Four Pillars of Meaningful Digital Experiential Design

Experiential graphic design (XGD) has always been closely tied to the rise of digital interactive and display technologies. The digital boom of the late '90s did more than fuel the emergence of XGD as a distinct design field — it pushed it forward, allowing both the discipline and its associated technologies to evolve hand in hand. Of course, trends often drive design, and tech is no exception, constantly serving up the next "big thing." As a result, the shared timeline of digital technology and experiential graphics is peppered with innovations that didn't quite hit the mark — false starts, passing fads and integrations that fell flat. Even after 30+ years, the conversation around the best ways to use digital media in the built environment is ongoing. What's clear, though, is that successful digital integration isn't just about adopting the latest technology but rather about creating an experience that resonates with users and serves a meaningful purpose.

But how do you know when you've hit that sweet spot? While there's always an element of subjectivity in creative work, certain qualities consistently stand out as indicators of solid design. At RDG, we've distilled these into four essential criteria: impactful, immersive, interactive and inclusive. These "four I's" guide us in creating digital features that engage users and enhance spaces. Only some pieces can meet all four benchmarks, but a good design will excel in at least one and, ideally, check off multiple boxes.

Let's take a closer look at each one.

Impactful

At first glance, this might seem straightforward. It's easy to think, "Is the design cool?" But there's more to it than that. Impact is about creating an emotional response or leaving a lasting impression. Sure, new technology can feel exciting in the moment, but will it still resonate five years from now? Does it support the narrative of the space in a meaningful way, or is it just a flashy gimmick? The real question is: Does the viewer walk away moved by the message or impressed by the tech? Because technology evolves quickly, a design's longevity often hinges on treating the tech as a tool rather than the final destination.

A great example of impactful design is our work on the First National Tower Transformation project in Omaha, Nebraska. One element of the creative brief tasked RDG with creating a memorable experience on floor 19, an area dedicated to hosting and working with prospective clients. At its most fundamental, the design needed to wow visitors while communicating the bank's nationwide reach and capabilities. To achieve this, the Art Studio at RDG led an effort, collaborating with RDG's experiential graphic and interior designers, to craft an 8' x 14' three-dimensional topographic map of the United States using a CNC-router to carve it from wood. During its development, the team utilized iterative testing of CNC tooling patterns on various wood species, allowing the client to decide on the final fit and finish of the map. 

This choice of digital fabrication techniques resulted in a more impactful piece than a traditional flat graphic ever could. To take it further, we overlaid a projection map of FNBO's branch locations across the country, paired with the message "with you where you are." Using projection mapping, FNBO can update the map seamlessly as new branches open without altering the wall physically. Beyond the practical benefits, the projection adds a dynamic layer of light and energy to the installation, reaching out to engage viewers. This multi-sensory feature encourages interaction, inviting people to experience the design both visually and through touch — making it a true example of impact with purpose.  

Immersive

One of XGD's key strengths is its ability to create immersive experiences. These can range from the grand, such as transporting museumgoers back to the Cretaceous period, to the subtle, such as supporting a school's commitment to forward-thinking scholarship. When done thoughtfully, digital graphics can add layers of movement and fluidity that elevate the immersive quality of a space. And that's the keyword: thoughtfully. Without carefully considering factors like the environment and the message, a digital installation can break immersion just as quickly as it creates it.

Scale and sustainability are also crucial considerations. Take, for example, the popular trend of floor-to-ceiling projection or massive display screens. These installations are visually striking, surrounding audiences with content that occupies their entire field of view and offering a literal take on immersion. While impressive, this approach can be somewhat predictable and often comes with downsides; these large systems require significant space, regular upkeep and frequent content updates. They certainly have their place, but their long-term success depends heavily on the strength of the narrative they support.

A more thoughtful take on immersion can be seen in RDG's donor wall design for the University of Iowa's College of Engineering. Here, we embraced a different approach by reflecting on how academic study intersects with the creative arts to inspire collaborative problem-solving. Donor tiles, arranged in a Penrose pattern, symbolize mathematics as the universal language of engineering. Beneath these tiles, a diffusion layer hides a video wall that displays engineering visuals responsive to user input from an adjacent touchscreen. 

What's unique about this design is that it was developed in collaboration with the university's computer science staff, who ensure that students can update the video wall content as part of their coursework. Even the donor tiles are fabricated in-house by the college's machine shop, further embedding the design into the school's curriculum. This level of integration creates an experience that goes beyond surface-level immersion, connecting students and visitors to the school's core identity in a meaningful way and creating a design that will remain relevant and engaging for years to come.

Interactive

It's easy, especially for newer designers, to assume that interactivity in environmental design started with the rise of capacitive touchscreens in the late 2000s. But that's far from the truth. Resistive touchscreens were frustrating users as early as the mid-1970s, and even before that, we had classic pushbuttons and trackballs. It's also important to remember that interactivity only sometimes means engaging with a screen. It can be so much more, from soundscapes triggered by hidden sensors to walls of toggle switches that let users create light patterns or wayfinding signs printed on lenticular film that change languages depending on your viewing angle. Essentially, any environment that responds to user input is interactive.

Let's shift our focus back to digital interactivity and the interactive touchscreen. When designing an interactive element, it's best to start by considering how long you want users to engage with the piece. For example, dwell time is a critical consideration in developing a control kiosk for a reactive donor wall (like the one RDG created for the University of Iowa's College of Engineering). Because users interact casually with these installations as they pass through, engagement time is typically short, only around one to three minutes. This brief engagement window should guide every design decision.

The next thing to consider is the depth of the interaction. How many layers of engagement can a user explore? Can the content be appreciated by a casual passerby and someone who wants to dive deeper? While the ideal depth depends on dwell time, more meaningful user experiences often come from providing layers of interaction. Many donor walls, for example, feature touchscreens with simple, scrollable lists of names. While easy to update, these tend to offer shallow engagement. From a user's perspective, there's little difference between scrolling through a touchscreen of names and reading them off a plaque, except for the touchscreen's fleeting association with modern tech. And as digital interfaces become more commonplace in our daily lives, that novelty is quickly wearing off. The solution? Add more content. A donor screen, for instance, could include more than just names; it could feature a timeline of institutional history, staff bios, or, as in the University of Iowa project, act as a control interface for interacting with a physical installation. By offering multiple layers of engagement, designs like these enhance the overall user experience, providing casual and invested users with a meaningful way to interact with the content.

Another example of highly interactive design are the kiosks incorporated into RDG’s design for the University of Connecticut's Athletic District. This campus facility encompasses three stadiums and a performance center for five sports: baseball, softball, lacrosse and men's and women's soccer. Near the end of the recruitment tour, prospective students encounter a bank of touchscreens, each dedicated to a different sport. These kiosks allow users to explore the history of UConn athletes who went pro, view past team rosters, check current schedules and stats, watch highlight reels and relive memorable moments from the university's rich athletic tradition. 

During recruitment tours, coaches use the kiosks to showcase the development of athletes in the same position as the prospective recruits, helping them envision their own future growth and success as UConn Huskies. By offering depth and personalization, this interactive installation is a powerful recruitment tool, allowing prospective athletes to imagine themselves as part of UConn's storied program.

Inclusive

Perhaps the most compelling reason for well-executed digital design is its potential to make spaces more accessible to all users. A thoughtful digital platform can support diverse needs and accommodate different languages, mobilities, cultural backgrounds, sensory sensitivities, ages and emotional states. It's about creating a design that is adaptable and customizable to everyone, and few things achieve that as effectively and efficiently as digital technology.

When digital elements are carefully integrated, inclusivity often emerges as a natural byproduct. Consider the FNBO topographic wall: while designed to be impactful, its tactile features also provide accessibility for visually impaired users, adding an extra layer of engagement. The University of Iowa donor wall goes beyond cultural or demographic barriers by celebrating engineering as a universal tool for collaboration, making the installation both immersive and inclusive. Similarly, the UConn kiosks are built on a framework able to display multiple languages and colorblind-friendly layouts, offering the ability for an interactive experience accessible to a wide range of users. Digital platforms provide an incredible opportunity to engage diverse audiences and, in doing so, make their inclusion not just a consideration but a meaningful responsibility. Ultimately, inclusive design is about ensuring that everyone can engage with a space in a way that's meaningful to them. And in a world where digital technology is continuously evolving, the possibilities for making spaces more inclusive have never been more exciting.

Looking Ahead to the Future of Meaningful Digital Design

As we continue to explore the role of digital technology in experiential graphic design, one thing is clear: it's not just about keeping up with the latest trends. Whether creating something impactful, immersive, interactive or inclusive, the true power of digital integration lies in its ability to shape meaningful, lasting experiences for users. The "four I"s of digital experiential design are valuable tools for evaluating and enhancing concepts during the design process. But ultimately, they all revolve around one central, all-encompassing design tenet: digital technology is a tool we can use to tell a story, it is not, however, the story in and of itself. In other words, simply adding more screens won't create a truly impactful, immersive, interactive or inclusive environment. As designers, it's our responsibility to guide clients toward more meaningful digital applications — ones that will resonate for years to come.

XGD designers should ask themselves how they can ensure that the digital features created today will still resonate in the future. More importantly, we should consider how we can use technology not just as a tool but to connect, engage and invite diverse audiences into spaces in meaningful ways. The exciting part of this journey is that there's no one-size-fits-all solution. Each project offers a unique opportunity to push the boundaries of what's possible to craft experiences that leave lasting impressions and can evolve alongside the people who engage with them.

As we look to the future of experiential design, what challenges and opportunities lie ahead? How might technology further transform the way we interact with the built environment? And in a rapidly changing world, how can we continue designing spaces that genuinely invite everyone to the experience? These are the questions we'll continue to explore, and we hope you'll join us in the conversation.