With the Innovation Booth Awards just right around the corner, we have reached out to designer, Mitchell Mauk of Mauk Design, for his input on creating an innovative exhibition space.

One of the most important things a booth should do is convey a message. Whether that message is a marketing message, an organization message, or one that delivers the style of the booth, a message needs to be communicated to the viewers. Lighting is also a key feature in an innovative booth. Mauk says, “You can have a great exhibit but if the lighting is bad, it doesn’t matter, the overall presence of the exhibit just looks awful.”

Everyone seems to think that following trends is the way to go. Finding innovation is actually doing the opposite of that. “The key to design is in the problem itself; analyzing the problem is where you will find innovation. You have to do something that hasn’t been seen before. If I’ve seen it before, it’s not innovative,” explains Mauk.

If every exhibitor is trying to keep up with what is trending, that creates the problem of exhibits looking alike. This is where Mauk, as an independent designer, identifies trends that he does not want to touch. “We actually try to distance ourselves from trends because you end up being copied that way and looking like every other exhibit.”

Booth submissions will be accepted until January 9, 2015, at no cost to enter. The spaces will be judged during the show on January 20, 2015, and winners will be announced on Wednesday, January 21, 2015, at 11:00AM on Center Stage in the NKBA Booth. All winners will receive post-show promotional benefits on kbis.com, the KBIS Digital Pressroom and across KBIS social media channels. The first place winner will receive a special innovation award. To submit your company’s booth, click here.

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