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Defining Interconnectivity

May 27th, 2009 Mel White 1 COMMENT

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interconnect

Interconnectivity

By definition, interconnectivity is “to be connected with one another.”

The term interconnectivity fascinates me on a lot of levels ranging from my personal to my business life. So much so, that I have found myself looking for “the connectedness” of things recently. It has become somewhat of an obsession.

Truth be known, I never really focused on it until about four weeks ago when a friend and colleague called out a “connection” that was both timely and bizarre. It got me thinking . . . why and how? And I am not sure I will ever really know.

With the advent of the social networking tools, the clarity of how connected we really are has become more evident than ever . . . though sometimes I think forced. There is a difference between being networked and being connected in my mind, although the line often gets blurred a bit.

A recent Facebook blog noted, “With greater connectedness has come the ability for people to influence one another with more speed and efficiency. We’ve seen this lead to people spreading information and organizing events on a mass scale, often within days and weeks.”

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Search for Exhibit Photos in P5D — New Feature

May 14th, 2009 Mel White COMMENTS
Past Five Days -- Search Thru Over 1000 Exhibit Photos

Past Five Days -- Search Over 1000 Exhibit Photos

On April 13, we posted “Past Five Days — Reviewing Photos in P5D” where we discussed the history and features of Classic’s daily photo log. Past Five Days has been a permanent feature on Classic Exhibits website, and on all distributor versions of Design Search, since September 19, 2006. Over that time, we’ve made multiple incremental improvements. Today’s improvement is anything but incremental.

New Photo Search Function

We’ve added search functionality. Now you can search the entire P5D database by size and/or keyword. We all know the expression, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Too often, the challenge is finding the just right picture or photo. When it comes to trade show exhibit design, you may prefer renderings, but someone else in your organization may prefer photos. Now both options are available for many Classic Exhibits’ designs.

Say, for instance, you like Visionary Designs VK-1032 Hybrid Exhibit. Click here to see the rendering. “Very cool,” you say to yourself, but you wonder if there is a photo available in P5D that shows a “real” version of VK-1032. In this case, there is. Not just one, but seven separate entries for this design. Click here to see one of those photos. Not every photo will be complete with graphics. After all, those photos are taken in our Setup Area, and it’s not uncommon for us to ship displays without the graphics. The graphics may have been shipped directly to the client, or the photo was taken before the graphics were installed. It happens. Also, it’s important to remember that P5D is a sampling of orders. Not all orders. So, not every kit on Classic’s website has a corresponding photo.

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“New and Improved” ClassicMODUL Website

May 6th, 2009 Mel White COMMENTS
New and Improved ClassicMODUL Website

New and Improved ClassicMODUL Website

If you have ever created or revised a website, you know how stressful, painful, and expensive the process can be. Just gathering all the necessary data and storyboarding the pages can be overwhelming. Thank goodness, I’m not a programmer. Or a graphic designer. Or a project manager. They do all the work. I have the luxury of brainstorming and tossing out ideas and then moving far, far away while the messy stuff happens. But when it all comes together, it’s magic.

Introducing the “New and Improved” ClassicMODUL website (www.classicmodul.com). I’ll review the changes in just a second, but I should explain what is “ClassicMODUL” for anyone unfamiliar with this division of Classic Exhibits Inc. ClassicMODUL supplies aluminum extrusions and accessories to the trade show, retail, and museum trade. The distinction between Classic Exhibits and ClassicMODUL is a matter of degree. Classic Exhibits designs and builds trade show and event displays, complete with design support, setup drawings, custom packaging, and graphic specs. ClassicMODUL can supply all those, on an ala carte basis, but more often ClassicMODUL supplies cut extrusion, locks, and accessories to customers from CAD drawings or item lists.  Classic Exhibits works exclusively with trade show distributors. ClassicMODUL works with architectural firms, museum designers, retail designers, custom houses, and trade show distributors. If you explore the two websites for even a minute, the distinction is obvious.

Improvements to the ClassicMODUL website:

  1. By far, the BIG BIG BIG improvement is to the “Our Line” section. There are now detail drawings of every extrusion and accessory. The products are organized into categories, and you can download DXF files for each one. In addition, there is a new search tool so you can find exactly the item you want in a flash. There are several other upgrades in the “Our Line” section which I encourage you to review.
  2. We reformatted the Request a Catalog page, the Tech Specs page, and the About Us page. These pages are now much easier to navigate.
  3. We added a video which shows the MODUL island exhibit at EuroShop 2008. It’s an informative video, about three minutes long, showing the design capabilities of the MODUL extrusion system.

Finally, I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who worked so hard on these website improvements. To Tom Jones and Lee Tillman at ClassicMODUL for reviewing the database and your additions. To Flying High Creative Resources for pulling together and organizing all the information and for project managing everything. To Netra for your exceptional programming expertise and creative problem solving. It takes a team — an exceptionally talented team. Thank you!

–Mel White

p.s. What are you waiting for? Another pat on the back. It’s time to start the next project. Chop! Chop!

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The Tradeshow Exhibit Rental Business is Booming

April 29th, 2009 Mel White COMMENTS
Trade Show Rentals from Classic

Trade Show Rentals from Classic Distributors

The exhibit rental business is booming. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. Exhibitors, both large and small, are looking for cost-effective ways to maintain their exhibit marketing on tight budgets. Renting a display makes sense for a variety of reasons, including cost, flexibility, storage and handling. If you are weighing the choice between buying or renting, see 8 Reasons to Rent Your Exhibit (below) or the full article on www.all-about-trade-show-exhibits.com.

Too often, exhibitors view renting as a marketing or design compromise. Larger rental displays, especially those from show management, are often battered, dated, and UGLY. They scream, “Hi, I couldn’t afford a new display so I rented this #!@% display from the show.” Renting 10′ x 10′ exhibits hasn’t been much better. The choices have been a pop up display, a different pop up display, or a fabric folding panel system. These are all utilitarian choices, and with the right graphics can be very effective, but they are never going to win you a “Best of Show” award.

Thankfully, rental designs have come a long, long way, especially if you are considering renting from a Classic Exhibits distributor. Take a moment and review the inline and island rental options in the Classic Gallery. You’ll notice some standard designs, such as pop ups, panel displays, and truss systems, but the vast majority fall under the heading of hybrid designs. Hybrid designs, such as Visionary Designs, are precisely what their name implies — hybrids. They rely on the strengths of multiple systems and combine them into a unique solution. This makes the final designs custom looking, but with much greater flexibility than a custom exhibit. Hybrids are impressive and unmistakable, not only for their soaring aluminum extrusion structure but also for their large format graphics.

The following are examples from the Rental Gallery:

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When It Comes to Graphic Design, I’m an Idiot

April 23rd, 2009 Mel White 3 COMMENTS
Classic Exhibits and Graphic Design

Classic Exhibits and Graphic Design

When it comes to graphic design, I am an idiot. I’m not embarrassed to admit it, although I probably should be since I manage the marketing for Classic Exhibits and ClassicMODUL, and assist in the marketing for Exhibits Northwest. Yet, there’s rarely a day that I don’t make graphic design decisions about our websites, sales literature, email marketing broadcasts, and trade show displays. Does my lack of graphic design expertise show? I certainly hope not. Frankly, I think we do a pretty good job.

Like most marketing managers, or any manager who understands his or her limitations, I rely on talented people, such as graphic designers. Not only do they understand the tools, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, or Quark, but they spend their days immersed in graphic design issues.  They understand the nuances and the trends. They remind me that this color text on that background is unreadable and that I’ve created visual clutter and confusion in my effort to say and show too much.  If I ask them to add a “star burst” with a price, they guide me to a more contemporary solution that doesn’t reek of 1980’s clip art.

Fortunately, I’ve learn some valuable lessons over the years regarding graphic design, which I’ll share. These aren’t font, color, or layout tips. Remember, I’m an idiot. These are tips for anyone working with graphic designers, tips that hopefully will save you time, money, and slow the aging process.

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