Acura Mechanical Flipbooks

For the launch of the 2016 Acura ILX, Razorfish called on Figure Plant to create custom, mechanical flipbooks inspired by Acura’s iconic Jewel Eye™ headlights. Each of the flipbooks became an animation designed by a different social media artist, which, when perfectly coordinated, would create a seamless story. The animations would also serve as the centerpiece of an interactive social media contest campaign.

Figure Plant added expert metalworkers and chrome-platers to our team to ensure that each headlight was an exact match to its real-life counterpart. Our technical engineer designed the inner mechanics, while our computer engineer developed the software that would keep the flipbooks perfectly synchronized. After weeks of development, testing and painstaking hand-assembly, the flipbooks were ready for their moment in the spotlight.

The flipbooks caught the eyes of marketing magazines, customers and social followers alike. During the 5-day contest, nearly 100 entries were made, garnering tens of thousands of impressions. Upon the campaign’s completion, they were placed on permanent display in the lobby of Honda’s North American Headquarters. The flipbooks are an impeccably crafted centerpiece to a successful campaign, and a stunning conversation piece for the client’s headquarters.