Making a stand: Striking the balance between flair and function

With just two weeks to go until the B2B Marketing Expo opens its doors, Smart Display is almost ready to unveil its very own stand design. As exhibition contractor turns exhibitor, the pressure is on the team to demonstrate first-hand how a striking stand design can ensure a brand becomes the star of the show.

Last week, we spoke to sales manager Ben Rose about writing a brief that can become a tangible design proposal and, in part two, we move onto the design process itself. Smart Display’s creative director Nathan Hesslewood is heading up the project, and explains how he incorporates every element of the brief to make a statement stand design.

What’s our starting point?

“For this proposal in particular, my brief was to build upon last year’s exhibition stand while incorporating striking new elements to further demonstrate our capabilities. We were debutantes at last year’s B2B Marketing Expo, and our stand design achieved our aim of attracting attention and introducing our brand to visitors. This year, we want to build upon that concept and achieve some level of recognition and brand reinforcement, while also showing something fresh and new.

“The stand spaced for this one is a bit unusual as it is an L-shape 27 sq m space. I liked that, because it was a bit different.

“As with all designs, the budget does have to be taken into account when we start to create a design concept. However, our entire design, print and installation process is kept in-house, so we can keep a tight control on costs.

What will create the impact?

“For us last year, the key feature that drew the most attention was the rotating, hanging drum with LED lights. We loved this design, but we wanted to spend our money differently this year. I can’t give too much away ahead of the big reveal, but we are utilising height again and we have invested into more AV this time around.

“We also take the stand orientation into account. So, looking at the floorplan, we anticipated the flow of traffic from both the entrance and the theatre, and orientated our main impact around that.

What are the practicalities?

“Before we start designing, we have to take into account the essential elements of the stand. From storage to furniture to audio visual, these necessities will dictate the design and the space we have available to be creative with the branding. This is why it’s so important that the brief is comprehensive and thorough.

“When it comes to things like where we can pull the power up and how we can conceal cables, it’s all down to experience. Our entire process is in-house, so we can liaise with the installations team and we make allowances for each other. Sometimes they will have a more challenging build because of a design feature that we really wanted to keep. Sometimes we adapt a design because we have that foresight and know it will make their lives easier on-site. If we want a stand to look a certain way, it’s very much a case of where there’s a will, there’s a way. And between us, we have the experience we need to find a solution.

The end result

“Because of the way we work and the 3D drawings we produce, there are never any surprises on-site. Every design looks exactly like the proposal signed off by the client, and the pre-build at premises makes sure everything runs smoothly. When you arrive on-site and you are stood in your work, you do get a sense of satisfaction, and it’s always nice to hand over to a happy client.

“I’m excited to see this design come to life. Last year’s stand was a real talking point, and so many people told us it was the best stand at the show. So, there is a lot to live up to this time around, but we are excited to reveal all on the 27 November.”

Next week with one week to go until doors open, we will catch up with production director Shane Riding to find out how a project manager makes sure that everything on paper becomes a reality on the day. If you have an event coming up, talk to us about how we can create your perfect exhibition stand #wemakeevents