Science fiction movies have always shown us the use of holograms as a technological resource of advanced societies, something that made us believe that they were unattainable for the present time.
Some of the movies in which we can see in its maximum splendor the holographic technology are "Star Wars", where we can see that the characters communicate at great distances through the use of holograms, "Back to the Future 2", in which through a holographic illusion, we see a shark coming out of the facade of a store, or even more recently in "Iron Man", seeing the protagonist designing holographic technology for his suit and his house.
The most surprising thing about this, is that, as science fiction as this technology may seem, the reality is that today the use of holograms allows us to perform mind-blowing Hyperexperiences, worthy of many Hollywood blockbusters.
And if you don't believe it, in this blog we are going to show you examples and ways to use holograms that put in value the phygital experiences, which try to merge the physical world and the digital world. From virtual images in catalogs, holographic signage at the point of sale, advertising in shop windows and a wide range of other possibilities, available to businesses that are constantly innovating and are committed to being pioneers in their sector.
Keep reading because you will discover everything you need to know about holograms: what they are, their main features, the most popular holographic technology formats and successful examples so that you can see how to apply them in different professional sectors.
What is a Hologram?
A Hologram is a three-dimensional 3D fully unified image, which is created from an optical illusion. By using light reflection we get our brain to perceive and visualize it as a three-dimensional object.
The word Hologram has its own definition, which comes from Greek, and is composed of the words holos, meaning "everything", and grama, meaning "message". Holographic projection has been around since 1940, and has advanced by leaps and bounds since then, although it has yet to overcome major challenges, causing 3D holographic designers to constantly innovate to find new ways to use this technology.
You've most likely seen a hologram these past few days, even if you don't know it. You'll be surprised to learn how many of these surround us in our day-to-day lives, more specifically in your pocket. Because you can find examples of holographic technology on your driver's license, on credit cards or even on banknotes themselves. Despite being unconventional hologram formats, they use holographic technology to add watermarks or other elements.
If this has surprised you, you'll probably be interested to learn more in depth about how the effect of a hologram is produced and how it works.
How do holograms work?
Holographic projections are created by splitting a laser beam into two separate beams, using a pyramid of angled mirrors. This forms a reflection beam and an object beam that are directed in different directions, reflecting off the different angled mirrors.
Then the beam is reflected off the object that will form the hologram, and finally onto the final surface or holographic plate, therefore, as the beams are joined, 3D images are created in the form of holograms.
This technological solution allows the creation of a wide variety of possible types of holograms, depending on the materials used, the purpose of the hologram or the place where it is placed.
What are the advantages of using holograms in your company?
- Highlighting at events, fairs or other commercial spaces
- Capture the public's attention more effectively
- Generate a perception of an innovative brand
- Provide new formats to showcase products or services
- Generate an innovative brand perception
- Generate new formats to showcase products or services
- Increase recall in the minds of customers
Holographic Formats and uses of holograms
There are many companies today that want to incorporate new technologies into their processes or departments, and to date the formats where there is a holographic projection are many and varied, the best for you to get an idea of the different types of formats, is that we talk about them.
Holographic Fans
Holographic fans today are the format of technology that is most used and most widespread within the business world, thanks to its easy operation and reduced production and assembly costs. It is a very versatile technology, as we can see in the video.
This technology consists of one or two blades that create what would be a fan, which simultaneously can create a larger wall of holograms. The fan blades have LED's that change color as the 3D holographic video plays. If your goal is to attract attention at trade shows and events,unlike traditional formats, this format will allow you to capture the attention of your customers in a surprising way.
Life-size and mini holographs
Or also called "Pepper's Ghost" effect, this format recreates a ghostly holographic image that can show large-scale projections, mini or directly to 1:1, making this technology very versatile. One of the best known cases of this type of format, was the one carried out on a stage to "revive" the rapper 2Pac and put him together with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
This format has a great study of holographic technology and has techniques that have been tested for years. Moreover, as an added advantage, it allows the possibility of performing, for example, the same concert in multiple geolocated locations, projecting the holographic image of the artists who in reality will only be performing the concert in a single location.
Finally, by combining the celebrity effect with the holographic projections, we get a cocktail of international headliners that will give a lot of visibility to the show. With this project they caught the attention of the whole world, making visible and demonstrating the use of holograms in this kind of projects.
Holographic Smoke Curtain
As the name suggests, this format uses smoke as a surface on which to project holographic images. This smoke can be created artificially or even by means of a semitransparent net as a screen that serves to project the hologram. It results in a very effective technique, already consolidated in theatrical productions thanks to its ghostly effect.
Another of the options that exist within this type of holographic format are the water curtains that use the same technology, but different exposure material, in this case water. This last option requires an increase in budget, but it is a perfect option if the aim is to bring "nature" closer to the viewer and transmit values related to ecology.
Transparent Modular LED Curtains
For this type of holographic formata grouping of panels containing LED lights in the form of a curtain is created. The interesting thing about this technology is that it is practically transparent, allowing generating an experience that catches the consumer's attention in shop windows as we can see in the following images.
The use of this type of holograms is very interesting for window dressing, as they are designed to give an effect of transparency that allows the consumer to notice the 3D design of the hologram and, of course, also the products inside the point of sale, standing out from other nearby shop windows.
In this way, we can make our company shine in a professional way, in addition to generating a disruptive way of interacting with the product and the customer.
Semitransparent OLED display
The OLED display thanks to its semi-transparency creates amazing visual effects. How to use it? First you have to place the physical products behind the panel, while the videos and images are playing on the screen. If you want to expose an exclusive product is your perfect ally, as it allows you to perform new forms of visual communication and a range of creativity that traditional signage did not allow.
The strongest point is its OLED technology that achieves a much more realistic range of colors thanks to its individual pixels. Another strong point is the screens, which absorb ambient light to perfect image viewing. Finally, it is scratch-resistant and even features fire protection.
The most recognized brands that have manufactured similar products and have taken the lead in the world of maximum resolution displays are: LG, Xiaomi, Windows, Acer, Asus and Dell. International brands that have set a very high price compared to the devices traditionally used to create holograms, but that in professional quality projects can be the best option thanks to their unseen image quality.
Holographic Pyramids.
Holographic pyramids are the most popular type of holograms, along with holographic fans, because they achieve a high quality result, for a relatively affordable price and being able to introduce products and objects inside to generate animations around them.
We can find this type of holographic format in two different variants:
- The first is the holographic pyramid for smartphone, of a very small size and that is placed on the screen of the same to generate holograms medianta the reflection of the light emitted by your screen.
- The second is by large holographic cubes, which contain the crystal pyramid inside. They are constructed in a more perfectionist manner and therefore have a more professional approach. They use the same light reflection effect, but at a much larger size and quality.
One of the great utilities that can be given to this type of holography is to generate a product display, where we focus on setting a star product to highlight it through the use of a holographic pyramid.
Examples of holograms for companies
Next we will talk about the versatility that exists in the types of holograms that are used within the professional sectors and we will also talk about the advantages of using holographic technology with the right format.
Holographic Innovation in Fairs and Events
In this project, we at DeuSens were in charge of customizing the design of a holography, which impressed the attendees of the fair.
This was achieved from a holographic projection, which got the attendees to put their eyes on the stand of our client and were surprised, allowing the brand to visibilize the advantages of its different product ranges through the use of these Holograms.
If you want to know more about how we use holograms in fairs like this one,we recommend you to visit our portfolio, where you can solve all your doubts about this project in which we used holographic projections for Fersa Bearing.
Do you want to know more about this project?
Advertising and Holographic Signage
Do you want to discover how you can differentiate yourself from your competition by innovating in your company? The world that encompasses marketing is very changing and dynamic, technologies, trends and tactics are never perfect or definitive. That is why all companies have to be constantly changing and adapting.
The use of holograms and optical illusions in the advertising sector is revolutionizing the large formats of the outdoor media, such as billboards and advertising posters, generating new forms of advertising that are revolutionizing the sector to capture the attention of the public, increasingly demanding and difficult to impact.
Most companies stay on the cutting edge when it comes to how they advertise their business and products. This along with the large amount of impacts we are exposed to on a daily basis causes us to give a differentiating touch to advertising creativity. And holograms are a new option that can help us achieve this.
Holograms in the Education Sector
The education sector, a sector that has been branded as conservative due to its lack of innovation and reinvention, is also beginning to include technological innovations. In this way, classrooms are becoming more up-to-date and disruptive, for example using holograms as we see in the following video and in the images below.
Can you imagine Cervantes himself teaching you literature? Or Albert Einstein teaching you science? Today it is more than possible thanks to holograms and digital avatars.
These are Holograms or projections that teachers themselves can create and direct at will to make classes a more fun and interactive format, improving student engagement to promote teacher-student feedback.
As a resource it is very versatile, for example, if a teacher needs to give classes in several places at the same time, this technology allows simultaneity between the different locations, or even to avoid displacements.
Retail Tech and Holograms at the Point of Sale
Retail in advance wants to have a tangible ROI or rather a return on investment that can increase its sales in the shortest possible time. This is achieved by bringing technology closer to the retail trade and taking advantage of one of its great advantages to reduce the cost of store visits.
It is proven that incorporating this technology in your retail store, will offer you the most effective and attractive communication possibility of the moment, both in Indoor and Outdoor areas. So the most significant benefits of implementing holograms in Retail Tech are:
- Improve message perception
- Longer Dwell Time
- Realistic 3D display
- Unleash Positive Emotions
Within the Retail Tech world we find hundreds of possible formats or interactions with the medium, which produces a very wide list of advantages. If you want to learn more about Retail Tech, we recommend reading our blog where you will find all the necessary information about the most useful uses, examples and technological formats at the point of sale.
Discover more Retail Tech solutions!
Utility of Holograms in Hospitality
All consumers are exposed to a wide range of different types of advertising, this somehow saturates us and we get used to receive many stimuli from advertisers. This implies that companies have to differentiate themselves in a personal and very noticeable way.
Hoteliers have in holograms a new form of interactive visual communication, which can help reduce the cost of visits to restaurants and also help increase customer satisfaction and improve the average ticket. Using holographic signage formats offers an alternative to conventional signage, with this being a new, more engaging and effective form of visual communication.
The Sector of the Future, entertainment through Holograms
This sector is dedicated to the generation of products for people to use in their leisure time. The industry that moves these economic activities seeks to satisfy the demand for entertainment that comes from the public, so they provide them with something interesting to watch or to do.
Within this sector we can include cinema, television, newspapers, theater, music, magazines, social networks and video games. The success story that perplexed us, is the case of the VX1 holographic computer.
How does it work? For starters, it's a holographic format similar to the holographic pyramid, where the reflection of light on a hemispherical crystal is used to create a holographic representation, for example, of the snake game. In this way, the game is played without the need for apparent screens, giving the sensation that the game comes to life in the air through holograms.
Gamification is a concept that is spreading among companies that aim to generate a differential Hyperexperience for users, who increasingly demand new ways of interacting with companies that are somewhat removed from serious professional environments. For this reason, if you want to learn more about the concept of gamification you can read our blog where we talk about it.
