By Emily Olson; photography by Gary Prochorchik, exposuresltd.com
Murphy Door Hidden Door Solutions wanted to make a big splash at this year’s International Builder’s Show (IBS) in Las Vegas, so they turned to RISE Exhibits & Environments to help them design a showstopper of a booth. And RISE delivered. “People were waiting in line to get through the booth,” says Mark Ahrens, RISE CEO. But a whole lot had to happen behind the scenes to get to that point.
“Murphy Door had never had a booth to this scale before,” says Ahrens. “They really wanted to come up with something impactful that would elevate the image and the look of their doors and brand.” So the creative team at RISE got together with Murphy Door to start the design process. This, according to Ahrens, is where the RISE creative team really shines.
In any booth design process, the challenge lies in creating something that fits the client’s needs, but that will be unlike anything else on the tradeshow floor. To meet this challenge, the RISE team looks at a client’s website and products to get a feel for the client’s vibe. Then they look at the nuts and bolts of the client’s booth criteria. Then they sit down with the client and listen to them as they articulate their vision. “Our team is really good at extracting actionable information from a description that can sometimes be ambiguous,” Ahrens says. The result of all this work? “Something spectacular!” Ahrens enthuses. “One of the most exciting things we do is partner with our clients on something they’re passionate about as we share what we’re passionate about.”
The display that was at IBS beckons tradeshow attendees through a contemporary booth that perfectly showcases the modern, unique and custom design of Murphy Door’s products, from pantry doors to beds. The booth had an open design, highlighted by a spectacular pop of blue in lit-up beams that drew the eye up. Ahrens admits that was his favorite part of the booth. “Those elements were such a show stopper,” he said. But he also was proud of the different types of materials his team used to create one cohesive look. “We used all kinds of materials—aluminum, black laminate,” he says. “Sometimes you wonder how it’s all going to look when it comes together. But in the end, it looked sensational.”
Designing this booth was not without its challenges. The Murphy Door products on display weren’t just in the booth. They were part of the booth. And ensuring the display came together on the showroom floor required quite a few tricks of engineering. “Their products have different sizes and dimensions,” says Ahrens. “We knew where the products would go, but we didn’t have all of the doors when we were designing the booth. Our engineering team and their team had to work closely to make sure that we had all the right dimensions so that everything was aligned.”
And everything did align, both in the booth and in the shared vision of RISE and Murphy Doors. “We believe we’re a leader in the innovative design department and are capable of making a masterpiece on the show floor,” says Ahrens.
This story originally appeared in the Q2 2022 issue of Exhibit City News, p. 64. For original layout, visit https://issuu.com/exhibitcitynews/docs/ecn_Q2_2022
