Meet the company designing tech for superheroes and spacecraft

It was shortly after Iron Man 2 was released in May 2010 that design lab Perception started to get some unexpected calls. After nearly a decade creating motion graphics for broadcast networks, the Perception team had spent the last several months conceptualizing, designing, and animating Tony Stark’s futuristic technology, from his signature glass phone to the 3D- holographic workstation where Stark brings his mad science machinations to life.

For Perception co-founder Jeremy Lasky, a lifelong fan of the Marvel comics, the job was a dream come true. But he never could have anticipated what came next.

“We started getting calls from technology companies very, very quickly after the movie,” Lasky told The Science of Fiction. “We got a call from Microsoft who flew out a team to meet us to talk to us about a host of projects. We got involved with something with Samsung at the time. And all of a sudden this was like this whole new world of opportunity that we didn't see coming.”

Since then, Perception has carved out a unique niche for itself in the visual effects space: Designing futuristic technologies for superheroes, and doing the same for real world tech companies.

Perception has become one of Marvel’s go-to studios for visual effects, developing not just the holographic displays and interfaces used by Stark and his cabal of Avengers, but the Vibranium-based nanotechnology that pervades the futuristic African civilization of Wakanda, and the title sequences for countless Marvel films and TV shows, from Thor:Ragnarok to WandaVision. At the same time, the company has worked with some of the world’s largest consumer tech firms, automakers, and aerospace companies to bring a science fictional feel to real world displays and user interfaces. Perception worked with IBM to develop the avatar for an artificially-intelligent debate program, and it partnered with Intel to visualize the firm's work using drones and AI to survey the Great Wall of China.

Perception’s designs for Stark Industries and its work for actual tech companies are deeply intertwined, with science fiction inspiring the team to develop new user experiences and data visualizations in the real world and advancements in actual science and technology driving innovation within the Marvel cinematic universe. The Science of Fiction spoke with Lasky to learn more about the company’s work, its unique approach to design, and the feedback loop between superhero technology and the devices that permeate our lives.

This conversation has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.