Burbank, CA, USA — Aram Ebben, IALD, LEED AP, Principal in charge of lighting design at exp, Inc., and graphic designer/show writer Stefan Lawrence of Stefan Rules are the co-chairs of the SATE ’13 conference on Experience Design, presented by Christie® and hosted by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) Oct 3-4 at the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) in Savannah, Georgia USA.
Ebben and Lawrence are currently roughing out a program and putting together a team of segment chairs who will be responsible for organizing sessions and panels and recruiting speakers, to reflect the topics of the SATE acronym: Storytelling, Architecture, Technology, Experience.
To produce and promote SATE ’13, the team of volunteers led by Ebben and Lawrence will interact with TEA leadership, including association president Christine Kerr of BaAM Productions and members of the TEA International Board and TEA Eastern Division, with SCAD faculty including George Head, and TEA staff members Gene Jeffers, director of business development/sponsorship Kathy Oliver, and PR/publications editor Judith Rubin to produce and promote the conference.
“We expect to begin announcing details about speakers, topics and sessions for SATE ’13 around the end of June 2013,” says Ebben. He brings to the task his experience of the past two years representing IALD on the conference advisory committee for Light Fair. He noted that in addition to panels, SATE ’13 will include networking opportunities, after-hours activities, tours of SCAD and a platform for students to present their ideas and work. His company, exp, is an international firm providing professional, technical and strategic services to the world’s built and natural environments in six key practice areas: Buildings, Earth & Environment, Energy, Industrial, Infrastructure, and Sustainability. Ebben is based in Orlando.
Lawrence is an all-around creative specializing in the themed entertainment industry and based in Los Angeles. His clients have included Walt Disney Imagineering, the Hettema Group, Rethink Attractions, the Miziker Entertainment Group and Rhythm & Hues Special Projects.
The SCAD location is supportive to TEA’s NextGen initiative to nurture the new wave of attractions industry professionals and help lead them to mentors, internships and employment. TEA encourages educators and students in such areas as interior design, architecture, engineering and media production to join seasoned professionals in attending TEA conferences and mixers.
TEA’s SATE conference is an annual, international gathering of themed entertainment and experience design creators, producers, owners and operators. As such, it explores issues, opportunities and possibilities relating to the creation of compelling guest experiences for entertainment, education, retail and branding. More information about SATE ’13 is available online at the official SATE information hub.
