(image by Oscar & Associates)
I am pleased to announce that the Quarter 2 2025 issue for Exhibit City News is officially live. You can access the edition by the link on our homepage or here. For those of you who will receive our physical print, look forward to it in the coming weeks.
Walking into a tradeshow is like stepping into Oz—a magical wonderland filled with larger-than-life booths and, oftentimes, new products that people have never seen or used. Some tradeshows are built to sell products that might seem as dull as Kansas, while others showcase the latest innovations in home appliances, cars, and technology, dazzling like the Emerald City. And don’t worry—there aren’t any flying monkeys… most of the time, anyway.
You get your badge, step through the doors, and suddenly, you’re not in Kansas anymore. You wander through aisles marked by numbers above and below, following a path we at Exhibit City News (ECN) like to think of as the Yellow Brick Road. And like Dorothy, you’re welcomed into a world of wonder, color, and endless possibilities.
However, what does it take to make the booths? How do you, as a designer, ensure that a company’s brand and values are represented in their booths? How are booths successful? What goes into making people stay in a booth, talk, and engage with what is being presented to them? How do we as creatives make “Myth’s Happen?”
When we are the myth shapers, the ones who make stories go from drawings on a page to real life booths that can be interacted with, how do we create booths that are effective and remembered? Don’t forget, we are in the business of making experiences that are worth remembering.
So how?
This issue aims to examine that very question. Our cover story (pg. 16) looks at what it takes to make an effective booth, from concept to execution. We ask what a brand means (pg. 24) and what types of designs are new and innovative (pg. 26). We look at effective ways to engage an audience in the past (pg. 40), and present. What is the theory behind effective marketing in a booth (pg. 42)? What are activations that keep people in engaged (pg. 44)?
We ask how flooring can affect an audience (pg. 62) and how sustainability can impact an audience’s experience (pg. 80). Additionally, we view a few stories from the people who work on the shows who make the dreams happen (pg. 56) and ask the question “why” (pg. 28).
In this issue we highlight effective booth design with the introduction of the Best of Show Stand (BOSS) Awards (pg. 34).
Everything in this issue is centered on storytelling. From the spark of an idea to the moment the curtain lifts on the show floor, we explore the magic behind the booths and the people who bring them to life. We are the Myth Makers; we make myths happen.
