Independent Creative Exploration// DARK MATTER GRID / INDEPENDENT CASE STUDYTHE PHYSICS
GRAVITY IS CONSTANT.
CONTROL IS EVERYTHING.ENTER AT 50 KNOTS ↓
PERSONAL SPECULATIVE PROJECT / NOT AFFILIATED
THE PHYSICS
OF FEAR.
GRAVITY IS CONSTANT.CONTROL IS EVERYTHING.ENTER AT 50 KNOTS ↓
RIDE HEIGHT1.0 MCREW06BRAKES00
THE CULTURAL GAPMAKE THE RACING CONNECTION READABLE
THE FALSE PICTURE
PEOPLE HEAR SAILING. THEY PICTURE STILLNESS.
I wanted the campaign to bring you closer to the physical effort of racing. A distant view can make the boat look calm even when the crew is working under pressure. This independent extension uses scale and a proposed foil installation to make that difference easier to feel.
From shore, fifty knots on open water can look slower than it feels. The spectacle is there, but its force is hard to read.
THE STRATEGIC TASKMake the invisible forces visible. Turn speed, lift, pressure and human reaction into something a city can feel before it ever watches a race.
Audience and attendance figures reference SailGP’s published 2025 season report. Measurement goals shown below are proposed.
THE STRATEGIC SHIFTFROM COMPARISON TO PHYSICAL PROOF
SAILGP / 2026 BRAND PLATFORMTHINK
RACING.Establish the category.
RACING.Establish the category.
THE PROPOSED NEXT EXPERIENCEFEEL
RACING.Make the claim undeniable.
RACING.Make the claim undeniable.
Building from “Think Racing. Think SailGP.”, this independent proposal takes the racing message into physical space.
OUR FRIENDS + SAILGP
The current identity and racing-first language provide the visual and strategic foundation for this concept.
VIEW THE BRAND CASE STUDY ↗WEPLAY + SAILGP
WePlay’s published case study documents the push to take SailGP beyond traditional sailing audiences.
VIEW THE GROWTH CASE STUDY ↗THE PHYSICS OF FEAR
My contribution asks how that racing proposition could become a physical experience within the city.
RETURN TO THE PROPOSAL ↑PROPOSED FIRST EDITION
Bring one foil to the race city.
The citywide spectacle would start with one stationary foil display near an existing fan venue. Its scale supplies the first surprise. A short crew film shows the effort behind the distant view of a racing boat.
- THE FIRST OFFER
- One proposed staffed display during a race weekend, using a replica or an approved component. A comparison graphic and short film explain the subject. The browser timing challenge is available beside it as a separate demonstration.
- HOW YOU TAKE PART
- The physical shape draws a visitor closer. The crew film introduces one difficult decision. A host explains the display, then the visitor can try the timing demo and find the next race session.
- WHAT I WOULD DELIVER
- The installation graphic and crew-film treatment, with the invitation ad and a local race page. The first build needs readable explanatory text before motion or haptics are added.
- BEFORE IT GROWS
- Can visitors describe the crew’s task and find the race information? Observe dwell and demo completion. The timing game does not reproduce real sailing forces, so its score cannot establish how racing feels.
Where it could go next
The large outdoor media and moving installations remain proposed extensions. They follow a tested explanation and their own technical plans. Airport and sponsor placements can grow from the same first display.
PARTNERSHIP LOGICONE SPORT / THREE DISTINCT ROLES
EACH PARTNER MOVES THE IDEA.
Each organization gets a role grounded in its work, from racing and engineering to moving people around the world.
SAILGP
THE HUMAN LIMITAthletes, national rivalries, live racing and the F50 supply the stakes.
MUBADALA
THE ENGINEERING LAYERThe existing Strata hydrofoil relationship supplies the manufacturing reference. The campaign shows the material under racing load.
EMIRATES
THE MOVEMENT LAYERGlobal routes carry the campaign between race markets, with airports linking it to each host city.
THE HUMAN SYSTEM
SIX PEOPLE. FIFTY KNOTS. ONE WRONG CALL.
The technology draws people in. The crew gives them someone to follow. Driver, strategist, flight controller, wing trimmer and grinders operate as one decision system.
06ONE MACHINE
DRIVERSTRATEGISTFLIGHT CONTROLWING TRIMGRINDER 01GRINDER 0200:01 / TARGET LOCKED“PRESSURE BUILDING.”“WE’RE LIFTING.”“HARD DOWN.”00:07 / 51.2 KTS
THE CAMPAIGN SYSTEMTHE CITY BECOMES THE RACECOURSE
FOUR CONNECTED EXPRESSIONS
STOP EXPLAINING SPEED. LET PEOPLE FEEL IT.
Each expression reveals a different part of the race: scale, pressure, reaction and control.
THE F50 BREAKS CONTAINMENT
Anamorphic screens place an F50 above city streets, appearing to break beyond the frame at full speed.
FEEL 50 KNOTS
A retired hydrofoil, airflow, low-frequency vibration and live engineering data turn speed into sensation.
THE FEAR TEST
Athletes and creators ride with a professional crew. Heart rate and eye tracking record their reactions, with crew radio capturing the strain of each maneuver.
HOLD THE FOIL
A mobile gyroscope experience challenges users to balance an F50 through changing harbor conditions.
THE F50 BREAKS CONTAINMENTNEW YORK / LONDON / TOKYO / DUBAI
OUT-OF-HOME / CONCEPT VISUALIZATIONTHE WATER COULD NOT HOLD IT.FEEL 50 KNOTS.
FEEL 50 KNOTSENGINEERING BECOMES PUBLIC EXPERIENCE
THE FOIL, FROZEN IN FLIGHT
THE MACHINE ARRIVES BEFORE THE RACE.
A retired foil and rudder assembly hangs at the angle of a hard turn. From a marked viewing point, visitors trigger rising airflow and low vibration. Illuminated telemetry shows the race data behind what they feel.
HOLD THE FOIL ↓THE FEAR TESTMEET THE CREW THROUGH THE RIDE
HEART RATE172BPMMANEUVER / HARD TURN
RAW REACTION / REAL CREW
FEAR GETS A READOUT.
F1 drivers and extreme-sport athletes join creators on a practice run with a professional crew. Their biometric data shows the strain, while the films introduce the SailGP athletes managing the speed.
THE CREATOR DRAWS THE CROWD.
THE CREW GIVES THEM A REASON TO STAY.
HOLD THE FOILMOBILE GYROSCOPE EXPERIENCE / INTERACTIVE PROTOTYPE
THE 50-KNOT SIMULATOR
REAL PHYSICS HAS NO RESET BUTTON.
Phone movement controls ride height and foil balance through a short harbor course. Wind shifts and tactical pressure make a clean run worth sharing.
HOLD THE FOIL / LIVE CONCEPTFOIL STABLE
OPTIMAL FLIGHT WINDOW
SPEED42KNOTSRIDE HEIGHT1.2METERSCONTROL100PERCENT
MOVE ACROSS THE FIELD TO HOLD THE BOAT ON ITS FOILS.
THE TERMINAL WAVEEMIRATES / CONTROLLED TRANSIT EXPERIENCE
FROM ALTITUDE TO RIDE HEIGHT
YOU KNOW WHAT FLIGHT FEELS LIKE.
Panoramic LEDs and directional sound connect Emirates flight with F50 flight inside selected airport corridors. A brief rush of air completes the sensation.
YOU ARE USED TO FLYING AT 35,000 FEET.
TRY IT ONE METER ABOVE THE WATER.
THE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMATTENTION MUST BECOME RECOGNITION
ATTENTION IS ONLY THE START.
The proposed measures ask what happens after someone stops to look. Do they recognize SailGP? Track simulator participation and ticket interest separately.
CULTURAL RECOGNITION
Measure aided awareness of SailGP and the F50 before and after each city takeover, including recognition of leading athletes.
ACTIVE ATTENTION
Track completed biometric films, installation dwell time and voluntary sound activations.
PARTICIPATION
Measure simulator starts, completed runs, rematches, shared scores and SailGP+ registrations.
COMMERCIAL INTENT
Track qualified ticket visits, city-specific ticket conversion and partner offer engagement.
FINAL FRAME
A FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE FORCE OF RACING.
The Physics of Fear gives people on land a physical reference for fifty knots, making SailGP's speed easier to understand.
Independent personal concept by Priscilla Rios. This portfolio exercise builds from public work by SailGP, Our Friends and WePlay, credited above. The experiential campaign system is an original speculative proposal. It was not commissioned, approved or endorsed by SailGP, Mubadala, Emirates, Rolex or any participating organization. Brand names and trademarks are shown only to explain the concept.