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?