What Makes an Experience Worth Remembering?
A memorable event experience doesn't begin when the doors open, and it doesn't end when the exhibit hall empties.
The emails you open, the social posts that catch your attention, the questions that make you curious, the conversations you have onsite, and the things you continue thinking about afterward can all be part of the same intentionally designed experience.
That's the idea behind experience design and experiential design. Experience design considers the broader journey, while experiential design creates intentional moments within the journey that invite people to stop, explore, participate, or connect.
And there is science behind why those moments work.
Research into curiosity, novelty, participation, memory, and social interaction is helping us understand why some experiences capture our attention and stay with us, while others fade into the background. These same principles can also inform how we design event experiences, including how we're approaching what's ahead at Transnetyx.
Curiosity Gives Us a Reason to Keep Looking
Curiosity can influence how we learn, remember, and engage with information. In a 2014 Neuron study by Matthias Gruber, Bernard Gelman, and Charan Ranganath, participants demonstrated better memory for information they were highly curious about, as well as incidental information encountered during heightened curiosity.
For experiential design, that means leaving some questions unanswered can be part of what keeps people moving forward.
Spark curiosity before the experience begins.
Give people enough information to want to know more.
Let anticipation create a reason to keep following along.
We’re putting that principle to the test ourselves. If you've noticed Transnetyx starting to talk about AALAS without telling you everything we're planning, that's intentional.
There is more to come.
Novelty Gives Us a Reason to Stop
Novel and unexpected information can help capture attention. A review by Charan Ranganath and Gregor Rainer examined how the brain detects and remembers novel events, including how novelty can influence attention and memory.
In a crowded exhibit hall, where dozens of organizations are competing for attention, that creates an opportunity to interrupt the familiar.
Create something unexpected enough to earn a second look.
Make novelty meaningful, not novelty for novelty’s sake.
Give attendees something to explore, not simply something new to see.
What if an exhibit gave you a new way to explore what’s possible?
Participation Turns Attention into Involvement
Seeing something and experiencing it for yourself are not the same. A 2016 review published in Mind, Brain, and Education found evidence that active control during learning can improve memory compared with passive conditions.
Event research points in a similar direction. Cvent's 2026 event research identifies attendee engagement as an increasingly important measure of event success.
Give attendees opportunities to explore.
Create moments where they can experience something for themselves.
Invite interaction rather than simply presenting information.
We’re asking those questions as we prepare for AALAS this year. The answers might look a little different from what you're expecting.
The Best Conversations Go Both Ways
Some of the most meaningful event experiences are conversations. A review of social interaction and human learning examined evidence that people acquire knowledge not only from others, but through interaction with them.
That principle feels particularly relevant in research, where progress depends on asking questions, exchanging perspectives, and learning from others.
Connect directly with Transnetyx experts.
Share what’s working in your lab and where challenges remain.
Use customer feedback and focus groups to exchange ideas about where research is heading next.
At AALAS, we’re creating opportunities not only for you to hear from us, but for us to hear from you.
The most valuable interaction at our exhibit might be something you tell us.
Memorable Doesn't Have to Mean Bigger
Curiosity, novelty, participation, and connection work differently, but together they point toward the same idea: memorable experiences are rarely accidental. And memorable doesn’t necessarily mean bigger, louder or more elaborate.
It means making the experience meaningful.
Use curiosity to give people a reason to keep exploring.
Use novelty to earn attention without creating spectacle for spectacle’s sake.
Create opportunities for active participation and human connection.
Make every interaction relevant to the work researchers are actually doing.
The most memorable moment might be immersive, interactive, or simply a great conversation.
We're planning for all three.
An Event Is a Moment. The Experience Is Bigger.
The exhibit hall eventually closes. The experience does not have to. What begins with social content, email, and anticipation can continue through the in-person experience and extend afterward through resources, conversations, and opportunities to stay connected.
Think of it as a connected path: Anticipation -> Attention -> Participation -> Connection -> Continuity
We’re designing AALAS 2026 with each of these stages in mind, treating the event not as a few isolated days on the calendar, but as part of a much longer relationship.
And if you've been paying attention, you're already somewhere on that journey with us.
We are Bringing Big Ideas to AALAS
They say everything is bigger in Texas, so it only seems right to bring a bigger experience to AALAS this year.
Transnetyx is approaching AALAS a little differently. We're thinking beyond where our exhibit will be or what information we'll have available. We're designing around what you'll be able to experience when you find us, who you'll meet, what conversations we can have together, and what might make you see familiar challenges from a different perspective.
There will be opportunities to explore.
Opportunities to connect with our experts.
Opportunities to tell us what you think.
And there are a few things we're deliberately not telling you about just yet.
After all, we've spent this entire article talking about the power of curiosity. You did not really expect us to give everything away now, did you?
The experience has already started. Consider this your first clue.
Follow Transnetyx on LinkedIn to see what we reveal next as we count down to AALAS 2026.
We'll see you in Texas.
Follow Transnetyx on LinkedIn