Are you maximizing the impact of your hanging sign? Does it draw trade show attendees to your booth? Integrate with your exhibit design? Speak to your product and brand?
We've been watching what's been happening overhead at the trade shows we attend, and we've noticed a few techniques for hanging signs that really stand out.
Here are six things your hanging sign can accomplish beyond identification and wayfinding:
1. Connect the sign to the exhibit. Rather than treat its hanging sign at Mobile World Conference in Barcelona as an independent object, Sonus integrated—and visually connected—the sign with its exhibit. The cylindrical, illuminated sign originated from a slightly larger diameter circular cutout in the exhibit's cantilever ceiling. This visual connection between sign, canopy and exhibit led visitors' attention from the sign to the exhibit graphics and workstations beyond, drawing them deeper into the exhibit. Exhibit design and fabrication: 3D Exhibits.
2. Demonstrate corporate hierarchy. Benelli employed multiple color-coded hanging signs to highlight itself as the parent company and to promote its relationship with its component brands. The approach, employed at SHOT Show, worked well—especially because Benelli used one size and shape of sign for itself and like cubes for its component companies. Exhibit design and fabrication: 3D Exhibits.
3. Lead attendees in. At CES, Casio's hanging sign placed its logo on the outermost of a series of spot-lit concentric ribbons. The arrangement functions like a bulls-eye, drawing visitors toward the demo and product display located in the circles' center.
4. Get dimensional. Also at CES, Voxx made its sign more interesting (and therefor more eye-catching) by selecting an atypical shape and by pegging off the panels that display its identity. This creates an effect where the blue background functions as a frame to accent the white identity panels.
5. Select an unexpected material. Zevia, a no-calorie soda, created its hanging sign by stringing iridescent discs (representative of its products' bubbles) from a metal frame. The unusual upside-down wedding cake shape of the structure stood out on the show floor—and was highlighted even further by the shimmering effect of light bouncing off the iridescent discs as they floated and shifted with fluctuations in the airflow from the convention center HVAC system. We're not sure if that subtle movement was on purpose or a happy accident—but either way, the result was a mesmerizing and impactful sign.
6. Integrate iconic imagery. Most companies go with a solid color for the background of their signs. But not Boulder Brands. Instead, Boulder stood out at Natural Products Expo by dramatically emblazoning the non-logo area of its hanging sign with Flatirons—the iconic rock formation depicted in the Boulder Brands logo. This approach communicated Boulder's healthy, outdoor brand persona, which helped Boulder attract like-minded attendees to its exhibit. Exhibit design and fabrication: 3D Exhibits.
Have you seen any hanging signs that stand out recently? If you have, we'd love to hear about them.
