Designers Fiona Fisher and Luc Bertrand share their inspiration behind the Spring Fair and Toy Fair stand decor.

The International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany and the Spring Fair at Birmingham NEC, UK are both key trade shows for Pioneer Europe to exhibit at. 

With many competitor companies within a very small area, it is essential that the Qualatex® stand is exciting, inviting and pleasing to the eye. It should also show professionalism and creativity. 

Most of us don’t work big trade shows like these, but often we get to advertise our services at events and also need to make the best impression at first sight. This philosophy is not unique to trade stands, this is something at we should all consider when creating our window displays or exhibition stands at wedding and other trade fairs.

To find out more about how the fabulous decor was designed for both the Spring and Toy fair, I asked the decor designers Fiona Fisher CBA and Luc Bertand CBA if they would share their inspiration.

Balloon samples to help determine the colours 

and theme to be used.

Choosing the theme and colours with 

Debbie Magill, Michelle Comerford and

Luc Bertrand!

Each year the teams working on the shows get together many months in advance to decide on the look and colours that will be used for the stands. It was agreed that a modern contemporary look was high on the list of priorities using 'Spring and Flowers' as the theme.

Colours

Choosing the right colours to use is very important.

Fiona: 'We started with Coral and Caribbean Blue as two of the three colours, but it changed to Magenta, White and Caribbean Blue, as we felt that Coral did not fit into the design ideas, even though it is a lovely colour!'

Theme

Fiona: As a team we decided on a floral design, as Pioneer wanted to promote the Taper shape Microfoil® balloon in particular, and other Microfoil® balloons including the new Wedding Butterfly foil. It didn't take long to come up with rough design ideas which would work with both stands. Then, it was back home to finalise the design and all it's details!

Luc: I had made huge heart-flowers before and we decided to use these for Spring fair. These would be too heavy for the smaller Toy Fair stand so I designed new ones for that.

The Plans

To create detailed plans like these Luc uses a program called MacDraft PE (pe stands for the cheaper "personal edition" version).

Technical Issues

Fiona: It is not easy to come up with new and innovative design ideas for the Pioneer stand. We had a lot of constraints for the stand at the  NEC Birmingham such as:

• The stand is very large and high
• Limited amount of time to set up (2 days)
• The stand is very white (colour combinations not easy)
• Air-conditioning units can be an issue
• Set up, normally very cold, but during the show very warm (issue with expansion of balloons, especially foils).

We had a great team for set up, everything went really well and I was happy with the end results.

Qualatex Stand at Spring Fair, NEC, Birmingham, UK. Stand decor designed and created by Fiona Fisher CBA.

There were some small details I didn't add, which were on the plans, but I decided that they were not necessary to the overall look of the design. When I am deciding on a design for a project this large, I always try and keep it as simple as possible; it results in less stress for everyone!

Qualatex Stand at the International Toy Fair, Nuremberg, Germany
Stand decor designed and created by Luc Bertrand CBA

Creating the right impression and a good brand image is vital for success, whether a trade show or a shop window display. At a trade show you have very limited time to entice, excite and capture your audience. It is essential that you stand out in a crowd as you won't get a second chance. With your store windows, you have a greater opportunity to build your brand image by creating exciting and appealing window displays on a regular basis.

If you get the opportunity to visit a trade show such as the Spring Fair or International Toy Fair I strongly recommend that you go. It is the perfect opportunity to see firsthand what's new and exciting. Seeing balloons inflated and used within displays can be very inspiring or watching a free seminar or two can really help you in your business or give you an injection of motivation that you might just need. I hope to see some of you at Spring Fair 2016!

Happy ballooning!

Sue

www.suebowler.com