EuroShop 2011, The Global Retail Trade Fair, which is a once-every-three-year extravaganza of retail design, is over. Although you’ve read about it and heard about the attendance breaking records, you haven’t heard about my five personal favorites.
1. My first favorite was an amazing modular lit fabric wall. I found this to be one of the most striking offerings at the fair. The designer, Boris Demin, from DG studio dega in St. Petersburg, who was present in Hall 9 with his creation, said it took him eight years to design and create the structure.
2. Second was a student project from the University of Dusseldorf. The group had bicycles positioned on either perimeter of the island stand. As attendees cycled, the energy created caused inflatable tubes to rise. As a reward and to replace energy, each attendee was given a banana.
3. Thirdly, Expopedia.net, a promising search engine for the exhibit industry, created a vehicle. For this vehicle to be effective, it needs to be more culture neutral, but it’s a start. The backend is very robust.
4. My fourth favorite was Zumtobel Lighting GmbH, out of Dornbirn, Austria. They are a company that knows how to showcase its products and attract loyalists. During show hours, a pianist performed on a lit platform and alcoves featuring sculptures were dramatically lit. At night, the stand became a party venue with disco music, food, drink, and a fabulous light show. The company’s stock took a decided upturn immediately following EuroShop.
5. Finally, Bridgelux out of Livermore, Calif., created a very cool stand, designed by Mitchell Mauk. The stand features lit alcoves for product displays among other things. More importantly. it shows what is possible when a designer is free to use the cubic content of the space and is not encumbered by regulations enforced by so many U.S. shows that stifle creativity.
