Christie Publishes The Book Of Shapes

June 15, 2012 by Dave Haynes

Christie Digital Systems was quietly handing out copies of a glossy coffee table-style book, called The Book Of Shapes, to key clients and resellers at InfoComm this week.

The book features scores of projects around the globe that use Christie’s MicroTiles display blocks, in everything from museums and retailers to many, many broadcast sets.

I got a copy, as well, because I wrote the book (how’s that for a disclosure?).

The book actually started as a suggestion from my blogging nemesis Adrian Cotterill (DailyDOOH), who with Andrew Neale did a pile of pre and post-launch advisory work with Christie.

The idea was to develop a book that in pictures and narrative served as an inspiration to the people who design venues and rooms – everyone from architects and retail designers to pro AV integrators. Thematically, it’s about thinking outside the rectangle that dominates digital signage.

I got to learn about many, many projects I didn’t even know were out there – like a video wall in China that looks like a periodic table and a new museum in Denver that uses the display blocks to evoke the shape of the nearby Rockies.

Very cool project. Buried me for weeks this spring. But the result is very impressive, owing hugely to the guys at Arsenal Media who did the design and project management (Arsenal’s roots are in print publishing).

I know in talking to the Christie folks and hearing a few conversations that it’s a really effective tool for showcasing work and triggering ideas, and it’s probably something that a few of the other display companies will start thinking about.