You are in:
Necessity, the mother of invention
Over the past few weeks I had the pleasure of masterminding the design and build of two exhibition stands for a national show in London. However, there was a problem: I had only budgeted for one stand. Don’t get me wrong, the second stand was a welcome bonus, but it meant splitting the design budget in two.
Naturally I wanted to make an impact by quickly capturing visitors’ attention and then clearly explaining the benefits of our offer. Unfortunately, with the additional cost of two sets of stand staff and their expenses a bespoke design and build was not an option. To add to the problem, the information I wanted to present on both stands was time sensitive, rendering it worthless after the event.
With nothing more that some innovative graphic design, plus a wide format digital print, we managed to turn a flat shell scheme into an enticing three dimensional illusion. Without going into too much detail, the stand resembled pages of a magazine duct taped to a brick wall. We even had visitors trying to scratch the ‘tape’ off the surface.
Basing the design on a brick wall allowed us to use an unlaminated matt paper, easing recycling. What we learned from this exercise is that the combined capabilities of a skilled designer and experienced printer can be used to dramatic effect. Then again we knew that anyway.
If necessity is the mother of invention, then digital print certainly can turn invention into reality.
Jon Barrett, Editor
