When Domino’s CEO Dave Doyle saw his company’s profits plummet in 2007, he knew that something had to change. He kept one of the company’s core values in mind: “Champion Our Customers.” So, rather than arguing with employees and customers about the status quo, he went directly to them to see what needed to be changed. This meant making sure every employee was on the same page and addressing the biggest complaints.
To do this, he set out to develop a domino maker that would allow the average person to build their own custom domino track online. The tool, which is now called Domino Designer, lets users plan out a domino track in the same way you might make a jigsaw puzzle. And once you’re done, you can simply click the download button and print it out for free. The tool is a great example of how Domino’s is using technology to drive engagement and sales while staying true to the brand’s roots.
For most people, domino is a game played by two or more players on a table where each player in turn places a domino, or tile, edge to edge against another domino so that the tops of the tiles match, or form some specified total (for example, all six pips on one end, or all nine pips on the other). The first player to do so wins. Normally the players play in turns until either one player can no longer play, or the total of all the dominos on a player’s side of the table equals a particular number (this is known as “chipping out”).
Hevesh has worked on many mind-blowing domino setups—and she even helped set the Guinness record for the most dominoes toppled in a circular arrangement: 76,017! Creating these incredible installations requires a deep understanding of physics. In her latest video, Hevesh explains how she uses the laws of gravity to create some of her most impressive designs.
Watch the full video below, and learn how Hevesh creates her domino art. If you’re inspired to try your own domino art, start small and slowly increase the size of your design as you practice. Then, carefully observe your dominoes as they fall a few times. Does the first domino always fall the same way? Does it take a little more force to get the next domino to fall? By experimenting with these questions, you’ll learn more about the principles behind dominoes and how to build your own masterpiece.
When you nudge the first domino with just the tip of your finger, that small nudge releases its potential energy. This energy is transferred to the next domino, which then transmits it to the following domino—and so on until the last domino has fallen. This is how dominoes are able to generate such massive chain reactions. And it’s also how Hevesh and other domino artists are able to create such stunning displays.