How to Connect People 2 Place Thru Digital Engagement

Gail Chiasson, North American Editor

There are several speakers on the program of DSE One coming up during New York Digital Signage Week that we don’t see on a regular basis, so we know that they will have new insights into what is going on in the industry.

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The panel at 1 p.m. just after lunch is one such group. Speaking in the topic of ‘How to Connect People to Place Through Digital Engagement’, it will be moderated by Bryan Meszaros, principal and managing director, OpenEye. Panelists will include: Vijay Matthews, principal, W&Co.; Michael Schneider, AV Technical Strategist, ESI Design; and Florian Vollmer, chief experience officer, InReality.

The shift towards digital storytelling is creating more options for users to experience information and content in ways not possible with traditional static media formats. Today, designers are able to craft immersive experiences that connect people to place through the use of interactive engagements in the built environment.

These experiences augment the physical environment by allowing users to have more personally scaled and unique interactions with the content and stories and the spaces this messaging occupies.

“We are upon a paradigm shift where digital has become a more capable, more flexible and responsive platform than traditional surfaces and materials,” says Richard Lebovitz. editorial director – Digital Signage and DigitalSignageConnection.com. “This panel discussion will focus specifically on the current trends and state of interactive technology in the built environment.

From his experience as a creative designer, Bryan Meszaros has always had a passion for digital media. His first introduction to DOOH came in 2000 while working with MarketSource Corp. in developing the first university-based digital signage network in the United States called Campus Central. After leaving MarketSource in 2002, Meszaros went on to form the retail media consultancy OpenEye, where he presently serves as the managing director.

From the start, OpenEye experienced global success. In 2005, the company expanded its operation into London (UK) & Auckland (NZ) and was also awarded one of the first ever DIGI Awards for its work with Regency Duty Free (The Nuance Group). Over the years, OpenEye has worked with such high-profile organizations as Apple, FITCH, American Eagle Outfitters, Banco Santander, McDonald’s New Zealand, Vodafone and The Corcoran Group. In 2008, OpenEye was instrumental in developing an award-winning digital wayfinding application for the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History.

Vijay Mathews co-founded W&Co. in 2010. W&Co. is an interactive design and development studio based in New York City, specializing in strategy, user experience and user interface design, and development for digital platforms. For four years, he has designed and developed dozens of digital applications and has consulted with a variety of clients from AIGA to Wolff Olins. Additionally, Mathews lectures to the design community about the role of digital tools in wayfinding. There, he offers insights about the direction of the technology and offers insights into developing integrated wayfinding experiences.

Prior to founding W&Co, Mathews worked as a senior designer at Two Twelve, an environmental graphic design firm in New York. There he designed wayfinding, signage and graphic programs for clients including Princeton University, The Empire State Building, The Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, Bloomberg L.P. and developed the Wayfinding Master Plan for the City of New York. Before that, he was an associate designer at WGBH, PBS’s largest producer of web and television content, where he created a variety of print materials for TV programs. He also worked as a print designer for Hatch Show Print, a respected letterpress print shop of music and event posters in Nashville, Tenn.

Mathews earned his BFA degree in fine arts with a minor in art history from Boston University College of Fine Arts in 2004. He is a member of the AIGA, the Art Director’s Club (ADC), IxDA, and the Type Director’s Club (TDC).

As an interaction designer and systems specialist, Michael Schneider is an integral part of ESI’s Interactive Media and Technology Design team. Schneider brings a strategic approach to the creative implementation of interactive A/V technologies for a wide range of client projects. He draws upon his extensive expertise in interactive systems, interaction design, system design and assistive technology to create innovative solutions for projects such as the Shanghai Corporate Pavilion, Ellis Island Peopling of America Center and PNC Fairfax Connection.

Prior to joining ESI, Schneider created innovative work for a broad range of institutions, including the American Museum of Natural History, Staten Island Children’s Museum and Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art, where he was an artist-in-residence. In addition to his design work, he has taught at the New York City College of Technology, New York University and the Cooper Union School of Engineering. Schneider received his master’s in Interactive Telecommunications from NYU’s Tisch School Interactive Telecommunications Program.

Florian Vollmer serves as the chief experience officer and principal at InReality, an Atlanta-based strategy, design and solutions agency. The firm focuses on creating meaningful customer experiences through creative and engaging design solutions. Firmly believing in the business-driving power of design, Vollmer focuses on helping clients create engaging user experiences at all brand touchpoints. His professional work includes a vast variety of projects, ranging from Corporate Identity Systems to Interactive Experiences to the design of Commercial Interior Environments.

Prior to joining InReality, Vollmer worked at Saro Medien-Design in Essen, Germany. He has studied industrial, product and multi-disciplinary design at the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design at the University of Central England, Kunsthochschule Berlin Weissensee and Cologne International School of Design, and earned a master’s degree in Industrial Design at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Vollmer teaches service design and design management at Georgia Tech’s Industrial Design program, and gives talks at other academic institutions such as High Point University, Georgia State University, Savannah College of Art and Design and New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. He has spoken to international audiences on the alignment of business, strategy and experience design. Audiences include Globalshop, CXPA (Customer Experience

DSE One will be held Oct. 21, 2014 at the TKP New York Conference Center, 139 W. 39th St., New York, in the heart of Midtown


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