TIC NEWS

There was a time when a glossy PDF or mood board was enough to pitch a vision. Not anymore. For Creative Directors and Artistic Leads, the challenge today isn't coming up with a world class idea. It's selling it.

Here’s the real issue: too many teams still treat a creative brief as a final blueprint rather than a working draft.

You can simulate site layouts, test crowd flows, and visualise sponsor placements in 3D. But ask your tech stack to run a full show rehearsal: lights, sound, security, movement; and most platforms fall flat.

There’s a moment every bold idea eventually meets: the budget conversation. The concept was compelling. The stakeholders were energised. The visuals sparked real excitement. But when the numbers land, it hits: this vision costs more than what’s been signed off. So what now?

There’s always a lull. Between doors and the opening act. Between acts. During changeovers. While people queue. Or just... wait. We call it dead time. But it isn’t dead. It’s underused.

Accessibility in events is too often reduced to a checklist: ramps, toilets, step free access. But designing for dignity goes beyond compliance. It means asking: Can every person at your event participate fully, confidently, and comfortably without having to ask for special treatment?

Behind the curtain of a successful event is a footprint that lingers: tyre tracks in the grass, compacted soil, damaged trees, overwhelmed drainage, uncollected bins, broken fencing.

Behind every breathtaking performance, viral crowd moment, or perfectly lit sponsor activation sits a small army of logistics leads, site ops teams, and contractors doing unglamorous, uncelebrated work. This post is a tribute to them.

Today is the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, and while we're all for breathable cities, this isn’t a post about air quality. It’s about something bigger: designing for the things your audience can’t see, but definitely feel.

You can measure everything. But should you? Footfall. Dwell time. Heatmaps. Bounce rates. Scan ins. Sentiment analysis. Sensor triggers. Exit flows. Social mentions. Engagement scores. Everyone from the brand manager to the safety officer has their own dashboard. The question is: who’s using it?

There’s a quiet moment in every venue team’s journey: the first time someone says, “We’ve got the as built drawings, we should be good, right?” But here’s the thing: as built plans show what exists. They don’t show how to operate it. And when your venue is hosting millions of guests, hundreds of events, and juggling commercial, creative, and civic priorities: that gap becomes a problem fast.

Volumetric video is one of those terms people nod along to, until someone asks them to explain it. It sounds technical, futuristic, maybe even slightly irrelevant. But behind the buzzword is a genuinely useful piece of technology that's already transforming how performances, broadcasts and brand experiences are being made. And if you're in the business of designing unforgettable moments, it's worth knowing what this tech can (and can't) do.

You can’t design for what you can’t see. And too often, site planning for major events starts with flat CAD drawings that barely scratch the surface of what’s actually there. But when you’re placing temporary infrastructure on sloping ground, managing crowd flow across uneven terrain, or trying to avoid surprises during build, you need more than just a floor plan. That’s where Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) come in

The final 48 hours before an event, what we’ll call the chaos window, is where theory collides with practice. Install schedules get crunched. Crew start doubling up in zones never meant for crossover. Access points get blocked. Tempers rise. And the site you so carefully modelled becomes a logistical Rubik’s Cube. This isn’t an edge case. It’s an inevitability.

As (CHO) Chief Happiness Officer of The Imagination Collaborative, Tristan Morrison does exactly that. With a background in HR and a natural affinity for people, Tris brings clarity to complexity and calm to chaos. She's the person behind the scenes making sure the culture is healthy, the wheels are turning, and the team feels heard, supported, and ready to deliver their best work.

Before the lights. Before the stages. Before a single email lands in a stakeholder’s inbox; there’s paperwork. Permits, compliance checks...