“Data-driven” architectural lighting and digital media? “Ambient communications” for architectural spaces? What does that all mean and how will it drive future concepts of lighting and A/V design?

Thanks to everyone who attended my presentation at the #ise2019 Smart Building Conference exploring “ambient communications” design concepts for retail and hospitality projects.

I introduced my audience to how “ambient communications” equals the fusion of digital lighting & signage plus data-driven visual effects.

Two common examples of ambient communications: 1. At a theater performance, the lobby lights are flashed when it is time to return from intermission. 2. In a submarine, the lights are turned red to denote battle-stations. In both cases, simple changes in ambient lighting convey meaningful data to the occupants of a space.

I provided context as to how ambient communications installations fit in the context of classic architectural lighting design and recent trends in embedding LED lighting into architectural surfaces.

I diagrammed visual modes for influencing peripheral vision, plus diagrammed social-media data streams that can be revealed in physical space. Here was the key image:

I diagrammed how a modern ambient communications system for lighting and digital signage will be structured:

Plus I offered three examples of how ambient communications could be used in retail or hospitality applications. Check out my previous article on LinkedIn for the examples.

I really enjoyed many of the talks from the other presenters at the Smart Building Conference! I will touch upon these in future blog posts here on Lucept.

You can download the PDF of my full presentation here: