Trade Show TalesBlog

Posts Tagged ‘Exhibit Design’

We Have the Design Cure. And It’s Free!

May 8th, 2015 1 COMMENT

DesignSketch

Someone once said that design is easy. All you have to do is stare at the screen until drops of blood form on your forehead. Truer words have never been spoken.

As a designer, how often are you asked to reinvent the wheel while the clock is ticking? What if that pressure had to do with redesigning a kit from Classic’s award-winning Exhibit Design Search? More and more designers are saying, “That damn thing has already been drawn. Wish I could get the model file. Guess I’ll reinvent the wheel again.”

OK, that’s not exactly what the designer says, as she sweats blood from her forehead, but you can guess the R-rated version.

ftp

Download Kits Models from Our ftp Site

Breathe Easier

Classic Exhibits has the cure. We will give you, yes give you, free of charge, our model files. However, there is a catch. There’s always a catch. The models are free. If you don’t see the model you need on our ftp site then simply call or email us and ask for the appropriate model file in the file format you want. That’s the catch.

Did I mention we give away hours and hours of our design time to you absolutely free and only ask for orders in return? I ask you, how many things in this business are actually free? Do you recall the time you took that roll of duct tape (thinking it was free) from the show floor and months later received a bill from Freeman for $125,345,000.00 + drayage. Geez, they’ve got cameras everywhere now don’t they?

Classic has offered this “freebie” for years and many distributors utilize it all the time. These are the same distributors who recognize there is a marked increase in the number of orders that close when their designer is in direct contact with their client. Classic Exhibits, always looking to make you more profitable, recognized long ago that not every distributor has room, either physically or fiscally, for staff designers. Our solution (which is also free) is to be your designer.

How Does This Work?

Quite simply actually. In a call with your client, Classic designers can be introduced as your staff, offsite, freelance designer, etc. Why do we offer this freebie? Katina Rigall, a Classic Designer, probably said it best in a past blog:

designWant a 100% Success Rate? Before working at Classic, I was the lead designer at a custom exhibit house, and I had the opportunity to work directly with end-users on Every. Single. Project. It was truly gratifying to create designs that hit every request, the verbal and the non-verbal.  You can hear the excitement in a client’s voice when the design strikes a chord with them — it makes them invested, it makes them attached, it makes them want it, it makes them BUY it.

I, too, have worked direct with the client either as a distributor’s designer or as a manufacturer’s designer. Hell, one time the client was with me at my side in front of my computer for five days. Every one of those deals closed. To be sure not all projects will go as smoothly as grass through a goose or even close for that matter, but you can sure see that the odds improved dramatically. Folks, that translates into money in the bank. Doesn’t get any easier than that.

No Cost Services

So those are two of Classic Exhibits Design Department’s “no cost” services that translate directly into black ink for you. To be sure I haven’t covered all the technical know-how, but we’ve kept the process as simple as we can… just ask and you will receive. You can always email Designs@classicexhibits.com, and we will respond like greased lightning.

Classic realizes a designer can’t always avoid forehead hemorrhaging especially with client comments like, “I don’t know exactly, but I’ll know it when I see it.”  But, if you make your model request a tear-jerker you just might get one of us to feel sorry for you and send you a piece of medical gauze to wrap around your head.

Inside Info:  This guilt tactic won’t work on other exhibit designers as we can’t hear through the layers of gauze wrapped around our heads.

Mike Swartout
Design Director
mike@classicexhibits.com

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Based in Portland, Oregon, Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, and custom-hybrid exhibit solutions. Classic Exhibits products are represented by an extensive distributor network in North America and in select International markets. For more information, contact us at 866-652-2100 or www.classicexhibits.com.

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A Humbling Lesson About 10 ft. Displays

July 23rd, 2014 COMMENTS

520-10X8-2Safety in Numbers

Over the years, I’ve learned a humbling lesson. There’s safety in numbers when it comes to 10 ft. inline trade show displays. Most exhibitors choose the predictable over the bold, the safe over the dramatic. And while I understand, I also don’t understand. Yes, budget is a factor. Fear too. No one wants to make the wrong decision when purchasing a display. It’s easier to choose something you’ve seen on the show floor rather than a design that’s unfamiliar.

Too often, I’m disappointed when I walk the trade show floor and review the inlines. I see banner stands pretending not to be banner stands. I see weak, pixelated graphics on pop up displays. I see boring pillowcase frames with fuzzy 4-color graphics and cheap hybrid displays with gaping parts and pieces. Sadly, most arts and craft fair exhibits are more creative than the typical corporate inline display.

Now before you think I’m picking on low-cost displays, I’m not. A similar trend can be found in more expensive displays, where the quality is better but design still takes a backseat to predictability.

Taking Chances

So, why the reluctance to take chances? Is it because, as someone once told me, “No one ever got fired for buying a pop up.” That said, I’m going to take a chance, albeit one that’s a bit self-promotional. Below are displays from Exhibit Design Search that do not fall within the “safe zone.” I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts about these designs, understanding that none are below $8000. Some considerably more. These design sell, but not in the same numbers as Sacagawea, Magellan Miracle, or a VK-1321.

Put your customer glasses on, share your thoughts from a buyer’s perspective, and vote for your favorites. In this election, it’s OK to vote for more than one. 😉

 

Please share your comments. Thanks.

–Mel White
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
mel@classicexhibits.com

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Based in Portland, Oregon, Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, and custom-hybrid exhibit solutions. Classic Exhibits products are represented by an extensive distributor network in North America and in select International markets. For more information, contact us at 866-652-2100 or www.classicexhibits.com.

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29,363 Miles in 93 Days

May 17th, 2014 COMMENTS
Katina Rigall, Designer

Katina Rigall, Designer

As of today, May 18, I have flown almost 30K miles in the last three months! This is definitely a personal record, and I am pretty sure I have “time zone whiplash.” I goggled it and no results, so apparently I’m the first one to coin that term.

I enjoy creating new concepts! It’s what I live for to be honest. All the trips I’ve taken as a representative of Classic Exhibits in 2014 have reinforced that passion:  from Dusseldorf for EuroShop in February, to Vegas for EXHIBITOR in March, and now NYC for the FIT Exhibition Design thesis presentations.

Can we talk about EuroShop for a second? How inspiring were the shapes, patterns, and designs that we saw there! It was amazing to see it in person, and I hope the pics I posted to our blog gave you the feeling you were walking the show halls right next to me. Several of you mentioned you felt that way when I saw you at EXHIBITOR, and it was a sincere honor to hear that feedback.

EuroShop Photos and Videos:

EuroShop_Day_4 (81)What stood out to me most from our EuroShop trip was the extreme contrast between the innovative designs at the show, and the Gothic cathedral in Cologne which Mel and I visited on our day off (we climbed all 533 steps to the top). Lest you think I don’t appreciate historical design, let me state for the record that I fell in love with art history so much I actually minored in it in college. I studied abroad multiple times and was lucky to study art and architecture and visit many cathedrals throughout Europe, and they are truly works of functional and beautiful art. From there I could have easily followed a career in teaching, curating, or even designing museum exhibitions…and really enjoyed it. But I’m so glad I did not go down that road, because what I do as an Exhibit Designer is focused on the future not the past. It’s about pushing limits, creating new trends, coming up with crazy ideas that might not have been possible to construct in the past, and using new technologies to make them a physical reality!

We’re so privileged that you, our distributors, put confidence in our Classic Design Department to help your clients push their booth spaces to ever advancing levels of design innovation. Mark my words, someday design students will have required reading about the important contributions of exhibit designers to the advancement of design as a whole!

Fashion Institute of Technology

Speaking of design studies, on Friday May 16, I was a guest judge for the Capstone event at my alma mater, FIT in New York City. It’s the only master’s degree program specifically for Exhibition Design. Capstone is a great event, very well attended each year by leaders in our industry, where the current crop of students present their thesis projects in preparation to graduate and join us in the working world. The program has come a long way since I graduated in 2007, and it’s very much because of the amazing director Brenda Cowan. I could write a whole blog about what her mentoring has meant to me.

The student work was worth the trip across country! I’m so amazed at the level of creativity, the conceptualizing ability of the students. Exhibition design is so interdisciplinary, involving graphic/industrial/interior design, in addition to all the research and planning that go into a project, AND the final presentation is a work of art itself! It brought me back to the days of two hours of sleep each night for weeks on end. It’s an intense program, but these students can be proud of what they’ve accomplished.

Congratulations to each one. Being an exhibit designer is something to be excited about. And not only that, it’s important work. We can look forward to many good things from these newly minted exhibit designers!

Katina Rigall
katina@classicexhibits.com

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Why Our Brains Love Curves

December 28th, 2013 3 COMMENTS

Katina Rigall, Designer

In my last blog post, “Exhibit Designs that Sell,” I offered some tips on how to achieve a nearly 100% success rate. This time, I want to delve into a design element that connects to a deep-rooted preference in many people — graceful, mesmerizing curves!

There are two reasons why your client may be drawn to curves. The first is biological. A recent scientific study tested how the brain responds to curved vs. linear designs. In the study, the part of the brain linked to emotion was more stimulated when participants were expressing a greater affinity for the curved designs they were viewing.

It appears many people have a positive emotional pull to curved spaces. In the insightful article Why Our Brains Love Curvy Architecture, Eric Jaffe explains why curved designs tug at our hearts. Curvature appears to affect our feelings and signal safety or a lack of threat.

When it comes to exhibit design, the second reason clients may be drawn to a booth with curves is the elevated status that is associated with it. Curves are more difficult to manufacture. They require more labor because the materials, whether metal, wood, or plastic, must be modified from straight to curves. Because of this, curved booths have historically been designed for clients who can afford curves and other custom features.

Our Design Department continues to receive custom design requests for curvy booths (and thankfully budgets that allow for them). But more notable is the huge increase in requests to re-brand our existing kits from Exhibit Design Search, such as VK-1320, TF-5202, and VK-5095. From 10×10’s to large islands, curved structures are selling because there is a recognition that branding on these structures offers bold and eye-catching surfaces for creative graphics. These designs attract attention and, as you know, attention is everything on the trade show floor.

The Classic Rental Department recently added many new curved island and inline designs. I spoke with Jim Shelman, GM of the Rental Dept., who is thrilled about these new rental options. As we all know, curves have typically not been an option in the past. To preserve small budgets, straight lines were predominant. According to Jim, clients are excited about getting a curved rental booth because these booths are both upscale and affordable.

One of my resolutions for the Classic Design Department in 2014 is to continue producing designs that will “Wow!” your clients . . . and sell like hot cakes. Watch for creative new designs in Design Monday. I see twists and turns and lots of curves in our future!

When your client’s budget allows for curved elements, do they prefer a curvilinear booth or a linear design aesthetic? Let me know in the comments section below. I look forward to hearing from you!

Katina Rigall
katina@classicexhibits.com

Exhibit Designs that Sell — Every. Single. Time.

October 19th, 2013 5 COMMENTS

Katina Rigall, Designer

Hey all, Katina the Designer here! I have a couple of special topics to share with you.

Instagram

Classic Exhibits is now on Instagram. Please follow us, classic_exhibits, and you will see snapshots of fun items in our shop, blackmail-worthy pics of Kevin and Mel, and some great design ideas! This will be different than our Facebook page or Pinterest account because I am in charge, and everything will be coming from a designer’s perspective. Should be fun!

Designs that Sell

I am often asked to design custom booths, and the #1 requirement I hear is — “Make a design that will SELL!” OK, usually that is a non-verbal request, but it really is the point of what we are doing here, isn’t it? So I’d like to share with you one tip that is tried and true, that has had a nearly 100% success rate for turning a job prospect into a sale.

Allow the designer to work directly with the end-user and/or decision maker. Please!

Bring us in on that phone call when you are gathering information from your client. Feel free to introduce us as your in-house design staff if that helps. We just crave that chance to hear what a client wants directly from their mouth!  And we will have some probing questions that will enlighten our design process and leave the client thinking, “Wow, these people really understand what I want!”

As designers, we have adapted very well to taking in words, spinning them around in our brain, and pushing them out into 3-dimensional designs to be presented to the clients. The design process is heavily guided by the information we receive, so the quality of the information is key. Even the inflection in the decision-maker’s voice clues me in to what they really value, and what they want to emphasize.

Why not just do the information gathering phone call yourself and type up some handy notes to share with us? That works most of the time, but it’s like that old game “telephone,” the more people between the end-user and the designer, the more room for misinterpretation. What typically happens:  the design will hit the mark for the last person who explained the booth requirements to the designer. Hopefully, it is close to what the end-user wants and only requires minor tweaks, but often that is not the case.

100% Success Rate

Before working at Classic, I was the lead designer at a custom exhibit house, and I had the opportunity to work directly with end-users on Every. Single. Project. It was truly gratifying to create designs that hit every request, the verbal and the non-verbal.  You can hear the excitement in a client’s voice when the design strikes a chord with them — it makes them invested, it makes them attached, it makes them want it, it makes them BUY it.

Since working at Classic, the opportunity to speak directly to the client has been more infrequent. But when I do, the design has resulted in a sale nearly 100% of the time. And without the need to go back and do multiple revisions! What I’m asking is that you allow us the privilege to speak with your clients more frequently, increasing your odds of making that sale and increasing our odds of bringing more work through our shop. This is, after all, why we designers have jobs at Classic!

Sometimes it doesn’t logistically work out for us to be in on that phone call for a variety of reasons. Which we totally get. We just hope that when the opportunity does come up, you will think of us as part of your team. We are here to help you and letting us glean information directly from the end-users will reduce misinterpretations and revisions, and get all of us to that all-important sale more quickly.

Thank you for making our team great. We’ll talk soon!

Katina Rigall
katina@classicexhibits.com

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