Exhibition stand construction / design: Five stars under the hall roof

Exhibition halls generally have a functional kind of ambience. Two exhibitors and their exhibition stand designers have been demonstrating how to convey a sense of class.

Night vision devices bring light where it is dark and make the invisible visible. The easiest way to demonstrate their benefits would be to exhibit them in a dark chamber. But the Jahnke Nachtsichttechnik stand was essentially based on the opposite idea: The devices themselves were brought out of the darkness into the light and their components were presented in the same way you might present expensive jewels. At IWA OutdoorClassics 2015, an exhibition of hunting guns and outdoor equipment in Nuremberg, visitors entered a Jahnke stand that was like stepping into a forest at night. There were foliage motifs, rocks, wild boar figures and a tree trunk to sit on. The forest was surrounded by very low-level dark lighting. The rear wall was bathed in dark blue light, and there was a glowing dark green cube over visitors’ heads, creating a refined ambience. 

Against this background, high-quality cabinets and displays presented the devices and their components with light trained on them. They shone like desirable luxury items. “But it wasn’t just that the equipment was presented highly effectively; the stand was also a reflection of the image of the Jahnke brand,” recalls Christiane Haustein, project manager of Messebau Wörnlein, the service company responsible for the stand. Jahnke is a premium manufacturer offering the promise of “Made in Germany” quality “We are delighted that our idea for the stand filled this discerning exhibitor and visitors to the stand with such enthusiasm,” says Haustein (www.woernlein.de).

Visitors to the event and tourism show IMEX 2015 in Frankfurt experienced the allure of a luxury hotel right in the middle of the exhibition hall, where the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company demonstrated that atmosphere and impact doesn’t just depend on size. The two-storey stand clearly stood out from its surroundings although it had a footprint of only 60 square metres. Every detail conveyed a sense of five-star class, whether it was the interior design, the colour scheme, the decorations or the materials and their finish. The exhibition stand architects of Messearchitekten Bilfinger HSG Event Services developed the design concept together with the Frankfurt-based company Tag-Werk.

The hotel concept was implemented to good effect in terms of ambience and quality, ensuring a high recognition value. The rear and side walls, ceiling and platform had a decorative wood finish, giving the stand a self-contained look. High-quality materials and warm wood and cream shades conveyed a sense of comfort. The reception area on the upper floor was like a hotel lobby. The exhibitor was interested in more than just impact and quality, however. Expotechnik developed the stand as a sustainable structure so that it could be reused many times. All connections were designed in such a way that the stand could be taken apart without causing wear and tear. The stand made its debut at IMEX. A master agreement was concluded to ensure that Expotechnik will be handling many more of these trade fair appearances (www.expotechnik.de).