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Posts Tagged ‘Kevin Schuhl’

Three Recent Gravitee One-Step Modular Island Videos

February 6th, 2018 COMMENTS

Gravitee Trade Show Island Exhibit

Over the past several months, Kevin Schuhl, a Classic Exhibits designer, has perfected 360° “Fly-Through” videos of Gravitee One-Step Islands. It hasn’t been easy, but the results are truly remarkable.

I won’t pretend to understand the process, but I know from talking to him that it’s time-intensive. For each one, he has to create the flight path and the specific lighting. Then there’s the computer rendering, which he often launches before heading home or going to bed. After that, Kevin tweaks it multiple times to get it just right. Then it goes to Glenna Martin, our Graphic Design Manager, who adds the title slides, music, and text before uploading it to YouTube.

The results are impressive as you can see below. Each video shows a full 360º view. Sort of like having a hovercraft on the show floor. HUGE kudos to Kevin and to Glenna.

Below are three recent ones. To see them all, visit the Classic Exhibits Channel on YouTube.

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

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Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, hybrid, and custom 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.

Kevin Schuhl | My First Six Months at Classic Exhibits

March 10th, 2017 2 COMMENTS

KevinSchuhl

It’s a Whole New World

There are many things that I have done for more than six months. Many tangentially related to the design of trade show spaces and structures. For example, building scenery, painting sets, designing and producing environmental graphics. What I have not done (until now) is work for any organization for anywhere close to six months. As Ariel said in the Disney version of The Little Mermaid, it’s a whole new world.

My wife and I decided to move to the West Coast from the Upper Midwest. A return journey for me. A new one for her. No plan, no place, just a realization that it was the right time. Since I’ve never worked in a similar situation to Classic Exhibits, my perspective has more to do with large life changes vs. a job career.

My background and skill-set led me to Classic via a placement agency. After a few meetings with Mel, Kevin, and Katina and a mock-up later, I was hired as a Designer in the Design Department.

Has it been all sunshine and roses? Not quite. Working with a large group of people is different than working for oneself. Things that you take for granted working solo require more attention in a group.

Like communication, where everyone needs to be on the same page. I am still trying to find the appropriate level of email redundancy. I spent a week reminding myself that when I write “Good afternoon, Projects” that the Projects email is a recipient (thank you to those distributors who took the time to respond with “Are you sure this went to Projects? I don’t see them listed”). And it’s not just what I communicate. It’s how I communicate to ensure it reflects the values of the company. I have to remind myself that it’s coming from Kevin Schuhl who works at Classic Exhibits.

Every single day I work on various design projects. Then move on to the next one. And after six months, there are occasionally surprises when I walk through the shop. As a Designer, my work gets tossed over the fence to Customer Service for a quote. As a result, I don’t always know when a design becomes an order. Then, lo and behold, there is a backlit L-shaped counter being photographed that not only seemed like a long shot to be produced, but ultimately was produced with the same placeholder graphics used in the original design.

For example, Gravitee kits have food-based graphics, a decision by Marketing to differentiate it from other lines. So it should not have been surprising that one of my first designs was purchased by a food-based company.

Not every design is successful. I’m learning. There was that unique approach to a charging station kiosk that looked great on the screen but didn’t quite function as expected on carpet. Or an elegant curved wall designed for multiple booth configurations that didn’t make the cut as a 10×10. Thankfully, we get the opportunity to address and correct these flaws.

In the end, I am here to draw pictures. It’s something I’ve done my entire life. I had no idea one could study experiential design in college; yet, I now have the opportunity to apprentice under a designer who did just that. When you think about the people and processes involved from taking a rendering to a structure that will travel to shows, events, or even in lobbies, you start to understand the benefits of working in concert with others toward one goal.

That sums it up for me. I am generally a curious person, always looking for something new, always looking to learn. I have arrived at a place where I can use inherent, lifelong skills and experience while still exploring new arenas, learning how to navigate from people who have been there, and hopefully contribute something in the process.

My wife also reminds me that it doesn’t hurt that Classic happens to be a place where people seem to genuinely get along and are able to take the work seriously, without taking themselves too seriously. The culture matters. Inside the main entrance, there is a large backlit graphic that describes the company’s Shared Success philosophy. If you’ve ever read it on Classic’s website, I can assure you that those values, from my experience after six months, are reflected in the company.

Let me know if I can assist your efforts. I look forward to working with you on your next project.

Kevin Schuhl
Designer
kschuhl@classicexhibits.com

Kevin Schuhl, the Newest Addition to the Classic Design Department

October 4th, 2016 1 COMMENT

We are excited to welcome Kevin Schuhl to Classic’s Design Department. Kevin brings an eclectic design background to our creative team, which he shares in his bio below.

Kevin Schuhl

schuhlAfter growing up in the chaparral covered hills and valleys of Poway, CA, I attended the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). Four years and one change of major later, I received a BA in Art.

Feeling I needed more practical experience, I began working as a scenic artist at the La Jolla Playhouse.  It was there that I learned much about paint treatments, large scale art projects, and the immense amount of collaboration between different trades required to accomplish those projects successfully. Another quick stint doing similar work for a company focused on corporate events, and I was ready for something new.

I relocated to Chicago in the late nineties, ostensibly for graduate school. While more art school did not work for me, Chicago did. I instead started working with a friend out of our basement studio providing large format printing for photographers and artists. Over the next few years, we garnered larger clients and found we had fallen into a niche designing and fabricating graphics as well as scenic art elements for some nationwide chain restaurants.

When it was clear that a studio of our size would not survive a large economic collapse, I began thinking of ways to continue to merge my love of traditional arts and more modern forms of design and production. I took a job working as a 3D visual designer for an event production company, assisting designers through the modeling and rendering of spaces and decor to be used for large corporate functions, weddings, and festivals alike.

Alas, fifteen years in Chicago becomes cramped, and the wife and I wanted out. We sold the house and moved to Chicago’s older uncle, Milwaukee, WI. There, we learned the ins and outs of ecommerce, creating several online sites for the purpose of selling graphic decor directly to the end- user. While rewarding in its own way, I missed the sense of working with people on larger projects that involved much more than simply what was on the computer screen. I missed the shop.

This led us to Portland this past July, with the caveat that I would be looking to leave the home office in search of other work. Luckily for me, Classic Exhibits had a need for some design help. In my short time here, Classic has been everything that I was hoping to regain in work. Collaboration in a shop with a variety of skilled people. Collaboration with an even larger, unseen audience toward one goal. I look forward to all I will learn across the spectrum that is Classic Exhibits.

When not working, my time is split between music, learning software, painting, furniture making, cooking, playing pinball with my wife, and walking with our dog.

Kevin Schuhl
kschuhl@classicexhibits.com