Forward Thinking Designs
Forward Thinking Designs is a woman-owned, Florida-based AV design and show control firm founded in 2015 that builds Q-SYS plugins and delivers custom AV systems for themed entertainment, museums, cruise ships, and hospitality venues worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersOcoee, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Forward Thinking Designs does
Forward Thinking Designs (FTD) is a privately held, woman-owned audiovisual design and show control firm founded in 2015 and headquartered in Ocoee, Florida. The company designs and programs AV, lighting, and show control systems for themed entertainment, immersive environments, museums, cruise ships, experiential retail, stadiums, and gaming/resort/hospitality venues, reporting more than 200 attractions completed worldwide. FTD operates a three-stream business model: (1) custom AV design, programming, and commissioning services billed hourly, flat-rate, or not-to-exceed on a project basis with monthly invoicing and Net 30 terms; (2) sales of proprietary Q-SYS plugins (Ottomater at $495, Trace at $395, SPL Logger at $350, plus free plugins Touch Page and Cue Go) via a direct e-commerce storefront with one-time perpetual licensing; and (3) managed services and ongoing support for installed systems.
The technical core is built on the Q-SYS professional AV platform, extended through FTD's own plugin portfolio covering cue-based show control (Ottomater), wireless remote triggering (Cue Go), paging (Touch Page), Smaart audio integration (Trace), automated speaker testing, SPL logging, parametric EQ, GPS-triggered audio playback (Onboard Player), prayer-time scheduling (PTS), and feature-rich audio playback (thePlayer). Go-to-market is enterprise project-based, supported by participation in IAAPA Expo and InfoComm, plus an organic content presence on website, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. The company is co-founded by Evan Hall and Melanie Hall, maintains the sub-brands Audio by the Bay and AV Mercantile, and reports an employee count in the 11–50 band. No funding rounds, M&A, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.
Forward Thinking Designs firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Forward Thinking Designs
- Legal name
- Forward Thinking Designs
- Website
- https://forwardthinkingdesigns.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Forward Thinking Designs is a woman-owned, Florida-based AV design and show control firm founded in 2015 that builds Q-SYS plugins and delivers custom AV systems for themed entertainment, museums, cruise ships, and hospitality venues worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Forward Thinking Designs industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Themed Entertainment AV Design & Show Control Services
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Performing Arts Companies (7111)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Exhibition, Retail & Experiential Design (BPAHAKAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Staging, Scenic & Set Fabrication (Stages, Backdrops, Scenic Builds) (THAHAEAC), Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)
Keywords
Where Forward Thinking Designs is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ocoee
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Forward Thinking Designs business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Software Plugin Sales: Direct sales of proprietary Q-SYS plugins including Ottomater ($495), Trace ($395), and SPL Logger ($350). One-time license fees for plugin downloads with optional licensing agreements.
- Professional AV Design Services: Custom AV design, programming, and commissioning services for immersive environments. Billed on hourly, flat rate, or not-to-exceed basis with monthly invoicing and Net 30 payment terms.
- Managed Services & Support: Ongoing support, monitoring, and optimization services for installed AV systems. Includes proactive monitoring, help desk support, on-site troubleshooting, asset tracking, maintenance, and firmware updates.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | One time/ perpetual license | Touch Page - Free plugin |
| Freemium | One time/ perpetual license | Cue Go - Free plugin |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | Trace plugin |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | SPL Logger plugin |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | Ottomater plugin |
| Hybrid | Monthly | Professional Services |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
Forward Thinking Designs product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Forward Thinking Designs provides professional audiovisual (AV) design, show control programming, and commissioning services for immersive themed entertainment environments, and develops and sells a portfolio of proprietary Q-SYS plugins (Ottomater, SPL Logger, Trace, TouchPage, CueGo, Auto Speaker Test, Onboard Player, PTS, UCI EQ, thePlayer). The company also offers ongoing managed services and support for installed AV systems in theme parks, museums, cruise ships, stadiums, hospitality, and experiential retail venues.
Product overview
Forward Thinking Designs offers a suite of proprietary plugins for Q-SYS, a professional audio, video, and control platform. The product portfolio includes TouchPage (paging station), Auto Speaker Test (speaker verification), Trace (Smaart integration), CueGo (wireless triggering), Onboard Player (GPS audio playback), PTS (prayer time scheduler), UCI EQ (parametric EQ), thePlayer (audio player), SPL Logger (sound level monitoring), and Ottomater (cue-based show controller). All products are Q-SYS plugins designed for AV, show control, and audio applications in themed entertainment venues.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Audio by the Bay: A brand under Forward Thinking Designs, featured in the Our Brands section.
- AV Mercantile
Products and services
- Ottomater
Quantifiable outcome
- 200+ attractions completed worldwide
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Forward Thinking Designs
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Forward Thinking Designs technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature6 records
Forward Thinking Designs partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Forward Thinking Designs competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Kraftwerk Living Technologies: Kraftwerk designs and integrates immersive AV systems, projection, and lighting for theme parks, museums, and experience centers — directly comparable in scope to FTD's immersive AV design and commissioning practice.
- Smart Monkeys: Smart Monkeys develops show control and AV management software (ISAAC) and is also a long-standing Q-SYS ecosystem partner serving themed entertainment and live shows. Like Forward Thinking Designs, it sells software products and integration services into the same end markets, making it the closest functional peer.
- Electrosonic: Electrosonic is a long-established AV integrator specializing in themed entertainment, museums, control rooms, and immersive environments — overlapping almost directly with FTD's location-based entertainment, museum, and corporate experience segments.
- TAIT: TAIT delivers entertainment technology, staging, automation, and show control systems for live shows, theme parks, and touring productions, frequently interfacing with the same Q-SYS, lighting, and show control ecosystem that FTD specializes in.
- Holovis: Holovis designs and delivers immersive experience technology — projection, spatial audio, and interactive AV — for theme parks, museums, and location-based entertainment, overlapping closely with FTD's immersive AV design services.
- BRC Imagination Arts: BRC Imagination Arts is a themed entertainment design and production company that has delivered major museum, brand experience, and visitor attraction projects — serving the same institutional and entertainment buyers that hire FTD.
- Alcorn McBride: Alcorn McBride manufactures show control, audio, and video playback hardware widely used in theme park attractions and live shows. They serve the same integrator-and-operator ecosystem that buys FTD's Q-SYS plugins and design services.
- Thinkwell Group: Thinkwell is a themed entertainment design and production firm that designs and delivers master planning, experience design, and AV/lighting systems for theme parks and museums, operating in the same client verticals as Forward Thinking Designs.
- Medialon: Medialon (now part of Crestron) provides show and media control software used in museums, theme parks, and immersive venues — directly competing with FTD's Ottomater cue-based show controller on the same AV integration projects.
Broad incumbents
- Christie Digital: Christie is a much larger incumbent in projection, display, and AV processing for theme parks, museums, and immersive venues. It overlaps with FTD's end markets at the buyer level but competes primarily at the hardware tier rather than as a software/plugin and design services specialist.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Forward Thinking Designs social profiles
Digital presenceForward Thinking Designs financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Forward Thinking Designs leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Forward Thinking Designs funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Forward Thinking Designs M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Forward Thinking Designs
What does Forward Thinking Designs do?
Forward Thinking Designs provides professional audiovisual (AV) design, show control programming, and commissioning services for immersive themed entertainment environments, and develops and sells a portfolio of proprietary Q-SYS plugins (Ottomater, SPL Logger, Trace, TouchPage, CueGo, Auto Speaker Test, Onboard Player, PTS, UCI EQ, thePlayer). The company also offers ongoing managed services and support for installed AV systems in theme parks, museums, cruise ships, stadiums, hospitality, and experiential retail venues.
Is Forward Thinking Designs a public or private company?
Forward Thinking Designs is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Forward Thinking Designs founded?
Forward Thinking Designs was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Forward Thinking Designs based?
Forward Thinking Designs is headquartered in Ocoee, United States, in the North America region.
How does Forward Thinking Designs make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Software Plugin Sales are the primary driver. The others are professional AV Design Services and managed Services & Support.
Who are Forward Thinking Designs's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Kraftwerk Living Technologies, Smart Monkeys, Electrosonic, TAIT, Holovis, BRC Imagination Arts, Alcorn McBride, Thinkwell Group and Medialon. Christie Digital is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Forward Thinking Designs have an API?
No public API is recorded for Forward Thinking Designs.
What industry is Forward Thinking Designs in?
Forward Thinking Designs's product category is Themed Entertainment AV Design & Show Control Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAL, Exhibition, Retail & Experiential Design, with a secondary code of THAHAEAC, Staging, Scenic & Set Fabrication (Stages, Backdrops, Scenic Builds). Its NAICS code is 541512 and its SIC code is 7370.