Exhibit design professionals are among the most resourceful design and fabrication generalists you can find. Being enlisted to provide graphics support for their projects is always a real treat.
A local exhibit design firm called WhirlyPig Designs works in the automotive niche, with a portfolio of work that includes a lot of work for NASCAR and related automotive events. They do incredible fabrication and installation work, and it was an honor to be entrusted with some overflow work them during an especially busy time.
A Blend of Technology and Nostalgia
Wayfinding was the main piece of the show that I was enlisted to help with, and the biggest piece of that was a booth with the sole purpose of helping attendees find thier way to the other exhibitors. In a large convention where each booth is designed to be eye catching, creating a touchstone booth that stands out among the exhibitors is a pretty tall order.
Since the convention is about the latest trends and emerging technologies of the automotive industry, we decided to a take a different approach: one way to stand out among all of the futuristic booths at the convention would be to appeal to the sense of nostalgia that comes with a love of automobiles.
If you were surrounded by modern luxury cars, you might notice the classic pickup truck in the crowd more quickly than the sleek new import.
That idea set the tone for our work, and I set about creating a series of wayfinding artifacts that referenced the classic signage of Las Vegas and the days of Americana where paper road maps ruled the road and traditional service stations dotted the landscape.
Project Elements
Do you have some big picture challenges to address?
Could you use a hand from someone who can jump in at any point in the process and produce results? I'd love to chat about your project needs.
One final detail for the wayfinding elements of the conference: branded notepads for the help booths and kiosks. They were designed to look like the ticket or invoice from classic service stations, but faded so that attendees could take notes over top of them.