I absolutely love this chart of high profile logos through the years (from Brittany Bohnet via Ogilivy’s blog – thanks). Am I the only one who likes many of the oldies best? I much prefer the rainbow Apple logo and the 70s/80s BMW logo. Think IBM could have made more of an effort in the early days though! Love love love the previous two Canon logos also. Would love to know your thoughts…

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1) Take a smaller space at the exhibition and maximise your impact with extra lighting, which has been shown to increase awareness of your display by 30 to 50 percent. Lighting can be hired from just €50 per event.

2) Another way to maximise your presence even in a small display space is to use some movement. Exhibitor Online claims that people are naturally drawn to moving objects such as product demonstrations, gobos and spinning signs.

3) Save shipping costs by choosing the lightest possible stand material – Aluminium weighs just 25% what timber or laminate weighs.

4) For a multi-panel stand, include one complimentary-colour panel at the design stage which can be replaced in future without worrying about colour-matching with the rest of the panels. You may not plan to change a panel now but a many exhibitors will have new product or event to promote over the years, and will save by replacing just one panel rather than reprinting the entire set.

5) If you want to impress your competitors and potential clients with a new stand at each event, hiring will greatly reduce your costs. You can have an L-shaped stand at one event, an S-shaped stand at the next, a plasma display at another, and if you and your designers are clever you might not need to purchase new graphics each time. This will also rule out any storage problems or costs.

6) Remember that theft can be a problem at trade shows and protect your valuables accordingly. Investing in some lockable equipment and security cables for larger items with save money in the long run. Keeping expensive products and samples on display inside your space will keep them secure and entice clients to enter your booth.

7) Look after your display equipment. Avoid dropping any hardware as this can loosen screws and springs, and cause chips or cracks which age the stand. Graphic elements are the most vulnerable part of your display so follow guidelines for maintaining graphic panels to keep them looking fresh and professional. You will get years and years of use from your display with proper care.

If you use a set up service, plan ahead to allow the fitters plenty of time to set up, at a time that suits them. If access is only available after hours, or you organise this service at the last minute, you may have to pay overtime fees increasing your overall cost. The same applies to graphic design & production charges.

9) Buy a display system or stand with a decent warranty, and one that can be mended in your home country to save time and shipping costs.

10) Buy a stand that is made of connecting parts or components - you can learn to set these up yourself, saving on set up fees, and each can be replaced separately if needs be, saving you a fortune compared to replacing an entire single-piece display.

11) If you are looking for a bigger or newer display, use your existing elements as a base. With a skillful exhibit company, you can reuse, revamp, upgrade or disguise your existing equipment in a whole new display, at a fraction of the cost of starting from scratch. (Especially true if you have invested in quality items to begin with).

12) Re-use what you have in terms of graphics also. When getting new design work done, check your existing files and artwork for high resolution images, logos and backgrounds that can be reused, tweaked and incorporated into your new design. In the hands of an experienced designer, these can be transformed into something totally new, and providing these elements will save you on stock photography and redrawing fees. If you are unsure about what can be used, send everything you have to your designer to sort through.

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I learnt that colours have inherent qualities, and this has to be even more important for large scale displays or logo signs which are big enough to cover the side of a vehicle or building. Most of us know the basics: – red conveys warmth, power, and passion, – pink can be playful, romantic or feminine, – blue and green are clean colours used almost exclusively by soap and toiletry makers – and orange can denote health, energy, vibrancy…

But did you know that certain colours are subconsciously favoured by men or women, and I don’t mean pink versus blue. According to Joe Hallock, purple is generally disliked by men, as is turquoise and most warm colours, including orange and brown! One fact I found particularly interesting is the link between age and colour preference – apparently people of both sexes are less likely to favour green or orange as they age, and are more likely to go for brown and purple as they get older. How many companies take this into account when marketing to age-specific sectors?

Product or Industry Sector should also be taken into account when choosing corporate colours: again there are traditional colours in corporate design such as green for health, agriculture and environmental sectors and blue for financial companies. But did you know that blue is a negative colour for Food and Beverage sectors – because blue is reported to be an appetite suppressant, as is black to a lesser extent. If you don’t believe me just take a peek at these images of this yummy sushi and see what I mean… This is apparently hardwired into our brains because blue is such a rare colour to occur in foods naturally. I wonder how has this has affected the comsumption of Hellman’s Mayonnaise, Salt and Vinegar crisps, Blue Smarties, Avonmore milk and Rice Crispies over the years? Do you know anyone who drinks Bombay Sapphire or Blue Curacao? Didn’t think so! (For the sake of even handedness, check out this article which extols the genius of Bombay Sapphire’s signature colour and design and let me know which sideof the fence you are on…)

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- Size: From 3m to 12m Plus
- Shape: Inline Stands, Island Stands, Peninsula Stands, as well as Counters, Kiosks and Others
- Minimum & Maximum Price
- Add-ons/Features Including: Height up to 4.87m., Backlighting, Lockable Conference, Storage or Meeting Area, Computer Workstation & Product Display

If you have any questions at all about using these facilities, don’t hestitate to contact us on 01 8712300 or info@appliedsigns.ie.

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