More - rendering versus photo

Our 'Exhibit Rendering or Exhibit Photo' post was quite popular so I thought I would share some more images with everyone.  To be honest, even though I look at these everyday, I am still surprised at what technology allows us to do when designing an exhibit or booth concept.  The graphics may not be the same as the ones chosen for the booth - but exhibit renderings provide us with a great opportunity to see what the final concept will look like on the show floor.

The design and rendering process takes a long time but the outcomes are pretty impressive.  Below are some more rendering versus photo examples of both purchased and rental installations/booths:

 

                              Tire Wall for Hyundai Dealership

Danone @ Wal-Mart Vendor Fair (Rental)

Maple Leaf Foods @ Wal-Mart Vendor Fair (Rental)

Economical Insurance Group @ Home Hardware (Rental)

Uponor 10x20 - 10x10 (Purchase)

                              

Moving on up - 5 tips on how to move from your portable to a custom exhibit

We receive a lot of calls from exhibitors who want to make the jump from their draped table to a custom designed booth.  Some already have bannerstands and pop-ups but are looking to make more of an impact and stand out from their competitors.

But how do you go from this...........................to this?

10'x10' draped table

20'x20' custom exhibit

Here are 5 quick tips to help you plan your move from your portable exhibit to a custom designed booth:

1. Do some research

Go online and do a bit of prep work.  Look at exhibit houses in your area (or in the city you will be exhibiting), browse their gallery of work, check their capabilities to ensure that they specialize in custom designs, and make notes of design elements that you like - or don't like.  Don't forget to ask colleagues or friends who have exhibited because they may have an exhibit house they could recommend.  Choose two or three you would like to speak with and move on to step 2.

2. Make a wish list

I am a note taker and list maker - which brings us to my second suggestion:  Write down all the features you or your team would like to have in your booth and don't forget to highlight the must-have elements.  Some of the basic things your Account Manager will ask you about are:

• Booth size
• Seating
• Storage
• AV/Media
• Signage/Messaging 
• Presentations or Demos
• Flooring
• Anything else?

Writing down all the elements you would like to see in your custom designed exhibit will help your account manager and booth designer understand what is important to you and your team.

3. Get your facts straight

This part is not as much fun as the design wish list but very important when you are making a sizeable investment in a custom designed exhibit.  Think about and be prepared to answer questions on:

• SHOWS.  When is your next show?  How many times a year will you be using this exhibit?  Where do you exhibit? Do you exhibit in different booth sizes at different shows?
• BUDGET.  This is crucial because you are no longer looking at a $1000 to $2000 investment in your exhibit program - you might be looking at $30,000 for a 200sq ft booth [$144/$160 per sq ft  based on the Exhibit Designers and Producers Association's 2011 Economic Survey - average cost for an in-line/single tier island exhibit].
• SERVICES. Who will manage all the show services (orders, shipping, set-up, dismantle....)?  Will your team do this or do you want to work with a full-service exhibit house?

 4.  Ask questions

Once you have your exhibit house on the phone I know they will ask you for a lot of information. But don't forget  that you are also trying to qualify them.  Ask questions that will help you establish if you and your exhibit house are the right fit.  Like buying a house - you want to trust your real estate agent, you want to feel like they understand what you are looking for, you want to build a relationship when making this kind of investment.

Ask the exhibit house about their custom design work, the cities they exhibit in, the services they provide, their production capabilities, the design process, visit their facilities and you can even ask them to speak to a couple of their existing clients for some feedback on their work.  

5.  Make the jump

If you have found the one (or two) exhibit houses that you have a good connection with, tell them that you would like to kick off the design process.  This might involve an in-person meeting with the designer, a few concepts, and then a final design before you go into production - but your account manager should be walking you through each step of the design and build process.

Exhibitor magazine posts a lot of exhibitor success stories online (Case Studies By Company).  Even though they feature a lot of larger exhibits - you can read about exhibitor's innovative marketing plans, unique exhibits, and even find inspiration to make the leap to a custom designed exhibit.

Renting an exhibit - still a popular option

I have this conversation a lot with clients: Why should they rent their exhibit? 
Because it makes sense. 
Not for every exhibitor and not at every event - but in many instances I see our clients benefit from renting instead of buying their exhibit.

We created this advertising piece below (it was a double sided card - so the text below is the back). It summarizes the key reasons for choosing a rental booth.

In essence - it's about flexibility and making your show budget go further.
At least that is how I like to look at it.  

Gone are the days when Marketing Managers had 'unlimited' trade show budgets like in this custom exhibit with intricate mill work at the 1893 Chicago World Fair.

1893 Chicago World Fair - Michigan Exhibit (Source:PeriodPaper)

Today we are still focusing on cutting costs, economical solutions, minimizing expenses, and maximizing your show R.O.I.s (while still trying to impress your attendees with an amazing booth!)


We have seen many clients go from a 600 to a 200 square foot space, and vice-versa.   This may be a result of changing Marketing budgets and because they invest in different sized spaces at different shows.  Add another dimension, that these shows don't happen every year, and now what do you do with a booth purchase that only fits the space for one of your four events?


Almost all our clients change their exhibit from one event to the next.  Even if it's just adding seating or a meeting room, changing the layout, enlarging the storage room, or changing the size - you can always make improvements to your booth and I like that a rental exhibit gives you this type of flexibility.

Unless you know that you will be using the same booth, in the exact same configuration for at least 4-5 shows, consider a rental exhibit.  If there are some core elements that can be used at every event and in every size configuration look at a hybrid solution (a combination of custom purchased components + rental components).  Hybrid solutions give you a little more customisation and unique elements within your rental exhibit.


A lot of our exhibits are a mix of custom elements (purchased) and rental components, like this 20'x20' exhibit we designed for Pure Hothouse. The glowing pedestals, dimensional lit letters, and graphics were custom/purchased components and most of the structure is rented.  That is why you can also see a 10'x20' concept in which a combination of custom components and rental structure is used.  For the 10'x20' they only rent the exhibit structure they need instead of carrying the cost of the full 20'x20' version.

I am sure we will come back to this rental discussion over the lifetime of this blog and even though I can appreciate that a rental exhibit is not the right fit for every company I think renting a custom designed display will continue to be a popular choice.

Booth Flooring: carpet, vinyl, interlocking tiles, grass,...

Booth flooring is an important component in the exhibit design process.

Work with your exhibit house to make your space stand out - review design options, look at samples, consider 'green' solutions, think about longevity, and imagine it in the context of your booth.

Flooring can definitely set the tone for your entire exhibit.  Take a look at Outotec's booth as an example. One design uses a white carpet - the other shows a grey option.

They have very different  'feels' depending on the colour choice for the flooring.

Which one do you like?  I immediately fell in love with the white carpet but started worrying about visitors spilling drinks, dirty shoes leaving their marks, and all the other practical concerns I have!

Once again it's a form versus function debate:  Yes, dark flooring is practical.  Yes, it will be stain resistant. Yes, it will last longer. BUT - Our designer has won me over....I love the white flooring in this booth.

(For those of you who are not convinced - keep a carpet cleaner handy during the show, have your carpet washed after a couple of events, and set some funds aside to splurge on a fabulous new white carpet when the old one starts to show some wear and tear!)
 

Here are some tips on why carpet (don't worry - it does not have to be white) is still a popular choice:

Carpet is still the most popular choice

• It comes in a wide range of colours
• You can choose eco-friendly products
• It is easily installed & dismantled  for an event
• It provides comfort (with underpad)  if you are standing for hours
• You can easily hide cables 
• Carpet is customizable (printing or inlays)
• It is one of the most cost-effective solutions (purchase or rental)

Here is a short video on some of the other flooring products we use for trade shows (I always thought the artificial grass was neat and am pleasantly surprised about how good roll-able vinyl flooring options have become).

In the video you will see samples of carpet, vinyl flooring, synthetic grass, LED light tiles, printed tiles, printed carpet & underpad. 

This is Mucci Farm's exhibit where we used a 'wood' vinyl flooring along with a charcoal grey carpet.

Even though we are not always able to use residential or commercial flooring products at events - there are many great flooring solutions available that are made specifically for the 'temporary nature' of trade shows (interlocking tiles, 'easy' raised flooring, printed carpets, textured vinyls, etc.).

As I mentioned above, choosing the right flooring is an important part in the exhibit design process and in setting the tone for your booth.  Look at samples, trust your designer, and take advantage of all the new flooring products available.

*If there are any cool flooring products you would like to share - please feel free to comment!*

Exhibit Rendering or Exhibit Photo?

I was looking at an image today and could not tell if it was an artist's rendering OR if it was a photograph.  Today's post is not very serious, nor does it make us experts in the latest design technology - but I believe it does create a little bit more awareness and appreciation. 

As recently as 10 years ago our exhibit designers only sketched and drew booths using pen and paper (As an exhibitor, or even someone hiring an architect to remodel your home, you will probably come across a rendering or two.  Because we are so used to seeing pretty pictures and photographs instantly we often forget the amount of time and effort it takes to create these digital masterpieces.  These drawings bring the booth ideas to life and help us imagine them on the trade show floor.  In the last few years I have truly gained an appreciation for the artistry and technical skills required to develop exhibit renderings or 3D animations.  Hours of work on the designers part leave you with images that are so realistic - the lines between the booth photo and the renderings start to blur.  Here is an example of Intelerad's 2011  exhibit for RSNA's 2011 annual radiology meeting.  Can you tell which one is the photo?

You can also see Intelerad's 2010 exhibit renderings and photos on our site www.exhibit-solutions.com.

Here are some other cool examples I found:

Studio clues - Digital rendering vs product photography

Ronen Bekermans - render vs photo review

Setting up Microsoft's 'Shadow Box' booth

I am excited to share the installation video of Microsoft's 'Shadow Box' exhibit!  
This video was filmed using time lapse and took almost 1600 photos in a span of ~ 8 hours. Two 10'x20' custom designed walls made up this 20'x20' booth.  Although the columns in the venue made it difficult to find a good spot for the camera - we were able to capture the set-up of one of the walls.  It took a crew a full day to install the carpet, exhibit structure, signage, lighting, AV and one day later it was all dismantled again.  If you every wondered what it takes to set up an exhibit here is an example:
Microsoft 'Shadow Box' exhibit Installation

Microsoft Canada's 'Shadow Box' Booth

I was just able to get some photos from our newest build - we call it Microsoft Canada's 'Shadow Box' exhibit.  These images are from a recent Future Shop event that took place in downtown Toronto.  Our crew set up this custom designed exhibit in a day (I should have a video of the installation up by next week). The walls are about 10' high and 20' wide.  The white panels are a high gloss laminate - while the back-walls were inspired by "shou-sugi-ban" a japanese wood burning technique http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/2323908/list/-Shou-Sugi-Ban--Is-Setting-the-Siding-World-on-Fire. With only 3 weeks to design and build this booth - everyone was excited to see it come together.