Toronto, Canada-based digital solutions provider Alias|Wavefront is celebrating its 20th anniversary with the launch of a corporate identity change from Alias|Wavefront to simply Alias. A new logo will accompany the name change. The company’s 20th year has been highlighted by the receipt of a technical Oscar for the development of Alias|Wavefront Maya software.
Alias Research was founded in Toronto in 1983, with Wavefront Technologies launching one year later in Santa Barbara, Calif. Both companies experienced strong growth and developed products such as Composer, Kinemation, Dynamation, Alias and PowerAnimator through the late ’80s and into the ’90s. In the mid-’90s, the two companies were acquired and merged under Silicon Graphics as Alias|Wavefront.
Commenting on the name change, Alias president Doug Walker says, "Our new name allows us to focus on building a single brand for new products going forward and frees up resources to invest in the products themselves." He notes that the company will bring new products and services to market more rapidly over the next five years than ever before in its 20-year history.
Alias software was used to realize such cutting-edge films as Tron, The Abyss, Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park, as well as recent Oscar winners The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Matrix, Shrek and For the Birds.
The company will formally celebrate its 20th anniversary with customers, partners and the CG industry at Siggraph 2003, where the annual AGUA@Night user group meeting will feature the company’s highlights from the past 20 years. To register for AGUA@Night, visit www.alias.com/agua.
