Conference & Meetings World Issue 127 | Page 57

IMEX America

Frankfurt show , and some were quite surprising . We designed some Nook pods for Frankfurt and noticed that the navy , reds , and hot colours worked so well together that we thought we ’ d really push that unexpected combination . On the reception desks , you saw that in force here in Las Vegas . The Inspiration Hub ’ s design is brand new , and we ’ ve pushed the navy blue that feels very grown up but keeps to the wider joyful and playful colour scheme .
Of course , there are some things that we thought would work very well but have been pushed to one side to try other things , as you do with all new projects . But , as long as the logo , colours , and typography are consistent , it gives the brand the authority and coherence we are looking for .
Was the branding awareness campaign different for IMEX America compared to IMEX Frankfurt ? We tend to think of the two shows as
brother and sister : they have their differences , but they ’ re family . Frankfurt was different in the sense that it was the first glimpse of the branding , so we were displaying it everywhere in the Galleria – which is a very light and airy space . We had to be stronger in Las Vegas because , as you come in through the foyer , it ’ s visually very noisy . We have a large and impactful entrance area with an arch , so we ’ ve clearly taken parts from the Frankfurt show but made them bolder and bigger .
I think after the refresh ’ s debut we ’ ve become braver with playing with it , rather than being hyper-aware that we need to get the new look into people ’ s DNA as quickly as possible .
Are there any plans for the refresh going into 2024 and beyond ? There are lots of things I want to push ahead on . If you look at British heritage brands like John Lewis , Aston Martin , or Marks & Spencer , they tweak their brand designs every few years . It ’ s just
“ We tend to think of the two shows as brother and sister : they have their differences but they ’ re family .”
little enough over time that you might think they haven ’ t changed anything about their designs at all , but when you look back you ’ ll see that they ’ ve changed enormously . It ’ s because they never stop tweaking their designs and they never stop growing – it ’ s like a garden you continuously need to water , or it won ’ t flower . I won ’ t give too much away , but we ’ re looking at certain patterns on the signage which we don ’ t want to become too obvious . Our designs have to be joyful , especially as we ’ re seeing a trend where attendees are loving and noticing our design and art . To that end , our work with Google on this project is coming together . It ’ s all pointing towards the idea that , if you give people the experience of design , art , and belonging , then it ’ ll foster valuable and good business here at the show .
We ’ re currently working on lots of pattern types and subtle tweaks to adapt . It ’ s going to be a fun year ahead ! n
ISSUE 127 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 57