Just 1 Week Away! Branded Environments 2020

October 21, 2020

Read Time: 2 minutes

It’s back by popular demand—and only one week away! SEGD once again hosts “Branded Environments” (or BE), a two-day event highlighting the work of designers who create meaningful, memorable, and effective customer experiences around specific brands. From hospitality to entertainment and from retail to professional sports, this year’s speakers will address branding topics aligned with “Common Ground,” SEGD’s unifying theme for 2020.

Since 2017, SEGD has held the annual event in Las Vegas—perhaps the world’s capital of branded environments—as part of the Digital Signage Expo (DSE). But this year, despite the pandemic, SEGD will hold the symposium virtually. Get ready for lively discussions and roundtable breakout sessions where participants will receive real-time answers from both speakers and panelists.

And the line-up of guest speakers is impressive. Day One (Thurs, Nov 12) brings Jean-Pierre Lacroix of SLD to present “immersive and future-focused experiences from China,” including lessons applicable to North American designers. Next up, Dan Marino of LAB, part of Rockwell Group, will speak about the challenges and opportunities of importing global brands to the Middle East. The day wraps-up with Greg Merkel of ICRAVE reimagining iconic hospitality brands in emerging global markets while simultaneously staying tuned-in to cultural sensitivities.

Michael Gericke of Pentagram launches Day Two (Fri, Nov 13) with BE’s keynote presentation, “Insiders’ Stories of a Global Look,” which will showcase many of Pentagram’s environmental graphic projects around the world. Afterwards, attendees will be invited to participate in four roundtable breakout discussions, each taking on the theme of “Building Commonalities & Bridging Differences.” The roundtables will present opportunities for peer-to-peer exchanges on best practices, trends, and insights with four leading designers, including Mike McCarthy of DCL, M.K. Moon of Nanov Display, Bruce Dickinson of Rainier Industries, and Jean-Pierre Lacroix of SLD.

Day Two continues with three presentations related to Fandom! Aaron Ruef of NELSON Worldwide will explore how sporting environments—from bars to stadiums—are turning everyday guests into lifelong fans through experiential design. Next up, Stuart Fox of ESI Design, an NBBJ Studio (New York), presents ideas for re-igniting fandom in ESI’s own employees while designing the new Major League Baseball and Warner Media headquarters in New York City.

After a live Q&A session with the Friday’s speakers, the two-day BE event will wrap-up with a fun Branded Environments Happy Hour! Want to participate? Sign up now at: segd.org/workshop/2020-branded-environments

Thank you to the Presenting Sponsor of 2020 SEGD Branded Environments: Color-Ad, fabricators of signage and innovative exhibitions and to the Sponsors DCL, Designtex, Nanov Display, SES Branded Environments and SLD.