Perhaps it’s just coincidence that the “thought leadership conference” that debuted at InfoComm 2017 bears the acronym TIDE and that the event has served to truly elevate the conversations about the industry and how myriad people can live within it. But probably not.
TIDE—which stands for Technology, Innovation, Design, Experience—debuted last June and will make its international debut at Integrated Systems Europe in Amsterdam in February before returning to InfoComm 2018 in June, when the show heads to Las Vegas.
The conference became a popular addition to InfoComm 2018 and AVIXA senior VP of marketing and communications Dan Goldstein expects it to again be one of the must-see attractions during ISE 2018.
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“When we came up with the idea for TIDE, we saw it as a way to give the broader contexts, both for InfoComm and ISE,” he says.
“Even though we started it at InfoComm 2017, it may be a more obvious fit in Amsterdam.
“The audience for ISE 2018 has more of a design background traditionally, while there are more people with an engineering background who come to InfoComm,” says Goldstein.
TIDE at InfoComm 2017 used a storytelling theme, while the ISE 2018 offering will focus on design thinking for business and feature an optional design thinking workshop.
“It’s about having design at the core of what we do, thinking about design first,” says Goldstein.
In Las Vegas at InfoComm 2018 in June, TIDE will focus on human-centered design.
TIDE at ISE 2018 will feature keynote speaker Daan Roosegaarde, a Dutch artist and innovator who develops projects that explore the relationship between people, technology and space.
His designs include Smart Highway (roads that charge from sunlight and glow at night), Waterlicht (a virtual flood), and Smog Free Project (the largest outdoor air purifier in the world that makes jewelry from smog).
“Most of the [TIDE] speakers at ISE are European so it has that sort of flavor to it,” says Goldstein.
While TIDE will be restricted to InfoComm and ISE for now, Goldstein sees potential for it to be added to other AVIXA events on the annual calendar in the future.
The addition of TIDE to AVIXA’s offerings ties back to the broad strategy that led InfoComm International to change its name last fall.
“We’ve always had a strong reputation for technical training, but we recognized that a lot of the knowledge that used to be ‘secret’ is easier for people to do now.”
“It was very complex but now it’s much simpler to deploy and manage,” says Goldstein.
“With TIDE, we’re focusing more on the experience than the deployment and technical aspects. We’re trying to provide a place where people can see themselves that’s not overly technical.”
