Commercial Integrator August 2022 - 18

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PERFECTING YOUR CRAFT
Never Settle for 'Good Enough'
The environments we create are an art form, whether they're out-of-home spaces,
virtual experiences or a hybrid. By Alesia Hendley
WHAT IS EXPERIENCE DESIGN? It's hard
to say. There are many different definitions
and ideas of what experience design is and
consists of, especially when experience design
is looked at in various industries. Earlier
this year, I was drawn to an agency called
Clockwork, many of whose viewpoints I
value. To Clockwork, quality experience
design is every single interaction being well
considered; moreover, everything has to be
coordinated and strategically implemented
to be consistent. Every single interaction
within a space must be evaluated and considered.
I believe an approach like this leads
us to create better experiences. When we
consider all people, all possible use cases
and every touchpoint we go far beyond
" good enough. " When we do these things,
we provide quality experiences that can
seamlessly evolve just as we humans do.
I speak quite a bit about immersive experiences.
Quite honestly, the creativity and
passion that projects like this exude have
always captured me and pulled at my heartstrings.
I legit get goosebumps when I step
into places like Meow Wolf and when I talk
with experts on how spaces like SUMMIT
One Vanderbilt came to life. But the experience
design that goes into creating office
spaces, coworking spaces, huddle rooms
and many other unique spaces is also an art
form. These spaces are built to drive communication,
collaboration and innovation.
They must embody fresh inspiration and
incorporate technology that helps reach
end goals, as opposed to hindering the
process of goal achievement.
Can You Hear Me Now?
Saying " You're on mute " is the modern-day
equivalent of asking " Can you hear me
now? " All of us saw videoconferencing
explode during the pandemic, when
the entire world was looking for a way to
communicate with work colleagues, family
members and teachers while remaining
safe at home. The transition was over18
It's
a safe bet that the essential needs of virtual communication will very much
continue to be a big focus.
whelming, but, finally, all my friends and
family members seemed to understand
what it is that I do for a living. And, at least
at the beginning, everyone needed assistance
with their Zoom calls.
Our industry has so much cool technology
these days, but it's a safe bet that the essential
needs of virtual communication will
very much continue to be a big focus. After
all, in our business, we're constantly looking
to harness new ways of doing things. How
are we designing for the future? We must
now consider implementing hybrid strategies
in parallel with strategies for real-time
use in the actual space. We even must
design in the metaverse - a major part of
several panel discussions at InfoComm '22.
There are critical questions to consider:
How do we design for the virtual space if
everyone's environment on the other side
of the video is different? A good place to
start is with the " A " in AV - namely, audio.
I shared a panel with Rebecca Sullins,
senior design engineer with ProMedia
Audio Video, on how to design for livestreaming.
We chose to home in on what
is lost, from an audio perspective, when
you lose the acoustics inherent in a physical
Commercial Integrator AUGUST 2022
room. As an engineer, I was trained to
consider all the added factors of the space.
I was trained, for example, to ask questions
like this: Is there carpet? Are there high
ceilings? How does the room sound when
it's empty? How does it sound when it's full?
Now, we must consider not only how a
room sounds while we are in the space but
also how things sound for those on the other
side, occupying their own physical space.
And this is an art form. It's not as bright
and shiny as projection-mapping or a large
video display, but it's certainly cool to nail an
experience the first time when we consider
every single interaction. It's cool to curate
spaces for people and teams to create in.
So, if you don't know where to start, then
start with the audio. That will build a solid
foundation in the communication thread.
Cameras On!
Does having your camera turned on
during a meeting mean that you'll be more
engaged? I'd like to think so. You might
still be looking at your phone a time or two,
or you might have to tell the dog to be
quiet. But having the camera on can make
a difference, and, to some, it's perceived as
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Commercial Integrator August 2022

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