Kern project4

PROJECT 4: Tradeshow Booth Design
AMANDA KERN | 3D GRAPHICS STUDIO: GRDS-730-OL
PROFESSOR TRUDY ABADIE | MAY 22, 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROJECT OBJECTIVES ...................................................3
RESEARCH................................................................ 4-14
ROUGH DRAFTS ..................................................... 15-21
BASEBALL CARD MURAL/MOSAIC .............................22
PAPER MOCKUPS ................................................... 23-24
TRADESHOW DESIGN & MEASUREMENTS ......... 25-26
FINAL TRADESHOW DESIGN ................................ 27-31
FINAL THOUGHTS ........................................................31

PROJECT 4 OBJECTIVES
Objective Process: Part B
Design and assemble a display to promote the product that you repackaged Based on the feedback received, continue working on your prototype using the
in Project 2. The trade show is a business-to-business show, and your client final materials. Document any changes, and post them to the discussion board to
has reserved a 10 x 10 booth. Select the type of display that will best suit your continue to receive feedback. Post feedback to at least three other postings.
client’s needs to promote this new product.
Process: Part C
Process: Part A Submit final mockups (photo-documented) and your process book via the
1. Spend some time studying the research you collected to complete Projects Submissions link in the course menu. Post a PDF of the final design, showing
2 and 3. By now, this product should be very familiar to you. multiple angles, to the discussion board. Post feedback on at least three
2. Research some more. The trade show industry is probably new to you. other postings.
Research the industry as well as display manufacturers to familiarize
yourself with what’s available.
3. Brainstorm ideas for the display. Select the ones with the most potential,
and move on to the thumbnail stage of your design. You should have at
least 5-10 different concepts.
4. Select the design with the most potential, and build a preliminary mockup.
Build the mockup at a 1/4-scale size or smaller. You don’t need to use the
actual materials for this mockup.
5. Photo-document this piece.
6. Post a multiple-page PDF, containing your design brief (include ideas for
materials), your research synopsis, your sketches, and the mockup.
7. Provide feedback on three other postings. Be very specific. Discuss the
concepts as well as the execution, and provide suggestions for materials.

AMANDA KERN | PROJECT 4 | 3D GRAPHICS STUDIO: GRDS-730-OL | PROFESSOR | TRUDY ABADIE | MAY 22, 2010

TRADESHOW RESEARCH
Researching Card & Collector shows
As a kid I recall going to a few card shows and in comparison to other
tradeshows and exhibits they seem very low budget. The feature isn’t just on
new products but also on old collectible cards. Cards are not only being sold but
some vendors even purchase cards. Generally larger vendors such as actual card
companies only sell cards. I did a bit of research to help remind me of what I
could expect if this product was displayed in a tradeshow or exhibit that might
be related to sports card or collector shows. I was quickly reminded that the
focus is rarely on just a new product but instead there’s a larger display of cards
and memorabilia on display in addition to new products. There’s also a concern
of protecting cards if they are on display outside of their packaging.


TRADESHOW RESEARCH
Most card shows are so low budget that the cards are often just thrown onto a
table for collectors to go through. For new products they are just placed on the
table where the packaging can be seen. Card shows aren’t always hosted in
convention centers. They can be found in hotels, malls, and other public venues.


TRADESHOW RESEARCH
Most display graphics were either non-existent or were very low budget such
as cheaply printed banners. The focus was more on the products on display than
the actual tradeshow booth design. This leaves a lot of potential to stand out at
a card show with a strongly designed tradeshow booth design.


TRADESHOW RESEARCH
Photoshop World tradeshow research
At the start of the quarter I attended Photoshop World and took several photos
of the tradeshow knowing I would need to reflect on examples to get inspired
before starting this project. Some of the displays that stood out to me had higher
displays that stood out from a distance.


TRADESHOW RESEARCH
At the start of the quarter I attended Photoshop World and took several photos
of the tradeshow knowing I would need to reflect on examples to get inspired
before starting this project. Trudy mentioned that the Big Folio space was similar
in size to the space we would be working with. What was interesting to see
what that some display such as the big folio display maximized exposure by
having designs on the side and front of the booth. It’s something to keep in mind
as I design - the audience may enter the display from multiple directions. I also
found some displays to have specialty lighting or equipment that helped the
displays stand out.


TRADESHOW RESEARCH
Veer won the award for being my favorite tradeshow display. Their display
had 3 dimensional type. They also gave away buttons. Of course thinking of
“giveaway” items would be ideal for any tradeshow. Kelby Training had a
large open space for their computers that the audience could use to try out the
training. Mpix had a nice higher banner that could be seen from any direction.


TRADESHOW RESEARCH
The Wacom display had fun banners. Their actual display was more of a display
of their equipment. Westscott’s display was a large square that again could
be seen from any direction. The front sides had the most imagery to draw the
attention from the public.


TRADESHOW RESEARCH
Finding more research
I dug a little further to see if I could find other examples. I found tradeshow
manufacturer’s easily and noticed they did have a variety of display options.


TRADESHOW RESEARCH
Many manufacturers offer options to include graphics onto more uniquely
shaped trade show displays.


TRADESHOW RESEARCH
I dug for additional research of other tradeshow displays and found a variety of
exhibits to see the various possibilities.


TRADESHOW RESEARCH
Most of the designs that stood out had a larger graphical elements higher in the
air so that the booth could be noticed from a distance.


ROUGH DRAFTS
Initial trade show sketches
The first two ideas I began thinking of ensuring a higher graphical element was
present to grab attention. At first I thought of a wall where the typographic
design similar in style to the box design would fill the top half of the wall. A solid
color would be on the bottom. A table of cards would be on display.

The second idea I felt a circular overhead graphical display could easily approach
all directions. A wall behind the main table would hold the p.o.p displays. A table
would be on display for collector cards where perhaps a variety of cards by the
company could be shown.


ROUGH DRAFTS
With the third sketch I began to think more about the space. If it were a corner
display there could be potential to use the wall to approach two sides. The p.o.p.
display could be on the wall for easy access.

The fourth display I began to think of some of the research I found and the shapes
in the displays. A card table is essential at a card show. It has potential to also
hold a design.


ROUGH DRAFTS
I began to think more about the design in addition to the space. Cards seem to
excite collectors so though I would love to keep the typography in the design to
keep some consistency I think it would be interesting to include actual baseball
cards on a wall.


ROUGH DRAFTS
I began exploring another idea that was more baseball card inspired. The sides
would still include a typographic design to maintain the consistency but the
background would be real baseball cards.


ROUGH DRAFTS
After my initial sketches I shared with the class I was informed that the ideas I
was sketching out might be a bit larger than the 10’ x 10’ space we had to work
with. So I rethought some of my ideas a bit more. I began to think more of the
shapes and forms as well as the possible inclusion of baseball cards into the
design of the tradeshow booth display.


ROUGH DRAFTS
Though more unique shapes were interesting I found more rectangular shapes to
match more with the branding and current product design.


ROUGH DRAFTS
I found sketching out from bird’s eye view to assist me in the thought process of
how them measurements would work out for my tradeshow display. I am planning
on designing this to scale of 1 inch = 1 foot.


DESIGN PROCESS
Baseball card mural/mosaic
I felt a baseball card mural/moscaic might be worth exploring into the tradeshow
booth design. Ideally this display would be at a baseball card collectors show/
exhibit and what better way to excite collectors than to have cards incorporated
into the display. I dug up some of my old baseball cards to put together this
mosaic of cards. Ideally it would be just the “ignite” brand’s cards but given that
it’s a fictional company I went with any brands I had that would add interest
to the mosaic. The cards were glued onto a cardboard box. Nearly 200 cards
were used to create the mosaic. I then photographed the cards to be used in
the project. I want the colors to be as close to what I see in real life so I used
a grey card (the circular grey item in the photo below). I then photographed the
cards one more time in the same exact lighting and used the grey eye dropper
in the levels adjustment layer to correct the colors in the photo. Though they
weren’t too far off this trick did help add a bit more vibrance to the photo without
guessing or relying on my screen.

The grey eye dropper
auto adjusts for 18%
grey which is the same
as the grey card used
in the photo.


PAPER MOCKUPS
Working with the display space
I went with a display that had an angled background. In the back the mural could
certainly compliment the space. My thoughts initially were to include an orange
background, shelves, and then a strip of the type above the shelves. Above the
type would be the card mosaic at eye level. This display was designed at scale to
be 10’ wide and 8’ high. A table was created for placement. It’s not quite to scale.
Right now it would only be 1.5” feet at scale so I will increase the height to 2.5”
which is pretty standard for a table. Above the display is a circular overhanging
banner. It was designed at scale to be 10’ around. Now that I have it in the
mockup I feel like it could benefit from being a few more feet larger. The sides
would be viewable if it was a side booth. There is signage above the display that
is curved outward to display the brand identity.


PAPER MOCKUPS
Working with the display space
This display is also 10’ wide at scale. Again the table could be adjusted to
increase the height. This display would also have a similar design of having a
solid orange on the bottom, a row of type design, and then the cards above at eye
level that would span across the entire display. At the bottom three shelving units
would be created. They would be angled to curve outward and then inward. I’m
debating on if I’ll use green like in the package design or a verson of the overprint
type from the inside of the package design. This display has a sign that is more
rectangular just above the immediate display which displays outward of the
immediate display..


TRADESHOW DESIGN
Designing the display
This display was created at a scale of 1 inch = 1 foot.

2.5’ 1.5’ 2.5’ 4’ 2.5’ 1.5’ 2.5’
4.25’
8’


TRADESHOW DESIGN
Designing the display
The banner was printed created to the one inche scale and in real life would be 6
feet by 1 foot above the display. The square overhanging banner is 6 foot square.
Due to the size I created glue flaps on the sides of the graphics below. A sign was
created for the table as well. All of the typographic and signage graphics were
printed onto the french paper used in the previous two projects. 6’

1’
1.5’
Table sign

2.5’

4.25’
1’

1’

8’
6’

2’

3’
1’

6’
Banner graphics


FINAL TRADESHOW DESIGN
Applying the design to the space
I designed my tradeshow display design to the scale of 1 inch = 1 foot. Even
downsizing the scale that much it posed challenges with size. I elected to use
solid colors in some sections and because I knew printing a solid color over that
large of a space would lead to banding in a print I elected to assemble this in
parts. The solid color is comprised of textured scrapbooking cardstock paper.
The baseball card mosaic was printed into a matte finished photo paper to
maintain as much of the detail of the tiny cards. The typographic panels and the
overhanging sections were printed onto the original french paper that the product
and point of purchase display were printed onto. I elected to use a black paper for
the floor. I overlapped acetate to give a reflective look inthe photos.


Adding details
I elected to add a counter style table top. It would be equivalent to 3 feet high. I
used scrapbooking paper that had a wood texture to create the sides of the table.
The top of the table is made from textured green scrapbooking paper. I cut out a
few of the cards from the mural. I added a branding sign that is offset from the
side of the table.


Additional signage
I created a banner that is 6 feet square that would hang at a higher level to gain
attention from a distance. It was very challenging to get the hanging sign into a
level position and to photograph it well. I had someone assist me in holding the
sign above while I photographed it so I have only included it in one photo due to
this limitation.


Additional views
Side panels were created so that if this was a corner display it would potentially
receive attention from multiple angles. This view helps you see the three
dimensional signage above the tradeshow booth that extends outwards in front
of the back wall of the booth. The only drawback to using the black paper as the
floor surface is that even with a very large sheet of it it still didn’t cover the entire
floor space


Adding the product
Due to the size of the package and the details it made more sense to add the
product to the display in photoshop. I was limited with the perspectives so this
photo I felt was most suitable to show the products on the shelves created.

Final thoughts
This project was far different than the previous two because it involved thinking
about the three dimensional space of the tradeshow both where people would
interact with the product and the space. I was especially challenged because
of the card branding issue from project 2 so I found myself stumped at first in
how I’d make the display more interesting using more than just the typographic
design. I felt the use of color and the baseball card mural/mosaic helped add
interest. Looking back at the examples I found from baseball card shows I believe
this display would stand out in comparison. The biggest challenge was size and
assembling it to the dimensions set.


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