History
As one of the first 'new media design' companies in NZ, Phosphor Essence was named to emphasise our commitment to 'new media', or media which is primarily interactive and viewed on screen.
In 1994 in New Zealand this meant interactive kiosks, CD-ROM's, and the beginnings of the Internet, digital video and the hope of 'interactive TV'.
We were excited about the communication possibilities presented by new technologies, and we were lucky to have the input of team members who shared the excitement.
Phosphor Essence was founded by Cam Stewart and Cath Sample to develop a tourism information kiosk, 'See New Zealand'. Their combined skills and qualifications in art, design, programming, computer hardware and software led to a multi-disciplinary model which continues today:
We embrace both outstanding design and innovative use of technology - and encourage creativity in both areas.
In mid 1994 the directors of Image Centre became partners in Phosphor Essence Limited. Image Design was also formed in the process. The two companies worked together on several projects, including a multimedia CD-Rom for Anne Geddes, presentations for Fletchers, an advertising-based retail kiosk, a digital video CD-ROM for Levis.
At Phosphor our interest was moving toward digital video and the Internet. Diverging goals led to the end of the partnership in 1996 and a new partnership with Colin Follas and Ken Booth of Tiger Films and VTR (Video Television Resources).
Our vision was to combine video and multimedia with the Internet.
The next two years flew past. We set up a web hosting platform which went offline every time a large truck drove by. Digital video, shockwave, HTML, NT, and ISDN were our obsessions. Our website was one of 54 listed on the New Zealand directories. We won an award for our first Shockwave. Associates wondered whether the Internet would be a passing fad.
An early attempt at updating kiosks via mobile phones, although subject to problems during bad weather, convinced us of the viability of networked kiosks.
In 1998 Cam and Cath bought Phosphor Essence and moved the company to premises in the Central Business District, where Centrex would halve the company's enormous ISDN bill. Over the next four years we continued to develop on all fronts, adding more designers and programmers to the team. Some highlights during that time were:
- Healthywomen: a portable kiosk and website for the Ministry of Health, focused on bringing information about Breast and Cervical screening to women in all areas of New Zealand.
- Calciyum.co.nz: an exciting project which involved encouraging children to interact with the site. One campaign allowed kids to submit their own videos and animations promoting Calciyum. Flash games promoting healthy bones and the development of new flavours were popular for several years.
- Americas Cup – the official website. We developed and hosted the Americas Cup website up until the time the races started, when the site was transferred to hook in with Virtual Spectator.
- The Moore Wilson Loyalty Kiosk – one of the first retail loyalty kiosks in New Zealand, and still going.
By the end of 2002 our premises in Auckland CBD had become too small and we moved to the current location at 27 Dacre St (Newton) in early 2003. The team is now 12 people and growing.
The vision of combined technologies is now a reality, different from what we had imagined and still full of future promise.
Web applications linked with networked kiosks and digital signage combined with in-house business solutions create a complete communication solution.
