Bruce Vaughn Talks About His Return To Imagineering- Restoring Creativity
After a seven-year absence, Bruce Vaughn is back as the CCO of Walt Disney Imagineering.
It was a long and winding road back for Vaughn, who initially started a 22-year run at Imagineering in 1993, when he sold his firm Associates & Ferren to Disney.
After leaving WDI in 2016, Vaughn became the CEO of the VR experience company Dreamscape and VP of Experimental Create Product with Airbnb.
Joining WDI
Interestingly, unlike some Imagineers who grew up loving Disney and visiting the parks, Vaughn had always been more interested in film and literature than themed experiences.
When joining WDI however he was taken under the wing of Imagineering legends John Hench, Marty Sklar and Tom Fitzgerald.
“John Hench and Tom Fitzgerald helped me bridge the gaps between the creative disciplines very quickly. John would talk about how the landscaping under your feet helps with the cross dissolve as you move from the hub to Adventureland, and how the texture changes, and even how the foliage is used. To think that you can do that with architecture and landscape and in the dimensional world — and not just through the lens of a camera — became super compelling to me. It really opened my eyes when John would say things like, ‘Wherever you travel, think about the streets. Think about how the buildings reveal each other and what’s interesting and what’s not.’ He recalls.
Why Now Was The Time Return
While Vaughn enjoyed his time at Dreamscape and Airbnb, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, he felt the time was right to return to Disney.
“Around the world, we’re all coming out of our COVID caves, from the darkness into the light. If you look at the performance of our parks, it’s clear people have been yearning for them. There’s the pent-up need to gather and do things together, in safe, reassuring environments. There’s probably no better time to be an Imagineer than right now, because we’re the folks who create exactly those types of experiences. We’re seeing huge popularity around the world. We’re seeing growth, we’re seeing the brand and the various franchises that Disney stands for resonate around the world.”
Restoring Creativity
Another factor that brought Vaughn back to Imagineering was the return of CEO Bob Iger. Upon his return last November, Iger promised that he would put more control back into the hands of Disney’s creatives.
For his part, Vaughn understands the need for balance between business and creativity but is happy to see the focus shifted back to Imagineerin’s creative side.
“That’s the Imagineering culture I know. You’ve got to keep creativity and innovation in a leading role. Of course, a designer spends a lot of time understanding the business as well, because ultimately this has got to function as a business. The various operators around the world are our partners, and they know what works in their part of the world and with their guests,” he said.
“This Is All For Guests”
“It’s important that the creative side and the business side stay in balance with one another. The creative process is very fragile. I think that’s what Bob Iger is being most clear about: we need to be respectful of the talents and appreciate one another’s strengths and let everybody be at the table together to help create. Our product is ultimately a creative product that also turns into really good business because it makes people happy,” Vaughn says.
In the end, Vaugn believes that serving the guest is at the heart of everything WDI does, even if those same guests aren’t exactly sure what that means.
“At the end of the day, this is all for the guests, not for us as designers. We’re serving the guests here. And we want them to come in and get what they are expecting and what they want in ways that are unexpected.”
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