The North Face In-Store Explorer Kiosk definitely packs the wow! Check out these pictures and video from the pilot and final launch! The mission was to create a visually compelling and engaging user experience, incorporating the large set of features present in Microsoft's latest UI platform: Windows Presentation Foundation. Aside from the visual aspect of this project, we managed to complete it with some exciting Windows Communication Foundation, P2P, XPS, and C++ interop under the hood. Take a look at the video below from the store, right down the street from me, in Palo Alto, California.
This was a massive undertaking and we had to bring together many different teams in various locations to execute on a single vision. Firstly, Microsoft has released a core set of tools and SDKs, integrating all forms of media to the broader developer communty. In addition, with the release of Vista, WPF coupled with Microsoft’s commitment to providing the tools and SDKs the developers need freely, we had the power in our hands to make the various aspects of the solution become a reality.
Collaborating on this project was a team of interaction designers, engineers, program managers, developers, solutions architects, and other talented fellows. Brian Cherne, from Fluid, was key in the interaction design phase and delivered a very workable UI to the team. The designs were so easy to work with because they were created using vector-based design tools, which are directly converted to XAML. Much of the kiosks user friendly interface was created without having to sacrifice the "wow" factor that's inherent with WPF. The engineers at both Fluid and Microsoft include Karsten Januszewski and David Teitelbaum, who have been outstanding partners in this effort. I am grateful to have worked with a team that has such a keen ability to execute. I had a solutions architect and hands on development role working on the UI integration, navigation in the UI, 3D, animation, data, communications, XPS document imaging, and the client P2P content-distribution software.
“The Windows Presentation Foundation provides an elegant framework and it is amazing how much we were able to pull off” says Darren David, the lead developer of the In-Store Explorer and creator of TNF In-Store Explorer Proof of Concept, which rocked the audiences at PDC 2005 and Mix 06, and I'd like to add that we accomplished everything we were set out to do, producing amazing results, without hitting our heads against the wall.
The first pilot launch was a small deployment at The North Face Flagship stores in San Francisco and Palo Alto in California, and Seattle, WA. The intially small deployment presented an opportunity for gathering usage data. After figuring out what the users experienced with the live kiosks, we were able to move forward with a larger deployment. Kiosks launched around America in December 2006, so keep an eye out for a kiosk at The North Face store near you!
If you come from a Flash, Director, 3D, animation, or creative background then you should get your hands on some XAML and start building that dream UI. If you come from a software engineering background then you're going to love WPF.
