Marshall Yard:

The Health Information Management Systems Society annual conference and expo comes rolling into Chicago this week. What does that mean around here? A healthy dose of hecticness, a lot of talk about when so-and-so is flying in, and a touch of minor problem solving around those issues that occasionally pop-up during install of our clients’ booths. In all actuality, though, it’s pretty calm compared with last week’s commotion!

One of the challenges to creating rental exhibits that are custom-designed is that every exhibition displayis essentially a brand new product. Oh, sure, the “building blocks” utilized don’t change (inner-space extruded aluminum beam structure, plexiglas and laminate panels of varying sizes and shapes, etc.), but I can scarcely remember when we’ve “cloned” an exhibit design from one client to another.

Add in the element of new graphic panels, and it becomes highly important to pre-build every exhibit in advance of each tradeshow. When thorny, unforeseen problems emerge, we can tackle them in-house, before the union-clock of the I&D contractor begins (and keeps going, and going, and going…).

So HIMSS’s arrival to town is actually a relief for many of us. Busy, sure, but it’s more-so about finally “showing off” a finished product to an excited client, and coordinating some deserved hospitality for jet-lagged and exhausted folks who we’ve built enduring relationships with.