Interpersonal Dynamics Design™
Optimizing the Human Layer at Live Events
Guests naturally want to connect with the people around them. When that connection is designed intentionally — through casting, coaching, and interaction design — the entire experience becomes more immersive.
60+
Activations
Award-Winning
Client Projects
Brands like Netflix, HBO, Amazon, Peacock, and Paramount trust us to optimize the human layer at their activations — projects that have gone on to win Clios, EX Awards, and Drum Awards.
Projects We've Contributed To
Award-Winning Activations
We've optimized the human layer — casting, coaching, directing, and interaction design — on projects that went on to win the industry's top honors.
2025
Gold Drum Award & Silver Clio
SNL 50th Anniversary Experience
Peacock · Agency: NVE
2025
EX Award — Best Entertainment Experience
Overnightmare
Peacock & Blumhouse · Agency: IHEARTCOMIX
2022
Silver Clio & Best Offsite SDCC 2023
Street of Immortality
AMC · Agency: Campfire
2023
Clio Award Winner
Stranger Things: The Rift
Netflix · Agency: NVE
2023
EX Award Winner
The Peripheral: Fabricate the Future
Amazon Prime Video · Agency: Giant Spoon
2022 & 2023
EX Award Silver Finalist
D&D Tavern
Paramount · Agency: NVE
2022
EX Award Winner
AHS Nightbites
FX · Agency: Agency Partner
Metaforyou provided IDD consulting, casting, performer direction, and interaction design on each of these projects.
The IDD Methodology
The 4 Pillars of Interpersonal Dynamics Design
Every activation has human interactions. IDD is the methodology for designing them strategically — as a cohesive system that creates belonging, grants permission, and invites play.
Center the Guest's Experience
Your guests are already having an experience — whether you design for it or not. IDD starts by honoring that reality and designing interactions that guide them from their world into yours.
Identify Human Interactive Touchpoints
HITs are the infrastructure of connection. We map every moment guests interact with staff — entry, check-in, transitions, encounters, exits — and design each one intentionally.
Design for Authentic Connection
Guests are socially conditioned to wait for invitations. IDD moves staff away from rigid scripts and toward adaptive social cues — reading energy and meeting guests where they are.
Design All Roles as One System
Greeters, brand ambassadors, performers — everyone works together as one cohesive experience layer. When all staff feel like part of the same world, guests feel the difference between disjointed staffing and designed dynamics.
What press noticed about the human layer
“The companies also put an appropriate twist on the typical brand ambassadors and staff, instead working with immersive entertainment firm Metaforyou to hire costumed actors who played roles dictated by the room they were stationed in…”
— BizBash
“Behind the elaborate merchandise opportunities and Instagrammable interactive experiences, it is the staff members… who truly sell the event by staying in character the entire time.”
— Daily Bruin
“The scare actors steal the show… backstories and hierarchies emerge that further immerse you.”
— Bloody Disgusting (Overnightmare)
What your guests will remember: It's not just the sets. Not just the spectacle. It's how the humans there made them feel.
Why It Works
The Human Layer Is the Experience
IDD comes from the world of immersive theatre — where performing directly with audiences, reading their energy, and facilitating genuine connection isn't theory. It's the entire show. We bring that strategic understanding to brand activations.
The Problem
Brands invest heavily in immersive environments — stunning venues, cutting-edge AV, elaborate set design — yet leave the most critical element to chance: person-to-person interactions.
You've designed the space. Have you designed the belonging?
The IDD Approach
We identify where human interactions already exist in your activation — and design them to align with your brand story. Instead of transactional encounters, guests experience authentic connections that make them feel oriented, welcomed, and part of something intentional.
How We Work
Strategy & Consulting
We consult on the guest journey, identify your Human Interactive Touchpoints (HITs), and design the interpersonal dynamics that will make your activation feel cohesive and immersive.
Casting & Coaching
We cast immersive performers from the world of immersive theatre and coach them — and your existing staff — to be more confident, engaging, and aligned with your brand world.
Direction & Optimization
On-site, we direct the human layer in real time — adjusting dynamics, energy, and interactions so the experience stays immersive from the first guest to the last.
The Result
Guests feel seen, welcomed, and part of the world you're creating.
Press writes about the staff — not just the production value.
Clients come back because the human layer elevated everything.
Free Resource
Get the IDD Deck
The deck behind Interpersonal Dynamics Design™ — how we optimize the human layer at brand activations. See the methodology, the framework, and the thinking that drives our work.
Inside You'll Find
- ✓The Brand Paradox — why immersive environments alone aren't enough
- ✓What Interpersonal Dynamics Design™ is and how it works
- ✓The 4 Principles of IDD and how they shape guest experiences
- ✓How to identify your Human Interactive Touchpoints (HITs)
- ✓Transactional vs. IDD approach — transforming the interaction
- ✓How we optimize what's already there: strategy and empowering staff
IDD in Action
Award-Winning Projects We've Contributed To
On each of these projects, Metaforyou optimized the human layer — consulting, casting, coaching, directing performers, and designing the interpersonal dynamics between staff and guests.
SNL 50th Anniversary Experience
Peacock · Agency: NVE
Consulted to make the guest experience more immersive through interaction design — helping guests truly immerse as hosts of SNL. This included casting and bringing in immersive actors to act as stage managers and crew as Human Interactive Touchpoints (HITs), creating the feeling that guests weren't just visiting the show — they were part of it.
Overnightmare
Peacock & Blumhouse · Agency: IHEARTCOMIX
In order to have guests feel immersed during their 48-hour stay, we designed concierges — “conci-scare-ges” — each named Avery as HITs that would be present to immerse guests throughout via interactions. We also worked with existing hotel staff, and designed scripting and coordinated more theatrical moments tied to various IP throughout their stay.
“It might be the scare actors and the Avery conci-scare-ges that steal the show. The more you pay attention to them, the more you notice backstories and hierarchies emerge that further immerse you in this cozy little horror space. You also notice how they're always observing, waiting for the right moment when guests are at their most vulnerable to deliver a jolt of fright.”
— Bloody Disgusting
“Avery [is] something bespoke to the experience that sets the tenor of the world beyond that of the selected package. One expects to live through some IP-based fears before the end of one's stay, but a creepy character forcing audience interaction? Now that's terrifying.”
— IndieWire
Street of Immortality
AMC — Interview with the Vampire / Anne Rice's Immortal Universe · Agency: Campfire
Provided casting and performer coaching for an immersive New Orleans vampire world. Designed the interpersonal dynamics so staff could facilitate a world that felt authentic — guests didn't just visit, they belonged to the story.
Stranger Things: The Rift
Netflix · Agency: NVE
Optimized the human interactions to create the illusion that each guest had the same telekinesis and telepathy as Eleven — in order to communicate with The Rift. Casting, coaching, and directing performers to make every guest feel like they had powers of their own.
The Peripheral: Fabricate the Future
Amazon Prime Video · Agency: Giant Spoon
Designed the human interactions by bringing in immersive actors to bring to life the iconic 3D VR shop from the show — complete with “human thermostat” moments of having guests feel something went wrong as they entered a new reality for a glimpse into the future.
D&D Tavern
Paramount — Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves · Agency: NVE
Brought to life the human layer by casting and creating an ensemble feel amongst all the tavern workers — making it also the best line experience at SDCC (which in and of itself is its own feat). Casting and performer coaching for costumed tavern staff trained to invite play, immersing guests individually and making them feel seen and rewarded for being fans of the game and the franchise.
“After entering and beginning your journey, you are automatically greeted by many exotic characters, as well as warnings and the promise of meeting other forthcoming dangers.”
— The Nerds of Color
AHS Nightbites
FX — American Horror Story · Agency: NVE · Multiple Cities (NY, LA, Provincetown)
Helped transform traditional brand ambassador roles into HITs as an ensemble — all playing bakery workers at each of these bakery pop-ups, making fans of AHS feel seen by matching the eerie, campy vibe of the show. The human layer turned a simple product activation into an immersive world fans didn't want to leave.
60+ activations since 2018. Press coverage in IndieWire, Collider, Variety, BizBash, Ad Age, Event Marketer, and more.
Let's Talk About Your Next ActivationLet's Talk
Ready to Make Your Guests Feel Seen?
If this resonates if you're ready to elevate the human layer at your next activation and make your guests feel something they'll remember let's talk about how IDD can work for your project.
In a 30-minute strategy call, we'll discuss:
- →How guests currently experience your activation
- →Where the human connection opportunities are
- →What designed interpersonal dynamics could look like for your event
Working with clients worldwide