For a long time, exhibition stands looked relatively similar. They provided blank, often overly clinical spaces for businesses to create experiences in, with the burden falling on the business itself to make sure everything was up to scratch.
In recent years, stand designers have taken their design efforts up a notch, and stands are often both increasingly impressive and highly effective.
Their evolution has by no means ended – today, we’re going to look at what exhibition stand technology will look like in the future, from interactivity to comfort.
Meaningful interactivity
When stand designers first started to integrate VR, AR and tons of big touch screens, it could sometimes feel like a bit of a gimmick. These technologies wouldn’t always have the desired effect, and could even leave attendees slightly confused.
Nowadays, the digital technologies that are being integrated to encourage interaction are increasingly effective at providing meaningful and valuable experiences. Over the years to come, we expect this trend to continue, with integrations based on clear data from thousands of trade show attendees’ personal experiences.
Biophilic design
Trade shows can often be exceptionally flat, clinical spaces, and stand designers are recognising the value of integrating pieces of nature into their creations wherever possible. Obvious examples of this include plants and small living walls, but biophilic design principles extend far beyond that.
It also means encouraging the use of warm, natural light and curvy, non-rectilinear lines in the stand itself. These can help to make guests feel more relaxed and comfortable while in the stand space, and often more receptive to what they’re being shown or told about as a result.
Tangible sustainability
Approaches to sustainability are changing, and will continue to do so. It’s now not really effective to just have a tag or a sticker that says you’re B Corp certified, or that your stand is made from recycled plastic – people want to be able to feel that what they’re interacting with isn’t tacky and unsustainably made.
Over the years to come, that will mean working with designers like Focal Exhibitions to come up with stand technologies that enhance this perception, without negatively impacting the functionality of the stand itself.
Comfort
On the same note as biophilic design integration, we can also expect to see a greater emphasis on comfort in other areas as well. Exhibition stands are using a range of technologies to ensure that they are as comfortable as reasonably possible, from advanced air circulation systems to chairs and sofas.
Creating an environment that people don’t really want to leave can provide businesses with a massive competitive advantage, creating the perfect space to have meaningful discussions with potential partners and clients.
It’s worth keeping an eye out for new exhibition stand technologies, and seriously considering how they could be useful when presenting your business at trade shows and exhibitions. In many cases, these technologies will be little more than gimmicks, but in others, they can be incredibly beneficial at showing your product off in the best light possible.
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