The common phrase, "united we stand, divided we fall" has long been used by nations and leaders to inspire people in presence of clear and imminent danger. However, when it comes to laying out the floor plan for your trade show booth design in a limited space (e.g 20' x 30' as shown above), distinctly dividing the floor space in to two unique areas, 'Love' and 'Work' might be a good idea to propel your brand into action. I was reading a great post the other day that spawned the idea for this article. The HBR blog post suggest that the age of snarkiness is behind us and now we are in the era of sweet love. The post successfully points out as to what is wrong with the Sonic commercial and dubs it as ineffective since it hinges on sarcasm not sweetness. Sweetness is back. Sweetness is big. Sweetness, against all odds, and quite against character, is having a celebrity moment. Brands gain huge currency when leading with sweetness. This trend in exhibiting sweet love is evident in the amount of space that are devoted to lounges and the so called hang out areas. Grant McCracken, writer and anthropologist, in his book Culturematic, talks about brand that makes headway are the brands that fosters co-creation. He says we want brands that are works in progress, engagements in and of the world. Brands need to be about becoming, not about being. The carefully designed hang out areas in your space can be a Culturematic cluster– a bundle of experiences, "investigating the world in a variety of ways, defined with enough intellectual generosity that several outcomes—some of them quite different–are possible". And if you are exhibiting at trade shows with horizontal target audience 'Cuturematic' might just be the way to go. After all, "culturematic is a little experiment that in a playful counter-intuitive way, broaches a kind of what if." It is a great way to keep the engagement going both at the show floor and after the show. If one half of your exhibit design is an ideal setting for Culturematic cluster devote the other half for customized demonstration. Demos at trade shows are essentially futile unless it is designed to solve specific problems that customers encounter. To help better cater to your clients and prospects, do your research and find out what are the attendees trying to accomplish by coming to a specific event. What are their pain points. Heck, send out tweets asking them about it. Find out what solutions are being adopted in other industries or other countries to solve similar problems. Armed with answers you then design few presentations that talks about solving targeted problems. Trade shows and are fertile grounds to ignite new brand culture. Wouldn't it be great if you knew the kind of content that is being shared by the attendees of these events. You can then gauge the commonly held beliefs and behaviors of your clients and prospects. Very soon you will find out if there is a contradiction of some sort. Once you detect it, your brand will gain transformational traction on a evolutionary scale. Of course, you will highlight the preference to build recognition. But what is really enticing is tapping into the collective anxiety and achieving a status that transcends functional benefit. One great example that comes to mind is Google. In the age of digital clutter, Google offers empowerment “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Question to ponder: How do I humanize my next trade show exhibit? Articles that you might like:
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Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, explains, “…Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it…sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive…” She goes on to say, “Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.” A perfect choice of color, to contrast the year of the Black Dragon. 2012 happens to be the domain of the Water Dragon and according to the Chinese Five Element Astrology, black is relates to water. Thus, it is safe to infer that the overarching message for this year is the dance of fire and water: a rhythm in contrasts. As designers, we often play with the principles of rhythm and contrasts. Rhythm is the movement of our gaze to scan the message for understanding or gain information. Rhythm is usually achieved through repetition of objects, colors, and placement in the composition of design. A serpentine is a perfect example of rhythm in motion in a 3D design architecture. Contrast on the other hand stresses the visual differences in size, shape, angle and color between the elements to elevate the awareness of an intended message. It is the quickest way to shower visual treat and to draw attention to your exhibit design. It leaves a hypnotic trail in the minds of the trade show attendees. However, the principle of rhythm in contrast is much like a dance of tango. "Movements are sometimes slow and slithery, and other times sharp and stacatto, such as a quick foot flick or a sharp head snap to promenade position" Yet there is an intoxicating rhythm to it. "Warning: tango contains highly addictive ingredients, such as pain, pleasure, passion, excitement, connection, freedom, torment, and bliss. In seven out of ten cases it takes over a person's life." In the world of exhibit design, the rhythm in contrast plays a dominant role in the integration of the vivacious curves of lounge furniture with the angular purity of the display architecture. Two opposites coming together to create the "fantasy of a harmonious whole." Articles you might like
Lounges have now gained tremendous momentum in the design of trade show exhibit spaces and special events. Dedicated sitting spaces are now integral part of design directives. These areas are resolute in providing a communicative approach to information exchange and information gathering. In today's era of viral marketing and virtual interacting, it is a featured highlight of face to face marketing. When 46% of executive decision makers make purchase decisions while attending a show and 51% of executive decision maker requested that a sales representative visit their company after the show and get this: 95% of the executive decision makers meet with their current suppliers at a trade show it is only makes sense to promote the right kind of atmospheric conditions that fosters such conversation. And a lounge does exactly that. It is a luxurious conclave where talent meets target. If you have a smaller space e.g 20'x20' or so and if you find the above statistics valuable; you might want to think about a club design layout. However, if you have a larger space you might want to pledge a portion of it to elegant setting with flamboyant and interesting furniture that speaks to the sensuality of the limbic system. The lounge inside your space is a grand setting for show casing your latest innovation. For it is good to know that 50% of the trade show attendees wants to see "What's New" in products and services and 90% of the trade show attendees have not been called upon (face-to-face) by any company exhibiting at the show in the 12 months prior to the event. Why not make the experience delightful? Research from Cap Gemini Ernst and Young states that “Consumers don't differentiate retailers by their value propositions.” Brands don't distinguish themselves by having unique products or services as much as they do by the experience they present. A memorable experience is one that thrills or excites customers and prospects. As kids we thrived on thrills. We remember our first touch down. We remember our first voyage on Pirates of the Caribbean. We remember our first festival of colors. As adults, we continue to seek thrills in our professional and personal worlds. "We want the thrill of getting high response rates to a direct marketing campaign; the thrill of exceeding our sales quotas; of earning that next job promotion in record time. Businesses that understand what excites their customers are those that stand to gain higher levels of customer loyalty, no matter the challenges their markets face." Jeanette McMurtry, MBA Lounging in Cappuccino and Hot Pink is all about the ideal setting that peeks the thrill of "what's new" and what's exciting in a monotonous day to day survival. Next time as you plan your space, think about the ways that you can distinguish yourself in those precious moments of interaction that we call face-to-face marketing in the hyper competitive marketing world of business-to-business. Source for the above statistics : CEIR.org Articles you might like
An illusion is a distortion of the senses, as interpreted by the organization and the sensory stimulation of the brain. Even though visual illusion or optical illusion is more commonly understood, all of our 5 physical senses participates in the creation of an illusion. For example, the graphic design below: at the very first glance seems to be all tied in together. {Conscious effort was undertaken to keep it seperate.} When the eye sweeps it again, it becomes evident that the projects are very different. The first one, is a trade show booth design and the overarching second, is the award winning Polish Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010. It was this Polish Pavilion that inspired me to write this article. The pavilion was designed by architects Wojciech Kakowski, Marcin Mostafa and Natalia Paszkowska. The building was inspired by traditional polish folk art paper cut-outs reinterpreted in a contemporary fashion. The team sought to create a 'cultural ideogram' that would signify the country of origin in an iconic way. The ramp that is created by the folded exterior enables visitors to climb onto the roof of the building, making the entire building a functional exhibition space. The choice of materials and the character of construction were to a large extent dictated by the idea of possible future reclaiming and recycling of the pavilion structure or its parts, e.g. by reconstructing it in one of the polish cities after the expo ended.
The illusion factor embedded in this trade show booth design: It is the 50' wide x 14' high, overpowering graphic. To put in perspective, the billboard signs, noticeable along the freeway is 14' high x 48' wide. This super size sign emphasizes the vertical volume of the space and creates the illusion of stupendous brand empowerment. Lounge areas in a trade show booth design have gained momentum over the last few years. It is the constant awareness of this special space that helps the attendees to reflect and pause even for a bit, in the middle of a very hectic show floor. I can think of couple of industries that would want to go with a lounge type setting when designing a trade show booth:
Product Awareness: When you are launching a new product, it is often a good idea to have a open lounge as shown below. Here the attendees can try out the products in a more relaxed setting. The products are anchored onto the coffee table. This kind of atmosphere is conducive for products that cater to the life style industry. Below, are some striking lounge settings that caught my attention. It is a good mix of stance, elan and intellectual elegance. Notice the choice of furniture and settings that has been weaved seamlessly with the wall texture, lighting and graphics. Articles you might like
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Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly. Franz Kafka |