If you want to get the best out of exhibition design, you’ve got to look to the future, says David Kelley
Although there has been some interest in 'virtual' exhibitions, these are unlikely to develop to any great extent as they lack the key advantages of the live arena, namely face-to-face contact and the ability to demonstrate products and services live. Moreover, they require computers with considerable processing power.
Exhibitions prosper in the major geographical markets of the world, so any shift in the relative size and purchasing power of these markets will be reflected in underlying exhibition activity. We should therefore expect a concentration of exhibition activity in emerging markets and in industries suited to this particular medium.
Other predictions include:
- A move towards targeted or specialist B2B conferences
- More experiential and interactive consumer exhibitions
- Down-sizing of stand sizes – challenging designers to demonstrate better use of available space
- The consolidation of exhibition organisers through merger or takeover
- The continued adaptation of new technologies. (In the late 90s, for example, exhibition designers couldn’t get enough of the video wall.)