Experiential Design at the LiveXperience Symposium (An XLIVE and LDI Partnership)

Live Design International has been leading conferences and trade shows for live design professionals since 1988. Attendees come from all over the globe to host live demos, enjoy face to face discussions, showcase their latest gear, supercharge their creativity, and increase their knowledge. This year's show will be hosted in Las Vegas, November 18th through the 24th, with exhibits the 22nd to the 24th in the Las Vegas Convention Center. The conference hosts over 14,000 members of the production community, over 390 exhibitors, and over 100 training sessions. 

This partnership comes as a result of these two organizations falling under Informa, an international events, intelligence and scholarly research group. The one-day symposium will bring together major players from agencies and producers to focus on the latest in Experiential Marketing. Given that up to 70% of marketing budgets were refocused from media to experiential in 2018, it makes sense to have a day solely focused on the design and execution of immersive experiential design.

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Over the summer, we reported on “The State of the Experiential Market.” We took a deep dive into how the once one-off side project has evolved into an essential part of brands' or live events' marketing strategies. Live events have begun to integrate experiential into their landscape through brand activations and other immersive experiences. Experiential marketing can be defined as any time an attendee is connecting with the environment at a live event or brand in a deep and meaningful way. From art installations to onsite laundromats, this can come in many forms. The one-day symposium will focus on the creative currents which go into modern experiential design.

The day will kick off with a keynote speech from Austin Johnson, the Founder and CEO of AKJOHNSTON, who got his start in theatrical lighting but then transitioned into a professional experiential designer. He will discuss not only his transition from the lighting world to the experiential world, but also the process of building and designing activations of the future. After this, attendees can partake in a round table discussion titled “Live Experience Design World Cafe,” where the future of live event experiences will be discussed.

The rest of the day will be filled with sessions like “Digital Environments as Today’s Scenic Design” that will dive into how lighting and technology can be used to set apart visual environments. It will also highlight how DJs are creating immersive environments by collaborating with visual artists. Next will be a quick session that will focus on Esports and dive into the 2019 Fortnite Cup.

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"Frozen" projects icy magic with WorldStage on Broadway, photo by Deen van Meer

Following lunch, there will be a keynote on rising technologies. During “Experiential Disruption: How AI, Merged Reality, and Metrics are Changing Everything,” Bob Bonniol, the Chief Creative Officer at Mode Studios, will discuss how artificial intelligence and augmented reality are becoming a must-have for events. Current technologies are not only heightening event offerings but also allowing for more metrics and data to be collected in order to improve and elevate future events.

A session hosted by Nick Rivero the Co-Founder of MEPTIK, a creative design firm, will follow. The topic will be “Creating Engaging User Experiences In Live Environments” and will cover questions like “Overall, what goes into creating experiential activations?” Then the topic will go back to emerging technologies for “Evolving Immersive Design with Mixed Reality” where speakers Ashley Crowder the Founder & CEO of VNTANA and Matt Kenagy the Senior Directory of Sports Marketing at Caesars Entertainment will highlight live events and brand activations utilized mixed reality to create unique experiences.

The day will end with a panel discussion on “Next Level Brand Activations,” hosted by Kye Browning the Conference Manager of XLIVE. Panelists Jessica Reznick, the President of We're Magnetic, and Michael Fullman, the Chief Creative Officer of VTPro Design, will discuss some of the biggest and best brand activations and what the future of the space looks like.

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Photo from showtec.com

Be sure to mark your calendars for the first ever LiveXperience Symposium presented by XLIVE and LDI. The full-day symposium will be a mix of keynote speakers and panel discussions that are sure to provide expert insight into experiential design. It will take place on November 20th from 9:30am to 5:30pm at the MGM Grand. Registration and more information can be found here: XLIVE and LDI.