Brand Environment Trends

Brand Environment Trends

Who sets the trend in brand environments? Well if you approach each design with a goal of telling your clients story in a way that can really reach today's audience, then most likely it’s you! And I mean that collectively, because trends are the defined amalgamation of many creative expressions and social phenomenon that help us make sense of the range of expression in modern design. I think of it like the contemporary and future version of Art History. We know so much about previous generations by looking at their art and design. Looking at what is happening now in the more cutting edge parts of our society can give us clues about what messages and images will connect with our audiences by the time our current project reaches the market.

Exhibits can be a catalyst for design in commercial interiors just as hotel designs are a catalyst for home interiors. People see new effects in these deliberately emotional experiences and grow to embrace them in their more everyday lives. Exhibits show new products and express new business ideas often for the first time in a dimensional way. So exhibit designers seek new materials and compositions that excite buyers and entice them in a very competitive environment. In this experimental environment some will engage buyers and others will not. You can help your clients be the winners in this struggle by applying the current catalysts and social trends to your designs just as you do the timeless elements of composition and iconography.

The case of exhibits at the leading edge was very memorable from the 2008 EuroShop. In Dusseldorf in February every three years the brand environment world gathers in a city sized exhibition center to see what is new. While some exhibits imagery keyed into the network of intersecting lines (perhaps inspired by the same influences as the architect of the Birds-Nest amphitheater of the 2008 Olympics) some of us noticed the fire and ashes colors that foretold the coming economic meltdown. These elements had been seen previous to that in art and entertainment in Europe and their collective use by companies at EuroShop signaled that this industry agreed that it was headed for drastic change from the natural colors of the environment that had preceded it. At the time only the the toughest bears were suggesting that we were on the verge of and economic catastrophe but soon we were all enveloped by the black, whites, grays, red and yellow of fire and ashes driven by the economy.

Our society is pluralistic and there are always a number (and often competing ) style trends. It’s important to remember as I discuss them that some will be more relevant for your target demographic or for your specific message. As critical as it is to make your message relevant it should never be used an an excuse for compromising the story you tell. When we talk about trend for product design it important to assure that your product will coordinate with other vendors. In a branded environment that is not so much the issue, what is important is that people emotionally connect with your specific story as relevant to their current needs.

With all that in mind let’s look at some of the design drivers.

Clean and Simple

Right now we are still in crisis mode with many feeling that we have been lied to. There is a lack of trust in the business, religion, social sectors. Reestablishing trust and authority are critical missions for business that design can help with. Clean and simple designs predominate not just due to budget but because buyers need the security of a straight forward approach. Black and white has been a predominate ‘color’ scheme not just for it’s clarity but because items in those colors are always a good investment. A black and white approach makes using rental a good option too. A single clean photographic image predominates in graphics no room for shading, layering or fantasy. It’s all about selling solutions and trust not a dream this is crisis mode.

Color you can trust

As we come out of crisis mode there is a call for color again. Building on the certainty of black and white people are starting to look for colors they can trust. Pure water blues and solid navy. Retro themes are popping up with classic reds and heritage warm red-oranges. Taupe, Gray and beige are the new safe neutrals for those who have tired of the drama of black and white.
As the work/life mix changes with boomers retiring and younger generations in management positions their is an acceptance of ‘youth culture’ in business now. It’s OK to play and use playskool pallet of childhood in advertising and environments.

Look at opportunities to outfit sales teams with very portable impact. Building trust is best done face to face and clients with curtailed travel budgets still need to be visited. They might just welcome a bit of the trade-show coming to them. Many companies are investing in their own training centers and museums so when they do have a client to their facility they can help them visually understand what they stand for. It’s increasingly important since our ‘products’ tend to be ideas as apposed to goods. When you visited a factory what a company did and how they did it was fairly obvious. Not so with software developer or a consulting business.

Sustainability as a lifestyle

Increasingly the story about ‘being green’ has become more nuanced and integrated into every part of a project. It’s expected that you will be building sustainably and that can mean many things but it’s not expected that you will look ‘crunchy-granola’ to do it anymore. Visually it can be expressed through all the colors of clean and pure nature. The pure blues of the sky and water, mineral tones rather than earthy, and still the leafy greens.

But beyond the colors, the design that does just what you need it to is more sustainable. Did other people have clients that set their shipping cost for their old booth as the budget for a new fabric booth build as I did? It’s client looking for design to be right sized and versatile so they can look smart and sustainable to their company and their clients. As client hit their frugal fatigue and begin again to invest in environments expect them to look for long lasting value that is sustainably built.

Hilary Howes is an independent color and design consultant in Washington DC. She is a Chairholder in the Color Marketing Group, that creates color forecast information for professionals. Her occasional observations on event design can be seen on her blog the Event Design Diva (http://eddiva.blogspot.com/) and at HilaryByDesign on Twitter. With 15 years as a thought leader in the exhibit industry she is looking for permanent, retainer or contract opportunities.

Sketch Up Exhibit Example

They aren't the photo realistic rendering that I am used to producing for clients but sometimes just a sketch is better. Clients can get hung up on details or feel like if the photo they are looking at isn't exactly what they want they need to look somewhere else. Hand sketching is great when you just want them to get the idea but sometimes you need to have the veracity of making things fit in CAD to prove something to them or yourself. That is where sketch up can be a great tool. Get your ideas out fast but be confident of dimensions.
I show an exhibit that features Dazian fabrics scaling actual fabric photos to be sure of the effect. An example of a sketch over a photo.There is a very cool tool to align your camera to an existing photo. And a very sketchy style. There are lot's of styles and models out on the web so It's easy to build a library. If you have the pro version it all converts to .3ds fairly well so you can move right into 3D Studio or AutoCAD when you are ready.

Sketch Up over Photo Example

Sketch Up Example

Fabric in Exhibits

I've been using fabric for a long time for architecture since I started my career as a scenic designer. We used it for the same reasons then as many exhibit designers use it now. Economy, graphic presentation, ease of touring, ease of storage, and generaly covering a lot of space with a minimum of structure. But in theater it really was all about what it looked like and for many exhibits that has been the approach. But many designers (and clients) are discovering that exhibits need to create a sensory environment that communicates on so many levels. Materials must be chosen for acoustic, tactile, and aesthetic (how they make the place feel) as well as visual appeal.
It's something I think a lot about in my new position as a Creative Director for Dazian Fabrics. They are the experts in flame resistant fabric, fabrication, rentals, printing, and lighting. Like me they started in the theater but they started 167 years ago and like me they have grown to serve a variety of markets. I'll be working on business development and also product development.
One of the big challenges I remember facing me in using fabric in exhibits in the 21st century is rendering fabric in 3D Max. The drape, the translucency, the texture, every bit was hard to get that program to deal with. I've heard the same from many designers and so I'm committed to finding solutions for rendering our fabrics and making that available to you designers. You shouldn't have to be afraid to use fabrics because they are hard to render.
If you can help me please leave a comment. If I'm able to help you with models and textures I'll just ask that you specify Dazian fabrics in your designs. Is that a good deal? leave a comment and let me know.

Sidewalk Art Performance at the Greenman Festival

Award winning scenic designer moi (www.hilaryhowes.net) will be making a scene on the pavement of the Roosevelt Center Greenbelt MD, live and in person, as part of the Greenman Festival Saturday May 9th and Sunday May 10th. I'll be creating a chalk drawing with an environmental theme during the festival that will disappear at the first rain. I will also host a community sidewalk mural area that you or your kids can add your environmental art to with chalk rental of $1 for 5 minutes. Donations for Hilary's art performance are gratefully accepted and 10% of the proceeds go to CHesapeake Education, Arts and Research Society. Bring your cameras and creativity! Follow the highlights at http://twitter.com/HilarybyDesign

Hilary Howes, CMG

Acer & Packard Bell Product Launch

http://vimeo.com/4301277

Transformit is proud to be part of this set up time-lapse. see the Ice Needles on stage and the Riffs curving along the side of the hall. In Amsterdam.

from Evan Mills, International Director - Transformit

Exhibitor Show 2009 - What's New?

Exhibitor show was much better attended by exhibitors and attendees than anybody expected. This is where so many of us 'show folk' get together and share our collective wisdom on the current state of our industry. It is no news that business is down but in the folks who came there was a collective sense that you cannot count this industry as out. Everybody I talked to was knuckling down and being a better business person, watching income and expense closely and planing for the day it turns around.
We are the industry that will be leading a turnaround because putting people back to work means selling stuff and face to face marketing is still the most efficient way to close a sale. Check out the recent white paper by George P Johnson . I believe we have to take the responsibility to make sure our clients get to the show even if it means a smaller sale for us now. Do a rental or recycle last years booth but make sure they go.

Exhibit slide show

A number of exhibit companies went with the strategies above so for design junkies like me there was not a lot of excitement or trend to comment on. Other than the trend of 'less-is-more' or 'looks-like-last-year" I need to comment on the increasing use of fabric and system architecture in an industry that is well known for keeping a lot of table saws busy. It's almost like we are turning European with many booths with a place to sit with clients and have an espresso. The 'Salons' were off show floor hospitality meeting rooms that allowed for deepening relationships and showing a broader array of products than a booth can. It's only the lack of any hi-concept exhibits that made it very clear that you are not at Euroshop yet. We did have a German Pavilion (which was recycled from TS2) that had one of my favorite products from Euroshop 2005 - Penta-Loop
Outstanding Exhibits included Creatacor, Expotechnik, and Octanorm/Abex-Solar. I don't know if Creatacor was a rerun but it really had movement and flow that used the tension fabric in a way that contrasted well with other structural elements. Expotechnik combined fabric and system in a well organized yet open space with lots of visual impact. Octanorm showed off their extrusion in a design from the Abex new solar line. It creates a system structure that uses layers and structure to embrace a modernist style seldom seen on American show floors. I'll admit to being a Dwell and Metropolis subscriber so I may be far from unbiased. But as trends go I would love to see more exhibits go down this road for it's beauty, efficiency and impact.
Maybe it is because I am a creative director for a tension fabric company that I was actually disappointed by what looked to be the overuse of fabric as walls. Like large format graphics which became so ubiquitous a few years ago that it is now cut back in favor of a clean white space. Fabric stretched over a flat frame is starting to remind me of the canvas and wood frame 'flats' of my early set design days. It's efficient but unless you can give it a reason to be, why even have a wall? I hope our industry will use fabric in contrast to other elements so we can appreciate it and not do it to death.
But what did you think?

EMI Event Dialog online on Modular

Modular Exhibit Systems: More Than Just an Instant Solution

Jeff Lake - Hamilton Exhibits

Daniel Tu - Tu Design

Rory J Thompson - Moderator

There was discussion about how modular exhibits were introduced to the american market as a low cost alternative to a custom booth and design was compromised by trying to do a 'knock off' of a custom booth. Now designs if they start with the idea of developing a design based on the system to be scaleable and efficient. 

Now many modular exhibits combine the use of fabric to soften the hard lines of the posts and beams of a modular or system architecture structure.

Rentals of these systems make them even more attractive today with the economy and concerns about sustainability.

There are a lot more options in terms of extrusion and panel and fabric that allows today's design escape for the boxiness of the early extrusion.

If you listened in to day to the webinar please feel free to comment. 

Reviewed by the Event Design Diva

Combining Tools: Advice for Making the Most of Lighting + Fabric

Exhibit Design spotlight offers this article on the web:
Combining Tools: Advice for Making the Most of Lighting + Fabric

It's relatively good advice as far as it goes. I have been a lighting designer and exhibit designer and now a creative director of the premier source for tension fabric structures I am critically aware of the interplay between the two. We regularly set-up prototypes and previews to see just how new fabrics and lighting instruments work together in structures. I'm always happy to lend my advice to projects that clients bring to us at a concept stage as well.


The only gaffe I spotted, which should be forgiven since he is a lighting designer not a fabric builder, is 'spandex remains a popular material'. While I am aware that many people use this term of the myriad of knit fabrics we use, spandex is a fiber. Trapeze Plus or Eco-Trapeze are common materials in event design and I think that designers should always look to their TFS suppliers for advice on the best current material to achieve their goals on a specific project.
I'm sure all you CGI joes will pardon my geekdom on this point.

Pictures from Inauguration

http://gallery.me.com/hhowes#100038

Hilary Howes, CMG

Creative Director

Transformit

www.transformit.com

202.684.6911 office

202.701.8911 mobile

hhowes@transformit.com 

Design Intelligence for 2009

Color and design choices must always first serve the 'story' of an interior, exhibit or event. But they must also relate to the environment and the climate of the society that will ultimately accept or reject it. With that in mind Hilary Howes, CMG tracks color trend as a window into the social climate that determines the success of designs she consults on. As a Creative Director for Transformit attends exhibitions, design seminars and serves as a chair holder in the Color Marketing Group. The Color Marketing Group has hundreds of members that meet regularly to share design intelligence to make and confirm color forecasts years in advance.

Hilary says "For 2009 the biggest story is the economy (of course) but also a maturing of the sustainability movement.' What do those mean for color and design trends?

"Faced with an uncertain economy people look to the safety and certainty of Black and White. Shades of gray are also reassuring and we are seeing them maintain strict neutrality this year. Comforting, classic and honest the clean designs of black, white and grey often have an accent color to push this theme one way or another.' Hilary explains.

She continues 'The maturing environmental movement is looking past green to the yellows of sunshine and the blues of pure water as the most important colors in the new year. The sunny yellow that is popular this year is also a very cheery color to optimistically lift the spirits of people in a down economy. Likewise blues that will predominate this year are not somber navy blue but upbeat and energized bold blue and sky blue. So while the growing awareness that clean water and sky direct the choice of color the underlying optimism of people who have made a milestone change in their politics directs the brilliance and intensity of the color"

How did we get here and where are we going? "This is all a dramatic shift from the greens of every shade we saw in 2008 when the 'green' movement and the war is all people talked about. The optimism of the current blue-sky palette makes a good transition to the magical colors we will be seeing in 2010" Hilary says with a knowing wink.

from The Transformit Newsletter

Inauguration morning on the Mall

Wake at 3am Celestine drops us 3 blocks from the Greenbelt metro. We
walked right on to a train and had seats all the way in. The flow of
the crowd brought us to this jumbotron next to the Hirshorn. We can
see the capital but without the screen we will never know what is
happening.
The job now is to stay warm. People around me are: singing, reading,
bundleing and even playing twister.
An energiesed and expectant crowd.

2008 in Pictures

In 2008 Hilary Howes went to EuroShop, Global Shop, Color Marketing Group, Exhibitor, American Association of Museums, Health Care Exhibitors Association, American Institute of Architects, Association of Science and Technology Centers and the International Association of Amusment Parks. Here are her top pix from 2008 a little personal and lot about exhibits and tension fabric. 2008 in pictures

http://web.me.com/hhowes/HH2008-photos/2008.html

Modern furniture links

Special thanks to:

Hilary Howes, Mike Osman, and Felix Wijaya for these recommendations:

www.dwr.com

www.calibex.com

http://2modern.com

http://www.frauwashington.com/ (annoying till you actually get to the furniture)

www.inmod.com

http://www.stlloftstyle.com/

http://www.mpodesigns.com/

http://www.allmodernfurniture.com/

http://www.modernfurniture.com/

http://www.westelm.com/

http://www.eurway.com

IMG_0087.JPG

EDPA Designer Tip - Fabric

By Hilary Howes

Since the first trader helped his products stand out in an ancient agoura by setting them out on his cloak, fabric has been an important part of the event marketing business. Now in the 21st century tension fabric architecture and art is increasingly the choice of marketers for a variety of financial and aesthetic reasons. For designers used to building in wood and metal fabric can be seen as a playground where "anything is possible" or a "no-mans-land" fraught with unknown risks and techniques. I'll try to get you to a middle path with some tips here so that your designs can reap the benefits of fabric while maintaining the clean professional image of your work in other materials.

Originally a theatrical set designer, fabric has long been one of my main mediums. I married a costume designer too and for 30 years fabric has been a daily topic of conversation. When I won an Exhibitor award in 2000 it not surprising that a Transformit tension fabric structure was a featured element. When I went to work for Transformit this year I was surprised that they wanted me to spend 3 weeks training at their studio before working with their clients. That seemed like a long time (in a Maine winter) for someone with my 'hands-on' background. Now, as an evangelist for TFS working with architects and designers, I am so glad I did. I even have a section of my presentation I call 'What i didn't know, that I didn't know'. I'll cover some of it here but my overarching advice is to partner with a TFS company that can support your ideas as you create in fabric. Just as collaboration with your client is key to developing your design, collaboration is key to developing your design to a elegant fabric solution.

Fabric exhibit architecture is increasingly popular for financial, aesthetic and sustainability reasons. The savings on shipping, drayage, and labor are frequently acknowledged but savings though low maintenance and long wear are important too. How many graphics are printed with the color infused into the material (dye sublimation) or can get thrown in the washer if they pick up a spot? ZZ-Top toured 77 cities with a set from Transformit with very little refurbishment along the way.

Fabric, Tension, and Structure all have association with values that companies increasingly want to communicate. If your client want to communicate how flexible, accommodating, transparent, and natural they are what better way to say it than with a material associated with all those qualities? Clients are telling stories now with their exhibits and every interesting story has tension in it. It attracts and amazes us and creates mystery as well. Conversely the visible yet veiled structure of a TFS supports the value that companies have in showing they are more than a 'slick-surface', that they have an apparent structure, inspiring trust in their enterprise. Have a look at the mission, vision, or value statement of your client on your next project and see what materials they suggest. I'm betting fabric is part of the mix.

TFS while not actually organic does take on biophilic shapes well which bespeaks it's living lightly on the earth. The aluminum and stretch fabric can have sizable recycled content and are able to be recycled. The efficiencies of shipping, storage, and labor makes for a low carbon footprint compared to the alternatives. Combining the above with the potential for reuse or rental (like Transformit's Readymades) makes for a system that looks and is green regardless of it color.

It's easy to believe that stretch fabric will take on the iconic wing or sail look if you just pull hard enough but in reality it takes engineering in fabric to get a smooth arc edge and no wrinkles on the surface. Free wings require the edge shape to be patterned in the fabric and then controlled by a edging tube of stronger stretch fabric. Aluminum structures can integrate with fabric in 3 main ways. Single skin where a fabric tunnel zips on to each structural tube. Pillowcase where multi panel fabric bag encloses the entire structure and zips on an inconspicuous edge. Edge attached panels where fabric (with a keder stitched into the edge) is inserted into the slot of system architecture (like Octanorm). In this last method the structure is fully exposed. With all of these the fabric is a stretch knit or if it is a woven fabric without stretch it needs an edge of powerful stretch fabric to tension the skin and remove all wrinkles. These are just the basics of fabric engineering and there are many exceptions and variations possible.

One of the design issues that comes up most often is budgeting for TFS. Not only is the material different to work with but the costs associated it don't follow familiar rules of thumb that we are used to from frame and panel construction. Since shipping, drayage, and labor costs are so different even direct comparison of material costs is somewhat fallacious. Still those direct comparisons get made and often make fabric look like an expensive proposition. Budgeting is further challenging because square foot rules of thumb don't apply. The majority of the costs are in the number and complexity of the joints in a frame not the amount of area covered by the structure. It's not unusual for a small complex piece to be more expensive than a large simple piece. One can also generally be sure that eliminating structure in will save on material cost but raise installation cost as locating suitable tension points in the environment become the means of defining the shape.

One sure way to lower cost is to use a readymade rental piece for events and exhibits of a limited duration. Event if your design requires a new graphic skin you will save by renting the complex frame for a sign or sculpture. Often designing with a readymade CAD file from your TFS source will save you development time even if the unit is intended for purchase. Doing so also give you the option of switching to a rental if the budget should get cut down the line. Transformit has over 100 shapes in 9 coordinated lines for instance and Moss has recently announced a rental program.

I'll wrap up with the hope that you will follow the thread of this piece and look to developing stronger ties to your TFS supplier.

Award winning and relentless creative Hilary Howes is a popular speaker/writer for the EDPA, TSEA and Color Marketing Group. As a Creative Director for Transformit she empowers architects and designers to create dynamic visual experiences with Tension Fabric Sculpture. This piece was published by the EDPA in their online news letter.

Can We Talk? Client communications

Designers- since this is our tip I know I can talk to you. I’m a designer, you’re a designer, we speak the same language. But how many times, after you had client meetings, do you return with your hard work to find a big mismatch with what they had in mind? It’s like you don’t speak the same language. And in many ways you don’t. In a language as rich as English you are each using your own style of communicating. Different careers attract different personalities and lifestyles and communication styles.

Business people (clients) have spent their lives being rewarded for discussing cold hard facts and are comfortable discussing design in literal, specific, definite ways, (left-brain, Mars). When you ask questions to start developing a design they often feel challenged by questions that are open ended, no right answer, or ‘touchy-feely’. So they do their best, grasping for buzzwords, to try to give you something to start on.

Designers, have been rewarded all their lives for creating visual communications, and are often uncomfortable with verbal communication altogether. Their verbal communication (if developed) tends to be unique, sensitive, qualified, questioning and even playful (right-brain, Venus). When starting a design the critical elements for these free thinking questioners is to find overall goals, basic parameters, and how the project is to feel. To us, details can be fit in once a vision is articulated. So starting out we are miles apart, Where does it go from there?

Designers want to develop projects in a free, non-judgmental space and clients think in terms of control and linear progress. So the presentation and revision process can be difficult for both. It’s nobody’s fault but it can seem like a ‘War of the Worlds’. What are we to do?

I was thrilled to find Graphically Speaking
http://www.amazon.com/Graphically-Speaking-Achieving-Designer-Client-Communication/dp/1581802919
by Lisa Buchanan in 2003. It is a visual lexicon for achieving better designer-client communication. In consultation with other designers she has created pages of visual examples for the 30 words most commonly used in client-designer meetings. She includes fonts and pantone swatches for words like ‘innovative’ and ‘natural’. I was suspicious at first. How could we be sure she was right on all these words? Then it clicked. The idea is to bring it to your meeting. You and your client would be looking at the same thing and it wouldn’t matter what the word was. And that is lesson one on overcoming the communication crisis. Use visuals.

I strongly believe in face to face communication because I get so many clues about a style the client will respond to by meeting them in their environment. I often find that the values expressed in their offices, clothing, and body language gives me more information than they can express verbally. Of course I need to find out their budget and booth size verbally but the rug in their office can tell me if they are more ‘old world charm’ or ‘mid-century modern’ in their personal style. Not that the project will necessarily reflect their personal style specifically. It will hopefully be aimed at their target market. I have found it does have to reflect their values for it to have traction with them.

Bring visuals with you to brainstorming sessions. Always have a portfolio and often scrap files from your research. Be sure to grab their current (and past) visuals and then ask what they like and what they don’t like about them. Never assume that just because they have produced a brochure that it reflects what they like. Ask them to bring visuals to the meeting. Ask them to start looking around with their booth in mind, and who knows what kind of inspiration will strike. At least it prepares them for a different communication experience.

Ask questions they can answer, that leave you room to create. Graphically Speaking has a great starting list and the questions are focused on goals and values. I always find it hard to get clients to focus on these kinds of questions rather than what they think is important to me. If they start talking color, copy and shape right out of the gate, where is my chance to give them my expertise, conceptualizing the visuals to support a message? To get off on the right foot I send them my questions in advance now so they can start thinking in terms of values and vision before we get to our session.

Be sure you are in direct communication with the decision makers. I know not every designer is cut out for this, but hopefully those that are not, are teamed up with a design director who can bring the design mind into communication with the final decision maker. I don’t mean to discount the skills of a sales person or account manager to communicate the client’s needs, but to get the clues to inspire a designer’s creativity in the right direction, I believe in face to face communication. Hopefully so do the rest of you since that is the essence of our tradeshow industry.

Just being aware of our communication challenges is a big step toward overcoming them. The fantastic research that is coming out from the fields of brain science, psychology and sociology about communication helps people to appreciate diversity of thought. I hope that what you learn allows you to create unique ways to touch people of all personalities, lifestyles, and communication styles.

Originally published in the EDPA Newsletter: As a designer tip by Hilary Howes. published here by her permission.

Hilary Howes was a panelist for the EDPA Design Trends presentation at TS2 2005 presented the New System Architecture at TS2 in 2006. Her 30 years of design experience includes Theatrical Sets and Lighting, Retail Store Fixtures, Photography, Exhibition and Exhibit Design. She creates concept designs for GES Exposition Services worldwide from the National Design Center in Washington DC. A trend watcher for many years she serves as a member of the Color Marketing Group that researches color (and other) trends for a wide range of industries.

EDPA Mid-Atlantic Chapter Meeting

 

Did you know EDPA is launching its first-ever Mid-Atlantic Chapter?

 

It's about time, isn't it?

 

We knew you'd agree, so we're inviting you to roll up your sleeves, start thinking of ideas  and help launch the first ever Mid-Atlantic Chapter of EDPA.

 

When: 5:00 pm on Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Where: The first meeting will be held at NTP

Why: This is our new chapter's first meeting and your support will help get it off the ground.

 

Please contact me at 703.706.8208 or kshevlin@ntpshow.com if you would like to attend or if you would like to participate in future events. There is no cost to attend the first meeting as we will be putting together nominations for a board of directors and a plan for future meetings.

 

Please forward this to anyone who may be interested in this new chapter. All trade show industry professionals welcome!

 

NTP is located at 313 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.

 

I hope you'll join us in launching this exciting – and important – new chapter of EDPA!

 

Kellie Shevlin

TS² Sales and Industry Relations Manager

National Trade Productions

313 S. Patrick Street

Alexandria, VA 22314

www.ntpshow.com

"We Know Shows"

 

Plan to exhibit at TS² 2007, THE Industry Event for Exhibit and Event Professionals, July  31 - August 1, 2007 in  Washington, DC.  For more information about TS², please visit  www.ts2show.com

 

AUTHENTICITY

Trend to Consider-
Authenticity is our quest for real in a sea of confusion. It is quite simply being real and presenting real textures, materials and ideas. Examples are everywhere. Consider the popularity of “Reality TV”. Dramatic craft and art are sacrificed for the feeling of watching a real experience.
We are searching for connections anywhere with unique but believable stories, and expect products and services to deliver. We have all grown visually weary by the onslaught of images. It pains me to admit (because I am very illustrative as a designer) that it is increasingly hard to impress anyone with a static image. Photoshop image doctoring has made it difficult to truly believe any photograph. We need to touch people with solids and spaces in a way that only a designed environment can. You can sense authentic places and people in a way you can trust. Have you ever felt that you were in the wrong neighborhood, bar, place? What about the feeling in good place, can a picture do it justice?
As our trust in enterprises erodes and human emotions are battered by dissolution, we look to connect with anything and everything to create complete experience in the absence of human relationships. One of the strongest reasons to attend a tradeshow is to get back the connectedness that we loose by working much of our lives in front of a computer. Exhibits are becoming more a place to create that connection experience rather than just trying to attract people visually. Maybe we are witnessing the change from Trade Shows to Trade Events .

My favorite example is an exhibit from EuroShop 2005. In this refrigeration company booth the wall beside the ‘café' section of the booth is made entirely of real ice blocks. Yes, they were melting all the time. It is striking because it touched all your senses and it was the most visceral way to explain just what this company is about. It needed no logos cut in it or colors added or artificial anything. Logistically a challenge but the message was clear and the buzz was fantastic.

Hilary Howes, in the Sept. 2005 EDPA newsletter