Stephen Martell has been working on the edge of technology and human experience for 20 years, entirely by accident. When he joined an ad agency in his early career, the cool TV commercial work was taken by the seasoned vets; all that was left were the barren lands of WAP Browsers, Flash, and Facebook Apps. Digital extended to mobile shortly after, which is when Stephen transitioned to helping build one of the largest private augmented reality companies in North America over the next 9 years. At the same time, seeing people experience his work resonated more than the anonymous reality that is so common in the digital space. With a passion for live experience, Stephen shifted to live events just in time for the world to shut down (brilliant timing, really…). And now, he gratefully leads Innovation at DE-YAN, a team of Unreal Engine and Creative Technologists designing interactions in luxury, fashion, and gaming.
You’re catching Stephen in the middle of another shift, he’s a new dad, and almost made every slide of his presentation feature a photo of his son. Almost.
