I was talking to a friend the other day about exhibit design and designing to client needs that sometime become a moving target or maybe just isn’t exactly explicitly clear from the start. This is typically the norm not the exception. Not intentionally so. . . mind you, the client themselves are dealing with the confluence of many variables – like not having clear direction themselves. Perhaps it’s just an inexperience evaluator or qualifier who is charged to source vendors with limited or incomplete information on how to communicate their true need. It seems even more the case these days with smaller staff or less personnel to follow through and see that all is completed in a timely fashion. Yes, we are truly in an age were so many are forced to do more for less, a consequence of our current economic time, ‘the race to the bottom’ if you will. You can see it in the reporting of the lack of new job creation and high unemployment. Productivity, amongst workers, for those of us who still have employment, has increased.
Reality intrudes, deal with it!
So in the competitive tradeshow industry, where the “best design” wins the day, it is important to understand that collaboration and change is the name of the game. Use of valuable design resources is always a consideration and needs to be measured and used proportionately relative to the opportunity. However, make no mistake about it, the collaboration, is the opportunity and if you have the correct frame of reference, or to put it bluntly, the right attitude, it is a strategic advantage. Some of the benefits that effort yields is client rapport, client buy in or ownership and thoughtful/relevant design.
The design process is the qualifying process.
This brings us to the question of what ‘good design’ is. Sure, in the trade show industry, a successful booth design manifests in an environment that has prominent and impactful brand delineation, effective messaging hierarchy and architecture which fosters positive human interaction. Whether its product demonstration, information gathering, relationship building or just commiserating with someone in the same industry. Okay, I overstate the obvious, exhibit design 101. In some ways, form and space definition, lighting, material specifications, image or theme based on some fundamental or esoteric design philosophy and/or personal inspiration, is the easy or fun part. The crux of the matter is how you get there! Understanding of the process and a willingness to appropriately engage, avail oneself, is what yields the best results. The understanding of the interplay between client and vendor is paramount.
Good design is a process of refinement and is achieved by balancing client objectives with the economic realities of business . . . it requires a sensitivity to all facets of the industry and recognizes that the opportunity to provide value and the passion to produce it is most important.
Designers must be a willing participant in the process, beyond taking it and running with it after initial project scope is defined. Not just going through the motions as told or suggested like some kind of robot, but a stakeholder, open to ideas and generating a number of iterations if needed, out of a desire to find the best or an appropriate solution. Block and tackle if you will. Hopefully a positive and constructive dialogue between the client and designer occurs. Sometimes we hold the notion that the interplay is not our role, and it can show. Empathize and relate to the customer.
Client critiques are the keys to arriving at a winnable successful solution.
The true nuggets of discovery that gives us the insight to achieve our main objective. Even if the target moves, sometimes our clients’ don’t know and are unable to articulate it or information trickles in or outright changes. So the answer to the riddle, “How many design iterations does it take to get to a final solution?”, . . . . the answer – as many times necessary. Because at the end of the day it all boils down to customer service.
Drew
Free Trade Show Guide