Capabilities

Projects

Process

About

We are a trusted technology partner for startups, agencies and corporate clients. We build prototype-, MVP- and product-grade solutions in the area of web, mobile, Mixed Reality, Machine Learning and Blockchain.

Le Polish Bureau

We are a trusted technology partner for startups, agencies and corporate clients.

We build prototype-, MVP- and product-grade solutions in the area of web, mobile, Mixed Reality, Machine Learning and Blockchain.

We offer a complete package including strategy, creative, design, implementation, deployment, quality assurance and maintenance, but we are also happy to consult in parts of the process.

Featured Projects

2020 was a turbulent time for many businesses, challenging their organization’s security, flexibility, and reliability. 

This digital-first experience demonstrates how IBM can help businesses harness the full power of their IT infrastructure, so they can increase resiliency in a time of global disruption and prepare them for whatever comes next.

The client was looking to develop something that felt unique and distinct from all their other digital activations, from a look, feel and narrative perspective. The challenge was to push the look and feel as much as possible while still remaining within IBM’s well-defined and closely adhered-to design language. The end product pushes the brand into new territory while still remaining on-brand and in line with the larger family of digital activations.

Though the products and solutions are very tech-heavy, complex and technical (infrastructure solutions/servers/IT architecture), we wanted to appeal to the more human side of the products and brand, and connect with users on an emotional level. Which was the driving force behind the name and approach of ‘Backbone & Brains.’ 

The gem structure itself has a very organic, warm, ‘of the earth’ tactile quality while also feeling innovative and futuristic. The language and storytelling were also built to be conversational, casual, and free of buzzwords. The music and sound design also drive this sense of humanity. The editorial section provides more detailed, technical specs and education to complement the more abstract, high-level main experience. All pieces and parts work together to create a welcoming environment that builds intrigue rather than going for the hard sell. 

**Use of light/shadow/illumination**: The central avatar of the experience – “the gem” – is designed to represent two distinct but integrated elements (backbone/infrastructure and brains/expertise) that come together to support our audience’s business. There are some details and nuances that were employed in the experience to demonstrate the integration of these two parts. One standout feature/element is the use of illumination to represent the ‘brains’ at the core of the gem, which is a nod to the talented IBM consultants and experts who bring these products and capabilities to their audience. As the user interacts, they’ll see glimmers of light shining from the core and reflecting across the gem’s surfaces, showcasing this constant support of people–always there to help guide customers and answer any questions they have about these infrastructure solutions.


**Background textures and easter eggs**: Within the main experience, users can choose to explore all 3 products/solutions or just focus on specific ones. If they decide to explore all three, there is a detail right before they transition to the editorial section that reveals subtle textures of the product they selected up front within the background – a nod to the exterior details of each server and storage product. This is only visible to users who explore all three products within the main experience, as a way to transition them from the abstract 3D portion to the more concrete 2D ‘deep dive’ (featuring the actual products behind all these capabilities), so it is a bit of an easter egg moment.

To turn this ambitious vision and design into reality, we developed a responsive HTML5 experience hosted on auto-scaling IBM Cloud Foundry. The three-dimensional part featuring `the gem` was powered by WebGL and the Three.js framework, while the `deep dive` editorial content as well as general user interface were written in React and styled-components. The structure of the website, all copy, images and several configuration options are controlled by an underlying CMS developed with Strapi.

The web experience pushes the boundaries of what’s possible on the web in multiple ways. In order to push performance to the maximum, we used Next.js with incremental static regeneration (ISR). It made the initial page render of our CMS-driven website pretty much instantaneous while allowing for quick content edits and improved SEO.

The majority of the 3D visuals were generated programmatically. The `gem`, being the main character in the story and a basis for all three mini-games, used a single base 3D model exported as .glb from 3ds Max. All its shape variations were generated programmatically - we converted the model into a single BufferGeometry at runtime with fragments managed by GLSL shaders to animate its smaller pieces.

To achieve smooth 60 FPS rendering of all the effects and animations across a wide range of devices, we combined a large number of GLSL shaders into a single rendering pipeline, using a single canvas. We developed a post-processing pipeline consisting of 3 scenes and 5 EffectComposers. The first Scene and EffectComposer were responsible for the generative background with GLSL shaders for occlusion, saturation, brightness control, and lighting effects. The second Scene and EffectComposer handled strobe lights with GLSL shaders of glow and luminosity. Next scenes and composers handled tasks like blending other scenes, the `gem’s` volumetric lighting effects, mini-games rendering, animated gradients with noise and screen-space ambient occlusion (SSAA) to give extra sharpness to the final render.

Despite its highly creative and interactive style, the IBM: Backbone & Brains website's content is largely editable and configurable through a CMS.

Our team has implemented a bespoke solution based on [Strapi](http://strapi.io/) and has customized it to the project's needs.
Not only the copy, instructional prompts, and case studies were editable, but also technical aspects of the experience like supported device parameters, minimum frame rate, or browser versions required.

With the experience premiering at [IBM Think](https://www.ibm.com/events/think/), we needed to ensure that the hosting infrastructure can endure extreme traffic spikes. With that in mind, we have set up an autoscaling server on IBM Cloud Foundry. But we haven't stopped at the platform. We have also implemented Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) with [Next.js](https://nextjs.org/) that allowed us to combine the benefits of server-side rendering for optimized SEO and quick loading times with the flexibility of live website control through the CMS.

At Le Polish Bureau we implement the *Infrastructure as Code* paradigm. Instead of manual server setup, we use [Terraform](https://www.terraform.io/) to spin it up from code and configuration committed to a git repository. Thanks to such an approach, not only we reduce the risk of human error, but we also improve security.

For example, the database password is generated randomly by Terraform and is set as a secret in Bitbucket Repository Variables, also by Terraform. This means that none of our developers ever see the password that allows for database access, while our Continuous Deployment pipeline is able to read it.

Furthermore, because all the infrastructure code and configuration is committed to git, the infrastructure as code approach allows us to revert breaking changes simply by rolling back to an earlier git commit.

Launched at IBM Think 2021 along with several other digital activations, the story and design/look and feel helped the activation stand out while remaining aligned to the larger IBM narrative around hybrid cloud.

**Results**:
- 84% engagement rate at Think 2021, exceeding IBM benchmark by 25%
- 84% completion rate at Think 2021, exceeding IBM benchmark by 34%
- This activation also had the longest average time spent, which was more than 3 minutes on the day of the live broadcast, over 2x the cumulative average of all activations.

Experience IBM: Backbone & Brains yourself:
[ibm.com/resources/activations/backbone-brains](https://www.ibm.com/resources/activations/backbone-brains)

IBM: Backbone & Brains

An interactive, audio-visual digital experience showcasing the beauty of a business operating at its peak, with the help of IBM IT Infrastructure solutions.

IBM: Backbone & Brains | Le Polish Bureau

Our team partnered with IBM and GPJ to design and develop an interactive, audio-visual digital experience showcasing the beauty of a business operating at its peak, with the help of IBM IT Infrastructure solutions.

Commercial project

Technology

To meet the needs of the project, we crowdsourced data on people's perception of social images. We partnered closely with the client to train an AI that is insightful and accurate.

To hype the launch of BBC’s exciting new digital hub for Tomorrow’s World, Socialise wanted to target teens and Millenials with future facing technology in a place they felt at home: social media. Knowing this audience understands social trends and cares a lot about the content they share, we created something just for them: a photo analysis tool. 

We decided to develop the tool as a Messenger Chatbot. Such approach has not only increased the reach, but also has been a great way of delivering an asynchronous experience - one where the AI needs a little bit of time to analyse the content and deliver results.

Exactly the same experience as when a message from a friend comes.

Rather than just telling the user how many likes their photo will receive, the bot would serve the users with a beautifully animated video that provides a detailed analysis explaining the key components of the photo and how they affect the score.

There has not been any Machine Learning algorithm that would estimate the number of likes an image will get. So we developed our own.

Being able to understand what is visible in the images, we used [Amazon Mechanical Turk](https://www.mturk.com/) to crowdsource people's perception of image likeability. We asked them to submit both good and bad pictures, along with a number of likes they think these images would get.

Even though the problem appears to be very subjective, we managed to build an AI that is interestingly accurate. We tested it on images that we already knew the number of likes they achieved in order to compare actual data against the AIs prediction. The correlation between the actual data and the AI exceeded our expectations:

We’ve created an algorithm that understands what makes a photo popular. You can’t understate the significance of this - Mark Vatsel, Creative Director, UNIT9

The photo analysis tool brings millenials that key insight on how make trending content with their own social posts and unpacks a little of the mystery behind how AI works.

BBC Tomorrow?s World: The photo analysis tool

BBC Tomorrow's World: The photo analysis tool | Le Polish Bureau

Socialyse

BBC Tomorrow's World: The photo analysis tool

The Sound Of Light is an exploration of what’s possible when nature, technology and artistic expression come together to create something truly special. Inspired by Huawei Mate 20 Pro’s AI capabilities we have successfully found a way to transform Northern Lights footage into music, using AI.

How does a telecommunications mogul promote itself beyond traditional media? For the launch of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro phone—a AI-centric device—it had to do exactly that. It had to be tech-forward and future thinking. And let the world know exactly what the company was all about.

Using artificial intelligence, we managed to translate the Northern Lights into music. With the help of a professional Aurora chaser, we trained the AI to classify auroras and built an app that analyzes each one, generating corresponding music phases. We worked with a best-in-class composer and a live orchestra to create the soundtrack.

No Computer Vision algorithm knows how to recognise types of auroras. Even people do this subconsciously. But there are different looking auroras. Some mysterious, some magical, some look calm, some look dynamic.

So we started by crowdsourcing people's perception of auroras, asking them to group similarly looking photos of northern lights. We deployed the tool on [Amazon Mechanical Turk](https://www.mturk.com/).

Via data crowdsourcing we obtained over 10,000 data samples within just 24h!

This has allowed us to develop a Machine Learning clustering algorithm using [Google Tensorflow](https://www.tensorflow.org/) that would automatically group tens of thousands of image presenting the norhern lights into buckets of the same "type".

We have then worked with our Creative Director and our music team to assign matching musical motifs to each of the identified types of auroras.

Next, we have split the final video edit into key frames and, for each of the frames, we have used our trained clustering model to give us 4 most likely aurora types that the given frame represents, along with the similarity score. This also means 4 musical motifs (as each of the aurora types has a musical motif assigned).

But we didn't just stop at playing pre-selected motifs. As we have four and a similarity score for each one, we used the concept of latent spaces and [Google Magenta](https://magenta.tensorflow.org/) tool to generate completely new audio that is an interpolation based on the similarity to all 4 audio samples.

To go even further, we have analysed temporal values of the aurora film edit and used them as signals to modulate the audio. For example, we have used optical flow to track how the aurora actually moves, which was affecting additional sound effects.

The AI-powered tools, suggestions, generated audio and algorithms were delivered to the composer, who turned it into a proper musical masterpiece.

This is a story of a collaboration between human and machine. Neither is to replace one another. Synergy is the key to success.

Huawei: Sound of Light

Huawei: Sound of Light | Le Polish Bureau

In a coordinated process of data acquisition, augmentation, data crowdsourcing, AI training and testing, we developed a set of tools that were aiding a compositor make an aurora audible.

Ogilvy Germany

Huawei

Music

On July 16th, 1969, millions of people gathered around their televisions to watch Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin take flight from Kennedy Space Center aboard Apollo 11. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic moon launch, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Foundation wanted to introduce today’s generation to President Kennedy’s vision for the space program and this pivotal moment in history. So, in partnership with Digitas, we created JFK Moonshot, an Augmented Reality app that enables people to experience the events surrounding the Apollo 11 mission in an immersive way.

JFK Moonshot is an Augmented Reality journey to the Moon and back, created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. - Jakub Jakubowski, Game Director, UNIT9

We built an interactive documentary app that let users learn about the Moon launch and re-live the Apollo 11 mission in Augmented Reality. Using the latest Augmented Reality technology on an enormous scale, we created a simulation of a life-size Saturn V, a replica of the rocket that launched Apollo 11 into space.

JFK Moonshot hit the app store on June 12th and was officially launched at a symposium at the JFK Space Summit a few weeks later. On July 16th, exactly 50 years to the day of the moon launch, users could experience a virtual Moon launch in the app and follow the spacecraft’s five-day journey from the Earth to the Moon from anywhere in the world.

We used latest [AR Kit](https://developer.apple.com/augmented-reality/) and [AR Core](https://developers.google.com/ar) tracking capabilities, both markerless and marker-based, to deliver highest quality Augmented Reality experience. 

Whether they remember watching the Moon launch or were learning about it for the first time, we made a historic event accessible to people of all ages. The app honored President Kennedy’s forward-thinking vision and rounded out a year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Moonshot.

In the end, we introduced a new generation to an important moment in history using the latest and greatest technology—which was once just as unthinkable as putting a man on the Moon was 50 years ago.

Download links: [iOS](https://apps.apple.com/app/id1460242290#?platform=ipad) / [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jfk.moonshot)

JFK: Moonshot

JFK: Moonshot | Le Polish Bureau

We developed an AR application that allowed people to re-experience the moon landing live, all around the world. A combination of quality asset integration, game development, real-time multiplayer and educational app.

Digitas Boston

Bentley wanted to celebrate its 100th birthday by reflecting on a century of luxury excellence and looking ahead to the future.

So we partnered with UNIT9 and helped them create an interactive, mobile-first, interactive 3D website that showcased the car in it's purest visual form.

We smoothly combined the exterior with interior visualisation, allowing the user to instantly switch between their desired points of view.

The website was developer as mobile-first, ensuring that not only the car looks stunning and the animations are smooth on handheld devices, but also that the entire UX makes sense for smaller screens.

We have built the website in React and used [THREE.js](https://threejs.org/) as the 3D engine.

60 FPS, insane interactivity and fast loading combined with the looks of the Bentley concept car resulted in an unforgettable digital experience.

Bentley Centenary

Bentley Centenary | Le Polish Bureau

We collaborated with UNIT9 to create a website that represented a Bentley concept car as it is - beautifully stunning and smooth. And we did it across mobile, tablet and desktop.

Bentley

Automotive

If you’ve ever been on a Royal Caribbean cruise, you know it’s so much more than a “cruise.” It’s an adventure—and not one you’re likely to forget. The brand wanted a digital activation that brought the brand ethos to life and got potential cruisers excited to climb on board.

SoundSeeker is an AI-driven experience that analyzes the emotions in users’ vacation photos and creates ultra-shareable videos from them set to custom soundtrack. As humans, we often hear a piece of music, and it surfaces a memory or emotion. But SoundSeeker flips that notion on its head—it takes emotions and memories and gives them the music that will make them even more powerful.

We had  to design, develop and train a custom Machine Learning algorithm to generate music that matches pretty much any possible image in terms of its overall mood and content. This kind of understanding can be extremely subjective and very “human” in nature—something that’s very difficult for Machine Learning models to grasp. We approached the problem by first focusing on gathering data.

Our custom training tool allowed tastemakers to assign music to images based on their personal taste. From there, we analysed that music and evaluated all the images with Google Cloud Vision. Information about the content of those images as well as raw pixels and the extracted musical features were then fed to our Machine Learning model to learn from.

But the result wasn’t just a music mix set to images; it was a bespoke audio and video animation, that included user-uploaded images, animating in sync with the AI-generated music. To achieve this stunning end product, we developed a custom server-side rendering pipeline based on After Effects templates, but used only open source technology for the actual rendering. The pipeline allowed us to specify variables and to feed values dynamically for each render, resulting in unique alterations of the base templates.

The infrastructure we developed was capable of rendering out 30-second long 960×540 videos within 15 seconds.

Music theory, focused composition, machine learning, animation and design all worked together to create fully modular system in a way that delighted users again and again.

We managed to achieve something pretty rare in Machine Learning – a system that has been trained to generate creative output that sounds and looks pleasing to human’s subjective taste.

Royal Caribbean: SoundSeeker

Royal Caribbean: SoundSeeker | Le Polish Bureau

A complex production process involving data crowdsourcing, AI training and server-side rendering of personalised videos, that ended up in developing a completely bespoke cloud rendering pipeline utilising AfterEffects templates.

MullenLowe

Royal Caribbean

Entertainment

Travel

Mobile gamers are constantly searching for the next big addictive game that they can carry in their pocket—and of course, the ideal mobile device on which to play their favorites. To prove that OnePlus, with its 8GB of RAM, is the perfect platform for the job, we collaborated with UNIT9 and helped develop Crackables: a limited-time, AI bot-hosted game. It had to be as savvy as the most hardcore mobile gamer while demonstrating the power of the OnePlus.

Crackables is a unique combination of a compelling, story-driven cipher puzzle game, creative use of vintage technology and modern design.

Crackables is a can’t-put-it-down series of crypto puzzles, both digital and physical. Players had to complete each challenge in order to move to the next puzzle—and only the fastest 1,000 people who made it through the first three challenges qualified for the next round.

We developed it in React and used a lot of [PixiJS](https://www.pixijs.com/) and [THREE.js](https://threejs.org/) to power all the interactivity and 2D/3D gaming.

The entire web-based puzzle mind-bender was powered by an AI chatbot. Developed on top of Google's [Dialogflow](https://dialogflow.com/), it was constantly aware of the user's progress and it was always there to offer help. The user could use natural language input to ask the bot for hints or attempt to provide solutions.

Crackables is a can’t-put-it-down series of crypto puzzles, both digital and physical. Players had to complete each challenge in order to move to the next puzzle—and only the fastest 1,000 people who made it through the first three challenges qualified for the next round. It’s those 1,000 super-players who were sent a real-world package containing a mysterious device. Using a touch-tone protocol, they had to crack various audiocodes in order to be one of the top six winners of the grand prize: the ultimate gaming PC setup.

Gamers everywhere flocked to be one of the big winners. OnePlus proved that its mobile platform is not for the average player, and that it can support even the most intricate, advanced games out there. 

OnePlus: Crackables

OnePlus: Crackables | Le Polish Bureau

OnePlus

It is our unique recipe in which we are a partner who can lead whilst adapting to your specific needs. A process that we have refined through working on creative projects with incredibly tight turnarounds and rapidly changing scopes, all with our characteristic agility, precision and reliability.

Le Polish Bureau is a <a href="https://unit9.com" target="_blank">UNIT9</a> Company with its headquarters in Lodz, Poland.

We are a strong team of 30+ engineers and creatives with access to the rest of the Group's talent pool if needed.

Capabilities

Process

We follow a strict production process that results in quality, efficiency and transparency at every step.

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