Constraints and Problem Solving
To be a tradeshow exhibit designer would likely be an interesting and challenging job, I often think (I’m not a designer, but a mere trade show blog writer, and sales guy extraordinaire). I muse that this is true because of their chief responsibility within our organization: they solve problems.
Of course, many fancy themselves as problem solvers. My wife and I live in a 100 year old home, so we’re both often charged with the “problem solver” moniker on a weekly daily basis of homeownership glee! There’s a difference between being an every day problem solver, and being a designer - and no, it’s not just because they’re solutions have to look good - it comes down to constraints.
When our clients give us a problem (e.g. - we’re going to RSNA 2009 with a 30×50 booth, and we need to improve upon last year’s abysmal failure with our previous exhibitor…), they don’t just want a great exhibit that will increase attendee traffic: they have serious limitations. How do you meet your convention goals without blowtorching your budget?
Often exhibitors have unrealistic constraints - we want the world for a budget that is wholly unfeasible for any exhibit. More often, however, it’s a delicate dance that our designer must navigate, capitalizing on design elements that will accomplish multiple objectives simultaneously, and also keep the costs for I&D and drayage in check.
Essentially, however, this is a problem that needs to be solved within a strict set of constraints. Some exhibitors need to retain a similar image year-over-year. Usually an exhibitor knows how their sales team operates at the show - and they want to ensure that the “flow” is retained, and improved where improvement is needed. Sometimes just the opposite is true: an exhibitor needs a totally refreshed look. Perhaps a rebranding demands an all-new look. Perhaps the old “flow” was dreadful, and the layout goes out with the trash!
The process is almost always nuanced, sometimes altogether different. What are constraints you are seeing in your exhibition program? Adaptations being taken in the wake of recession conditions?
June 1st, 2009 at 2:29 pm
I’m finding more often that our spatial/functional objectives far outweigh the space we have to MEET those objectives. And our historically limited budgets don’t often allow us to expand that space (ie. with a double deck). I’m the show coordinator but our co-exhibitors (divisions of our organization that occupy sales space on the floor) have a lot of influence on the final product. This is great from a perspective standpoint but difficult because I’m often faced with needing to cram the following into a 20×30 space:
A reception counter
5-6 demo areas w/ seating for two
A theater for our looping video
A private conference room
Casual “bar” seating
…and enough storage to accommodate have a dozen briefcases, jackets and boxes of literature.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:59 pm
That’s a lot of crammage. Those would be considered “elements” that would be constraints that a designer works from. Other constraints include:
Budget
Budget for Services
Style (client likes a particularly traditional, contemporary, rectilinear or curvilinear style - maybe wants a more natural or cutting edge finish, etc.)
Not uncommon that we hear budget woes associated with the kind of needs you’ve identified, Jen. Great to hear your thoughts.