, Heat, and a giant treehouse). RSVP below. PS: you can read more about how Seth stress-tests story ideas to see if they are worth making into a long-form piece, and how his neuroscientist parents work has influenced his creative pursuits over at The Creative Factor.

How It Works is always fun...always. You probably have something on your calendar for today at 4:30 ET but I doubt it will be as fun as this: https://lu.ma/2wl70ih5 So skip your 4 or your 4:30 today and come hang out with the Coalesce team!

Brooklyn-based filmmaker and amateur birder Scott Riehs led an amazing How it Works this week about the birds of NY and helped us understand our feathered neighbors by comparing them to iconic New York characters. 😂 Like our human residents, some “get their mail here” (birds that call this city home, whether they were native or moved here later) and some are just visitors. Some of our favorites: American Robin: The Mister Softee truck (hidden until spring and summer and then you hear the song everywhere) Cardinals: Your posh, impeccably-dressed couple friends that always show up looking great everywhere (and you almost can’t stand it) Blue Jays: Your hyper competitive, over-achieving friend from college turned day trader Pigeons: New York City old money Monk Parakeets: Annoying, loud New York celebrities, that—love it or hate it—people do come here to see them Scarlet Tanager: Your out-of-town friend who just comes to New York for the fashion (they only grow their red feathers when they fly to NY in the spring) >>>>>> Our next installment is May 22 — How it Works: Cashing In On Your Grandpa's Baseball Cards. (Everyone’s welcome—let us know and we’ll add you to the list.)