In a world swamped by noise, echo chambers and rapid opinion-swings, our partner The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) wanted to bring their new brand platform — Here’s to Reason — to life in a way that felt authentic, human and experiential.

The question was simple but powerful: how do you take something as abstract as “reason” and make people feel it?

That was the question we explored with The Sydney Morning Herald, when they invited us to help bring their Here’s to Reason platform to life at SXSW Sydney.

The result was The Common Ground: an immersive installation that invited people to pause, reflect, and literally step into the light when they agreed with a statement about life, media, or truth. Over a few days, more than 16,000 people did exactly that.

As Gareth Brock, our Head of Strategy put it: “The Common Ground was designed to help people pause and reconnect with reason. It’s not about who’s right or wrong, it’s about rediscovering dialogue and understanding. Partnering with Nine and Publicis Worldwide to bring this to SXSW was the perfect way to show how brand experiences can make ideas tangible and real.”

For us, it was a perfect expression of what curiosity can do: take a simple idea and turn it into something people can stand inside, interact with, and remember.

In a world that often rewards outrage over understanding, The Common Ground reminded us that curiosity isn’t just about asking questions — it’s about listening for the answers, too.