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editorial |
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 he crown jewel of this issue is an eight-page spread dedicated to EuroShop, the global retail trade fair. It’s an exhibit designer’s paradise, which is why so many of our industry’s movers and shakers make the trek to Dusseldorf, Germany, every three years to inhale all things new and innovative.
It’s no secret to EuroShop veterans that Germany has become a hotbed of high-end design, especially in the retail and exhibit industries. In the past five years, more than 30 of the 83 Exhibit Design Awards we’ve presented have gone to German firms. So what is it that seems to elevate their Euro-chic aesthetic above our own? Are American designers really less talented than their Germanic counterparts?
Absolutely not — or at least not in my opinion. Some designers I’ve spoken with make relevant points regarding the longer duration of European shows, as well as the absence of drayage as explanations why German exhibits tend to surpass domestic ones in terms of creativity and grandeur. But those factors exist in most parts of Europe, not just Germany. So why is that particular country, roughly the size of Montana, responsible for so many of the most stunning structures to have ever appeared in exhibit halls?
My hunch is that it might have less to do with that country’s designers than it does with their clients. The fact of the matter is, American designers are more creative than they’re allowed to be. Whose fault is that? I can practically
guarantee that most designers’ biggest gripe about their last project was that the client watered down the original concept, resulting in an only tangentially similar structure which was
ultimately fabricated. Over time, they’ve become so conditioned to think inside the box and be proactively mindful of all possible parameters that their best stuff is more likely to end up on a cocktail napkin than a show floor.
Now before you go defending that dilution, let me spare you the time: Most of it occurs as exhibitors pinch pennies, a common response to unforeseen charges (e.g., crates, taxes, etc.) that force them to go searching for savings. Also, many marketers have a tendency to fall in love with a concept
they can’t afford. But my gut tells me the bulk of the dumbing down of exhibit design happens because, on the whole, American companies don’t understand the value of good design.
German companies, on the other hand, get it. And because they get it, they empower their design firms to run wild with concepts that make some of the best exhibits at American shows look like Radio Shack displays. Uta Goretzky, public relations manager for FAMAB, the German equivalent of the U.S.-based Exhibit Designers and Producers Association, explains that unique distinction. “There is a German saying that applies here: ‘Competition stimulates business.’ We feel the booth is an extension of the company, so you must put as much thought into your booth design as you do your products, services, and brand, despite any challenges that stand in your way.”
It’s high time we collectively aspire to up the American ante a bit. Perhaps that’s by designers convincing clients to abhor normality and embrace originality. Perhaps it’s by clients waking up to the fact that if their exhibit even loosely resembles their competitors’, design just might be the differentiator they didn’t even know they needed.
This year’s EuroShop marked a spike in U.S. attendees, signaling both globalization and an increased likelihood of cross-pollination. Perhaps in the future, there will be less of a distinction between American and German designs, but not necessarily because we’ve adopted a more European view of the world. “German companies are world class in building extraordinary 3-D presentations and architecture,” Goretzky says. “Americans have a core competence in flexible, easy-to-handle concepts and modular components. So the way I see it, mixing the two creates a perfect solution.” Ditto that.e
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EXHIBITOR
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