Volume 9, Issue 3 — March 23, 2017

However, there are three simple rules that I’ve discovered must be followed in order to ensure that any interactive display is as successful and engaging as possible. If you’re planning an event or campaign, and you’re planning to incorporate a motion, gesture, or touch reactive digital experience, these rules will help you get the most out of your investment.

I’ve been the CEO of Lumo Interactive, a company that specializes in interactive digital display software, for over 6 years. In that time, we’ve deployed over 15,000 software licenses, and helped design tens of thousands of interactive displays, from motion reactive floors and walls, to gesture tracking games, to touchscreen and holographic displays of every shape and size.

In that time, I’ve learned a lot about what works (and doesn’t work) when designing a display that hundreds or thousands of people are going to engage with. There are obviously all kinds of factors that influence how a display is designed, and how it works. These include things like lighting requirements, durability, intuitive user experience, target audience, localization, accessibility… the list is super long.

However, there are three simple rules that I’ve discovered must be followed in order to ensure that any interactive display is as successful and engaging as possible. If you’re planning an event or campaign, and you’re planning to incorporate a motion, gesture, or touch reactive digital experience, these rules will help you get the most out of your investment.

RULE 1: WRITE THE ENDING FIRST.

An interactive display can be a useful way to engage an audience. It can also be a complete waste of money, space, and time if you don’t know what you want the audience to take away from your installation when it’s over. Your goals will help determine the end product, so it’s important to understand exactly what you want to achieve. Here are some of the reasons digital displays are used in an activations, and how they can inform design decisions.

You want to teach people something.

Research shows that one of the most effective ways to share and retain information is through an interactive experience. This is something that e-Learning platforms have understood for a while. Even outside the digital world, interactivity is on the rise in the classroom, from kindergarten to Harvard. Even large companies are getting the message — training new staff has always been a challenge, and linear videos and booklets just don’t have the same appeal as a personal, tangible interaction with the content.

When education is your primary goal, your design should focus on ease of use, which includes reducing the learning curve and evaluating success once information has been shared. This means you’ll need to eliminate surprises as much as possible, by creating something comfortable with familiar interaction metaphors, and incentivizing the interaction in a meaningful way.

The Heart Lounge table by digital design company Aarra is a nice example of an accessible way to learn about the components of blood, including what each cell is responsible for. By manipulating each component, users can learn about their functions in a variety of ways. This helps people learn by physically exploring, which leads to better information recall.

You want to create a meaningful connection between the audience and your message or brand.

In this case, the takeaway is a feeling. You want your installation to have an emotional impact on the audience. There are any number of ways to do this with a digital display, but there are important design considerations when the main point of your project is to trigger an emotion.

You need to consider context, both in terms of the physical structure of the display, and in terms of the location. A wonderful example of this is the Pathways to Housing campaign by Sarkissian Mason, which demonstrated the impact average people could have on homelessness simply by not ignoring it.

The installation targeted average New Yorkers who walk by, and probably ignore, the growing homeless population on a daily basis. To raise awareness, this campaign took place right on the streets of New York, and featured a life sized projection of a homeless individual, offering curious passers by a chance to help by engaging via SMS.

You want to spread the word.

If your goal is shareability, your design should involve elements of surprise, entertainment, and novelty. Remember that when someone shares something, it’s a reflection of themselves — your interactive display should be interesting, clever, or delightful enough to motivate the audience to share it because it will reflect well on them, personally.

A really good rule of thumb when it comes to shareability is that the more fun it is to watch other people engage with the installation, the more sharing it will get. Consider this augmented reality experience sponsored by National Geographic. Since all the action takes place on a big screen, the number of people able to see and share the installation is huge, even though the number of people actually engaging at any given time is relatively small.

RULE 2: ADD A SHINY RED BUTTON.

This rule is obvious, but difficult to follow. If you think of your display as a really amazing person everyone wants to meet, you need to identify the feature that makes that person so attractive… are they funny? Do they make you feel smarter? Do you feel cooler for having spent time with them?

The shiny red button is an analogy for whatever it is about your installation that draws the audience and retains them so that they can have a personal experience.

Often, the easiest way to do this is to add a new level of engagement to a button that people press without thinking every single day. In this example, this is a literal button, created by design team Urban Invention.

The point of this installation is to encourage people to wait until it’s safe before crossing the street. The experience rewards people who engage with a game of pong against someone waiting across the street, occupying dwell time and decreasing impatience.

Here is a similar project, created by BBDO Berlin for Smart. On the surface, the goal seems the same, but in this case the shiny red button is unexpected amusement for the audience waiting, and a chance to actively engage in a different, nearby location.

Even though both displays seem to have the same end goal, (make people wait before crossing the street), this isn’t actually the case. In the first installation, a single person plays a game against someone waiting across the street. This experience may be watched (and may entertain) people standing very nearby, and it may even be shareable (the original test generated around 5 million views).

The second installation, however, was a lot more viral, led to several marketing awards, and offered two completely different levels of engagement. It’s also worth noting that the second installation differs from the first because it was designed to be a temporary experience in an event setting, and the goal was to generate ad collateral, rather than provide an actual, somewhat practical way to encourage people to wait at crosswalks.

Different desired outcomes informed the way these displays were designed.

This just goes to show that the perceived intention of an installation is not always the actual motivation. This why it’s so important to really understand what you want at the end before you add your shiny red button.

RULE 3: REMEMBER ALL THE HUMANS.

I’m a huge proponent of accessibility, but that’s not what this rule is about. When you go through the time and trouble to create an interactive digital experience, engaging your immediate audience should be your primary goal, but it should never be your only goal. This is because humans get bored. Fast. This means that in order to extend the shelf life and value of your installation, you need to either attract new humans or build an experience that lives on long after the original concept is executed and packed away.

One way to achieve this is to do something no one’s ever seen before. Consider the LG Halloween prank video, which was done once, totally staged, and caused so many people to upload and share it that I can’t find the original video.

This rule applies to any interactive display you want people to continue to use and/or talk about. Way-finding kiosks may seem like something you wouldn’t need to update often, since people in an airport or mall will always want to use them to find their way. But eventually your original audience will know where they’re going. Turning the kiosk from a tool into an experience may become really important. However, doing this in a meaningful way is more challenging when the display is meant to be practical rather than entertaining.

Creating a reason to return (or a reason for new humans to show up) can be as simple as customizing the experience each time. Imagine a way-finding kiosk that creates a personalized augmented experience people can take with them when they leave.

Customization is also the key to designing interactive displays that offer brand new experiences for participants, without reinventing the wheel for each new project. This is an exciting time to be in the feild of digital display design. We can incorporate an almost unlimited number of ways to engage with content. Artificial intelligence and deep learning can make our installations smarter and more adaptable. Audiences are becoming more familiar with technology, allowing their curiosity to over-rule our species’ tendency towards fear of the unknown. Understanding how you want the display to change the behavior of your audience can help you navigate the vast array of technology choices available.

Conclusion

This is obviously not a comprehensive list of every possible thing to consider when designing a compelling interactive display experience. But when you apply them to your project, you’ll achieve a much better, much more satisfying outcome, for your team, your clients, and the audience.

Have you done something super cool with interactive digital displays? Let us know, we’d love to share it!

This column was reprinted with permission of Meghan Athavale, CEO of Lumo Interactive, and originally appeared here.

Designed to create seamless convex or concave curved video walls, TrueFLEX offers a wide range of pitch options for high-resolution and creative LED video content. Its slim and ultra lightweight construction provides a low-profile installation that needs very little space for wiring and mounting and provides single module replacement for easy onsite service. Using magnetic LED modules and set screw ports, TrueFLEX can easily attach to virtually any surface, and the external sending and receiving control, paired with quality connectors, guarantee safe and reliable module connections.

Here are the details.

In addition to Emerging Trends Day, InfoComm 2017 will feature a new Center Stage, located on the exhibit floor, where AV industry thought leaders will showcase case studies and real-world AV solutions to customers’ enterprise technology challenges. A schedule of free Center Stage presentations will be available soon on infocommshow.org.

“Through Emerging Trends Day and Center Stage, InfoComm 2017 attendees will see how audiovisual technology is creating remarkable solutions and customer outcomes,” said Jason McGraw, CTS, CAE, senior vice president of expositions, InfoComm International. “Along with our TIDE conference, plus a variety of new sessions added to our regular education offerings, attendees will gain fresh context for all the new products that will be on display from 1,000 exhibitors.”

Also new this year is TIDE (Technology. Innovation. Design. Experience.), a one-day conference at InfoComm 2017 for examining the strategic impact of AV technology. It was created not just for AV professionals, but also for design professionals and enterprise technology customers. TIDE will feature keynote speakers Matthew Luhn, one of the original story creators at Pixar, and virtual reality pioneer Nonny de la Peña. For more information, go here.

InfoComm 2017 will also introduce the new Immersive Technology Pavilion, an area dedicated to augmented reality, virtual reality and 360-degree video solutions. The new pavilion will include hands-on experiences of application-specific VR environments, and attendees will learn how AR, VR and 360 video (sometimes called immersive video) can be used in commercial AV applications.

Emerging Trends Day will kick off with Pete Putman, CTS, of ROAM Consulting, who will provide his annual forecast of future trends in the pro-AV industry. Next, Dr. S. Ann Earon, President of Telemanagement Resources International, will moderate a series of 30-minute briefings with the nine 2017 Emerging Trends Fellows. Attendees can join some or all of the sessions.

Register here.

But the big differentiator here is that they are already pre-integrated with everything you need for digital signage — the display includes a built-in router, cloud connection, an Android-based media player and a CMS (content management system) for all the content. The integrated Android media player not only plays content via the built-in CMS but, it also allows you to display a live website (from a live URL feed provided by a third party to any social media profile) in real-time. Connectivity to the internet/cloud is provided via LAN, Wi-Fi or 3G.

Since the LED-backlit displays are exclusively — and purpose-built — for digital signage, they are all button-less, use tempered glass, have rounded corners with edge-to-edge glass and are surrounded by an aluminum frame.

The CMS itself includes integrated display design templates, a scheduled playlist, remote management and control and a media library that’s easy to access.

The entire line is located here.

The PN-L401C interactive display shares some great features of other models in the AQUOS BOARD display line incluing the Sharp Pen-on-Paper user experience, which resists fingerprints and scratches, as well as providing an anti-glare surface. It a native HD LCD (1920×1080) resolution, 10-point multi-touch display with a detachable tabletop stand so it can either sit at the end of a table or hang on the wall like a picture — it’s even light enough to be attached using Velcro as it weighs less than 25 pounds.

It includes an expansion slot compatible with the Intel Mini Open Pluggable Specification (Mini OPS) system, cab receive content via wireless connectivity or via an HDBaseT input. It lists for $2,295.

Here are all the specs.

The projector itself is a WXGA (1366×768) resolution 3LCD using a laser as a light source. Spec’d at a 4000:1 contrast ratio and embedded with a 13 megapixel camera, the Xperia Touch is only 100 lumens but the projection distance is so short that it looks brighter on a surface like a table. Input is USB-C (with an HDMI adapter) and it uses Miracast as well as NFC for wireless connectivity. Touch Control uses an IR sensor and camera and it is 10 point multi-touch.

This is a big deal, in case you haven’t noticed.

Here are all the details.

NEC Display’s filter-less operation represents both a technical design and an industry breakthrough. Facing less projector downtime and fewer service repairs, users can maximize their technology investments and the applications available to them.

Both of the current projectors in the PA Series are WUXGA (1920×1200) resolution projectors and can handle inputs up to 4K/60p. Factory-st with the Rec2020 color conversion technology, they are both capable of handling 10-bit color processing and have an 8,000:1 contrast ratio. Input include two HDMI ports, a DisplayPort with HDCP and an HDBaseT inout with HDCP.

The NP-PA653UL projector will be available in April 2017 and list for $7,779 and the NP-PA803UL projector will be available in August 2017 and will list for $6,499. Here are all the specs.

The PN-L401C is native1920×1080 resolution with 10-point multi-touch, has a detachable tabletop stand and an expansion slot compatible with the Intel Mini Open Pluggable Specification (Mini OPS) supports the addition of an optional wireless or HDBaseT receiver board.

It’s already shipping and here are the specs.

As we reported last year, the Google Jamboard — to be sold, primarily, through BenQ in most of the world, is an interactive LCD is a portable (on four wheels), 55” 4K (3840×2160) resolution collaboration board that’s integrated with Google’s G Suite — email, videoconferencing, cloud collaboration of Google Docs, device management, file sharing, etc. Pull in work from Google Docs, Sheets and Slides or add photos stored in Drive. To capture ideas, Jamboard includes tools like sticky notes and stencils as well as intelligent features like handwriting and shape recognition. And, of course, videoconferencing.

This will likely force some other newbies in the collaboration board market to readjust their pricing — as Google previously announced it at $6,000. New collaboration board lines debuted at ISE from Newline, Avocor, Cisco, Sharp and NEC.

Jamboard is all Google, though. Unlike some of the others, it’s designed, made and integrated with Google G Suite and it’s basically just an electronic whiteboard without it. With it, however, you can do document collaboration — with all sites connected seeing the exact same thing on all their Jamboard (or anyone connected via G Suite via a laptop or tablet).

Here’s a YouTube video of the Jamboard in action.

Here are the detailed specs from the BenQ site.

With a power capacity of 10 amps, the J40 handles 120-volt inputs and can surge up to 2,400 Joules. It’s an 8″x3″x1.2″ form factor housed in a metal enclosure and has three-power inputs.

Here are all the detailed specs.

Designed with a display brightness of 500 cd/m2, the V Series is suitable for commercial customers that need professional 24/7 quality under the common ambient lighting conditions found in education, retail, entertainment and quick service restaurants. The P Series, on the other hand, is designed with a brightness of 700 cd/m2 to ensure easy readability at the same 24/7 quality for the higher ambient lighting conditions found in transportation, financial, broadcast and corporate environments.

All six monitors have two HDMI 2.0 ports and one DisplayPort 1.2 with daisy chain capability, but each display now has modular expansion options that allow for flexibility in content distribution and internal processing. The displays have an integrated media player that enables users to load content via USB or over the Ethernet connection, useful for simple signage integration. In addition to this, the V and P Series maintain the OPS slot of previous generation products, which allows for the seamless integration of more complex computing options.  

NEC has introduced the ability to integrate a Raspberry Pi Computer Module directly into the displays via a simple card slot. The new displays also feature enhanced imaging performance via the SpectraView Engine, a chipset that allows for complete color control, including luminance, gamma, color and uniformity (P Series only) control.

Other features include:

• LED edge-lit backlight technology for reduced power consumption and a thinner overall depth
• NFC capabilities, which allow a smart phone or tablet to communicate with displays for setup and servicing
• Improved daisy chain capabilities allowing for UHD daisy chain for video wall purposes and LAN daisy chain for control signals, reducing overall cable  requirements
• Multi Picture Mode capabilities, allowing for up to 4 simultaneous images to be displayed at once on the screen.
• 12-bit Look Up Tables (LUT) to provide accurate, stable and repeatable color calibrations
• Auto-ID and Auto IP Address functionality, minimizing setup times
• IR lock capability, which allows the end user to control only certain parts of the display while protecting other important settings from inadvertent adjustment
• CEC control through HDMI, allowing control capabilities with other HDMI CEC compatible devices
• L-shaped terminal interface and bottom OPS slot, which allow for easier access to connectivity in both landscape and portrait orientation
• Face up and face down orientation support for specialized applications

The V404, V484, V554, P404 and P484 displays will be available in late March at a list price of $1,049, $1,299, $1,799, $1,299 and $1,579, respectively. The P554 display will be available in April. Here are all the specs.

As with previous generations, QL 2.0 features three distinct elements:

• QL 2.0 Server: A highly scalable and fault-tolerant server with robust load balancing to manage thousands of players across enterprise networks, improving reliability while accommodating growth. Automatic failover strengthens network uptime while connectivity to third-party content delivery networks (CDNs) extends reach. A special software development kit (SDK) also expands customization options.
• QL 2.0 Content Manager: Featuring the refreshed CMS and new adaptive HTML5 user interface at its core, Content Manager both simplifies and enhances the way users work with templates, video files, social media, tickers, tags and more across multiple seats, devices and operating systems.
• QL Player 2.0: QL 2.0 is the first solution to offer a native player engine across Windows, Android and Samsung Tizen. Operationally, QL Player 2.0 accommodates image and data feed pre-loading plus an enhanced API set to trigger events and establish interoperability with Navori add-on modules and third-party systems. This can include point-of-sale systems, sports scoring software, and advertising sales and scheduling. A built-in “watchdog’ application ensures all modules run properly and at peak efficiency.

Most of QL 2.0’s flexibility begins with Content Manager. The ability to edit, update and upload a message or media file using any web browser or device empowers users to work from virtually any location, while drag-and-drop simplicity removes the coding and management complexities of working with social media and other real-time data feeds. On the social media side, both QL 2.0 Content Manager and Player automatically integrate with and update Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google Calendar feeds.

The preview functionality also for the first time enables YouTube-style content viewing directly within the user interface, while an improved Template Designer adds the ability to see dynamic data instead of a rectangular fields reference.

QL 2.0’s multi-lingual support and single sign-on authentication provide two additional benefits across opposite sides of the spectrum. Its native support for 34 languages, a higher number than most digital signage systems on the market, ensures almost limitless possibilities for networks deployed across various regions, countries or continents. From a systems administration and management perspective, QL 2.0’s single sign-on authentication feature simplifies the way users can work remotely, while maintaining a high level of security for content and network protection.
Here are all the specs.

Meanwhile, 2016 saw the value of the monochrome/tri-colour LED display market value fall, year-on-year by 5 percent, now contributing less than 25 percent of market value. Much of the decline can be attributed to falling pricing of LED package, coupled with wider market saturation for this more basic option.

“Several sectors dominated the LED video display market in 2016, including media/advertising, stadiums/venues and retail,” commented Chris Mcintyre-Brown, Associate Director of Professional Equipment at Futuresource Consulting. “These segments delivered over half the market value in the video display category. Notably, 2016 experienced a further drive into the retail space and a growing trend toward indoor applications. These included corporate, transport, and control room, which grew in value by 62 percent comfortably surpassing $1 billion. Much of this growth was driven by narrow pixel pitch (NPP) LED which has been hugely disruptive in the commercial display space, challenging LCD and projection platforms,” added Mcintyre-Brown.

This professional displays report maps out the LED market in terms of geography, reaffirming that the LED video display market continues to be dominated by APAC, where over half of all sales originate, largely dominated by China. Whilst not entirely surprising given its ascendancy in global production, the APAC region is regularly overlooked as large, headline grabbing ‘spectaculars’ are often found in key western markets.

According to this latest Futuresource ongoing tracking report, the LED video display competitive landscape continues to remain fragmented. Contribution from 1st and 2nd tier brands accounted for well over two thirds of total sales value in 2016, the remainder being formed of 3rd tier Chinese brands. Over 400 LED display manufacturers are located in China with many currently focused in international expansion, benefiting from driving scale in the large domestic market. “In the main, these vendors have been focused on price driven volume strategies, with incumbent LED specialists still able to hold share in key verticals via long established service and support operations,” says Mcintyre-Brown.

“Product quality is of course another key differentiator against Chinese brands but as acceptance of LED grows and new technologies open up opportunities in volume verticals, the mix of high price and high quality becomes a harder proposition to take to market. Indeed, the disruptive impact of Chinese vendors has never been more keenly felt, forcing some established vendors to exit key LED segments and others to transition more rapidly toward ‘value’ lines, something which requires a completely different operational approach,” comments Mcintyre-Brown.

“The LED space is incredibly fluid at present,” continued Mcintyre-Brown. “We expect to see a shakeout in the competitive landscape, either through vendors exiting the category, increased M&A or completely failing in the face of increasingly pressured trading conditions. The days of high margins and huge profits, at least in the key value NPP LED category, are still with us but very much numbered.”

Futuresource is here.

The HD 4K 101 Plus compensates for poor HDMI source signals and low-quality cabling. It can be used in conjunction with products such as the Extron HD 4K 110 Series to provide a cost effective solution for extending 4K video signals between the source and the display. DDC channels are actively buffered, allowing pass-through of EDID and HDCP information between source and display. EDID pass-through ensures that the source video is at the optimal resolution for the display, and HDCP 2.2 compliance enables extension of encrypted content from Blu-ray players, satellite and cable TV tuners, DVRs, laptop computers, and other HDCP-enabled sources. These capabilities and other features such as a compact enclosure and ability to be powered by the source device make the HD 4K 101 Plus an indispensable addition to AV designs and existing systems with 4K video requirements. 

Here are the specs.

The 11th edition of DSS Europe will make its debut in the prestigious ICM — Internationales Congress Center München on 5-6 July 2017. In addition to a two-day conference programme, DSS Europe 2017 will feature an expanded exhibition area showcasing leading digital signage manufacturers, products and solutions in a venue ideally suited for this purpose. For the first time in the event’s history, visitors will have the option to attend either the exhibition show floor, the conference or both.

DSS Europe 2017 is a joint venture between Integrated Systems Events, the producers of the Integrated Systems Europe tradeshow and invidis consulting, a leading digital signage consultancy. Together they produce the Digital Signage Summit Series of events which includes DSS at ISE (Amsterdam); DSS MENA (Dubai); DSS Russia (Moscow); DSS InfoComm (Orlando); DSS Brazil (Sao Paulo); DSS Mexico (Mexico City) and DSS Africa (Johannesburg). The DSS Europe 2017 event is the signature conference of the series and one that has quickly evolved since ISE and invidis consulting formulated their partnership two years ago.

Integrated Systems Events Managing Director Mike Blackman commented: “The move to the ICM was primarily due to the success of DSS Europe – we had simply outgrown our previous venue. Plus, there was a desire from delegates, sponsors and exhibitors that we take the event to the next level and reach out to the wider digital signage and DooH community. The relocation has allowed us to create a ‘standalone’ exhibition within DSS Europe and the opportunity for greater numbers of people to attend it. At the same time, we are developing and investing in the conference so that its value continues to grow year on year.”

The conference will take place directly above the exhibition floor and will feature over 40 of the world’s leading digital signage and DooH thought leaders and experts. The content theme for 2017 is Digital Signage at the Crossroads – New Technologies, Changing Demands and Market Consolidations. Day One’s twin-tracks will cover DooH and Smart Cities while Day Two will explore Digital Signage and Retail Technology.

As in previous years, the conference will feature a wide variety of presentations, case studies and roundtables, an awards ceremony and the launch of the invidis Digital Signage Yearbook. A key component of DSS Europe 2017 will be the provision for extensive networking between delegates, sponsors and exhibitors. invidis consulting Managing Director Florian Rotberg will chair the event and will also present a keynote speech.

Rotberg said: “This year’s DSS Europe will deliver the most insightful programme so far in a period in the industry when technology providers are being challenged with creating new solutions for business, homes and cities. It’s an exciting time and a period where specialist information and insight is invaluable. We will shine a spotlight on the key areas of the marketplace and the opportunities that are available.”

Confirmed speakers so far include: Stewart Caddick, Connectiv; Bob Raikes, Meko; Thomas Just Rasmussen, Intersport Group and Abdul Bakhani, Digital Communication LLC.

Rotberg concluded: “Whether you come to the conference, or the show floor, or both, the experience you have at DSS Europe 2017 will be richer and more rewarding than ever before.”

‘Early-bird’ registration for the conference and exhibition is now open and the special reduced price of 483 € + VAT is valid until 30th April 2017.

For details on ticket options and prices, as well as registration for the event, go here.

Hitachi says the LP-WU3500 operates at a much lower noise level than other projectors thus they are aiming it for use in a classrooms, conference rooms, art galleries, museums and digital signage. The dust resistant structure applied to the optical engine reduces the effect of dust and particles in the air and enables the projector to be used in an array of environments without overheating and creating unnecessary noise.

Here are the details: http://www.hitachi-america.us/projectors

The player supports wired and wireless networking, has four USB ports includes both analog and digital audio and network as well as IR control. Here are all the detailed specs.

The 28″ LED FHD 1920×1080 resolution GC2870H is 85 percent NTSC color gamut coverage using 8-bit color at a 3,000:1 native contrast ratio. With 178°/178° wide-viewing angles, users can experience authentic colors and ultra-sharp details from any direction. Also, featuring Eye-Care technology, the GC2870H is designed to filter out harmful blue light, effectively decreasing eye fatigue and irritation. It also has an HDMI interface.

Both models are available now and list at $189 for the GC2870H and $299 for the GL2706PQ. Here are the details.

“The NovoAssurED and NovoAmbassador Programs promote engaging digital learning with innovative technology,” said Rick Nguyen, executive vice president and general manager for Vivitek Corporation/America. “We look forward to working with educators nationwide to transform collaboration in classrooms with a state-of-the-art approach.”

In addition, Vivitek has launched a Professional Services Team to lead the development and implementation of NovoAssurED and Novo Ambassador Programs. Michelle Spencer, veteran educator and administrator, has joined Vivitek as Senior Manager of Professional Services with a strong emphasis on the NovoAssurED and Ambassador Learning Programs. Spencer brings her experience as a former teacher for seven years and an administrator for fourteen years, in both charter and traditional schools.

“Our Professional Services Team will play an integral role in the development of the NovoAssurED and NovoAmbassador Programs, bringing collaboration to classrooms nationwide,” said Rick Nguyen, executive vice president and general manager for Vivitek Corporation/America. “We are pleased to announce the addition of Michelle Spencer to lead our Professional Services Team, bringing years of industry-leading experience in the education channel who will lead us in sharing our collaboration solution with educators.”

The NovoAssured Program is here and the NovoAmbassador Program is here.

When building the new Ron Pearson Center, named for former Hy-Vee CEO Ron Pearson, the company wanted to pay homage to its long, successful history in a way that would engage and hold the attention of every visitor to the center. Company officials decided to turn the building’s lobby into an 11,000-square-foot history pavilion, naming it after another former CEO, Dwight Vredenburg, and they hired Dimensional Innovations, a Kansas-based architecture and design firm, to design and fabricate the space. JC Hendricks, Vice President and Creative Director, and the Hy-Vee team agreed that the space needed some really cool technology to draw people in, and with six columns in the room featuring display cases with historical items, the NanoLumens curved Nixel Series™ LED displays presented an awesome opportunity to surprise guests with 360-degree displays unlike anything else they’ve seen.

“Hy-Vee’s Dwight Vredenburg History Pavilion really is a show-stopping display of artifacts, advertisements and photographs from Hy-Vee’s nearly nine decade history,” Hendricks said. “Using Hy-Vee’s bright color palette and some creative design ideas, we designed a space that encourages guests to walk around and learn about the company in an exciting, novel way. The NanoLumens Nixel Series™ LED displays play a critically important role in defining the room’s overall ambience, showing how the company is looking forward while never forgetting its roots as an employee-owned grocery store.”

As it turns out, the designer’s choice to use NanoLumens Nixel Series™ LED displays wasn’t really a choice at all, because NanoLumens is the only manufacturer producing displays that can accommodate the tight curve of a 4-foot diameter column. In fact, the columns were designed specifically to ensure the displays would fit perfectly.

The Nixel Series™ displays are currently showing a two-hour loop of commercials and videos from the company’s past, with each column staggering the timing so visitors get to see different videos as they peruse the room. This way, guests can see more of the full two-hour video than if it were timed the same on every display. The displays themselves feature a 5mm pixel pitch design, are 2 feet tall and are positioned 8 feet off the ground.

As visitors tour the lobby they are taken on a decade-by-decade journey through the company’s history. Each decade has its own section of wall complete with an LCD screen to display images of people and events during that period, and glass display cases featuring artifacts, books and photos. Combined with color-changing LED backlighting for each display case and column, the curved Nixel Series™ displays help to give the whole room a futuristic appeal.

One of the most important considerations for the owners and the design team was the ease of repairs as well as longevity of the technology, which is one of NanoLumens’ strongest advantages over competitors. With an industry-leading six-year warranty that covers each display down to the individual nixel, which are the small subsections that comprise a NanoLumens display, Hy-Vee is secure in the consistent operation of its history pavilion. What’s more, the Nixel Series™ displays feature a fully front-serviceable design, so any maintenance can be completed much more quickly and easily than other display technologies.

“One of the reasons we went with NanoLumens is that it is front serviceable, so we don’t have to take the whole thing apart to replace a part,” Hendricks said. “As a frequently used event space, it’s important that any problems can be fixed quickly, and these displays provide peace of mind.”

To make things even easier, the Dimensional Innovations team also custom built a proprietary content management system so the on-site staff can update all the displays at once, saving time and energy when changes are needed. Hy-Vee also rents out the Ron Pearson Center as a public event and conference space. The main conference hall is 21,000 square feet and can be divided into up to 10 separate rooms to accommodate any type of event, or multiple organizations at the same time.

“We’re always excited to help innovative companies bring their visions to life with new technologies,” Hendricks concluded. “When ‘wow-factor’ is a requirement for the job, NanoLumens displays truly are one of today’s most effective ways to deliver it!”

Commenting on the project, NanoLumens Regional Sales Manager, Southern MidWest Eric Seigler noted that, “Dimensional Innovations is a premier partner of NanoLumens specializing in making visions a reality through unique uses of technology.  Regarding the Hy Vee installation, Dimensional Innovations had a specific need for their client that involved column wraps with a seamless LED solution.  Dimensional Innovation engaged NanoLumens to create these one of a kind displays that fit into the space with precision and elegance.  This is the first of many projects on the horizon with the two organizations and NanoLumens values their partnership, experience and expertise when dealing with complex technological designs.”