VMSD - August 2017 - 15

thinking," and in some circles, it has grown to be one of those overused phrases that's easy to talk about but often difficult to put into
everyday practice. In this case, I think the session represented a
seminal factor that must be considered when thinking about what
exactly a so-called "next store" is. Are we designing too much for the
aesthetic elements and not enough for the consumer?
Experience mapping is a key exercise that every design studio
ought to be putting into its ideation and conception phases. Siggi
Bachmann of Contexto (Miami) led us through the process that had
me thinking, eliciting the proverbial "lightbulb" moment at the end.
Stop and consider: How often do we ask our clients to put us in front of
their target audience and ask questions? Seldom, if ever, has it been my
industry experience.
Bachmann taught us how to first gather information by mapping the
journey, and then by experiencing and understanding the stakeholder
that would be our customer. From there, we listed their needs and
generated insights. We could then define the problem that led to testing
ideas and moving the potential customer to a solution with a prototype
to interact with. User experience (UX) will be imperative to unlocking
what the idea of "design thinking" should be to our community.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
I said goodbye to South Florida and moved on to Orlando for the
InfoComm Intl. conference and trade show, which turned out some
40,000 attendees. I'd never before attended an event billed as the

flagship trade show for the professional audiovisual and information
communications industries, but one of my close business partners
expressed that it's simply one of those shows you can't miss. Naturally, the VMSD editorial team was in attendance to check out the
sights and sounds. And there were plenty of "digital flamingos" to
grab our attention.
I'd never before thought about just how big this industry is and its
impact on creating experiences, especially when it comes to bringing branded graphics, or even lighting, to life. But according to InfoComm's Industry Outlook and Trends Analysis (IOTA) 2017 report,
the global professional AV market is projected to grow to $230 billion
by 2022, up from $178 billion in 2016.
Another surprise was the amount of lighting products on display.
As we've observed in retail lately, lighting controls are indeed the way
of the future, and this was evident at InfoComm. One of my favorite
and most inspiring conversations happened around a tunable lowvoltage LED system that was powered and controlled over a single
Cat 6 cable. So often digital signage content is compromised by lighting plans that don't relate to the display, but with simple controls,
the light can automatically adjust and make its surrounding environment as dynamic as a live concert. The possibilities are virtually endless, and I can see that a new cooperative service for design is coming
as we begin to stage digital interiors in the coming years.
Other notable InfoComm showstoppers were sensor-based
flip-disc signage (think train stations in Europe) that incorporate a
customer's outline onto the sign; floors and walls comprising LEDs
that gave the impression that you were actually standing in a virtual
environment in one show booth (potentially applicable for retail and
hospitality design and associate training); and wall-mounted LED
and LCD video systems that continue to push toward zero-bezel
nirvana. Projection mapping has also advanced to become another
VM feature in our toolkit. Seamless digital backdrops will continue
to be desired features as merchants look for ways to become the
"digital flamingo" that's necessary in today's crowded field. Software
simplicity is making for some visually stunning effects that can map
to almost any shape and bring about a fresh content experience to
any display.
Both shows - SEGD's Experience Conference and InfoComm -
will be imperative resources as our own abilities continue to expand
and our craft seeks new avenues. And there were so many new ideas
that sprang forth that I'm sure we'll be seeing them in future "next
stores" soon enough. 

Brian is a partner at the digital agency REX (Beverly Hills,
Calif.) and CorbisGlobal (Manhattan Beach, Calif.). Follow
him on Twitter @briandyches.

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august 2017

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