makebelieve is an interactive design and consulting company based in Greece and the UK. Our work involves the conceptualisation and design of user-centred, functional and engaging immersive and interactive digital experiences, drawing on contemporary research and emerging practice in the areas of educational and cultural technology, entertainment, and marketing.

makebelieve’s activities encompass a range of topics concerning the initial concept development, design, coordination, and evaluation of innovative digital media experiences and high-end immersive Virtual Reality projects as well as multimedia and web design work for a diverse clientele. Clients include public and private institutions, museums, location-based entertainment research, and commercial spaces.

Maria Roussou is founding director of makebelieve. She is an interaction and virtual reality designer, researcher, producer, and educator, engaged in combining innovative technology with education and culture. Before founding makebelieve, she established and directed (for four+ years, 1998-2002) the Virtual Reality Department at the Foundation of the Hellenic World, a cultural heritage institution based in Athens, Greece, where she was responsible for the virtual reality infrastructure, programs, research, and design of the overall visitor experience. During her extensive work with the CAVE® at the Electronic Visualization Laboratory in Chicago, she focused on the design, application, and evaluation of virtual and digital media environments for education and the representation of cultural information. She has collaborated with many museums, including contemporary art museums such as the Walker Art Center, to design and create interactive art education material for the Internet. Her projects and collaborations have been featured internationally, she has been a regular member of the program and organizing committees of numerous exhibitions and conferences, has lectured extensively, and has served as Expert Evaluator to the European Commission FP5 & FP6 IST Programmes. She holds a PhD in VR/HCI from the University of London (UCL), a MFA degree in Electronic Visualization, and a MSc in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has work experience in Greece, the UK and the USA, and is a member of ACM, IEEE, ICOM, AAM, AACE. personal page

Dimitris Nastos is co-founder and director of makebelieve. He is a computer expert with experience in both research and the industry. After getting his B.Sc. degree in Computer Science from the University of Crete, he obtained his M.Sc. from the Department of Computer Science of the University of Toronto, Canada. His research experience includes work on several EU projects at the Foundation of Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH), government and industry funded projects at the Dynamic Graphics Project Lab and the Cognitive Engineering Lab of the University of Toronto, and as a free-lance consultant. His industry experience includes work on application design, user interface design and implementation for EU and government funded projects, network solutions, and system configuration, administration and integration.

Antonis Makrygiannis is a graphic, 3D animation, and multimedia designer. He has been collaborating with makebelieve since 2005 on multiple projects. Since 2009, he is makebelieve's chief of multimedia and game design. Antonis also maintains his own freelance design business http://whoisantonis.com/.

Vali Lalioti is a board member of makebelieve. She brings her business experience in the media and technology industries, and advises in terms of business development and growth strategy. She also has a strong academic and research record with a range of skills and experience, from Software Engineering and Computer Graphics to Mixed Reality, Tele-Education and new media, with over 50 international publications and 2 patents. She has managed research and commercial projects with interdisciplinary teams from different countries in areas including Mixed Reality and interactive entertainment. She has a PhD in Computer Science and an MBA in Strategy and Marketing, and work experience in Greece, the United Kingdom, Germany, South Africa and the United States of America. She is a Marie Curie Fellow, founding member of AFRIGRAPH; an ACM SIGGRAPH affiliated Association, Expert Evaluator to the European Commission and executive member of IEE and member of ACM, EUROGRAPHICS, IEEE. 

We work with a fun and very creative team of freelancers and companies
Pics from the makebelieve party 2007
Pics from the makebelieve Xmas dinner with our closest collaborators, 2007