From the sigils on Otzi the Iceman to the dragon on King George V, tattoos have been around for as long as humans have. The modern tattoo gun was invented by Samuel O'Reilly in 1876 and, since then, every generation has gotten more tattoos than the last. Today roughly 40% of Americans have at least one tattoo and almost half of the millennial population is inked. 

But as tattoos grow more popular, the process for getting one remains antiquated. Interviews with customers revealed that over-booked artists, stuffy parlors, and the fear of permanent mistakes all stigmatize and undermine the timeless allure of body art.  Here, Mirage reimagines the tattoo experience for the modern era. Our 6-axis ultra-precise robotic Dragon Arm applies the perfect tattoo, every time.

A delightful digital marketplace allows users to access designs from any artist, anywhere. A paradisal, spa-like in-store experience brings the pop-up chic of Apple and Glossier to the tattoo industry. And our custom 6-month Mirage Ink allows users to try out a tattoo without making a lifelong commitment. 

Mirage was a passion project I worked on with a group of friends in the Summer of 2019. To raise funding for robotics research and fabrication, I developed a series of illustrations and successful investor decks to communicate the techno-tribal futurism of Mirage’s mission. Presentations were designed and animated in Keynote, with the ‘Mirage Dawn’ inspired by the visual work of game studio Snowman.  While Mirage is no more, the Executive Summary lives here.