This piece is my dedication to the passion and brilliance of those magnificent minds that brought us the design flexibility in variable angles. Dixon Gimpel, Jim Sommerville, Karen Gauthier, Chris Nelson, Greg Mathieson, John Elliott, Ron Bertel, Mark Fritsche, Cathan Murray, John Gettler, Nate Nelson, Scott Roschi, Evan Detskas, Greg Krull and Kevin Franz.
{Some of you, I know very well. I share with you my set backs and my triumphs. Others, you are like the atmosphere: strong and subtle. Today, I get to acknowledge you. Thank you.}

When two lines diverge from a vertex an angle is formed. It is a very common design element in the build of trade show back walls. It has been "in" for quite sometime now. Any trade show marketing manager who has been in the circuits have been introduced to it at some point of time or the other. At Exhibitor 2011, we saw the re-emergence of the angles in a massive way. No longer restricted to linear back walls, it now features in islands and hanging signs.

As with any trend, the angle in its original form will go through its normal cycle of peaks and valleys before it becomes a distant memory in our minds. We saw this as an opportunity and we striked it. We became creative with angles, gave more dynamics to it. We came up with angular extrusions that is not restrictive of any one angle or the other. Between 0° to 180° anything goes.
This leap in angular design reminds me of the four  puruṣārtha of experiential design.
Dharma is duty: Does it provide necessary utility and significance?
It is our duty as designers to add value to a product.
Artha is achievement: What does this flexibility in angles do for you? Does it infuse you with distinction? Does it make intuitive sense for a richer experience of your brand?
Kama is the fullfillment of sensual desire: Is it exciting to the senses? Is it striking? It it memorable?
And finally, the proper balance of Dharma, Artha and Kama leads to Moksha, the freedom and flow of a gratifying experience that transcends the product itself. The space, the event, the time comes to a memorable freezing point.

"ABUNDANCE, ASIA and AUTOMATION" has brought us to the doorstep of Conceptual Age. Prosperity, Technology and Globalization has presented us with the paramount challenge: How do we make our products and services shine? The simple answer is Upscale Design for Common Commodities. Ben Evans, director of London Design Festival said: "Design and creativity are one of the key competitive advantages companies in developing economies can have. In the future it will probably the only one that they have left." The same sentiment is shared by Robert Hayes, professor emiritus at Harvard Business School: "Fifteen years ago companies competed on price. Now, it's quality. Tomorrow it's design."

Nicholas Hayek, chairman of the Swatch Group instilled the magic of design in his Swiss watches when faced with Digital Delirium from the Japanese watch makers. In the Swiss culture of high-end hand made watches, Hayek embraced the opportunity of this new technology. He re-engineered the conventional watches into a technological wonder. However, he realized that this piece of high technology was missing the high touch of design and poetry. So he combined his high-tech product with vibrant color and flamboyant design. Then, with a single stroke of marketing flair he created scarcity by limiting the number of copies made for each model. Hayek created miracle. He elevated his commodity from the assembly line and injected it with the fantasy of a six year old.

This brings up the point is Design a mere fanciful piece of decoration that dolls up places and objects. That is the serious misunderstanding of DESIGN. John Heskett, Chair Professor of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University states that Design is a combination of utility and sigificance. For example the Skyline Pop-up Trade show display is a trade show portable utility. But at its most effective, it is a carbon composite self-locking frame. There are no connectors. You literally pop it up and there it stands. That is significance.

As we usher in the Conceptual Age, utility enhanced by significance is now the definition of Design. Design is a means of differentiation. Design is an enabler in creating new markets. "Good design is a renaissance attitude that combines technology, cognitive science, human need, and beauty to produce something that the world did not know it was missing." Paola Antonelli, curator of Architecture and Design, Museum of Modern Art.

In an age when board rooms are no longer the birthing cavity for brands, when facebook and twitter seems to be establishing and expanding or diminishing the brand perception, trade shows and specialized venues seems to hold the secret to your brand experience. Today, a brand is defined as your reputation built off, of your promise to your customers and the sum of all of their experiences with you. Trade shows happen to be an unique arena where your prospects gets to touch, feel, breathe and explore your brand. For this, you need to be Bold and Dauntless. This is one place that your brand must stand out from the noise of the crowd. The strategy that you embark upon is the key. It is the only "SureStep" way to your brand victory.

All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved. Chinese Military General: Sun Tzu

SureStep has done exactly that. Designer, Greg Matheison has incorporated the strategy of Adventurous Creativity and established the brand on high grounds. A company with patents for children with low muscle tone having trouble with stability due to pronation provide bracing for normal movement and function. In an effort to paint a picture of a child's normal life using SureStep, the booth stand design was anchored in the center field by a conceptual tree house. It is Bold. It is Defining. It is Purposeful. The purpose of this messaging is not about the product. It is about bringing fun and adventure in a child's life. The brand has now secured victory.

Christie MicroTiles can be configured in any size and shape: the limiting factor being the visualization of your mind....so the website says. However, other than the iconic BBC Worldwide Half-Globe umbrella that stands remarkable in  the Media Center of London's White City,
I have not encountered any other organic shapes that has been designed with these MicroTiles.
Nonetheless, with a super-fine pixel pitch of 0.5mm, Christie MicroTiles is a pixel intense projection, touting 70x more pixels than the most popular 4mm surface-mount display LEDs. High brightness, deep contrast and unparalleled color range ideal for high ambient light environments is the hallmark of this advanced optical technology. As far as color reproduction capability goes, it 115% of the NTSC color gamut and exceeds standard LCD flat panels by over 50%. It is light weight modular, with automatic detection system built into each tile for easy reconfigurability.

Whether you are engaged in, broadcast or a broadway play or at a trade show live performance, this is an epic systems that will attract and engage the audience that you have set out to transform.