zane giordano, Brand Immersion Strategist

About

I understand how to connect to target audience and bring them into the story of a brand

Experience

The Texas Immersive Institute

Mar 2021 – May 2023

Austin, Texas

Immersive Lab Manager

-Managed and maintained a diverse inventory of cutting-edge XR technologies, ensuring they were always available for community members to build immersive experiences. -Designed and built AR & VR experiences that highlighted the technology available in the lab such as Snapchat Spectacles, Microsoft HoloLens, Meta Quest 2, and Niantic 8thWall WebAR. -Organized and supported scientific faculty research that examines the physiological and emotional impacts of R and Haptic technologies. -Championed immersive technology by presenting to corporate sponsors, international delegations, and industry conferences about the impact and importance of spatial computing.

Social Impact BuildFest

Jan 2022 – Mar 2023

Austin, TX, USA

Founder + Lead Producer

Founded and produced two annual events which brought together 100+ non-technical individuals and empowered them to use immersive technology to create positive social impact. Curated and recruited a diverse group of social issue mentors, ensuring that projects were impactful and socially responsible. Coordinated with sponsors, Snapchat and Niantic, to ensure access to their cutting-edge XR platforms while securing a wide variety of corporate and university sponsorships equaling $10,000. Documented and organized event assets, allowing for the BuildFest to become a part of the University's annual programming.

ARR.duino - AR Circuit Design Tool

Mar 2020 – Mar 2022

Boston, MA

Lead Designer

-Won the "Grand Prize" and "Best use of MRTK" awards while competing against 65 teams at MIT Reality Hack. -Designed and prototyped a circuit design tool, built for the Microsoft HoloLens 2, that uses augmented reality to teach the basics of the Arduino Platform as well as electrical circuits more generally. -Collaborated with a team of developers to create the experience while adhering to strict technical and timeline limitations. -Created an engaging story world designed for our target audience ensuring the experience would be both educational and fun.

The Foundry Makerspace

Sep 2021 – Feb 2022

Austin, TX, USA

Makerspace Technician

-Taught workshops on how to safely and effectively use a variety of fabrication tools including 3D printers, laser cutters, sewing machines, CNC mills, and a recording studio. -Provided design input and technical support to students working on projects in the makerspace. -Repaired broken machines and performed regular maintenance on all tools. -Built personal projects that highlighted the Makerspace’s fabrication capabilities to students and faculty.

TEDxUTAustin / TEDxYouth@Austin

Jan 2014 – Feb 2021

Austin, TX, USA

Creative Director

-Designed and produced 8 annual TED conferences, allowing the Austin community to engage with "Ideas Worth Spreading" -Curated a cohesive creative vision, unique for each event, that unified the efforts of the entire production team -Collaborated with executive team members while leading a team of graphic designers, scenic designers, experience designers and photographers/ videographers to produce all creative assets needed for production -Ensured that all content for the event was aligned with the defined culture and brand guidelines of the greater TED organization

Hookbang

May 2019 – Aug 2019

Austin, TX, USA

Augmented Reality QA Tester

-Used Jira to systematically find and document bugs in the "Friends 25" AR Application. -Documented creative strategy during calls with Warner Brothers and Apple. -Participated in daily stand-up meetings with the entire development team. -Assisted developers as they integrated new ARKit features.

Double A Labs

May 2019 – Aug 2019

Austin, TX, USA

Augmented Reality Developer

-Collaborated with a team of developers to design and build a mobile Augmented Reality application to visualize the effects of various eye diseases. -Assisted event producers as they coordinated with clients to create immersive brand activations. -Researched industry competitors to help orient company-wide strategy and future projects. -Worked on-site during live events produced for clients.

Education

University of Texas at Austin - Texas Immersive Institute

Aug 2020 – May 2023

Immersive Experience Design , Experience Design

University of Texas at Austin

Aug 2018 – May 2023

B.S. Arts and Entertainment Technology, Design

zane giordano

Brand Immersion Strategist

Skills

Languages