xhibit-design house 3D Exhibits Inc. wanted its booth at EXHIBITOR2008 to impress attendees with the company's technological savvy, creative flair, and even its ecological awareness. But that's not easy when you're competing in a show where exhibits have been known to resemble postmodernist mansions and groovy '60s pop-art pads. So the Elk Grove Village, IL-based company sought to blend a sinuous exterior, lush colors, and educational activities to turn its booth into a red-hot stop on the trade show floor.

Visitors to the 800-square-foot booth found themselves surrounded by bridal-white fabric walls that swooped around 70 percent of the booth like billowing ribbons. Strolling on a ruby-red carpet made from recycled cotton T-shirts, attendees moved to one of three 40-inch-high kiosks the same hue as the shag-like carpet, where they were asked to type in their best exhibiting tips. Later, 3D gathered these tricks of the trade into a volume called the "Little Red Book" that it mailed to all 438 participants.

After finishing up at the kiosks, visitors were invited to attend one of three in-booth presentations on marketing, budgeting, or design. Set in an elevated area on an 8-by-10-foot white laminate floor, the sessions featured audiovisual content orchestrated from a nearby 12-foot-tall crimson-colored tower. A staffer situated inside ran AV content on a 60-inch plasma screen, an LED display, and even the exhibit walls, turning the fabric facades into an impromptu movie screen. When two presenters talked about 3D using wood from sustainable timberlands, for example, the staffer bathed the booth in rainforest-green light.

The results of 3D's saturated strategy left it anything but red-faced. The serpentine walls, blazing color palette, educational presentations, and interactive attractions kept visitors in the exhibit for an average of 20 minutes, exceeding expectations by about 20 percent. By the show's end, 3D felt it had proved it was much more than your average two-dimensional exhibit-design house.e