Chris Ruffo - Senior Design Visualisation Industry Manager, M&E
Autodesk

Chris joined Autodesk as the Design Visualisation Industry Manager for Media & Entertainment in January 2006 as part of the Alias acquisition. In this role Chris evangelises the use of 3ds Max and Maya for design and visualisation. Prior to joining Autodesk, Chris worked at Alias for 9 years in a variety of key roles. He helped build and manage the publishing wing of Alias’s website and community, driving traffic to record levels. Chris also played a leading role in managing the Maya Personal Learning Edition program and led the Maya marketing team. Following this, Chris worked as Industry Manager for the Film, Video and DCC markets and later as Industry Manager for Digital Publishing, helping to drive new users from the graphic design community to 3D.

Chris came to Alias from the innovative multi-media company Mackerel, where he managed several projects including the award winning Try Tercel! Interactive and the original web interface for Canada Trust’s online banking system.

Chris received his honours BA and MA from the University of Toronto, specialising in the History of Art.

Presentation Synopsis

Visualising the Future
Chris will discuss how entertainment technology is changing the way designers and architects explore, validate, and convey design. From narrative storytelling, to advanced modeling techniques to real-time interactive visualisation and simulation, advancement in the Film and Games industries is driving new ways of thinking about design and visual communication. More than ever, designers are being influenced by what they see in film and games and translating these techniques to innovative ways to communicate the personality of their designs. As a result, visualisation has become more that simply a walk through, it is about breathing life into a design through narrative storytelling. In addition, tools indented for film and game design, like 3ds Max and Maya, are being adopted by architects and designers to conceive new ways of thinking about form and shape. Chris will explore how these trends are changing our industry.