COVID-19 left exhibit houses scrambling for new revenue streams to keep their doors open. For many, that meant providing personal protective equipment (PPE) or constructing pop-up testing sites. Star Exhibits and Environments Inc., a Minneapolis-based face-to-face marketing agency, decided to stick with what it does best: provide clients with creative and captivating environments. With millions of employees and school-age children struggling to complete their work from cobbled-together offices and classrooms in hyper-distracting homes, Star immersed itself in developing work-from-home (WFH) solutions and launched myBackyardStudio in May 2020. "We had to quickly determine what core product we wanted to develop that gave people choices around style and overall size without making the offering too complex," said Justin Dworak, vice president of creative for Star. "The other main challenge was landing on final designs and engineering that met the majority of U.S. weather conditions and building codes."

As the name implies, myBackyardStudio delivered out-of-the-house structures offering distraction-free environments. The company created contemporary, traditional, and modern studios in three sizes: 8-by-10, 10-by-12, and 10-by-14 feet. Buyers customized the space to fit their wants and needs, from selecting colors and window styles to determining whether to include air conditioning, heating, electrical, or even a small patio.

Star's dramatic pivot helped floundering WFH clients reestablish a work-life balance amid a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic â?" and earned a deserved round of applause from Exhibit Design Awards judges in the process. "This company did what few others were able to do," said one juror. "It created an entirely new revenue stream that will likely survive long after COVID-19." E