2017 in Review: LED leads the trends that drove broadcast design

Color shading

In order to both match the increased use of dynamic video walls and incorporate wide swaths of eye-catching design, set designers have combined a longtime technique — duratrans — mixed with newer color changing LED backlighting to create a simple but effective way to change all parts of the set. 

The technique typically includes using a grayscale pattern or design printed on duratran material with lightboxes equipped with RGB LED behind, so that when the hue of the backlighting is adjusted, the printed background takes on differing shades of that color.

Often different color schemes are used for different dayparts or topical uses, such as red for breaking news.

It is worth noting that, since this technique typically involves large expanses of duras, the panels aren’t easily changeable, so the printer pattern used remains the same — it’s just the color that changes.