The departure of Marty Sklar as head of Disney Imagineering, a Mecca of applied experience design, signals the end of an era, writes LA Times staff writer Richard Verrier. In “Disney Legend Steps Down,” Verrier notes that Sklar's exit was precipitated by Disney's acquisition of Pixar and the appointment of Pixar creative chief John Lasseter as chief creative officer of both studios and more importantly, head designer of Disney's theme parks.
Sklar, widely regarded as one of Disney's old guard, “was the Jiminy Cricket for the organization,” according to former Disney executive James Cora. Sklar's credited with “Mickey's 10 Commandments” for creating great themed attractions like the new Mission Space.
Sklar was a jack of all Disney trades: he managed Disney's forays into ship cruises, interactive TV, idealized residential communities, and the redesign of New York's Times Square. He even defended former Disney CEO Michael Eisner when Eisner was under attack by everyone. Sklar's now charged with recruiting new talent and maintaining Disney's institutional memory.
“Disney CEO Bob Iger got it right,” said one of my friends at Pixar. “He sees where things are headed.” A cryptic comment, indeed.
It'll be interesting to see how Lasseter and his Pixar team, with a sterling performance in the 2D world of animation, will translate their vision into the 3D world of theme parks where audiences aren't constrained by theater seats or couches, their eyes locked on a flat screen.
I hope to offer an interview with Lasseter, to see where he's going with this in the future. What do you think?
BOB JACOBSON is fascinated by the experience of experience. A planner and technologist, Bob has a Ph.D. in Urban Planning & Design from UCLA. He's been a policy researcher, technology CEO, science writer, and consultant. As a Fulbright Scholar, he studied cellular telephony's impacts on transborder communities in the Nordic Arctic Circle. Bob edited Information Design (MIT Press 2000) and is now writing a book on the theory and practice of creating edifying, transformative experiences.
PAULA THORNTON says, "Understanding human behavior (economics), optimizing interactions (design) and facilitating conversations (markets), are the means to achieve strategic differentiation. This is the focus of our discipline. It is not a 'nice to have'‚ and is not, like documentation once was, an afterthought. It is the means by which to start a strategic discussion and the means by which to drive a tactical initiative. All design should be evidence-based."
