January 31, 2023 : Leighton McDonald is selected by Design @ Instagram to collaborate on a new AR experience showcasing Meta Spark and AI tools. This collaboration sparked a new opportunity to expose the nature of blending multiple arts and technologies together to create a unique and interactive experience. Along with building new connections across the platform, the collaboration included a month-long pin on Instagram’s @Design profile.
Here’s how @late_fx (Leighton McDonald) makes his AR effects feel realistic.
“I think of it as the future of efficiency,” Leighton says of his work in 3D design and augmented reality. AR can seem abstract and futuristic, but Leighton wants to help change that. AR, he explains, “is really just taking the best things about your computer screen and applying them in the physical world in practical ways.”
Leighton, who studied industrial design at @scaddotedu in Savannah, Georgia, first delved into AR when working on a project rendering models of underground pipes for a construction company. Now, he’s a multidisciplinary concept designer in New York, forecasting apparel trends while dreaming up other applications for AR and AI with #Midjourney’s research platform. Lately, he’s been pondering a big question: “How can we be better humans?” If new technologies allow us to perform tasks more productively, Leighton hopes we’ll have more free time to enjoy life. “I always want to focus on the utility aspect,” he says. “I can do fun AR stuff all day, but what’s super important is how it’ll help someone move more easily in the world.”