JOSH HIGGINS

I moved to Chicago to build the creative teams 0 to 1 for President Obama’s 2012 campaign. The responsibility of our teams was to concept, develop, manage and deliver strategic creative and systems thinking across all touchpoints both online and offline. This is a small sample of the team’s work.

I was honored to be the Design Director for President Obama. To align what you love to do with something and someone you believe in is a true gift.

Fans hadn’t been able to intimately connect with Billie, her music, or each other because of the global pandemic. With this work we wanted to welcome fans to another side of Billie’s world in a new kind of music venue on Beat Saber. Giving Billie fans a place to express their love for her music through physical movement (together).

For the out of home, we created neon billboards that during the day looked like a Billie Eilish album promotion but after dark came alive to express the Beat Saber collaboration.

Facebook made the decision to establish a new company brand that captures the future we are building towards. We wanted to signal a shift from what our company is known for today - social media - to what we want to be known for in the future - the metaverse. Meta signals our vision for the future, embraces the full range of technologies we build and is an opportunity to renew our relationship with the world. This new identity brings together the apps and technologies under one new company brand. Meta’s focus will be to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses.

The development of this identity was a massive cross-functional effort by the Reality Labs Brand Design team, Creative X Brand Design, Consumer Marketing, Legal and so many more.

The more we see of life, the more we fully engage with it. Ray Ban Stories is a way for people to feel more present. They unlock the ability to effortlessly live and capture life’s authentic moments and share those stories with everyone.

The campaign is a celebration of ‘flow’ and what happens when people look up to fully engage in life. This work showcases how Ray-Ban Stories give people back their natural flow and enables them to fully participate in the world around them. All while looking and feeling present and confident.

Our team partnered with Ray Ban on everything from the broadcast film, packaging, out of home and retail experience. The campaign was developed by Reality Labs in collaboration with W+K Amsterdam.

What happens when teams all around the world are connected, in sync, and moving as one? You get one team that together can accomplish what would otherwise be Impossible Alone.

As part of Atlassian’s campaign for the new Jira, we teamed up with the one and only Zach Woods. Working with Zach lets us connect with a whole new audience. His classic Silicon Valley humor shows everyone that Jira isn’t just for tech wizards—it’s a flexible, modern tool that fits right into today’s work culture while still staying true to its roots.

Rovo helps teams act on organizational knowledge with human-Ai collaboration.

To introduce Rovo, we created this human-centric film about ways collaboration with a Rovo agent might benefit a team.

For too long virtual reality has been viewed as too glitchy, too techy, too expensive or too complicated. No more. Whether you’ve been waiting for vr or just waiting for something new and interesting, Quest is ready with an infinite world of people and experiences for you to explore.

With this campaign we wanted to invite new audiences to a world of fun ready for them with Quest 2. This campaign was developed by Reality Labs in collaboration with Anomaly LA.

For Meta’s next generation virtual reality headset, Quest 2, the Reality Labs Brand Design team partnered with Moniker to create a new visual system including a custom wordmark, logo system, typography, color palette, photography, product visualization, layout system and more. Our design approach centered around a dramatic switch from the black visual language of the original Quest to white. Much more than a simple change in color, the shift from black to white represented a complete change in mindset. We were moving VR from an unknown futuristic world to a bright, accessible way for people to enhance their everyday life. Our color system complimented this shift in perspective, allowing Quest to grow and signal new products while retaining the core identity. The type system was developed to allow the full range of expression to communicate with the full spectrum of people and lifestyles.

The first-ever brick-and-mortar store design for Meta was led by the Reality Labs Brand Design team. The store sells Quest 2, Ray-Ban Stories, and various Portal models. The real magic is when visitors are able to experience them in person. A giant digital wall that displays the virtual gameplay of a guest wearing a Quest 2 headset alongside actual footage from a nearby camera, creating a real-time mixed-reality experience. The demo leverages state-of-the-art segmentation, high-spec broadcasting tools, and a range of custom-built systems that help deliver a seamless experience.

Quest 2 changed the game for wireless VR… again.

This work kicked off our integrated campaign for the new Quest 2: Play for Real. The fully untethered, all in one VR headset finally delivered on the promise VR enthusiasts have been waiting for so long. With more freedom to move, Quest 2 takes VR to the next level by delivering fresh experiences for enthusiasts and new opportunities for developers, all while introducing VR to newcomers across the globe. The Play For Real campaign was developed by Reality Labs in collaboration with TBWA/Chiat Day NY

Fitness culture has us believe working out has to be a grueling grind. As a result, fitness is as hard to start as it is to finish.

With this work we wanted to express Quest 2 is the most fun you can have working out. To do this we chose to launch a full page ad in the New York Times on National Fitness Day to show up in a provocative way and introduce folks to Oculus Fitness. Following, our media team crushed it with strategically placed out of home ads near gyms, health food stores and running paths.

For Super Bowl LVI, beyond airing a single commercial, we utilized the moment to launch an integrated push across all our channels to reinforce the metaverse vision.

Our spot "Old Friends. New Fun.'; aimed to reinforce Quest 2 is social. This spot was unveiled one week before the Super Bowl on Good Morning America to amplify the campaign message.

"Questy's" (the virtual restaurant in the ad) was made in Horizon Worlds by the Reality Labs Horizon team, making it the first ad you can technically step inside of and hang out in.

Following the conclusion of the Super Bowl, we hosted a virtual after party in Horizon Venues with the Foo Fighters. A easter egg promoting the concert was placed the end of the ad.

Quest changed the game of virtual reality. Our team was fortunate enough to be able to not only develop the name of the Quest product line but additionally create the branding, packaging, retail experience and integrated campaign for it’s introduction to the world.

We’ve reached a bit of a tipping point. One where the unreal moments of gaming bend your mind into believing that, if even for a second, you’re a god among mortals. For Reality, it’s a difficult pill to swallow. Because Reality can’t fathom using The Force. Or throwing 3,000 pound robots to the curb. Or playing tennis with a baseball bat, let alone a floppy fish. Reality believes only what it sees with its own eyes. And even when convinced beyond a reasonable doubt, Reality still looks for excuses. It’s time to leave the comfort of the lumpy couch behind. Reach out your hands and see more than button bashers. Look past the trappings of your living room and visualize a world without walls. Pick on someone, or something, far from your own size. Ignore the cities and states that separate your crew, joining in arms. And when that pesky voice of reason dares creep back in, challenge it to another game. Defy Reality.

Reality says 700 people can’t experience the feeling of virtual reality together. So we took over the Los Angeles Theatre to show an unsuspecting audience just how incredible it is to defy reality. Just prior to a screening of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, we introduced a 40-foot holoscreen, projection mapping, laser arrays, practical effects, and spatial audio to provide an immersive look into a few standout VR titles on Quest, including Vader Immortal, Echo VR, Moss, and Beat Saber.

After the movie we had one more surprise. While the audience watched the movie we had 8 Quest demo stations set up in the lobby for them to try upon their exit of the theater.

Consumer virtual reality headsets had mostly come in two flavors: tethered headsets that connect to a computer or console, and mobile ones that are powered by a smartphone. Oculus Go marked a new era for VR, one in which anyone could simply slip on a headset and dive in and experience entertainment with no PC, wires or hassles. It offered a virtual place where you can invite friends to hang out and play games, watch videos, concerts, Major League Baseball, NBA Basketball, standup comedy, and other live shows. It also had the capability for Hulu, Netflix, and other streaming services.

To help the world understand how Oculus Go and virtual reality could fit into their lives. We set out to normalize VR by showing the wide range of entertainment available. We did this by showing long-time friends Jonah Hill and Adam Levine co-watching an NBA game to Awkwafina catching an episode of the Handmaid’s Tale in VR. Each asset helped to make VR accessible and humanize the technology.

I was fortunate enough to meet Regina Dugan shortly after Zuck hired her the lead Building 8 (now Reality Labs). After she and the team had the idea for Portal, she asked if we could help her make a vision film for Zuck to pitch the product idea. Three of us from the creative and marketing team put together the script and in one week had a film. Following the sharing with Zuck, Portal was born as was Reality Labs.

Portal is Meta’s first hardware product and the first to come from Reality Labs. Portal is a smart video calling device powered by an AI camera that follows the action meant to bring people closer together by making it feel like you are all in the same room.

This is a small collection of work the team developed and delivered across all consumer touch points since Portal’s launch in 2018.

Because Portal is about staying close to the ones you love, this packaging was developed to celebrate the messiness of real life and authenticity of people and relationships that happen on Portal. Hand-drawn illustrations place the devices in home environments and brings an authentic and tactile tone.

The design system was architected to scale with the family of products through connected elements.

Connect is an annual one-day virtual event that explores the future of augmented and virtual reality. Connect brings together AR/VR developers, content creators, marketers, and more to celebrate the industry’s momentum and growth.

This was our seventh year hosting (and my forth leading the program and creative). Over the years, Connect has grown to include so much more than Oculus and 2021 was no different. This year, the keynote was produced to deliver not only the new technologies but also the announcement of the new Meta brand.

This was an enormous task and responsibility shared by many cross functional teams with our team leading the event program, keynote film and visual language. The ask by Zuck was to have the keynote be “like nothing we have ever done”. To do this, we partnered with Robert Stromberg, a director and designer who sits at the pinnacle of Hollywood visual effects work, with Academy Awards for Best Art Direction on ‘Avatar’ and Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’.

The new site creates a next-generation eCommerce experience that introduces the world to the Meta portfolio of products in a way that is fresh, innovative, while still prioritizing the user experience.

The Reality Labs Brand Design team designed the site to unify our brands into one cohesive shopping experience under the ‘Meta Store’, while still giving space to share unique stories and individual brand expressions for Quest, Portal and Ray Ban Stories. Creating a consistent experience and direction under a common structure.

The Factory team was a new function and team for Facebook. This crews focus was brand and consumer marketing for Facebook Inc. Here, Josh led a variety of efforts from company and product identities, Facebook company brand guidelines, the personalized video program, brand campaigns, websites, print collateral, Product Marketing creative for all verticals of Facebook and online / offline creative for Facebook's annual F8 conferences. This is a small sample of that work.

Grant and I started speaking about this project in 2003. Decades later it is now realized and in its second pressing.

The dynamic images from the analog era found in PUSH demonstrate why Grant Brittain has become one of the most widely-recognized skateboard photographers on the planet. Brittain has been at the epicenter of California skateboarding since landing a job at Del Mar Skate Ranch in 1978. Brittain started shooting Kodachrome at Del Mar in 1979, and within a few years he was submitting photographs to TransWorld Skateboarding magazine, going on to become Photo Editor there shortly thereafter. In 1987, “The Push,” a photo of Tod Swank made the cover of TransWorld, becoming one of the most recognizable photos in all of skateboarding. J Grant Brittain has mentored dozens of budding photographers while achieving the status of icon to skateboarders around the world. It’s high time the world gets a chance to see this collection of his work from the 1980s that has inspired so many. PUSH includes a foreword by Tony Hawk, an introduction by Miki Vuckovich and a fold-out timeline by Garry Scott Davis.

Phonography was a journey through the highly personal interests of designers, photographers, musicians, skateboarders and creative people alike. The idea for the exhibit came from a question I had after returning from India. Though I had taken a XLR camera, most of my photos were taken on my phone. What are the moments others capture on their phone camera? After seeing the amazing photos friends were taking, I thought sharing them in a show was in order. This diverse group of creatives included Jessica Hische (lettering artist), Armin Vit (Designer), Lance Mountain (Professional Skateboarder), Don Clark (Designer), Ed Templeton (Professional Skateboarder / Artist), Gary Hustwit (Film Maker), Grant Brittain (Photographer), Mark Hoppus (Musician / Blink 182), Otis B. (Photographer), Paul Frank (Artist) and many more. Several hundred photos made up the show sold with proceeds donated to Doctors Without Borders.

The Hurricane Poster Project was an international collaboration of artists and designers to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Posters were designed, produced and then sold online, with profits donated to The American Red Cross. This was my contribution.

I started The So-Cal Poster Project following wildfires that devastated Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties. Signed and numbered, limited edition posters were donated by designers and artists from around the globe to be sold online for victims of the wildfires. All proceeds were donated to The Salvation Army.

I started the Haiti Poster Project with friend Leif Steiner three days after the earthquake hit Haiti. Signed and numbered, limited edition posters were donated by 511 designers and artists from around the world to be sold online with all proceeds donated to Doctors Without Borders.