Idorsia, In Somnia, an immersive installation for the launch of a new drug

For Idorsia, we envisioned and developed a structured pathway consisting of several initiatives spread over time, to inform, inspire and connect all stakeholders. This included the design and implementation of a special event for the official launch of the drug, driven by the need to create an experience that set itself apart from the competition, in which we alternated moments dedicated to information on medical-scientific issues with elements capable of helping clinicians and specialists in the field to closely understand the feelings, emotions, needs, and fears of those living with a chronic insomnia condition.

For Idorsia, we created an immersive installation within the prestigious Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal in Venice, handling all the phases, from the concept and technical design to the production of the multimedia supports and the entire installation, supported by an ecosystem of specialized partners and suppliers.

The result was an interactive exhibition consisting of six multi-sensory stations that the public could explore freely and without a pre-defined route. Inspired by contemporary visual languages, our Media Factory conceived, designed, and produced the multimedia content that helped create the environment within the installations, from recording to video editing, from track production to sound design.

We chose the imagery of Dante’s journey in the Divine Comedy to represent the dichotomy between insomnia and rest.

In fact, the great poet’s journey from Hell to Paradise is full of metaphors, feelings, dreams, and desires that set the stage to figuratively represent the moods and physical states of insomnia.

Indeed, sleeplessness is likened to hellish imagery in which lights, sounds, shadows, and thoughts swarm without any logic. On the other hand, a newfound rest is portrayed as a time of restored bliss in which all things seem to make sense again.

Therefore we set up a group of immersive stations in the ancient Venetian historic palace, creating an ideal path between wakefulness and restfulness, using nonverbal language inspired by the world of dreams.

Diving into Dante’s work, we picked the verses that would best evoke the feelings and imagery of insomnia and the well-being of sleep, and based on them, we produced some texts that were attached to each station, explaining the connection between the passage of Dante’s work and the specific sensations that the installation evoked.

Aiming to create a discernible contrast between the interiors of the installations, rich in sensory input, and their external appearance, simple and minimal, we chose to create installations reminiscent of cocoons, capable of enveloping the viewer and conveying a sense of intimacy.

In fact, this shape allowed us to encapsulate sounds, images, and sensations, creating a place “beyond the threshold” protected from the gaze of others to offer an individual and intimate experience of reflection.

We jointly designed the structures with one of our partners, with a modular approach, so that they could be reused in different contexts and venues. The installations, in fact, were later re-installed in Rome, in the rooms of Galleria del Cembalo in the Palazzo Borghese, on the occasion of a press conference held by Idorsia.