While many of the trends the Storylink Creative team identified at this year's National Restaurant Association show in Chicago mirror those we found at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, others are unique to this market and audience. Check out the video above to see whether your company's exhibit is on trend or in danger of appearing outdated.
Cubic Content
Exhibitors continue to utilize the full cubic content of their booth spaces, thereby increasing their presence and impact. Examples of this trend included overhead signs, rigged multimedia, full/partial exhibit ceilings, ID towers, etc.
Digital Interactives
Digital interactives are doing the heavy lifting in terms of elevating mere exhibits into engaging experiences. It is increasingly apparent that not having some sort of engagement or activity for attendees can be a huge liability.
Faux Textures
While the vast majority of exhibiting companies have opted for fabric components in an effort to decrease weight-based costs and reduce on-site installation hours, many are incorporating photo-realistic graphics that make tensioned fabric appear to be wood, brick, stone, etc., adding visual impact and perceived stability.
Hero Graphics
Bigger is better when it comes to graphics, and so-called “hero graphics” were huge at this year’s National Restaurant Association show. Think of walls less as architectural elements and more as branding and messaging canvases.
Integrated Lighting
Even a nearly indetectable amount of illumination can attract attendees’ attention to your exhibit, product display, brand messaging, and more. Given this power, more exhibitors are seeking ways to incorporate lighting into their designs in ways that don’t necessarily add any additional exhibitry.
Matte Black
Trends cycle between white/black and glossy/matte every few years. You need not rethink your color scheme based solely on this trend, but it’s worth noting matte-black finishes combined with lighting and AV are currently popular.
Multimedia
The incorporation of multimedia continues to trend upward, so much so that designs without any AV integration risk appearing old school. The cutting edge of this trend involves more seamless integration and new technology such as transparent LEDs, more immersive installations, and interactive projection.
Natural Materials
Driven by sustainability-minded consumers and brands looking to position themselves as eco-conscious, the trend toward greenery, unfinished wood, etc. is also being fueled by organizations’ desire to lend a nature-inspired warmth and earthy authenticity to their exhibits.
Wooden Framing
While related to the previous trend, wooden framing is driven more by a desire to reap the benefits of enclosed exhibits without dealing with the related pitfalls. Its application can be elemental but typically provides spatial delineation without restricting sightlines.
Live Demos/Presentations
Attendees didn’t register, book a flight, travel across the country, and check into an overpriced hotel to see the same video that’s on your website (or have the same conversations with the same people as last year). That’s one reason live demos and presentations (especially with well-known presenters) are so effective at attracting guests.