Managed by The Experiential Design Authority, this year’s ExSys Awards were presented at a ceremony hosted inside Moss Inc. headquarters in Chicago earlier this summer. And while Pinnacle took top honors with the Exhibit of the Year award for Neurocrine Biosciences, seven student designers competed for $4,000 in cash prizes.
The ExSys Awards recognize excellence in system-based exhibit design, adaptability, and innovation, and all categories were judged by a three-part panel comprising experiential design professionals on TEDA’s U.S. and International Advisory Boards.
Exhibitor Media Group founder, Lee Knight, was posthumously honored with the ExSys Lifetime Achievement Award, while Deckel & Moneypenny and bematrix were named Agency of the Year and System of the Year, respectively.
This article features the winners from each of the competition’s categories, including the People’s Choice winner, which was chosen by popular vote on the Exhibit City News website.
BEST SMALL IN-LINE EXHIBIT
GOLD
Exhibitor: Kubik
Event: EuroShop 2026
Design/Fabrication: Kubik
System: bematrix, Aluvision
Photos: Smagin Media
Kubik wanted its 9-by-18-foot space to make an outsized impact at EuroShop 2026 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The company’s solution was to treat every square inch as a proof point in its attempt to stand out at the world’s most competitive retail trade fair. A digital ticker tape cycled “Kubik by the numbers” facts and client testimonials. A barista anchored one end while a high-resolution LED wall transitioned through global portfolio stories behind her. A hanging LED sign overhead — in a footprint where most exhibitors don’t bother with overhead elements — gave the stand a hall-wide presence equal to that of much larger competitors. Nothing in the design explained what Kubik does. Instead, the stand demonstrated it. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “The design turns a small footprint into a bold statement where everything feels purposeful, with all materials, LEDs, and messages quietly proving capabilities instead of explaining them.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Hapax
Event: American Bankers Association Conference for Community Bankers 2026
System/Design/Fabrication: BlueHive Exhibits
Photos: Exposures Ltd.
Hapax is an AI platform built for financial institutions, and its challenge at this show was the same one every fintech exhibitor faces in a 10-by-10-foot space: Make something invisible feel real. An arcade-inspired environment anchored by a large-format interactive display walked visitors through the Hapax value proposition — observe, automate, execute — via a tunnel experience that turned a complicated product story into something a banker actually wanted to engage with.
BRONZE
Exhibitor: Osano
Event: Privacy Security Risk 2025
Design/Fabrication: Condit Exhibits
System: bematrix
Photos: Proto Images
Who says data privacy compliance has to be boring? Osano’s “Compliance Cowboys” concept — a futuristic saloon complete with swinging doors, a poker barrel table, cactus plants, and a photobooth that transported visitors into outer space — answered that question with considerable panache. Printed wood graphics adorned bematrix frames, while layered textures and brand-colored accents made this budget-friendly build feel fully custom. A solid concept doesn’t require a large budget to land, and this proved it.
BEST LARGE IN-LINE EXHIBIT
GOLD
Exhibitor: Wedderspoon
Event: Natural Products Expo West 2025
System/Design/Fabrication: Classic Exhibits
Photos: TradeshowGuy Exhibits
Wedderspoon had just been acquired and rebranded when it arrived at Natural Products Expo West with a 10-by-30-foot inline that featured product sampling, storage, a meeting space, and a genuinely fresh identity. Dimensional botanicals attached directly to walls and flooring contrasted against white graphics. A backwall projection of the New Zealand landscape where Wedderspoon’s honey is harvested gave the space gentle movement. Hive-themed counters handled sampling, display, storage, and seating simultaneously, with flower and bee graphics carrying individual brand facts. Every element referenced the product in a way that made the entire space feel intentional and authentic. “What makes this work is how everything stays honest to the product,” said one ExSys Awards judge. “The hive forms, sampling moments, and subtle graphics all reinforced the same natural language in a way that feels light, grounded, and wholly on brand.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Work Microwave
Event: International Broadcasting Convention 2025
Design/Fabrication: The Inside
System: Aluvision, Octanorm
Photos: The Inside
One open face. A balcony overhead. A location that, on paper, was a liability. Work Microwave turned it into an asset by making the Virtual Ground Station the undeniable visual centerpiece. Satellite graphics, LED ceiling strips evoking antenna signals, and a logo illuminated and repeated with conviction anchored the design, which housed meeting, display, and demo zones. What initially seemed like a constraint was met with the kind of clarity that comes from great design.
BRONZE
Exhibitor: Health-Ade
Event: Natural Products Expo West 2024
Design/Fabrication: Storylink Creative
System: Moss
Photos: Storylink Creative
Health-Ade brought unmistakable California warmth to this in-line space that housed two unique brands. The Health-Ade side featured a backlit display and sampling desk, while the Sun Sip end answered back with a “Sipping Booth” sampling station that riffed on the kissing booth concept. A California-vintage-postcard photo moment in the middle, complete with beach balls and real sand, gave visitors a reason to sip, stay, and strike a pose. The dual-purpose design was warm, approachable, and precisely on brand for both beverages.
BEST SMALL ISLAND EXHIBIT
GOLD
Exhibitor: BlueHive Exhibits
Event: ExhibitorLive 2026
Design/Fabrication: BlueHive Exhibits
System: Ntension
Photos: Padgett and Company, BlueHive Exhibits
When it came time to tell its story at ExhibitorLive 2026, BlueHive decided the answer should be something you walk through rather than something you read or listen to. The result was a 10-by-20-foot pollinator journey in which attendees became “abstract bees” collecting nectar from oversized poppy flowers. A rain shower came first, then a butterfly migration with colored motion lighting, then a deliberately analog ball-drop survey that doubled as a data collection tool visible to passers-by throughout the show. Guests placed a glass garden creature at a marked spot to trigger a case study video matched to their specific challenge. The exit offered hands-on kaleidoscope building, closing with a line earned by everything that preceded it: “Beautiful things bloom when the right partners work together.” According to one ExSys Awards judge, “This exhibit turns the experience into a journey instead of a pitch, moving visitors through sensory moments and triggering stories through touch rather than screens alone, so that every touchpoint reinforces the same idea in a different form.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Deckel & Moneypenny
Event: ExhibitorLive 2025
Design/Fabrication: Deckel & Moneypenny
System: Oneled von Hagen ITC
Photos: Deckel & Moneypenny
Deckel & Moneypenny deftly competed against firms with spaces twice their size. An enigmatic white cube with one open side angled toward the show’s town square read as an undeniable invitation. Inside, mirrored surfaces turned a looping animation into something deliberately incomplete — appearing to say one thing until visitors donned special glasses and took a second look. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “The strength is in that clarity of intent, with a sharp message that’s impossible to ignore once you’re inside it.”
BRONZE
Exhibitor: Optimizely
Event: Content Marketing World 2025
Design/Fabrication: 2020 Exhibits
System: Octanorm
Photos: 2020 Exhibits
Overhead, an installation of illuminated orbs created a dichroic canopy above the engagement area. RGB strip lighting and seamless wall graphics wrapped the perimeter. Meanwhile, the amethyst interior rewarded anyone curious enough to step inside with an AI-powered photo activation that placed participants inside imaginative digital scenarios of their own creation. For a platform about personalization, experimentation, and digital experience, the exhibit did exactly what Optimizely promised customers it could do for them.
BEST MEDIUM ISLAND EXHIBIT
GOLD
Exhibitor: Derse
Event: ExhibitorLive 2026
Design/Fabrication: Derse
System: Aluvision, Derse
Photos: Derse
When your audience comprises exhibit managers, event marketers, and experiential professionals, a self-promoting exhibit has to do more than look good — it has to perform. Derse’s 20-by-40-foot “Peek into Your Future” journey at ExhibitorLive moved visitors from welcome kiosk through a staffed queue designed to build anticipation. An Aura Photo moment at the midpoint served as an emotional pivot before one-on-one consultative conversations with subject-matter experts completed the arc. The exposed Big Metal System components comprising the dramatic structure made both an architectural statement and a quiet point about the efficiency of system exhibits. A Crystal Ball case study navigator on the central tower delivered curated portfolio content on demand, while staff offered departing guests a fortune cookie takeaway. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “the strong experiential narrative and beautiful architecture blended so many elements into story so seamlessly that the journey never felt assembled — it felt inevitable.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: IQOS — Philip Morris International
Event: National Association of Convenience Stores 2023
Design: Ideawork 1981
Fabrication: Kubik
System: Kubik
Photos: Exposures Ltd.
Creative direction from Milan; a project team spanning Dubai, Paris, and the U.S.; a regulatory minefield; and a brand that needed to feel futuristic and trustworthy simultaneously. Alberto Cittone translated the IQOS device’s own industrial geometry into two massive curved foam shells with a high-gloss marine coating and a seamless turquoise finish, making 800 square feet feel like a single poured form. Inside, an illuminated bar hosted personalized product demonstrations in a gallery-quiet atmosphere the surrounding show floor couldn’t touch. According to one ExSys Awards judge, the resulting design was “a sculptural expression of brand experience” and a genuine masterclass in turning product design language into spatial architecture.
BRONZE
Exhibitor: Deloitte
Event: RSAC Conference 2024
Design/Fabrication: Elevation3D
System: bematrix, Tectonics
Photos: Elevation3D
CyberSphere — Deloitte’s unified cybersecurity ecosystem — needed to be legible as a concept before anyone read a word of copy. A curved architectural structure with an overhead ring created the sphere visual at aisle distance. Curved LED screens wrapped the interior with dynamic content. Touchscreens connected to a content system that “bounced” between surfaces, extending the platform metaphor into the actual media behavior. The idea was in the architecture, and the architecture spoke volumes.
BEST LARGE ISLAND EXHIBIT
GOLD
Exhibitor: JCB
Event: ConExpo-Con/Agg 2026
Design/Fabrication: Elevation3D
System: bematrix
Photos: Exhibit Photos
At ConExpo-Con/Agg, where the ambient design philosophy is “park the biggest machine closest to the aisle,” JCB arrived with a different instinct entirely. The visual anchor was a massive archway drawn from the geometry of the JCB logo itself — not signage, not decoration, but structure, giving the exhibit the quality of a destination rather than a display. Large-scale LED video walls translated complex powertrain narratives into something elegant and easily digestible. An open floor plan with ample seating gave serious business conversations the room they needed. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “JCB made a brilliant strategic decision in choosing to showcase engineering capability rather than equipment. And transforming a brand symbol into functional architecture at that scale deserves significant recognition.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Novalis Innovative Flooring
Event: The International Surface Event 2026
Design/Fabrication: Acer Exhibits & Events
System: Aluvision, Moss
Photos: Exposures Ltd., Acer Exhibits & Events
A freshly rebranded global luxury flooring company, Novalis needed to display four product lines via distinct but cohesive representation. Design requirements also included a hospitality area and enough modularity to serve multiple shows over multiple years. The resulting design was anchored by a large abstract tree structure canopied over the circular consultation bar at its base. The entire 2,000-square-foot exhibit was one continuous product demo with the client’s own flooring underfoot throughout and individual vignettes that put the products in their natural habitats.
BRONZE
Exhibitor: HP
Event: National Retail Federation Retail’s Big Show 2026
Design/Fabrication: Kubik
System: bematrix, Highmark TechSystems, Agam
Photos: Sarah Merians Photography
A Real Madrid partnership gave HP’s NRF design team permission to build something no technology company would typically attempt: a full-scale retail arena experience. Stadium decor, branded foosball tables, private upper-deck meeting rooms, and high-energy lower-deck product demonstrations fused to create a high-tech cultural narrative rather than a features list. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “This is a textbook example of how cross-industry storytelling can make a technology brand feel culturally relevant in a retail context.”
BEST XL ISLAND EXHIBIT
GOLD
Exhibitor: Brunswick
Event: Consumer Electronics Show 2026
Design/Fabrication: Kubik, Brunswick
System: Kubik, Brunswick
Photos: Proto Images, Olga Minkevich
Brunswick arrived at CES 2026 with a thesis — boating is not a hobby, it’s an intelligent, tech-driven lifestyle infrastructure — and the architecture to support it. A “calm, ambient escape” from the floor’s default visual chaos demonstrated global debuts including the Sea Ray SLX 360 and NAVAN C30 alongside a 200-degree AI co-pilot simulator, transparent LED screens showing smart energy flow in real time across actual vessels, and a Fliteboard eFoil simulator that let visitors virtually fly above water. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “it commanded attention at CES not through excess but through a single dominant idea made physical at a grand scale, with simulators, real vessels, and data-driven systems all reinforcing one unified message.” Many entries bring objects to a show. Brunswick brought a point of view and architecture bold enough to illustrate it.
SILVER
Exhibitor: Profile Appliances
Event: KBIS 2026
Design/Fabrication: Deckel & Moneypenny
System: Aluvision
Photos: Padgett and Company, Kylene’s Photography
“Life, uncomplicated” needed to be a felt truth, not a tagline inside Profile Appliance’s exhibit at KBIS 2026. The Chaos Tunnel handled that — a linked-LED installation simulating the sensory overload of modern domestic life, priming visitors to receive everything beyond it as relief rather than product demonstration. Three lifestyle zones followed: connected kitchen, hosting-optimized kitchen, and laundry. One activation involved an actual executive delivering a DoorDash order via scooter in a costume. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “the experience works because you feel the problem before you see the solution, which is exactly how great product storytelling is supposed to operate.”
BRONZE
Exhibitor: bematrix
Event: EuroShop 2026
Design: Verel Building Experiences
Fabrication: bematrix
System: bematrix
Photos: bematrix
Creativity as an unlimited green energy source: that was the governing idea, and bematrix built a universe around it. A pre-show social campaign teased the concept via a mysterious traveling box. NFC/RFID wristbands activated personalized welcome messages at entry. Object-recognition zones let visitors place physical items on a surface to trigger rendered videos showing how that concept could be built in the bematrix system. And a carbon footprint calculator was a featured engagement, not a footnote. In the words of one judge, “The system disappeared into the experience, which was precisely the point.”
BEST INTERNATIONAL DESIGN
GOLD
Exhibitor: von Hagen Design
Event: EuroShop 2026
Design/Fabrication: von Hagen Design
System: Syma System
Photos: Stefan Roehler, Modul-A; Sabrina Brautlacht, von Hagen GmbH
The concept originated with a specific encounter: Axel von Hagen meeting Nepalese photographer Kishor Kayastha, and the desire to bring Kayastha’s landscape photography from Kathmandu to Europe. “The world stands upside down” became a central theme, represented by a monumental inverted rock suspended from the hall ceiling by fine cables. Behind it, serene panoramas of Mustang, Nepal, ran on a 23-by-15-foot LED backwall. A 16.4-foot transparent oneledFLOW wall added depth without sacrificing sightlines. Faux stone installations housed interactive monitors, and a live oneled mini-showroom demonstrated real solutions against an art installation backdrop. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “the inverted rock sets the tone immediately with a bold shift in perspective, giving the space a clear identity that merges nature, art, and technology into one unified spatial idea.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Philips
Event: European Congress of Radiology 2026
Design/Fabrication: Kubik
System: Kubik
Photos: ExpoFoto, Gerard Guiking
Philips’ ECR exhibit comprised three fully immersive product zones behind a clean premium exterior. First, an MR demo ran as a silent disco, with wireless headphones and ambient lighting responding in real time to the presenter’s narrative. A CT Cinema attracted guests with content displayed on a curved LED screen with ambient floor lighting controlled by motion sensors. And a projection-mapped four-wall room served as an immersive corridor through which visitors could collect a branded giveaway. Every touchpoint was choreographed, every material choice reinforced the brand’s premium positioning. According to one ExSys Awards judge, this was a rare environment “where technology, architecture, narrative, and circulation all reinforce one another instead of competing for dominance.”
BRONZE
Exhibitor: bematrix
Event: EuroShop 2026
Design: Verel Building Experiences
Fabrication: bematrix
System: bematrix
Photos: beMatrix
bematrix claimed another award for its EuroShop stand, which featured a dramatic tunnel entry, object-recognition demos, wristbands that triggered personalized content, and a mesmerizing LED waterfall. “This exhibit needed to be experienced to be fully appreciated,” said one ExSys Awards judge. “It quite literally immersed you in the company’s product and wrapped you in brand storytelling without you even realizing it. Before you knew it, you were in bematrix’s own brand world.”
BEST SMALL RENTAL EXHIBIT
GOLD
Exhibitor: GE Appliances — Design District
Event: KBIS 2026
Design/Fabrication: Deckel & Moneypenny
System: Moss, Aluvision
Photos: Kylene’s Photography
The theme of GE Appliances’ Design District — “A Seat at the Table” — treated the kitchen table as a symbol rather than a surface and built an environment around it. Little more than a communal table, a ribbon of bold florals, and mirrored niches fused to become a dramatic setting for invite-only meals on the KBIS show floor. Above it all, a dimensional transparent fabric identity floated to provide brand presence, then descended during pre-booked media lunches to form sheer walls, transforming the space from trade show environment to private dining room. Judges were emphatic: “It drops, floats, and frames space like a living surface, turning the booth into something unexpectedly theatrical in a way that uses temporary architecture and rented elements to create a beautiful and memorable brand experience.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Nextiva
Event: Enterprise Connect 2025
Design: Astor Group
Fabrication: Classic Exhibits
System: Classic Exhibits
Photos: Astor Group
As guests passed the custom LED-lit X, a circular tunnel entrance moved them through wormhole graphics. Inside, they found LED light bars, holographic messaging, a robot bartender, and a hockey game. These elements created a unified business communication platform made tangible through rental components and conceptual bravado. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “this exhibit proves that real impact is driven by smart conceptual design rather than sheer budget, and that’s the most important lesson this category can teach.”
BRONZE
Exhibitor: Deckel & Moneypenny
Event: ExhibitorLive 2025
Design/Fabrication: Deckel & Moneypenny
System: Oneled von Hagen ITC
Photos: Deckel & Moneypenny
This memorable mirrored cube entered the rental category because it was built from rental components throughout — a fact that only deepens the argument it was already making in the small island category, where it took silver. Genuine creative constraint, committed to the idea rather than the budget, produced something that resolved only when you were standing inside it with red glasses. In other words, those who entered were rewarded with an experience while those who strolled on by still got a visual example of creative restraint.
BEST MEDIUM RENTAL EXHIBIT
GOLD
Exhibitor: Neurocrine Biosciences
Event: Endocrine Society (ENDO) 2025
Design/Fabrication: Pinnacle
System: Pinnacle
Photos: Barnegat Studios/Justin Boswick
Crenessity was the first FDA-approved treatment for Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia in over 70 years, and Neurocrine Biosciences was not going to let its ENDO debut pass without a structural statement. A sculptural fabric canopy expressing movement from every angle served as the landmark overhead. Below it, synchronized tablets and illuminated acrylic patient silhouettes walked attendees through the mechanism of action in real time. Patient Journey Kiosks grounded clinical data in real human stories and a custom Patient Journey Game built on CAHtalog Registry data humanized the brand’s message. Meanwhile, an ice cream bar served sorbet in the exact gradient hues of the Crenessity logo. Oh, and the whole thing was rented! According to one ExSys Awards judge: “This is one hell of an architectural form.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Eaton Corp.
Event: Consumer Electronics Show 2025
Design/Fabrication: Derse
System: Aluvision, Derse
Photos: Proto Images
Eaton Corp. pulled four distinct product lines — Smart Homes, Transportation Electrification, Sustainable Commercial Buildings, Factories of the Future — into a single home-inspired environment under the theme “Powering What Matters.” A custom central arch served as the heart of the home. Skylight-inspired lighting held its residential warmth under convention center conditions. And interactive kiosks let visitors pace their own exploration. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “This exhibit was thoughtfully conceived and very well executed, with a simple and effective concept that carries just enough whimsy to keep it engaging throughout.”
BRONZE
Exhibitor: Applegate
Event: Natural Products Expo West 2025
Design/Fabrication: Condit Exhibits
System: beMatrix
Photos: Timothy Patterson, TradeshowGuy Exhibits
The organizing mandate was simple: Everyone at the show gets a hot dog. Kitchen logistics and crowd-flow requirements shaped the design before aesthetics entered the conversation. The sampling window was the first thing visitors saw on entering the hall. A pergola, murals, historical visuals, farm materials, and a town-center environment wrapped around the operational core. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “This is a really playful approach that feels cohesive while remaining different from anything the category typically expects.”
BEST LARGE RENTAL EXHIBIT
GOLD
Exhibitor: Profile Appliances
Event: KBIS 2026
Design/Fabrication: Deckel & Moneypenny
System: Aluvision
Photos: Padgett and Company, Kylene’s Photography
Profile Appliances won gold in the Best Large Rental Exhibit category on the strength of the same “Life, uncomplicated” concept that earned the company silver in the Best XL Island category. The experience opened with the Chaos Tunnel, an immersive entry installation that used linked LED choreography and competing visual demands to simulate the sensory overload of modern daily life — not as spectacle, but as deliberate emotional priming. By the time visitors emerged into the three lifestyle zones beyond it, they weren’t looking at product features. They were looking at relief. A connected kitchen, a hosting-optimized kitchen, and a laundry environment each offered it. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “the narrative arc was clear and emotionally resonant from beginning to end, capped off brilliantly in a way that makes the product feel like the natural resolution to a problem the visitor just lived through.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Dematic
Event: ProMat 2025
Design/Fabrication: Hamilton
System: Aluvision, Agam
Photos: Vybe Media
Dematic’s ProMat 2025 exhibit comprised a pair of 30-by-80-foot islands, separated by a show aisle, and unified by a “Software Command Center” LED theater that served as the experiential heart of both halves simultaneously. The all-black perimeter created a defined brand boundary. Inside, software was the centerpiece and hardware the supporting cast. VR, branded lattes, lounge seating, and three meeting rooms rounded out the remarkable design. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “This is bold and elegant, with a dark palette elevated through intelligent lighting and a seamless integration of technology that never let the tech overrun the architecture.”
BRONZE
Exhibitor: Kobelco
Event: ConExpo-Con/Agg 2023
Design/Fabrication: Nparallel, Atomic Props
System: Highmark TechSystems
Photos: Highmark TechSystems
At ConExpo 2023, Kobelco was represented by a “No Bull” exhibit that boasted a full-scale movie-set western town, a mechanical bull, two separately-themed VIP air-conditioned lounges, a vintage player piano, period-costumed actors, a branded general store, and conference infrastructure for 80-plus staff. The directive was authentic relationship-building, not spectacle — and the design delivered it at a scale this category almost never sees. According to one ExSys Awards judge, this was “exceptional experiential storytelling.”
BEST DOUBLE-DECK EXHIBIT
GOLD
Exhibitor: GO Exhibitions
Event: EuroShop 2026
Design/Fabrication: Go Exhibitions
System: bematrix
Photos: Adriaan van Dam
GO Exhibitions’ 20th anniversary at EuroShop required something more than a self-promotional stand — it demanded an architectural statement. Within 67 square meters and a zero-waste commitment embedded from the first design decision, the team built three interconnected worlds. First came the monochrome red cube on an eight-meter steel frame visible from well beyond the immediate neighborhood. Next, a sustainability parcours below it moved visitors through Forest, Urban, and Shop zones via sensor-driven lighting, sound, and responsive content. Finally, a 20th-anniversary club with mirrored walls, integrated greenery, and designer furniture sat perched above on the space’s second level. What’s more, every component had a second-life strategy. According to one ExSys Awards judge, the exhibit delivered “high impact in a compact footprint, with lots of drama and honest sustainability.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Aluvision
Event: EuroShop 2026
Design/Fabrication: Aluvision
System: Aluvision
Photos: SixShooter
“Modular Magic” was the theme of this stand, deployed not as headline copy but as spatial philosophy — a space designed to feel like the owner’s favorite hotel. A lightbox archway entry, activation corners debuting new innovations, and a 3D LED Diamond visible from the aisle rounded out the ground-floor space. Up top, a multi-level hospitality lounge offered cozy seating, an at-ease atmosphere, and a Belgian DJ on opening night who turned the booth into somewhere people genuinely wanted to be.
BRONZE
Exhibitor: bematrix
Event: EuroShop 2026
Design: Verel Building Experiences
Fabrication: bbematrix
System: bematrix
Photos: bematrix
From immersive tunnel entry to interactive zones distributed across both levels, the bematrix double-deck moved as one continuous system rather than stacked components sharing a structural frame. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “The whole stand showcases a level of continuity across disparate zones, which is no easy exhibit-design feat.”
BEST SELF-PROMOTING EXHIBIT
GOLD
Exhibitor: Derse
Event: ExhibitorLive 2026
Design/Fabrication: Derse
System: Aluvision, Derse
Photos: Derse
Three directives: inspire, be relevant, drive results. Derse’s 20-by-40-foot “Peek into Your Future” exhibit at ExhibitorLive met all three through a U-shaped journey. The exposed white-finished Big Metal System structural members made a quiet argument about cost efficiency. The Aura Photo moment at the midpoint turned curiosity into a personal brand conversation. Beacon, Steward, and Oracle staff roles managed engagement at every stage. And artisan fortune cookies served as a thematic parting gift on the way out. Finally, a custom Magic 8 Ball dimensional mailer for top leads arrived after the event. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “The theme was beautifully woven through every touchpoint and experiential moment, making the whole much greater than the sum of its parts.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: bematrix
Event: EuroShop 2026
Design: Verel Building Experiences
Fabrication: Bematrix
System: bematrix
Photos: bematrix
The goal was simple: Make the system the star without making the system the subject. bematrix’s self-promoting entry at EuroShop 2026 demonstrated the b62 system’s flexibility and custom-expression capability through the simple fact of moving through it — every architectural decision a proof point for the central claim that one system enables infinite creative possibilities.
BRONZE
Exhibitor: BlueHive Exhibits
Event: ExhibitorLive 2026
Design/Fabrication: BlueHive Exhibits
System: Ntension
Photos: Padgett and Company, BlueHive Exhibits
This self-promoting entry took top honors in the Best Small Island Exhibit category as well. The same pollinator intelligence — sensory journey structure, discovery over declaration, hidden-text rewards for attentive visitors — carried everything it needed to carry, collectively creating an indelible experience whose memory undeniably outlasted ExhibitorLive 2026.
BEST FABRIC EXHIBIT
GOLD
Exhibitor: GE Appliances — Design District
Event: KBIS 2026
Design/Fabrication: Deckel & Moneypenny
System: Moss, Aluvision
Photos: Kylene’s Photography
The same kinetic fabric concept that won the Best Small Rental Exhibit won here, for the same foundational reason: a fabric installation that floats as brand identity and descends to form sheer functional walls during pre-booked media lunches is a design idea that transcends category. It didn’t decorate the space — it structured time within it. Pre-booked meals for design editors and media turned what happened inside a convention center booth into content that lived well beyond KBIS. One ExSys Awards judge gave this entry a perfect score, which is one of only seven out of nearly 800 individual scores awarded in the competition’s primary categories. Two Gold Awards in a single competition is not a coincidence. It’s an experiential design coup.
SILVER
Exhibitor: Dessert Holdings
Event: International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) 2025
Design: Storylink Creative, Latitude
Fabrication: Storylink Creative
System: Aluvision
Photos: Storylink Creative
Dessert Holdings came to IDDBA with a material argument: that texture, warmth, and the sensory language of the products themselves could carry a brand story more effectively than display fixtures. The fabric-anchored environment communicated comfort and quality through surface and finish choices rather than product logic. Despite its weight, the exhibit felt inherently permanent in a way not often achieved through fabric architecture.
BRONZE
Exhibitor: AWS Open Source
Event: PyCon Pittsburgh 2025
Design: Idlewild Experiential Agency
Fabrication: Metro Exhibits
System: Aluvision
Photos: Armen Keleshian
The AWS Open Source exhibit took form as an airport theme with a year-long touring commitment. Faux airplane-window screens, digital destination boards, flight-inspired materials, a passport stamp mechanic for coding sessions and demos, and travel-themed giveaways all extended the theme. The fabric elements held the thematic language together across every stop. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “The theme is entirely consistent throughout and never breaks character, which is harder to maintain than it looks and worth recognizing.”
BEST EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN
GOLD
Exhibitor: Paramount+
Event: The Lodge 2025
Design/Fabrication: 15|40 Productions
System: 15|40 Productions
Photos: Line 8 Photography
Sonic the Hedgehog, Survivor, Yellowjackets, 1923, SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora, and Paw Patrol, don’t have much in common. Still, they were all housed inside a single touring “mountain retreat” activation that traveled from SXSW to San Diego Comic-Con to Formula 1 to ski resorts without losing coherence or premium polish. Motion-capture teleportation, interactive Tribal Councils, eerie forest soundscapes, branded gondolas, F1 installations — every franchise lived as a fully realized environment within the larger structure. A $10 million budget is easy to spend badly. According to one ExSys Awards judge, Paramount+ “spared no effort in putting together a carnival of experiences all under one roof,” while a second awarded it a perfect score, adding, “This entry quite literally checks all the boxes.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Disney Branded Television
Event: San Diego Comic-Con 2025
Design/Fabrication: 15|40 Productions
System: 15|40 Productions
Photos: Line 8 Photography
Disney Branded Television created a full-scale in-world diner installation in the Gaslamp Quarter at San Diego Comic-Con, with demigod identity claims, golden drachma quests, AR scavenger hunts, real talent appearances, and a city-wide “Have You Seen Pan?” hotline that extended the fiction into surrounding streets. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “The incredible attention to detail makes it a clear frontrunner in this category. The bar for themed environments, it seems, has been meaningfully reset.”
BRONZE
Exhibitor: bematrix
Event: EuroShop 2026
Design: Verel Building Experiences
Fabrication: bematrix
System: bematrix
Photos: bematrix
It’s not easy to erect an exhibit that proves as competitive across multiple categories as this stand for bematrix at EuroShop 2026. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “Everything about this environment was exciting and functioned to compel a guest to interact with the brand in a way that made the interaction feel purposeful.”
BEST MODULAR DESIGN
GOLD
Exhibitor: bematrix
Event: EuroShop 2026, LeAT Con 2025, Viscom Italy 2025, Heavent 2025, Integrated Systems Europe 2026
Design: Verel Building Experiences
Fabrication: bematrix
System: bematrix
Photos: bematrix
Five shows. Five configurations. Five different stories told within a single b62 foundation that reused structural elements, textiles, LEDskin, and LightLines across every stop, with targeted adjustments only where the context demanded it. Wristband-activated personalization, RFID content triggers, object-recognition demos, and hands-on beCAD appeared at every venue. Meanwhile, the iconic rock face and tunnel adapted to accommodate specific audiences and messaging. According to one ExSys Awards judge, bematrix is “a leader in modular exhibit applications, and it’s genuinely hard to argue with the body of evidence they presented.” A second judge called it “the natural top contender.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Core-Mark
Event: National Association of Convenience Stores 2024, NACS 2025, Core-Mark Expo Southeast 2025
Design/Fabrication: Storylink Creative
System: Aluvision
Photos: Storylink Creative
Five footprints — 50-by-80, 50-by-100, 30-by-60, 10-by-30, and 10-by-20 — served by a single modular system that saved hundreds of thousands in design, build, storage, and freight while maintaining a brand experience that felt intentional at every scale. An aisle-side bar converted to a thrust-stage open kitchen improved crowd logistics and drove sample distribution to 45,000 full-size items in 2024 and 50,000-plus in 2025. Sensors recorded average dwell times of nearly 20 minutes in 2024 and 22 minutes in 2025. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “This exhibit communicated brand experience and design language with so much cohesion across contexts that it was simply impossible to ignore.”
BRONZE
Exhibitor: Accuray
Event: American Society for Radiation Oncology Annual Meeting 2024, American Association of Physicists in Medicine 2024
Design/Fabrication: Derse
System: Aluvision, Derse
Photos: MedMeetingImages, Derse
Accuray impressed judges with this 60-by-60-foot island that condensed to a 20-by-20 without losing the airy, organic identity defining the larger configuration. Floating canopy elements scaled with the towers. The Radixact product was replaced by a lightweight foam structure and integrated digital screen — leading to less freight, the same presence, and a better sustainability story. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “This is extremely clever and effective at communicating who this company is, what it does, and why attendees should care.”
BEST TECH INTEGRATION
GOLD
Exhibitor: Profile Appliances
Event: KBIS 2026
Design/Fabrication: Deckel & Moneypenny
System: Aluvision
Photos: Padgett and Company, Kylene’s Photography
The Chaos Tunnel was not, on its own, remarkable innovative technology. It was a linked LED system triggered by a docent with a remote clicker. What made it exceptional was the narrative role it played: text bubble icons activated outside the tunnel first, the tunnel came to life next, then kitchen and cooking assistant screens fired in sequence as a guide walked visitors through the story zone by zone. The technology didn’t illustrate the narrative — it was the narrative, experienced in sequence with a human in the room. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “Rather than just lighting up the booth, this tech integration did serious emotional narrative work, with the linked LED choreography achieving something rare in this category.” A second called it “a useful product demo in its proper environment employing LED, animations, and live action in a storytelling context that actually taught visitors something.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Hexagon
Event: Hannover Messe 2025
Design/Fabrication: The Inside
System: Aluvision
Photos: The Inside
The Formula 1 car at the center of Hexagon’s Hannover stand was not a prop. It was a working demonstration platform wired to live scanning and simulation, with CAE, CAD, and metrology workflows running through the Nexus platform in real time nearby. A 270-degree LED theater adapted its content on demand to the sector or interest of whoever was standing in front of it. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “The F1 car as physical anchor wired to live scanning is what real integration looks like, as opposed to stunt placement dressed up to look like integration.”
BRONZE
Exhibitor: TDK Corp.
Event: Consumer Electronics Show 2026
Design/Fabrication: ET Global
System: ET Global
Photos: Padgett and Company
TDK impressed judges with this high-tech stand comprising several elements designed for earlier shows, deployed there, then fully integrated at CES. In other words, this debuted via a multi-show rollout strategy that gave the CES booth a polish most single-show builds don’t achieve. The resulting exhibit featured an astounding 38 product demonstrations and a custom glass EV display originally created for the Battery Show, now visualizing TDK technology powering Formula E cars and consumer vehicles side by side. “This is not tech for tech’s sake,” said one judge. “It’s a well-integrated tech solution.”
BEST SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
GOLD
Exhibitor: AstraZeneca
Event: American Thoracic Society 2025
Design/Fabrication: ET Global
System: ET Global
Photos: EPNAC Photography and Video
This award-winning design was born from three respiratory brands, one cohesive exhibit, and a sustainability commitment that had to live in the design rather than just on the signage. The 3D moss lungs installation — preserved moss and driftwood, visually arresting, scientifically resonant, and reused at CHEST and ACAAI before the year was out — anchored the space as both respiratory metaphor and reusable asset. Seating pods designed for brand parity across three zones were deployed across the full 2025 calendar and into 2026. And a dramatic dragon sculpture was created by local artists from sustainable materials. Finally, AstraZeneca planted a tree for every badge scan it collected, under AstraZeneca’s initiative to plant 200 million trees by 2030. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “The individual elements were seamlessly woven into an immersive and unforgettable experience and executed at a remarkable level of meticulous attention.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Katjes
Event: Sweets and Snacks Expo 2025
Design/Fabrication: 2020 Exhibits
System: Octanorm, Aluvision
Photos: 2020 Exhibits
One judge described the Katjes exhibit as “Vegan. Wild. Bold. And Pink.” Comprising two zones — a Cosmic Visions fortune teller and a Wild and Free cactus toss — the exhibit brought two new product lines to life with real plants replacing plastic décor throughout. Sustainability was visible in the material choices, not the messaging. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “This proves sustainable doesn’t have to be brown and boring. It can also be super cute.”
BRONZE
Exhibitor: von Hagen Design
Event: EuroShop 2026
Design/Fabrication: von Hagen Design
System: Syma System
Photos: Stefan Roehler, Modul-A; Sabrina Brautlacht, von Hagen GmbH
While the Syma system components made von Hagen Design’s EuroShop 2026 exhibit inherently reusable, other design decisions guaranteed elements had a second life before they were even fully fabricated. For example, the inverted rock sculpture was designed from day one to live in the firm’s showroom after EuroShop closed. Additional reused materials included a custom-made counter, floor tiles, base plates from the substructure, wall panels, furniture, kitchen and storage equipment, and lighting/electrical components.
BEST DESIGN CONCEPT
GOLD
Exhibitor: Neurocrine Biosciences
Event: Endocrine Society (ENDO) 2025
Design/Fabrication: Pinnacle
System: Pinnacle
Photos: Barnegat Studios/Justin Boswick
The entire concept behind this award-winning exhibit began in the air. A structural canopy inspired by Neurocrine’s brand personality became the defining architectural element of the exhibit, with its shape expressing movement from every angle. Illuminated and vibrant, it served as a beaming landmark from across the show floor, drawing attendees through the science intuitively. Rather than presenting data on panels, the design boasted a full suite of engaging activations that made the therapy’s mechanism feel tangible. Glowing patient silhouettes, touch-based kiosks, and a custom-built diagnosis game gave specialists multiple entry points into the story, whether they had two minutes or 20. A live content studio and medical affairs hub rounded out the space, carrying the conversation beyond the floor and ensuring every kind of attendee, from curious passerby to engaged prospect, had a truly meaningful experience.
SILVER
Exhibitor: Brunswick
Event: Consumer Electronics Show 2026
Design/Fabrication: Kubik, Brunswick
System: Kubik, Brunswick
Photos: Proto Images, Olga Minkevich
Brunswick promoted boating as an intelligent connected infrastructure, then proved that paradigm argued across 110-by-80 feet inside the Las Vegas Convention Center’s West Hall with genuine discipline. From the first impression of real vessels on the show floor to AI co-pilot simulators, transparent LED smart energy visualization, and a Fliteboard eFoil simulator , the experiential space positioned the brand’s products as prerequisites for a better lifestyle.
BRONZE
Exhibitor: Abbott
Event: Consumer Electronics Show 2026
Design: Factory360
Fabrication: Catalyst Exhibits
System: Aluvision, The Inside Track, Catalyst Exhibits
Photos: Factory360
According to research, one-third of CES visitors were unfamiliar with the Abbott brand, but nearly half of them expressed interest in learning more. The exhibit answered that opening by centering mission over mechanics — health as something actively built, innovation as valuable only when it improves actual lives. One highlight was the Healthprint zone, where visitors learned their blood type on-site and left with wearable AR badges. The monochromatic stand generated a 54.9-percent engagement rate, and a 4.7-minute average dwell time. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “The dwell-time numbers proved unambiguously that the approach worked.”
BEST DESIGN PROPOSAL
GOLD
Exhibitor: Nextiva
Event: Enterprise Connect 2025
Design: Astor Group
Renderings: Classic Exhibits
System: Classic Exhibits
The built version of this proposal (which was scaled back, as many proposed designs ultimately are) won silver in the Best Small Rental category. The proposal itself won Gold here because it made you feel the exhibit before it existed — angular kiosks pulling you toward the entrance, a circular tunnel drawing you through wormhole graphics, a giant illuminated X commanding the overhead space, and a robot bartender and hockey game delivering experiential activations inside. “This is a clear winner with exactly the right combination of structure, lighting, and tech,” said one judge, “particularly in the way the angular kiosks at the entrance compel you to enter before you’ve consciously decided to.” A second, who awarded it a near-perfect score, observed that the design “clearly prioritized the experience over the architecture — which is exactly the right instinct.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: OluKai
Event: Surf Expo 2025
Design: Condit Exhibits
Renderings: Condit Exhibits
System: bematrix
OluKai wanted to display 200 SKUs, showcase 180 pairs of shoes, and allocate space for separate try-on and meeting zones … all in a 30-by-30 footprint. Custom live-edge wood shelving — less expensive and more on-brand than standard plywood — defined the material language, while two cove-shaped spaces gave the layout its human logic. According to one judge, “The design felt like an OluKai store. And that’s a compliment.” According to another ExSys Awards judge, the result was “well-executed” with “great attention to detail in blending textures, open spaces, and natural elements in a way that feels entirely intentional rather than assembled.”
BRONZE
Exhibitor: Equatorial Launch Australia
Event: International Astronautical Congress 2025
Design: Expo Centric
Renderings: Expo Centric
System: Aluvision
This matte-black double-story structure communicated launch readiness through physical authority. Combining height, bright-orange accents, and a 3D-printed ASCALP model at the photographic heart of the space, the exhibit featured a circular LED cutout with orange strips, a hanging LED globe showing ELA’s geographic advantage, and private meeting rooms on two levels for contract negotiations. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “This offers a nice juxtaposition of color, lighting, and elements, along with the clever integration of an upstairs loft and consistent attention to design and signage throughout.”
BEST OVERHEAD ELEMENT
GOLD
Exhibitor: von Hagen Design
Event: EuroShop 2026
Design/Fabrication: von Hagen Design
System: Syma System
Photos: Stefan Roehler, Modul-A; Sabrina Brautlacht, von Hagen GmbH
This incredible inverted rock demonstrates what overhead elements can be when a designer begins with a concept rather than a construct. Suspended by fine cables from the hall ceiling, it appeared to defy its own weight while carrying the conceptual tension of an impossible object occupying space above visitors. Visible from across Hall 4, the iconic illusion was the most discussed single design element in this year’s competition. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “This amazing hanging structure is so original it can’t help but stand out against more traditional overhead signage.” A second went further: “The visually heavy mercurial glacier presents a growing tension between the tactile and the digital, and everything about it was simultaneously harmonious and disparate in a way that made the experience genuinely thought-provoking rather than merely decorative.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Navien
Event: Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigerating Expo 2025
Design/Fabrication: Kubik
System: bematrix
Photos: Park South Photography
Dubbed “Infinite Light,” Navien’s overhead element was a large-scale light sculpture symbolizing the flow of energy and water. Designed to move Navien’s brand identity away from metal and hardware and toward tech and lifestyle, it became, according to one ExSys Awards judge, “engineering as art done literally.” Another said it was likely the single most photographed feature of the entire AHR show, noting “every dollar of its budget is visible in the structure itself, and the result is simply gorgeous.”
BRONZE
Exhibitor: Incode
Event: Money 20/20 2025
Design: Hill & Partners
Fabrication: Boomerang Exhibits
System: bematrix, Display Supply & Lighting
Photos: Hill & Partners
Incode’s overhead element featured four-sided readability, a neon-quality glow without actual neon, curved geometry consistent with the brand’s identity, and mesh panels transitioning from white to Incode’s signature blue, creating depth without weight. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “This is highly visible on the show floor in a way that would consistently and effortlessly attract attention from well beyond the exhibit’s immediate footprint.”
BEST EVENT DESIGN
GOLD
Exhibitor: Pandora Jewelry
Event: Talisman Experience Pop-Up
Design/Fabrication: Gladiator Productions
System: Gladiator Productions
Photos: Gladiator Productions
Hand-sculpted oversized talisman charms draped across the façade of The Grove’s Glass Box like a monumental charm bracelet unfastened and suspended: jewelry as architecture, commanding attention from across the shopping center before a visitor took a single step toward the entrance. Inside, a Talisman Quiz matched guests with charms aligned to their values. Tarot-inspired card pulls revealed Latin inscriptions. Drawer Discovery installations held hidden narratives. On-site engraving drove multi-unit transactions. Astrology and astrocartography weekend sessions generated repeat visits throughout a month-long run. And a VIP kickoff with KATSEYE launched the activation into digital channels. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “Those huge charms hanging on the building are simply stunning. And with engraving, styling, and sales all working together in one space, this would be best-of-show in any category.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Disney Branded Television
Event: San Diego Comic-Con 2025
Design/Fabrication: 15|40 Productions
System: 15|40 Productions
Photos: Line 8 Photography
The Percy Jackson activation earned recognition in both the experiential design and event design categories. That double placement reflects the totality of the realization: film-quality fabrication, fully internalized theatrical logic, and a city-wide mythology extending into surrounding streets. This activation existed well beyond the coordinates of its footprint, making it a stand-out solution on all levels.
BRONZE
Exhibitor: Own Company
Event: Dreamforce 2023
Design/Fabrication: Elevation3D
System: bematrix
Photos: Elevation3D
Own Company rendered “Data Independence” at Dreamforce through American Revolution imagery: a Liberty Bell replica, political call-to-action posters, themed menus, and curated furniture. Approximately 1,000 clients and prospects explored and networked amid uplighting, live music, and Americana. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “The way the period elements made an abstract software concept feel grounded and historically resonant is the kind of thing entries in this category should aspire to do.”
BEST GRAPHICS
GOLD
Exhibitor: Security Central/Lake Norman Security
Event: International Security Conference West 2026
Design/Fabrication: Rockway Exhibits + Events
System: Aluvision
Photos: Exposures Ltd.
When Security Central contemplated its exhibit graphics for ISC West, they wanted images and messaging that would resonate across three distinct viewing distances simultaneously. Large-format PVC graphics on the central tower established presence at aisle range, a 10-by-30-foot illuminated hanging sign extended the system vertically, and SEG fabric embedded into architectural walls maintained visual consistency throughout the footprint. At close range, graphic detail supported product demonstrations without competing with the conversation happening in front of them. Three LED walls added motion within the static system, while headlines like “Where tradition meets tomorrow” conveyed a brand position in the time it takes to walk past. “This is exactly what the Best Graphics category should reward,” said one judge. “The multi-part strategy represents the kind of mature systems thinking required to produce graphics that don’t merely decorate but truly attract and communicate.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Cargill
Event: International Production & Processing Expo 2026
Design/Fabrication: ET Global
System: ET Global
Photos: Amoeba Creative
For the first major public expression of its entirely new corporate brand, Cargill wanted clean architecture, disciplined graphics, no visual clutter, and no heavy copy support. Graphics were deployed selectively — for scale, rhythm, and placement, rather than messaging weight — across both IPPE and the Terminus Customer Event. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “This is a clinic in restraint — pattern deployed at scale with disciplined headlines and a magazine-spread quality that made the overall brand environment feel both premium and immediately legible.”
BRONZE
Exhibitor: Electrolit
Event: National Association of Convenience Stores 2024
Design/Fabrication: Catalyst Exhibits
System: Catalyst Exhibits
Photos: Proto Images
For NACS 2024, Electrolit mandated graphics as storytelling infrastructure, not surface decoration. High-contrast brand color and large-format product imagery pulled guests in from the aisles, as graphic cues directed movement through sampling and engagement and into meeting areas. All the while, refrigeration and storage were expertly concealed without disrupting the visual field. One ExSys Awards judge called this a “great use of large product imagery — and exactly the right answer for this brand at this show.”
BEST DESIGN DETAIL
GOLD
Exhibitor: Visit Lauderdale — Break Free Installation
Event: Break Free, Chicago 2025
Design/Fabrication: Factory360
Fabrication: Upgrade Production Group
System: Factory360
Photos: Factory360
The competition’s top-ranked entry in the Best Design Detail category was a showstopping activation inside a repurposed shipping container. Re-engineered into a warm, glowing pop-up, the fire-engine-red industrial structure stood out against the gray winter skyline of downtown Chicago. The award-winning element itself was a custom interactive LED wall comprising transparent Muxwave-M3 flexible LED panels and a seamless glass façade. Here, visitors lifted a faux hammer and swung it at the screen, triggering a digital shattering effect before the display turned transparent, revealing Fort Lauderdale sunshine and beach scenes. Real sand, warm light, coconut scent, ambient waves, lounge chairs, snorkel props, and tropical beverages completed the virtual vacation. “The ‘Break Free’ interactive moment does all of the storytelling work by itself,” said one judge, “making it the perfect single design detail and the best of everything in this category.”
SILVER
Exhibitor: Arcitecta — Immersive Multimedia
Event: Super Computing 2024
Design: Trade Show Solutions Center
Fabrication: Classic Exhibits
System: Classic Exhibits
Photos: Anubis House Productions
Gravitee One-Step Modular System and ClassicMODUL Aluminum Extrusions were utilized to create an interactive space with video walls for large visual demonstrations of Arcitecta’s software. Content on the immersive screens, which reflected off glossy-black finishes, showcased a collection of creative digital artwork, demonstrating software engineering as an art form, and immersing audiences in a showcase of Arcitecta’s products and capabilities. According to one judge, “The idea of conveying high-tech capabilities through art rather than specs and proof points is a bold gambit that undoubtedly paid off for Arcitecta.”
BRONZE
Exhibitor: VEG — Multisensory Design
Event: International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society 2025
Design/Fabrication: BlueHive Exhibits
System: Fusion, Ntension, bematrix, Steel Art
Photos: Edin Studios
Sixteen inflatable disco balls — two to six feet in diameter — hung from overhead truss. A rotating backlit “Paw of Life” logo glyph and three-dimensional “Find Your Beat” letters beckoned passersby. A Listening Station appealed to audiophiles. And soundwave-inspired archways invited exploration. Inside, Shirley Temples with disco ball stirrers quenched guests’ thirst. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “This is what multisensory design looks like. Every sensorial box is checked, and there’s literally something for everyone, regardless of who happens to walk in.”
BEST STUDENT DESIGN
GOLD
Student: Maya Peters
School: Fashion Institute of Technology
“Restore the Rhythm” was both a clinical description of Vafseo’s function and the conceptual engine behind Maya Peter’s 50-by-50-foot design. Sweeping curved structures and continuous LED ribbon elements established a visual language of flow that guided circulation and reinforced the narrative of disruption resolving into balance. The Build-a-Blood-Cell touchscreen invited visitors to assemble oxygen-sensing components and activate the HIF pathway, while the Central Flow Activity tasked them with restoring disrupted lines in a human silhouette. A game table challenged participants to trace oxygen-sensing failures across the body, and a magnetic maze in a separate sponsorship space extended the concept into an analog, tactile prelude. Judges found the concept “extremely well thought out,” applauding the “highly impactful design” and activations that restored order to the system in a way that was both scientifically coherent and immediately understandable. “What’s most impressive about this design,” said one ExSys Awards judge, “is that it demonstrates tomorrow’s experiential designers are already reimagining what’s possible when it comes to system-based exhibit design. The industry is in good hands.”
SILVER
Student: Grace Warnick
School: Fashion Institute of Technology
The brief called for a 50-by-50-foot exhibit launching Vafseo — a once-daily oral therapy for CKD-related anemia — to nephrologists, researchers, and trainees at ASN Kidney Week. Grace Warnick delivered a “Training Gym” that took Akebia’s campaign message, “Activate their Natural Potential,” and made it spatially physical. Running, cycling, and boxing anchored a space divided into the Gym (commercial demos), the Track (mechanism of action education, sports beverages, a winner’s pedestal photo moment), the Stands (educational theater), and the Locker Room (casual seating and private meeting space). The fitness metaphor was chosen deliberately for this audience, as medical professionals skew toward personal wellness, making complex pharmacology feel intuitive and motivating through the vocabulary they already live in. According to one ExSys Awards judge, “The unusual hanging structure, open layout, and running lines on the floor naturally guided attendees through the space and messaging.” According to another, “The vibrant colors and fitness-inspired themes created an energetic atmosphere that tied strongly to the brand story and interactive experiences. Overall, the design felt cohesive, engaging, and memorable.”
BRONZE
Student: Alexi Duda
School: Bemidji State University
Warm orange, natural wood, cream tones, and living plants became a palette that countered both the cold-tech cliché and the aggressively warm overcorrection that AI brands often default to at CES. Soundproof pods beneath an elevated meeting room offered genuine one-on-one conversation with Claude. A capabilities wall let visitors trigger videos of specific strengths. A Cowork Sphere LED wall demonstrated collaborative workflows. And a Personalization Ribbon Activity guided attendees through pillars of questions to generate AI-matched insights and qualified lead data. According to one ExSys Awards judge, the space “captured the brand well and felt attractive and doable,” while a second called the material choices “very smart” and noted the plant giveaway as a particularly sharp move for a brand working to counter AI’s environmental optics.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE
GOLD
Exhibitor: BlueHive Exhibits
Event: ExhibitorLive 2026
Design/Fabrication: BlueHive Exhibits
System: Ntension
Photos: Padgett and Company, BlueHive Exhibits
The fans have spoken — and they spoke loudly enough to hand BlueHive Exhibits the 2026 ExSys People’s Choice Award, earned by accumulating the most votes from fans, friends, and followers on the Exhibit City News website. It’s fitting that exhibit and event enthusiasts selected this stand, as it was designed as an educational experience for that very audience. BlueHive’s 10-by-20-foot pollinator journey at ExhibitorLive 2026 moved visitors through rain showers, butterfly migrations, oversized poppy flowers, and a ball-drop survey before closing on a line that did the selling without trying to: “Beautiful things bloom when the right partners work together.” Apparently, a lot of people agreed.
SILVER
Exhibitor: TDK Corp.
Event: Consumer Electronics Show 2026
Design/Fabrication: ET Global
System: ET Global
Photos: Padgett and Company
A popularity contest isn’t the typical arena for a functional technology provider, but TDK Corp. earned silver in the People’s Choice category the same way it earned attention on the CES floor — through scale, clarity, and the kind of visual confidence that stops traffic near a main hall entrance. Fifty percent larger than the prior year’s footprint, the booth combined extensive LED integration, a bold illuminated logo, and 38 product demos, reinforcing that 80 to 90 percent of CES exhibitors rely on TDK components to function. And that argument landed with voters as readily as it did with CES attendees.
BRONZE
Exhibitor: Kenvue
Event: FIP World Congress of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences
Design: MSM Inc.
Fabrication: MSM Inc., Happy Projects
System: bematrix
Photos: Happy Projects
A bronze award in this category is a remarkable outcome for a booth that nearly didn’t survive its own planning process. Budget cuts mid-design, a first-time client contact, and a narrow footprint in Copenhagen didn’t stop the team from splitting the space cleanly between Aveeno and Nicorette, distributing more than 4,000 samples, and delivering something that exceeded the expectations of clients and People’s Choice voters alike.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
In addition to this year’s gold, silver, and bronze awards, judges selected the next five highest-scoring entries as Honorable Mentions. These remarkable exhibits stood out to judges in their respective categories, earning high marks across the board.
Exhibitor: Café Appliances
Event: KBIS 2026
Design/Fabrication: Deckel & Moneypenny
System: Aluvision
Exhibitor: Siemens
Event: Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine
System/Design/Fabrication: Catalyst Exhibits
Exhibitor: Kobelco
Event: ConExpo-Con/Agg 2026
Design/Fabrication: Nparallel & Atomic Props
System: Highmark Techsystems
Exhibitor: Trimble
Show: ConExpo-Con/Agg 2026
Design/Fabrication: InterGlobal Exhibits
System: Aluvision
Exhibitor: PBK Architects
Event: txED 2025
Design: PBK Architects
Fabrication: 2020 Exhibits
System: Octanorm
Congratulations to all of this year’s ExSys Award winners! We look forward to seeing entries from all these companies (and more) next year. Mark your calendars for January 2027, when the ExSys Awards will begin accepting entries for next year’s competition! For more information on The Experiential Design Authority and/or the ExSys Awards, visit www.ExperientialDesignAuthority.com.
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