Boomberg Virtual Backdrops

In 2014, Lightwell.tv was commissioned by Bloomberg to design virtual backdrops to complete two state of the art broadcast studios within their Lexington Avenue headquarters. The brief called for an ambitious visual environment: floor to ceiling LED screens spanning three sides of each studio, capable of delivering a fully immersive backdrop for a wide range of news programming.

Rather than treat the LED walls as standalone digital canvases, we anchored the design in the physical architecture of Bloomberg’s headquarters. The building’s central atrium, with its strong lines, layered balconies, and refined material palette, became our conceptual foundation. We developed a virtual atrium environment that echoed these architectural details, creating continuity between the real headquarters and the broadcast world viewed on screen.

Lighting played a central role in shaping the studios’ identity. By programming precise colour transitions across the expansive LED surfaces, we enabled the entire space to shift character in seconds. Cool, high contrast tones could underscore fast paced market coverage, while warmer, saturated palettes aligned seamlessly with feature segments or special reports. The studios became responsive environments, visually tuned to Bloomberg’s evolving editorial and brand needs.

A distinctive detail further reinforced this connection to place. Marine aquariums are a prominent feature throughout Bloomberg offices, symbolising calm focus within a dynamic workplace. We integrated animated fish within digital aquariums embedded in the virtual atrium, subtly referencing this signature element. The result was an immersive broadcast setting that felt unmistakably Bloomberg: technologically advanced, architecturally grounded, and capable of transforming in real time to support the network’s global news output.

This design was in use daily, for three years until it was replaced by our updated design.

Client

Bloomberg

Design

Jim Mann (Lightwell)

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