Marty Sklar's Trilogy.

When one thinks of Disney Imagineering, one name rises to the top, He is the only one veteran to have been a part of the opening of every Disney park in the world, and worked with Walt himself. Marty Sklar. Sadly, he passed away recently, and after releasing two great reads on the process and “Mickey’s Ten Commandments” of Imagineering, his daughter completed with the help of many others completed “Travels with Figment” his last work. We all contributed our best thoughts to that book and recommend it for your library. Marty would have been proud of it as well.

For Sale on Amazon.

More stories from Marty and lots of great insights from all of his “kids”

"The Imagineering Story" on Disney+

“I’m extremely honored to have been interviewed along with many current and first generation Imagineers for the epic documentary series by Oscar nominated director Leslie Iwerks, “The Imagineering Story.” The series is streaming now on the new Disney+ service that has received rave reviews and 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s a first rate production that takes the viewer into of the unique profession of being a Disney Imagineer through the use of interviews, original plans, archival art, rare and unseen footage depicting the making of the legendary parks. Thanks to Disney, Leslie Iwerks and her team for making this happen.”

- Eddie Sotto

TEDX Bermuda and "The How of Wow"

TEDX covers wide range of topics.

All of the speakers were met with great enthusiasm by the over 600 attendees of the TEDX Conference in Southampton Fairmont theater. Sotto spoke on the topic “The How of Wow”- the experiential design process. His colleagues covered the future of marriage, the impact of electronics on child behavior, the intelligence of cells, robotics, painting on planes, quantum computing, and storytelling and more. Amazing and provocative content. Special thanks to all those who came especially to hear Eddie speak, and to Niklas Traub for bringing Eddie to TED. The speakers bios here.

https://www.tedxbermuda.com/2018bios/

With fellow TED speakers Dr. Pradipta Ghosh, Eddie Sotto, and Yomi Ayeni

On Stage. “Experiences are sensory systems we can tune”

Sotto chats with Bermuda’s Governor Rankin at Bacardi HQ TEDX mixer.

Can’t wait to return to Horseshoe Bay.

Sotto shares experiential design insights at TEDX Bermuda.

Eddie heads east to the Island of Bermuda to speak and enjoy the expansive subjects of TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) Conference and it’s initiative of “ideas worth spreading.”

Eddie’s 18 minute talk should be available to view online a few weeks after the event.

The Eddie Sotto Interview. Parts 1 and 2. Lafitte's Island & Disneyland Paris

Noted Disney Historian Jim Korkis interviews Eddie about the unbuilt "Lafitte's Island" for Disneyland, Disney Legend Herb Ryman, Inspiration surrounding Disneyland Paris, his thoughts on Walt himself, and more. PART ONE HERE

Click on the image to READ PART ONE- Lafitte...CLICK HERE FOR PART TWO- Herb Ryman.

Want more? Check out Eddie's Disneyland Paris Podcast interview.

CLICK HERE to hear more about the creation and design of Disneyland Paris' Main Street USA. 

Luxury Life International Interview

Thrilled to be included in the Los Angeles launch of this prestigious luxury magazine.

Click image to read article in preview edition.

The Art of Special. Emotional Immersion

More is not enough.

There is one thing you learn early on in concept design. "If everything is special, nothing is special."

Great artists know when to stop, when to stand back and look objectively, and then perhaps erase one object to reach perfection. Great comedians never tell a joke within a joke. I always thought those mile-long salad bars that attract diet conscious office workers produce plates resembling a Mount Everest of toppings, as greed governs need in an "all you can eat" mindset becoming extremely caloric. We live in a "more is not enough" world, and somehow the "more" is lacking.

Luxury websites are awash with One-of-a-kind watches, supercars, jets, island hideaways, and all manner of excess in a endless strand of imagery. Have you ever seen so much "special?" Instead of being envious, I find my eyes glazed after an hour of scrolling. Like the "I Love Lucy" non-stop conveyer belt of eye candy, I'm a bit overwhelmed.

Beyond luxury, are we simply drowning in "more"? Even fast food has become a cafeteria line of endless decisions. Today we build our own own Pizzas and Burritos through a myriad of questions and choices. We are supposed to love having 20 kinds of Coke and choosing the Cupholder trim for our Barcolounger. But do we? In movies, retail, and even dining, it all just gets louder, but is it better? Comedy is the first to go, we just intellectualize humor instead of actually laughing, wryly acknowledging.. "that is SO hilarious."

So how do you reach an audience when more is not enough? You reach them emotionally. Puppies do this well. We reach for the sense that is hardest to predict, "The Mind's Eye." We reach for the dream, the aspiration and then work that into the project, brand or design.

Skyacht One, a private jet interior based on classic yacht design captures the imagination.

"What if a yacht could fly?" was where we began, then we created a plane that could do that.

Create a compelling experience first.

All of this matters because we create compelling experiences. This becomes an issue as the bar soars ever higher, the public becoming jaded to the spectacular as a normal part of daily life. Clients want the "wow!" and we may not have the budget for 3000 dancing drones overhead. A close friend related to me after seeing one of these projected, droned, exploding and overproduced spectacles, that it was beautiful and yet unsatisfying. Magic is now expected, not amazing. A powerful breath mint that loses it's flavor and is forgotten. To actually feel anything deeply, experience wants to be so close, so intellectually intimate, that the guest feels something that they did not expect, versus just seeing something transform or glow. Emotional immersion is the next frontier. Digging deeper for what is "authentic" is what millennials have discovered, being discerning enough to weed out the craft cocktails from the bar mix. So in creating a them park, brand showcase, or even a museum exhibition, there are authentic emotions to mine as well. That's what we focus on and it's tougher because it has to come from a real place. ClubAston at Galpin Motors is such an example. Enter the showroom through a secret, red leather "airlock" and design your Aston-Martin at the Bar. When you take delivery, you open Galpin's "vault door" to unveil your new DB11. The authentic legacy of Aston-Martin, in a cinematically immersive environment that supports it. Start with "wow!" and work backwards into the design.

Giving a billionaire an experience they can't buy. Feeling like James Bond without ever saying it. 

The Experiential Agency approach.

As an "experiential design agency" we develop both marketing, media and the project in one process. This is why they are more emotionally driven as we see the marketing, not as something to advertise the design, but as a means of extending it. If you are looking to find the emotional side of your brand, product, or place, examine our work at Sottostudios.com

Images ©Galpin Motors, SottoStudios.