Running On Magic: How To Build Responsive Interactive Experiences Without Heavy Engineering (Early)
A practical Campfire on using responsive technology to create interactive experiences that are faster to build, easier to update and more useful after launch.
Technology should support the experience you want to create – not force you to redesign the experience around its limitations.
Yet integrating responsive technology can interrupt the creative process, introduce technical complexity, slow down production and increase costs. It can also leave creative teams dependent on specialist engineers whenever they want to change or improve an interaction.
In this WXO Campfire, IF Magic co-founders Lance Chantiles and Isaac Shelanski will share a practical framework for integrating responsive technology without heavy engineering.
The session will explore how experience teams can use technology to:
- Prototype and deploy interactive ideas more quickly
- Keep technology aligned with the creative concept
- Build responsive interactions without extensive technical expertise
- Collect data on how audiences are using an experience
- Make informed creative and operational decisions
- Update and refine an experience after it has launched
- Reduce the time and complexity involved in making changes
Lance and Isaac will share the technical detail while keeping it accessible to people from all technical backgrounds. They will demonstrate real examples and examine what happens when responsive technology is treated as a flexible creative tool rather than a fixed piece of infrastructure.
Experiences already “running on magic” include a life-sized video game at the Museum of Ice Cream, award-winning architectural installations in New York City, classes and design studios at Stanford University, activations at SXSW and the Sundance Film Festival, sculptures at the Whitney ISP and performances at The Getty in Los Angeles.
Lance and Isaac first joined the WXO at London Experience Week 2025, where they activated the event’s welcome tunnel and demonstrated their technology to attendees. They returned in 2026 to lead a hands-on workshop on making interactive technology more accessible to experience creators.
You’ll leave with a clearer way to plan technology-supported experiences that can be built faster, measured more effectively and continually improved.
Who is it for?
- Experience designers and creative directors
- Producers and production teams
- Interactive and spatial designers
- Innovation and technology leads
- Museum, attraction and cultural experience teams
- Brand experience and experiential marketing agencies
- Artists and creative practitioners working with physical spaces
- Anyone who wants to create responsive experiences without becoming a specialist engineer
About Lance Chantiles
Lance Chantiles is co-founder and CEO of Indistinguishable From Magic, a venture-backed physical computing platform that enables artists, designers, engineers and educators to create interactive experiences quickly and efficiently.
About Isaac Shelanski
Isaac Shelanski is co-founder of Indistinguishable From Magic.
He works with artists, designers, engineers and educators to make physical computing and responsive technology more accessible, helping creative teams develop interactive experiences without the cost and complexity traditionally associated with custom engineering.
How to watch this Campfire:
- Campfires are available for WXO members only
- To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
- The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
- As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings
Timings:
Campfire #1 is suitable for those in the APAC region or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:
- London: 9:55 – 11:00 (BST)
- Paris: 10:55 – 12:00 (CEST)
- Dubai: 12:55 – 14:00 (GST)
- Mumbai: 14:25 – 15:00 (IST)
- Shanghai / Singapore: 16:55 – 18:00 (CST/SGT)
- Tokyo: 17:55 – 19:00 (JST)
- Sydney: 18:55 – 20:00 (AEST)
- Auckland: 20:55 – 22:00 (NZST)