Predicting the Future by Creating It: How Artists Drive Innovation

While most people think about the future—flying cars, robots, and AI—what they often overlook is the artist behind every innovation. Someone has to imagine something new before it becomes real. That’s where it starts.

I got to experience this firsthand while working at Walt Disney Imagineering on the redesign of Test Track: Presented by Chevrolet, at EPCOT in Walt Disney World. My role? Design the graphics for the new SimCar ride vehicles—including deck decals, ID numbers, and custom wraps that felt futuristic, story-driven, and aligned with General Motors’ brand. Totally Tron vibes, with sexy metallic colors for car lovers.

When my boss first told me about the project, I had one immediate thought: How do you even design graphics for a car? I hadn’t learned that in college. But instead of being intimidated, I saw it as a creative challenge.

Designing for Tomorrow, Today

Test Track became the first theme park attraction to feature a digitally wrapped ride vehicle using black-light reactive ink in 2013. That might sound small, but it required a massive leap—merging cutting-edge technology, visual storytelling, and materials innovation. I tested samples, pushed the limits of color, and collaborated closely with the team to bring this futuristic concept to life—without losing the signature SimCar blue, in both daylight and under UV light.

In many ways, this project taught me something bigger: Artists can push creativity as far as their imagination will take them. If you can dream it, you can make it.

Art as a Tool for Innovation

The magic of Imagineering is how it blurs the line between fantasy and function. Every choice—from the color of the wrap to the glow it emits under UV light—is intentional. It tells a story, sets a mood, and shapes how guests feel inside the world we’ve created.

And honestly? It’s an incredible feeling knowing I helped create something that brings joy and wonder to people from around the world—riders launching onto the track every six seconds. Oh—and yes, we even applied a shimmery, luster laminate over the finished graphics for that slick, high-gloss finish.

That mindset—of curiosity, experimentation, and story-first design—has followed me throughout my career. Whether I’m designing a product, writing a book, or crafting a community experience, it always starts with one question:

What if?
Then you experiment until the impossible becomes possible.

Innovation Meets Imagination
Designing for Disney meant balancing storytelling with precision. When the blueprints didn’t match the actual ride vehicle, I had to go hands-on. I found a transfer material—sticky on one side, sketchable on the other—and coordinated with the body shop at Test Track to set aside a car. Standing on a platform in front of the ride vehicle, I essentially built a custom paper template: sketching, measuring, and connecting lines that wrapped perfectly around the car, from front to back, aligning precisely with the GM bowtie logo.

Then came the next challenge: digitizing it. I needed a large-format scanner—something we miraculously had in the office, though no one had touched it in years. It was a black-and-white plotter, and it worked. I stuck my template onto a larger sheet of paper, taped it down flat, and fed it through the machine. Then, using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, I brought the graphics to life—adding color, branding, and visual effects.

But here’s the twist: we didn’t want just a slick-looking vehicle. We wanted it to glow under black light. And at the time, no one had done that before.

Examples of test prints and mockups

So... Can Artists Shape the Future?

We already do. The worlds we imagine become the worlds we build. The questions we ask—Can this glow? Will this improve someone's life? What story does this tell?—are the foundation of innovation.

And sometimes, it all starts with something as simple as figuring out if black-light ink can be printed on 3M Controltac.

Photo Credits: Disneyparksblog.com, dadlogic.net, touringplans.com, wdwfans.com, disneyparks.disney.go.com

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