Universal Products & Experiences Booth at Las Vegas Licensing Expo 2025
I was honored to be a part of the team working on the booth design and development of the booth for Universal Products & Experiences (UP&E) for the Las Vegas Licensing Expo.
The team was led creatively by Ryan Rorhbaugh, VP Brand and Creative, Multimedia at UP&E — who designed the overall booth.
Photo by Javier Llerenas.
Illumination Activation Space
I was responsible for the Creative Direction for one of our spaces outside of the booth that was dedicated to Illumination Entertainment, the studio best known for its Minions franchise. This space was a collaborative effort, and I am grateful to the Illumination team for their support and partnership.
Initial Inspiration — Figural Slot Machine
Machine Concept
We wanted the booth to encourage interaction and gravitated toward the idea of gamification. Since being in Las Vegas, why not create our own Minion-themed slot machine? I was inspired by vintage slot machine designs — specifically figural slot machines.
With the help of Illumination, I designed the slot machine to be an figural design as one of the Minions. It ended up being the Minion, Dave — with one arm as the pull lever and the other arm as the slot where your prize comes out, along with the eyes displaying slot machine inspired animations.
I worked with the Illumination team to create the concept and we worked with the fabrication team at Exhibitree to make this activation come to life.
Initial Sketch
Initial Sketches
Final Concept Design with refinement made by Illumination’s Character Design team.
Environmental Graphics
For the environment, we were inspired by sign collage walls and having an overwhelming sense of imagery, much like the feeling of being in a casino. I collaborated with the Creative Director at Illumination to craft this signage collage.
Final Booth Photos
Photos above by Javier Llerenas.
Game Mechanics & Motion Graphics
I was also responsible for developing the motion graphics animations for the actual game mechanics. The game was simple, if you get an icon match on one eye you win a banana (a foam stress reliever) and it you had an icon match in both eyes you win a pack of Mini Funko Pop toys featuring the Minions.