Founded by graduates of the MIT Media Laboratory, Potion is a design and technology firm specializing in interactive experiences. Potion’s strength lies in the creation of aesthetic solutions that utilize the most recent technologies available.
Potion seeks to expand the language of interaction design. We work tirelessly with our clients and always push ourselves to break new ground. Never satisfied to replicate experiences, Potion researches new technologies, new modes of interaction, and continually invents new ways of making things work.

Our engineering heritage forces us to justify each move, each change, and each decision — grounding our designs in the real world. Our design impulse drives us to play, to form and re-form, and to create work that is as elegant as it is innovative.
We embrace an interdisciplinary process, bringing together architect-programmers, mathematician-writers, designer-musicians, and everything else in between.

We believe that code is a medium for creative expression — the digital universe should dance and bloom in response to the human touch. We find delight in the impossible. We love the challenge and the magic. We know that technology, carefully crafted, can be a force of good in the modern world.
People
Phillip Tiongson   Principal
Phillip is a principal and founder of Potion, a technology and design firm that creates smart, delightful interactions in all forms from iPad apps to interactive walkways. He creates experiences that bring the craft of storytelling together with the tools of a software engineer. Phillip completed his MS in Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab and his MFA in Film Directing from Columbia University. Born in rural Celina, Tennessee, he still finds it hard to believe he lives in New York City. Potion’s award-winning work graces museums, stores, restaurants, and mobile devices around the world.
Jared Schiffman   Principal
Jared has worked at the intersection of design, computer science and education for over two decades. Since his first Atari landed in his lap, Jared has used code as medium for visual expression and as an outlet for creative energy.

As the co-founder of Potion, Jared leads the design and the technical development of all Potion projects alongside partner Phillip Tiongson. Jared developed the underlying software framework that all Potion projects are based upon, and continues to develop that platform today.

In Potion’s five year history, Jared has attended the White House twice in honor of the National Design Awards and has lectured and taught widely on interaction design. Currently an adjunct professor in the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU, Jared teaches the graduate-level courses Spatial Media and Computation Form. He has also taught at Parsons School of Design and at High Tech High in California.

Jared holds an MS in Media Arts & Sciences from the MIT Media Lab and a BS in Computer Science & Engineering from MIT. As a Research Associate at the Media Lab, Jared studied under John Maeda, who inspired him to create the Visual Machine Series, a novel set of visual programming languages that re-envisioned the way in which code is created. While at the Media Lab, Jared also created interactive pieces that were shown at the Cooper Union, the Museum of the Moving Image and the Museum of Modern Art.

Raised in Los Altos, California, Jared now resides in Brooklyn's beautiful and historic Park Slope.
Tamar Ziv   Developer
Coming soon...
Emmi Laakso   Designer
Emmi is a designer who is passionate about problem solving and simplifying complex information. Originally trained in classic print design and typography, she has always gravitated to designing experiences, and began her career by working as a freelance game designer. In the past, Emmi has also worked as a user interface designer, and freelanced in print media.

A recent addition at Potion, Emmi is excited to have already worked on a multitude of projects, including the World Economic Forum web app Global Agenda Councils: World of Ideas. She holds a BFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design, is fluent in Finnish, and is a published co-author of a scientific study on gender in language.
Neo Barc   Design Engineer
Neo Barc, also known as Sangzoon Park, is a Design Engineer, an Interactive Installation Designer, as well as a Media Artist. With his background in mechanical engineering, physical computing and media art, he enjoys designing engaging, elegant and dynamic structures for interactive media installations. He has also worked as a researcher in a robotics laboratory, creating a two feet, walking, humanoid robot. Recently he has worked on several interactive installations allowing him to apply and hone his expertise.

He holds a BE in Mechanical Engineering and a BFA in Film/Video from Myong-ji University in South Korea. He then moved to New York to study Photography at the School of Visual Arts. In 2010, he graduated with an MPS from the Interactive Telecommunications Program, Tisch School of the Arts at New York University where he experimented with discarded laptops and computer cooling fans as video/kinetic sculptures.
Ilan Schifter   Developer
Ilan has a diverse background in electrical engineering, programming, game design, HCI, computer vision and machine learning. He combines his vast experience in both software and hardware with his great passion for play to design spatial and immersive user experiences. Ilan developed educational games and is patenting a tangible and spatial gaming interface for toddlers. He presented his work at the DIGITEL conference, Yahoo Design Expo and Sony Wonder Museum.

Originally from Israel, Ilan completed his military service as a logistics officer (Lieutenant) for the engineering corps special forces. After graduating from Tel Aviv University with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Technology Education, he acquired experience in computer networks and joined the Intel Development Center. He developed advanced wired communication chips and gained expertise in logic design, validation and production while developing interactive applications that automate design flows. He then move to NYC to study at NYU’s ITP where he designed motion based games and interfaces for young kids. After graduating with an M.P.S., he became an entrepreneur and eventually landed at a video-game start-up where he led the motion technology R&D team, developing real-time human-motion analysis systems for a AAA Kinect dance game.

Ilan spends his free time developing new games and enjoying his two sons.
Jonathan Bobrow   Developer
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jonathan traveled cross country to join forces with Potion as a developer. His curiosity for deconstructing and reassembling electronics as a child has led him to create intuitive user interactions and immersive installations. Developing new ways to create interactions utilizing sensory data information is paramount to Jonathan's interest in coding and creative spirit.

Jonathan holds a B.A. at the Design and Media Arts department and a minor in Mathematics from UCLA. His background includes developing multi-screen installations for trade shows, creating prototypes for toys at Gentle Giant Studios, and building a graphical user interface for a skills training system at USC's Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT). In his work with ICT and other freelance experiences, he has been fortunate to work with and learn from scholars in HCI, artists at Disney, and developers at Apple. In his spare time, he creates within the intersection of math and art which inspires his anamorphic chalk drawings. He also enjoys snowboarding, riding his bike and discovering new places to go hiking.
Allison Farber   Producer
Originally from Queens, New York, Allison holds a MA in Instructional Technology and Media from Columbia University, Teacher’s College and a BS in Early Childhood Education from the University of Maryland. Her past experience includes developing websites and interactives at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, creating life skills curricula for at risk youth, developing interactive games at Sesame Workshop, and teaching preschool in Budapest, Hungary. Allison has also designed interfaces for reading children’s books, evaluated educational technologies, and developed kits for interactive storytelling with an interdisciplinary team of adults and children at the University of Maryland’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab.

Allison enjoys travel, writing children’s books, and watching movies.
Josh Fisher   Developer
Josh loves the nitty-gritty of software programming, the nittier the better. He delights in finding new things to do with the STL, and is constantly amazed at how many tasks are already implemented in the Boost libraries. New programming environments are thrilling to him, but even familiar ones can provide him with a pleasing frission. At Potion, Josh is responsible for maintaining and growing the software that other Potion developers use to make projects, among other things.

Originally an apprentice opera performer, Josh eventually arrived at the craft of software development via the visual arts and a few odd-jobs. He holds a BFA from Kalamazoo College in western Michigan, as well as an MFA from Parsons, the New School for Design.
Hellyn Teng   Studio Manager
Hellyn oversees day-to-day operations as Potion's Studio Manager. Her extensive background in administration, multi-media arts and design has brought her to Potion, where she ensures all facets of operations are fastened and secured.

Having landed in New York from the West Coast, Hellyn holds a B.F.A. in Fashion Design from the California College of the Arts, San Francisco. Prior to Potion, she designed original fashion collections, and exhibited multi-media art and experimental sound compositions, exploring both analog and digital technologies, in various venues including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Bay Area Now 5 (BAN5) at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in SF. When she’s not busy organizing Potion’s next happy hour, she can be found amidst a pile of eraser dust sketching fashion illustrations, tinkering with noise samples, or putting the pedal to the metal on her sewing machines.
Abby Palmer   Producer
As Potion's Producer, Abby has spent the past several years producing, designing and developing interactives and physical spaces for museum exhibitions, gardens, and parks as well as educational software for iPhone/iPad apps. She enjoys making media and exhibits for playful learning; working with words, images, space, sound, touch, and movement to create learning experiences that are exciting, memorable, and surprising.

Abby also worked in New York in film and television production on television commercials and documentaries, and as the properties master at the San Diego Repertory Theatre. She holds a B.A. in Visual Arts with concentration in Installation Art from the University of California, San Diego.

In her spare time she loves to chase after and learn everything she can from her 2 year old son.
Katherine Keane   Producer
Coming soon...
Steve Varga   Senior Creative Technologist
Steve is a Creative Technologist who finds happiness in discovering the simplest and most creative solutions to problems. He began his career as a designer, but has come to love the hands on process of bringing ideas to life through code. He now focuses on combining these two disciplines to help create intelligent, well designed experiences from beginning to end. A recent addition at Potion, Steve is excited to have just completed work on The Smithsonian Channel's iPad app, and is looking forward to getting started on more exciting projects.

Steve received an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons The New School for Design, where he now intermittantly teaches classes in data visualization and programming, and also holds a BFA in Graphic Design from The College of New Jersey. He is also the creator of Pennant, a mobile visualization of baseball history that has won multiple awards including an Apple Design Award. 

Steve's time outside of Potion usually includes experimenting with new technology, working on personal projects, watching the Phillies, spending time outdoors and relaxing with friends and family.
Filippo Vanucci   Developer
With a background in user experience design, Filippo enjoys getting his hands dirty with algorithms and installation work. Curious to learn new languages in case of necessity, at Potion he translates design compositions into lines of code, making sure that the interaction flows smoothly.

Born and raised in the East Coast of Italy, Filippo graduated at the University of Lugano, Switzerland, and served as an information architect in Milan. He holds an M.P.S. from the Interactive Telecommunications Program, NYU, where he focused on connecting physical and digital artifacts, algorithmic visualizations and site-specific installations. His thesis project, Scrollables, investigates the future of paper as a medium, taking inspiration from the invention of the mouse wheel and old arcade games. His personal work has been exhibited at Sony Wonder Museum, the ITP Big Screens show, Vimeo Festival, Nuit Blanche NYC, NY Tech Meetup and featured on Make Magazine. When he is not working on Potion's next interactive round surface, Filippo contributes to the global expansion of the Italian indie music label Tafuzzy, which he co-founded in 2004.
Clients
Smithsonian Networks
1
NOVIY
1
2
3
4
Museum of Science and Industry
1
2
3
4
Alcatel-Lucent, Bell Labs
1
Brooklyn Navy Yard
1
Clo
1
Hamilton Sundstrand
1
Hewlett Packard
1
Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
1
2
3
Metropolitan Museum of Art
1
Morgan Library
1
Museum at Eldridge Street
1
2
3
Museum of Jewish Heritage
1
2
National Building Museum
1
2
3
National Museum of American History
1
National Museum of the American Indian
1
National World War I Museum
1
New York Public Library
1
Nike
1
2
Rhode Island School of Design
1
St. Regis Adour
1
2
Tiffany & Co.
1
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
1
University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine
1
2
Toll Brothers, et al.
1
Lionsgate
1
Maharam
1
The Battery Conservancy
1
Tenement Museum
1
Awards
National Design Awards,
Finalist, 2010
Potion ,
Potion
SXSW 2013 - Interactive Awards Finalist - Film/TV,
SXSW, 2013
Smithsonian Networks,
Smithsonian Channel for iPad
HOW Interactive Design Awards,
Winner, 2012
NOVIY,
The NOVIY Tables
Core77 Design Awards ,
Winner, 2011
Alcatel-Lucent, Bell Labs,
Bell Labs Global Whiteboard
AAM Muse Awards,
Silver, 2011
Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust,
18 Camps
AAM Muse Awards,
Gold, 2011
Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust,
Spatial Audio Guide
AAM Muse Awards,
Silver, 2010
Museum of Jewish Heritage,
Voices of Liberty
ID Annual Review,
Honorable Mention, 2010
Museum of Jewish Heritage,
Voices of Liberty
IDEA Awards,
Finalist, 2010
Museum of Jewish Heritage,
Voices of Liberty
Art Directors Club,
Silver Cube, 2009
Clo,
Clo Wine Bar
AAM Muse Awards,
Gold, 2009
National Building Museum,
Transportation Hall
AAM Muse Awards ,
Gold, 2009
National Building Museum,
Act Local
AAM Muse Awards,
Gold, 2009
National Building Museum,
Think Global
HP Circle Awards,
Winner, 2010
Hewlett Packard,
Reactive Glass Lobby Displays
World Class Single Space Awards,
Winner, 2010
Hewlett Packard,
Reactive Glass Lobby Displays
Communication Arts Interactive Annual,
Winner, 2010
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
Eyewitness to Genocide
ID Annual Review,
Honorable Mention, 2010
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
Eyewitness to Genocide
Communication Arts Interactive Annual Awards,
Winner, 2008
National World War I Museum,
War and Peace Tables
Muse Awards,
Honorable Mention, 2009
National Museum of American History,
The Star Spangled Banner
Communication Arts Interactive Annual Awards,
Winner, 2008
Museum at Eldridge Street,
Limud Tables
AAM Muse Award,
Gold, 2008
Museum at Eldridge Street,
Limud Tables
Jobs
Interactive/Graphic Designer
New York, NY

Potion is seeking talented interactive/graphic designers for both freelance projects and full time positions. Applicants should have at least three years of experience, including work in the field of interaction design. In short, we’re looking for exceptional designers. Self-starters who have creative vision and the skills to make it happen. You know who you are.

Please include a brief cover letter, resume and a link to your portfolio.

Requirements

Fluency with:

  • Photoshop
  • Illustrator
  • InDesign

Familiarity with:

  • 3D Software
  • After Effects
  • Final Cut Pro
Apply