Canva’s Sydney HQ partnered with Merge Technologies to design a broadcastquality Zoom Room optimised for inclusivity. Naila Nadeem explores.
As hybrid work cements itself as a long-term reality for businesses worldwide, the conversation has shifted from merely enabling videoconferencing to rethinking how meeting spaces function on a fundamental level.
For Australian design giant Canva, an organisation built on intuitive user experiences, this shift also meant creating inclusive meeting spaces that make both in-person and remote participants feel heard and seen.
Initially, Canva’s hybrid meetings were hindered by technical barriers that chipped away at productivity. Dan Smetham, space engineering lead from Canva, comments: “There were frequent challenges around switching between lectern and presenter modes, incorporating remote presenters effectively, and managing the overall meeting flow. The technology setup made it difficult to deliver a seamless experience for both in-room and remote participants.”
He continues: “These issues directly impacted the effectiveness of our meetings. Many team members shared that the setup didn’t meet their needs or expectations, which led to frustration and reduced engagement. The inefficiencies also slowed down productivity, as time was often spent troubleshooting or adjusting settings mid-meeting rather than focusing on content and collaboration.”
Recognising that these seemingly miniscule issues translated into actual challenges that disrupted employees’ attitude towards their work, Canva’s Sydney HQ made the decision to adopt a more intelligent, user-centric approach towards its workplace technology design.
For this project, Canva appointed Merge Technologies as the consultant and integrator to deliver on its objectives. Smethan shares how the partnership came about: “We’ve had a long-standing relationship with Alex from Merge. We knew we knew we could trust him to help us find the right solution. When we approached him with a specific challenge, he was willing to collaborate closely with us to design and deliver a tailored outcome. We had unique requirements around programming, audio DSP configurations, and overall system integration. Attention to detail was critical for this space, particularly when it came to camera behaviour and user experience, and Merge’s expertise really stood out.”
Conceptualising the Zoom Room
Canva had a clear vision of what it wanted: a Zoom Room that could deliver broadcast-quality performance while retaining the simplicity and scalability of a meeting room experience. Alex Doherty, sales manager at Merge Technologies, says: “Canva expected a user-friendly yet advanced system capable of professional-grade video production standards that would feel natural and inclusive for remote participants. They did not want complex control panels or training-heavy interfaces.”
To bring this vision to life, Merge Technologies decided to design a space featuring a trio of front-facing Sony commercial displays and a rear confidence monitor, allowing presenters to stay engaged with remote audiences without losing their in-room presence.
Doherty details the thought process behind the conceptualisation of the Zoom Room: “This Zoom Room deployment was designed to elevate the hybrid meeting experience far beyond the standard camera setup. A total of five AVer cameras were deployed; one being a fixed lens 4K camera capturing the audience in a wide-angle shot, and four PTZ cameras that were strategically placed across six custom tracking zones that include both audience and presenter. The PTZ cameras were also used for intelligent speaker tracking.”
Doherty elaborates on the visual setup: “Using custom programming, the solution we installed delivers seamless camera transitions, including pre-loading the next camera view before handover. It creates a smooth, professional broadcast-like experience.”
To ensure that the control interface remained familiar and intuitive to Canva’s employees, the control setup was consciously planned. Doherty walks us through it: “One of Canva’s key requirements was seamless integration of ‘zoned tracking’ camera control directly into the native Zoom UI without forcing users to navigate extra menus from third party UIs. USB extenders and Wyrestorm AVoIP systems were used to meet this specification while maintaining native camera control and responsiveness.”
Doherty points out: “Each camera appeared as an individual source within Zoom, allowing intuitive camera switching and maintaining a high-quality, inclusive experience. We also deployed a Mac Mini to act as the Zoom Room compute, pulling in video and audio feeds and interfacing directly with Zoom.”
Intentional design
Behind the scenes, the engineering of the Zoom Room is anything but simple. A number of custom solutions were implemented, such as configuring bespoke camera tracking zones, programming cross-zone camera prepositioning, and mapping USB passthrough to Zoom’s standard camera controls. Doherty explains: “Custom programming was required to ensure seamless zone switching and native Zoom UI compatibility without relying on Zoom Room controls. Testing and refining this integration was complex.”
Smetham echoes the importance of the custom solutions provided by Merge: “The custom programming made the biggest impact. It was central to ensuring the space could be used effectively, adapting to a variety of use cases and user needs. It turned a previously complex and frustrating setup into a smooth, intuitive experience.”
What’s notable about this installation is how little it demands of the user, even as it performs at a high-functioning level. While an iPad mounted via iPort’s wireless charger is available for additional control, the default interaction remains Zoom’s familiar interface — eliminating the need for a steep learning curve. Doherty comments: “We installed a Biamp uniform controller to manage device logic, while an iPad offers wireless, intuitive user interface access. However, native Zoom UI remained the primary control interface, per the client brief. An iPort wireless iPad charger was also fitted.”
Doherty adds: “The Biamp controller allowed for discreet custom control logic where necessary, while iPort gave a premium charging and wireless mount solution for the in-room controller without detracting from user simplicity.”
Audio received a significant upgrade too. The Zoom Room presented acoustic challenges that had to be overcome with precision. Merge deployed a system centred around the Q-SYS Core 110f DSP, Lab Gruppen and QSC speakers and amplifiers and four ceiling-mounted Sennheiser TeamConnect microphones in both medium and standard sizes. This mix provided balanced audio pickup while addressing issues such as echo cancellation, clarity, and room coverage.
Doherty comments on the choice of audio solutions used: “QSC was selected for its processing power and integration with AV control systems while Sennheiser’s mics delivered industry-leading accuracy, helping overcome acoustic challenges in the space.”
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication?
Simplicity is the hallmark of this project, which is particularly notable in a corporate AV environment where technology, when overused, can be counterproductive to functionality. Since deployment, the results have spoken for themselves. Smetham shares: “The team has been impressed by what the space can now do. Features like camera tracking driven by the DSP have enhanced the overall meeting experience, making it feel more professional and intuitive.” Importantly, the burden on internal IT support has dropped significantly. Smetham highlights: “There’s been a noticeable boost in user confidence when interacting with the technology, and the need for ongoing tech support has significantly decreased. The result is a space that people are excited to use, with far fewer disruptions.”
Reflecting on the collaboration, Smetham described the partnership with Merge Technologies positively. He concludes: “It never felt like a typical client-vendor relationship. It felt like a true partnership, which we really valued. What really stood out was the team’s commitment to delivering the best outcome possible. There was no cutting corners; a lot of time and care went into the integration work.”