The LDI 2024 Booth and Product Awards were presented at a breakfast event on Tuesday, December 10 on the Battle of the Busk Stage on the show floor. Marian Sandberg, VP and Market Leader for LDI, kicked off the proceedings by introducing LDI founder, Pat MacKay.
Craig Merriman from Lightswitch, the company sponsoring this year's Pat MacKay Diversity in Design Scholarships, talked about the importance of supporting the next generation, and Roma Flowers, lighting designer and educator, introduced the scholarship recipients for lighting: Kadynce Morton, Trinity Joseph, and Maribel Gutierrez and for sound: Faye Widjaja and Dana Freeman.
Sunday night's Battle of the Busk garnered a full dance floor for the live busking. The DJ-led party was enhanced by teams busking on lighting and media consoles after three days of intensive training and rehearsal.
This is the fifth year LDI awarded the LDI Sustainability Award, and the award goes to the AOTO RM1.5E Series by Shenzhen AOTO Electronics Co., Ltd.
The judges were impressed by the remarkable 30% energy consumption improvements. LDI and Live Design salute AOTA’s commitment to environmentally responsible circuit design and choice of highly modern and efficient backbone components. Bryan Larason picked up the award.
LDI 2024 Booth Awards presented by Kelly Turner
The award for Most Creative Use of Light went to Robe, which presented two separates shows, one with performers and one without. Both shows were dynamic and informative, exemplifying the virtues of each of the fixtures. Nathan Wan accepted the award.
Astera garnered the Best Product Display award for using its products to light the booth in a way that was visually eye-catching. Craig Singer accepted the award.
In the Best Small Booth Design category, there were two honorable mentions: XLaser and Rose Brand for exceptionally well-designed booths.
The Small Booth Award was given to Lex Products, for a whimsical and touchable approach, making a Christmas tree out of their products with a mirror ball in their power distro. Patrick O’Keefe and Emily Piedmont accepted the award.
The winner of the award for the Best Big Booth Design was no surprise to anyone on the show floor Blizzard Lighting recreated a festive Carnival midway, with a live band, prize stand, and nice touches like a fire hydrant and park benches. The clever design went so far as to include brochures for products in menus and lighting gear hidden in the set. Will Komassa accepted for Blizzard.
The Debuting Product Awards were presented by Hannah Kinnersley, senior content manager.
The Sound Award was given to Allen and Heath for the CQ series of ultra-compact yet rugged audio digital consoles for small venues. Tom Der accepted the award.
The Widget Award was given to Danny Shatzkes from Gig Gear LLC, for GIG GLOVES, an essential tool for every electrician. This year's innovation is Kevlar, which makes handling hot equipment safer. The gloves also include a flashlight holder that ensures you can find that moving light screw that you dropped. The award was picked up by Daniel Schatzkes, Gig Gear founder and president.
The Special Effects Award went to the JAGOTEQ Fiber Optic Series. Jagoteq's line of laser powered fiber optic cables provide a vibrant, versatile product that can be harnessed to create stunning and creative designs, from wearables to scenic applications. Craig Brink and Eric Eggly accepted the award.
Ellen Lampert-Gréaux, celebrating her 36th LDI, handed out the next awards.
The Staging and Rigging Award went to COUNTERMATE by Protech Rigging, taking a proven, utilitarian, counterweight-assist winch, and retrofitting it to create automated machinery with CounterMate®. Focused on safety and ease of operation, there are a variety of models for every budget and feature 8" on-center T-bar spacing and modular component design. Tanner Brants and Rusty Mayhew accepted the award.
The Projection and Digital Media Award was given to HIVE for its thoughtfully designed modular and scalable media playback ecosystem. Combining efficiency, customization, flexibility and a “just right” feature set, the revolutionary rethinking of the “media server” paradigm opens up a myriad of opportunities for bespoke system topologies perfectly tailored to each application requiring reliable and flexible media playback while representing a unique value proposition in terms of feature set vs cost. Nigel Sadler accepted the award, and had presented at the New Product Breakfast wearing a bee keeper outfit. Sweet as honey!
The Lighting Categories
New this year, LDI awarded Architectural Lighting Award went to the CLP1 from APOLLO MFG. Everything old is new again! Long out of use, the 19th-century Linnebach projector is back. The Apollo collimated light projector —- CLP1 — is a small form-factor 21st century LED version for architectural and entertainment uses. The award was accepted by Joel Nichols.
The first lighting award went to LUNA BULB by Astera LED Technology GmbH. The Astera Luna Bulb is a color changing A19 lamp with wireless DMX technology. A step up from the NYX bulb, the Luna Bulb has wide ranging accessories that allow it to work in multiple solutions, and with both line voltage and battery options. Ben Diaz accepted the award.
And the second Lighting Award went to Elation f or the new Paragon System. Awarded for several innovations that increase the overall quality and user experience in moving light technology. Including, but not limited to: lensing to improve shutter smile, lens bumpers, hepa filters, IP54 rated, and Near Field communication.
