NICK ALECK

SENIOR PRODUCT LEADER

Over ten years of experience providing product design and development solutions for companies including JPMorgan Chase, DocuSign, American Medical Association, American Library Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Groupon, Allstate, DePaul University and Northwestern University

Master of Science degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) from DePaul University,

Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing from Columbia College Chicago

Certificate Master of Product Design and Development from Northwestern University

Broadway in Chicago Interactive Map

Although Broadway gets all of the credit, Chicago has been creating a deep, rich history in theater for decades. Tony Award winning productions have gotten their starts at renowned theater companies like Steppenwolf, the Goodman and the Black Ensemble theaters. Current Broadway productions like Kinky Boots, The Visit and past hits like Mamma Mia! and Aida have done their pre-Broadway try-outs right here at some of the most historic venues in the city.

As a fan of these productions and theaters, I wanted to find a way to give them their due. I began thinking about all the stories about infamous disasters like the Iroquois Theatre fire in 1903 at what is known now as the Ford Center for Performing Arts Oriental Theatre. I also thought about a story I once heard about how the Lyric Opera House was actually built for a talentless opera singer by her rich boyfriend. I wanted to find a way to showcase these interesting facts while still embracing the current and future productions that will take residency in these spaces.

I decided upon an interactive map of the Chicago Theater District. Knowing the capabilities of Adobe’s Edge Animate software, I knew I would be able to make this vision come to life in an interactive fashion. I combined this software with a design that I created in Photoshop and Illustrator that represented the city blocks where the theaters are housed. Using source material from Wikipedia, I was able to pull together a wealth of history about these theaters that is shown when the user floats their mouse over the name of the theater on the map. In my wish list, I also hoped to include videos from YouTube and other sites of performances from shows. I hope that I will have an opportunity in the future to include these additional media pieces in the interactive map.