The video mapping expert discusses the inspiration, technology, and emotion behind his work
Omar Serna is a Mexican experience designer, video mapping expert, and corporate event producer with more than 20 years in the field of large-scale projections and immersive shows. He is co-founder of ImagineNowStudios, a member of the World Experience Organization (WXO), AVIXA, The Mapping Society, and has served as jury director at León Light Fest, a student videomapping competition.
His work spans Mexico, the U.S., Peru, Chile, Nicaragua, and the Netherlands, blending projection, interactivity, and digital art into moments designed to move people.
Christie projectors power projection mapping at Tecate Pal Norte 2025, one of Mexico’s biggest music festivals.
Ask Omar Serna how he found projection mapping, and he’ll talk about light before he talks about gear. “What drew me in was the urge to wrap something with light and transform it—just for a moment,” he says. Two decades ago, the techniques and tools were scarce. Yet, that didn’t stop him. An early experiment projecting onto treated glass led to late nights of trial and error, and advice from friends who introduced him to the first tools of the trade.
“What hooked me,” Omar says, “was the wow factor—how you can briefly transform a space with projection and leave people seeing it differently.”
Serna selected Christie projectors to illuminate the historic Obispado in Monterrey, Mexico, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the state of Nuevo León.
Over time, those experiments became a practice: mapping buildings, sculpting interiors with content, and crafting experiences that aim for more than surface spectacle. Omar co-founded ImagineNow Studios in Monterrey and has produced work across Mexico and beyond, from corporate shows to public celebrations.
Designing for feeling first
For Omar, every project has two halves: the technical backbone and the emotional core. “I divide mapping into technology—projectors, media servers, signal paths—and emotion, which is the content,” he explains. “Designing an experience means thinking about both at the same time: who it’s for, how they’ll see it, and what we want them to feel."
Serna created immersive projections at A.W.A.H., a residential development near Mérida (Mexico), that were designed to blend with the region’s natural environment.
That shift—from “beautiful visuals” to communicating something that lingers—has shaped his evolution. “Fifteen years ago, a lot of mapping revolved around visual transitions—ice turning into plants, the sky breaking and rebuilding. Today, I’m chasing resonance: that moment when someone leaves and keeps thinking about what they felt."
If there’s a throughline in Omar’s work, it’s collaboration. He loves the phrase “Brighter together.” “It’s literal and human,” he smiles. “More projectors, more brightness. But it’s also more people, more brightness. None of this happens alone. There’s always someone beside you, in front, behind. I try to invite, connect, and co-create so the final applause belongs to everyone."
That ethos shows up in how he builds teams and shares credit with content creators and production partners. “The show is a shared effort,” he says. “Our job is to make space for people’s best work."
Omar starts with the audience journey—what should happen, and when—then fits tools to the story. There’s a lot of pre-work: site studies, constraints, prototyping, virtual simulations, and a willingness to adjust. “You plan for budgets and timelines,” he says, “but you also leave room to play. You try, you iterate, and you accept that the best version might arrive on pass two."
Serna’s work at the 17th edition of Emwa Fest in Monterrey, where he used projection mapping to celebrate fine watchmaking.
That flexibility is not about chasing gadgets; it’s about shaping conditions. Omar references research on how environments affect the brain and calls the spaces he creates “human-built environments”—places designed to trigger reflection or interaction. “Technology is a means, not the message,” he says. “We choose tools based on the space, the feeling we want to provoke, and the realities of time and budget."
Why projection still leads
In a world full of LED walls, Omar still reaches first for projection. “Projection gives me quality and speed,” he says. “For the same footprint, I often get higher perceived resolution, fewer cases, fewer hours of setup, and more elegant blends for large surfaces. That matters when the canvas is a façade or a complex interior."
He’s practical about the trade-offs. “LED wins outdoors in daylight and in any scenario where you can’t control light. But when I can shape the environment—even partially—projection lets me paint the space in a way that still feels unmatched.
“What hooked me,” Omar says, “was the wow factor—how you can briefly transform a space with projection and leave people seeing it differently.”
Omar has worked with many brands over the years, but he keeps coming back to Christie when the brief demands color fidelity, reliability, and flexible deployment. “Christie’s image stands out,” he says. “The build quality and durability give me confidence, and the brightness and color help the content carry the emotion we’re after."
His relationship goes back to early LCD models and has grown through today’s laser projectors. “We’ve used different series, from HS Series to high-brightness options like Griffyn Series when the scale demands it. The point isn’t the badge—it’s that the tools disappear so the experience can speak."
Sometimes he taps his own inventory; other times he scales through rental partners. “Christie’s footprint in the rental market helps,” he adds. “It’s easier to grow a show on demand when many providers carry compatible gear.
Teaching, mentoring, and making space for others
Omar’s schedule includes festivals, mentorship, and speaking engagements—he is a regular panelist at InfoComm, where he shares insights on immersive experiences and creative production. He has also served as a jury director and advocates for bringing more young creators into the field.
Omar is optimistic about what’s next. He imagines permanent installations that blend education, culture, and tourism; better pipelines between disciplines; and faster content workflows supported by new tools. “AI will simplify parts of the process, not replace the craft,” he says. “For me, it’s about getting to a strong concept faster and spending more time on what the audience feels.
He also dreams of exporting Mexican content—designing shows at home and replicating them abroad, from Europe to the Middle East. And yes, he’d love to see fewer boxes do more, whether that’s ultra-high-brightness projectors or higher-resolution engines that let small teams create at big scales. “Call them healthy ‘what ifs,’” he laughs. “They push us to imagine better."
At the end of the day, Omar returns to the same north star that pulled him in: light as a way to change how a place feels. “If someone walks away thinking about what they just felt,” he says, “then the technology did its job and the story found its place.”
