Exhibit design part 4:
From concepts and renderings to actual product:
The story of an exhibit  | | This 16-foot-high modular exhibit for Cadillac was designed and created by Exhibit Exchange, the Michigan-based supplier for the Delta Matrix exhibit system. Its modular approach provides for multiple booth reconfigurations and cost savings, including a reduced number of shipping crates, lower build cost and faster set-up time versus "custom” built exhibits. |
By Kathy Watterson
ECN Assistant Editor Mark Kiely, owner of Troy, Mich.-based Exhibit & Exchange (www.exhibitexchange.com), recently shared with ECN the story of the new exhibit his company created for Cadillac. The order was placed with Exhibit & Exchange by account manager Dan Gagnon in July 2006. “Cadillac wanted to showcase its limousines and hearses – its professional vehicles,” Kiely said. The new exhibit premiered at the 2006 National Funeral Directors show Oct. 16-18 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. At the event, Cadillac introduced its 2007 product lineup, including the Escalade ESV and DTS livery sedan. Also featured were the SRX and the DTS performance sedan. Cadillac has been a longtime provider of premium luxury vehicles for the funeral industry. “The parameters were that the company wanted a custom, high-impact exhibit, with a maximum 3,000-square-foot use,” Kiely said. “They had previously owned a custom-built exhibit that only provided for free-standing tower structures. It was also unusually susceptible to damage because it was custom-laminated. Any repairs had to be made back in the production shop at the exhibit house. With the Delta Matrix system we used for the new exhibit, any damaged infill panels can be changed out at the show site.” An emphasis on lightweight versatility By contrast, the new exhibit is lightweight, versatile and cost effective. “The exhibit ships in just 10 crates,” Kiely said. “There are savings on shipping and drayage and ease of setup,” he added. “Four people can put it together in 12 hours. For the initial show, it was 50’x60’, but one of its great advantages is its re-scalability – it can have different dimensions for different venues.” This modular approach provides for multiple booth reconfigurations. Although the final product is lightweight, versatile and easy to use, Kiely said it wasn’t easy to construct and posed some tricky engineering challenges. “It was complicated because the curved horizontal spans were 16 feet wide and shipped in two pieces each,” he explained. “There were six of them, to go between the towers, and they needed to be rigidized and have structural integrity. Pam Lewis, a designer/engineer at Laarhoven, handled those specifications for us and did a great job.” The base system as essential element The exhibit’s base system, Delta Matrix, is manufactured under license by Laarhoven Design of Norcross, Ga. Kiely is a Laarhoven authorized dealer. “Delta Matrix is made of extremely lightweight aluminum,” Kiely said. “You can pick it up easily.” The system was designed in Belgium by a lighting company called Delta Matrix, for which it is named. Laarhoven has the distribution rights for Delta Matrix in the United States and Canada, and Kiely’s Exhibit & Exchange is the Michigan-based supplier. Kiely emphasized the “incredible versatility” of the Delta Matrix system. “It’s reconfigurable, but still has a custom look,” he said. “The real advantage is that a 39" wide x 95" high x 2-1/4" thick frame only weighs 16 pounds. Even with an infill, that same standard flat panel still weighs at most only about 20 pounds. As compared with a typical custom-built panel of similar size, it’s remarkably light.” For the new Cadillac exhibit, the Delta Matrix system ships in six medium-size (4'x4'x 8') crates. The exhibit’s custom crown moldings, made of expanded foam, ship in four additional but smaller crates, for a total of 10. In addition to its very low weight, Delta Matrix yields significant advantages for exhibitors, according to Kiely. “If you damage a panel, you can just replace it at the show,” he said. “With Delta Matrix, interchangeable replacements are shipped with the booths.” Another advantage of the system is its suitability for theatrical lighting. “Since Delta Matrix was designed by a lighting company, it’s especially suitable for those effects,” he explained. “It was planned in such a way that the wire management is all integral to the system. Nothing shows.” The Cadillac exhibit features a dozen 575-watt gelled theatrical lamps, which are used to spotlight the displayed vehicles. 
From design concept to infills and plasma screens The design concept was Kiely’s. “I create the concepts for my company’s exhibits,” he said, “and believe it or not, I generally do them pretty informally – say by going down to a local pub, tossing some ideas around and then jotting them down, sometimes, believe it or not, even on cocktail napkins.” But Kiely said he relies on others to take over from there. He said Erik Smith, Exhibit & Exchange’s senior designer, implements the conceptualized cocktail napkin designs into computer-generated renderings. Kiely’s emphasis is on versatile, lightweight systems, because they constitute the fastest growing segment of the exhibit design and exhibit-building industry, according to Kiely. “Delta Matrix is the premier example of that trend,” he said. “The frame basically disappears, and because of that, it’s ideal for graphics. When you Velcro your infills, there’s only a 1/8-inch design gap between panels, making them practically seamless. There are other aluminum extrusion systems, but that specific feature is completely unique to Delta Matrix.” For exhibits created with this system, such as the new Cadillac display, large-format plasma screens can be included by simply attaching a steel monitor mounting support plate. Each infill panel can become a full graphic imprinted with photos or body copy, or provide for a backlit transparency by adding a clear plexi infill and some fluorescent light fixtures. The versatility and cost-effectiveness of the system appealed to Cadillac executives. Because each lightweight aluminum modular frame with infill panel can be easily exchanged, the exhibit can be transformed to create entirely different looks for different shows. For the Funeral Directors show, the high quality aluminum frames were stacked to produce a higher profile and storage door panels provided additional lockable storage areas. Custom upper trim molding lent it a distinctive appearance. | 
