AV Trends in 2019

We’re jumping into the new year headfirst here at the AV Company! We’re always looking for new and exciting ways to help you take your events to the next level, and we’ve been noticing some trends within the industry that might just work for you!

Here are some of the AV & event trends we’re seeing going into this new year!

We’re seeing more and more large events & conferences taking on the energy of live events like concerts & shows - events that are known for getting people excited and engaged. One important element of this is audio! High quality sound systems aren’t what you might think of when you start planning your event, but they can make a huge difference in an attendee’s experience. 

In conferences, we’re also seeing (and making use of) bumper music between speakers, to keep the energy high during what might otherwise be a lull. We’re big fans of this tactic and have been using it for years, so we’re excited to see that it’s becoming more commonplace!

LED walls are being used in unique & engaging layouts, breaking beyond the standard 16:9 rectangle and making the most of the flexibility that modular panels give you. (For more ways you can think outside the box with your LED wall, check out this blog post: Seven Ways to Make the Most of Your LED Wall)

We’re also seeing more interactivity during events, especially using social media. With today’s video capabilities, getting social media posts up on screen is an easy way to bring your audience further into the event & keep them engaged. Two-way interactivity is another recent trend that allows groups in different areas to stay engaged with the same content. This past year, we worked with a recurring client on a large-scale simulcast conference, with events occurring in two locations and using live video & audio to allow the hosts & speakers (and even audience members) to interact in both directions. 

In the world of staging, we’re seeing more and more of a push towards mixing in hard set pieces. Pipe & drape is no longer the standard, and more event marketers & conference planners are choosing to make visually interesting set pieces a priority for their events.

We’re also seeing more staging design that utilizes LED walls as dynamic set pieces. Creative content can allow LED walls to go from acting as a step and repeat, to showing video as part of a presentation, to splashing the event branding across a backdrop - the possibilities are virtually endless. This makes them fantastic additions to a stage set, and gives you the ultimate flexibility in content & aesthetic. 

We hope you’ve identified a few trends that might be useful to you in your 2019 events! Drop us a note if you have questions about any of these methods, or if you’re ready to get started on planning your next event or conference!

Color Theory in Events

Lighting plays a large part in all of our events, and color is one of our favorite tools to use in shaping the ambience of a space. One often hears color theory discussed in terms of graphic design or interior decorating, but it is equally relevant to event design!

Color theory is a term used to describe the collection of rules and guidelines regarding the use of color in art and design. Essentially, because color affects our emotions in predictable and quantifiable ways, color theory aims to help us understand the emotions & perceptions associated with each color. In event design, we can use color to evoke certain emotions in our attendees, so an understanding of color theory is crucial! 

Here are some examples of ways we’ve utilized color theory in the past: 

RED

For S&P’s OPSCON conference a couple of years ago, we used red as the primary color for stage lighting. This was in part because red is one of S&P Global’s primary branding colors, but also because red can often heighten energy levels in the viewer. Red is often associated with excitement, passion, and power, and for a multi-day conference like OPSCON, keeping attendees excited and engaged was crucial!

Common RED connotations: Intensity, determination, excitement, passion, aggression, power

BLUE

For last year’s TEDxCharlottesville, we used a blue background wash as a primary staging element throughout most of the event. TEDxCharlottesvile is an event in which speakers come together to share ideas and to bring awareness to the rich talent, creativity and innovation found here in Charlottesville, Virginia. This year’s branding did not dictate a strict color palette, so we chose blue for our staging as it enhances a sense of intelligence, wisdom, trustworthiness, and creativity.

Common BLUE connotations: Calm, soothing, trust, loyalty, confidence, intelligence, peacefulness, wisdom, creativity

GREEN

For the NACAS C3X Conference - one of our more recent projects this fall - we used green lighting to add ambience to the event space. Again, this is one of NACAS’s branding colors, but it also enhances a sense of intrigue and originality. Green is often associated with invention and renewal, which is in line with the event’s focus on showcasing the most contemporary perspective of how auxiliary services enrich the campus experience, and it is also associated with financial abundance, which appeals to the target attendee who is there to expand upon their professional skills & knowledge.

Common GREEN connotations: Logic, invention, renewal, luck, abundance, wealth, organicism, health

PINK

For Darden’s Principal Donor event in 2014, lighting played a huge part in the overall look & feel of the space. We chose a pink color to splash throughout the tent to provide a playful but soft look. In Western culture, pink is sometimes associated with femininity - but its connotations go far beyond that. It adds warmth & energy to the space, but because it is light in color, it still allows the space to feel light and airy.

Common PINK connotations: Softness, harmony, calm, innocence, optimism, gentleness

PURPLE

We utilized purple lighting for the Virginia Film Festival’s Wrap Party a few years back to enhance the event theme. This event was meant to feel whimsical and mysterious, a mood which was heightened by performances from aerial dancers throughout the event. So, combined with copious amounts of fog & atmosphere, we used purple as our primary lighting color to enhance feelings of imagination, mysticism, and playfulness.

Common PURPLE connotations: Spirituality, courage, opulence, respect, imagination, luxury, magic, dignity, peace, truth

OTHER COLORS & THEIR CONNOTATIONS

Orange: Strength, playfulness, enthusiasm, creativity, success, cheerfulness, optimism

Yellow: Energy, intensity, intellectualism, warmth, happiness

Sepia: Nostalgia, comfort, stability

White: Cleanliness, modernity, freshness, youth, simplicity, spaciousness, calm

Color can play a huge role in determining the look and feel of an event space or stage. Harnessing the power of color theory can help you to make more informed decisions when selecting colors to use throughout your event, whether its in lighting, decor, or even event branding. 

7 Ways to Increase Audience Engagement with AV

One of the greatest struggles for meeting & conference planners, now more than ever, is keeping their audiences engaged throughout their events. Generally speaking, engagement in events is declining and attention spans are shrinking. So the question becomes, how do you address this to help your meetings & events remain highly impactful?

Audio, video, & lighting technology provides some of the most optimal methods of connecting & engaging with your audiences! Here are seven AV elements that can help you to captivate your audience and drive your content home!

A concert-level audio system is likely to surprise and delight your attendees. With high quality audio typically reserved for musical performances, your audience will appreciate being able to hear the spoken content with more ease, and any sound effects or musical transitions will be that much more powerful.

We’ve spoken about the benefits of dynamic video use in events before, but the effects cannot be understated. Using video elements like animated logos & backgrounds, video transitions, and IMAG (showing footage of the speakers up on the screens), you can keep your audience’s interest on the content being shared.

For more tips on using video in your events, check out Bringing Your Logo To Life and Seven Ways to Make the Most of Your LED Wall.

Lighting can make a huge difference in the ambience of an event, whether it’s focused on the stage or used throughout an event space. You can go simple with a wash and some uplighting, or get creative with some moving heads & coordinate some eye-catching cues with different speakers or themes. Adding fog or atmosphere to a space is another simple move that can give your lighting a more dramatic or concert-like look, allowing the beams to be seen through the space and extending the impact of the effects.

Polling is an easy way to get your audience involved in an event, especially if you can display the results & relate them back to the content being presented. There are many apps & clicker systems out there that you can use to achieve this, but one of our favorites is UMU. In addition to polling functionalities, UMU also makes it easy to do raffle drawings, games, and quizzes, and provides you with an engaging and aesthetically pleasing interface to use on-screen.

Now, we know that VR & AR are up-and-coming technologies that still carry a hefty price tag, so right now it’s about baby steps. Encourage vendors in exhibit booths to utilize VR! This has been very popular in many conferences, and although it may not specifically reference the content of the conference, the experience stands out to the attendees and elevates their overall experience.

(Photo by Jack Looney Photography)

Q&A’s are another great way to get your audience engaging with the content. Placing microphones throughout the audience not only encourages participation, but it also sends the signal early on that there will be a time for questions, which encourages attendees to pay more attention throughout the event.

Depending on how you use it, staging can be passive and minimally engaging, or you can take advantage of new technology and create a more dynamic set for your event. There are so many opportunities for dynamic & interactive staging these days, from responsive physical set pieces to LED walls that open up a world of possibilities when it comes to content & transitions.

To check out some examples of our staging design process, head over to our Portfolio page!

These are just a few examples of ways to bring impact & interactivity to an event, but depending on who your audience is, there may be many more options for you event! We’d love to help you come up with a creative solution to keep your attendees wowed and engaged!