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Predicting what\u2019s hot and what\u2019s not when it comes to design in the event industry is best left up to the experts. That\u2019s why we sent Jason Rahn to Las Vegas to visit Exhibitor 2014 and GlobalShop; he\u2019s our lead graphics designer and editor of our quarterly digimag devoted to trends, The Resourcer.<\/p>\n
The Exposure<\/em>: So Jason, what did you see as the biggest trend on the floor?<\/p>\n JR:<\/em>\u00a0 Actually it was more of what I didn’t see, and that’s metal. Several designs incorporated fabric or other materials to hide that metal and create curves.\u00a0\u00a0 Also, I think more designers are considering all the senses, not just sight, as a draw.\u00a0This idea is something that\u2019s been ramping up and talking about for at least a year, and was finally more prevalent at Exhibitor and GlobalShop\u00a0this year.<\/p>\n The Exposure<\/em>: What else did you see that caught your interest?\u00a0<\/p>\n JR:<\/em>\u00a0 Definitely more non-static imagery.\u00a0 Lots of folks are incorporating digital signage as a natural extension of their designs with the ability to offer hands-on interaction. Also, 3D and virtual reality-type experiences are starting to become more common as Google Glass and the Oculus Rift visor become more mainstream.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Exposure<\/em>: Was there a dominant color? Is this the year of red?<\/p>\n JR:<\/em>\u00a0 Lots of bright primary colors but nothing dominant.\u00a0 I did see and appreciate the exhibits that coordinate their flooring color with their exhibit. There were\u00a0some great examples of booths that used matching custom carpet cutouts to create an inviting space.\u00a0 Flooring doesn\u2019t have to be an afterthought.\u00a0 Make it part of your branding efforts.<\/p>\n The Exposure<\/em>: Any surprises?<\/p>\n The Exposure<\/em>: What else?<\/p>\n JR:<\/em>\u00a0 As usual for Exhibitor, there were quite a few exhibit design houses that constructed an enclosed private area or bar as opposed to having an open-for-everyone design.\u00a0Flooring and even a canopy is often used to make the separation as well. Think private club vs. open party.\u00a0 This type of fortress exhibit can be perfect at the right time for the right company with the right messaging. Also, as you can imagine, iPad stands were dominant this year. It seems a simple pad on a stick will no longer cut it. I think we\u2019ll see more and more branded housing around the stand to really, pardon the pun, \u201cstand\u201d out. \u00a0<\/p>\n The Exposure<\/em>: What can you share with us from Global Shop? JR:<\/em>\u00a0 You never know where ideas may come from, and it is a great opportunity to have GlobalShop at the Mandalay Bay with Exhibitor Show in town. The retail world can provide a huge source of inspiration.\u00a0 Obviously,\u00a0hardly any modular systems were seen at Global Shop.\u00a0 Almost all booths were custom-construction builds with wood, either faux or real, and stretched fabric as the big players. And white carpet.\u00a0 Lots and lots of white carpet to show off the fixtures.<\/p>\n The Exposure<\/em>: \u00a0Good luck keeping that clean.<\/p>\n JR:<\/em>\u00a0 Luckily, we have folks in our carpet department who know how to deal with that.<\/p>\n <\/body><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Predicting what\u2019s hot and what\u2019s not when it comes to design in the event industry is best left up to the experts. That\u2019s why we sent Jason Rahn to Las[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2032"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/05366b90-22b1-48ad-9d8d-c24b22ef82d4.jpg\")
<\/em>JR:<\/em>\u00a0 I didn\u2019t expect to see so much edge-lit plexi since it has been around a while.\u00a0 We\u2019ve used it for some great special effects in small doses, a little visual surprise for attendees, if you will, but several companies had loaded up on it. We had heard edge-lit plexi was in short supply and now we know why! Also there was a self-contained waterfall in one exhibit that was quite striking. \u00a0Again, the use of both sound and sight to draw in the attendee and of course, a natural fit for any exhibiting company that works with water in any capacity.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/60534a22-ffbf-4e98-bd18-f57f6ae0e996.jpg\")
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