As I prepare for the exhibition season ahead, and I pour through various books and journals and websites, looking for newer design ideas, I cannot help but notice, how the more things change, the more they remain the same!! Design today, is just as based on principles as it was 5, 10 or 15 years back, and on the same principles too.
One of the most enduring principles of design, whether it be exhibition, retail, residential or commercial or any other type of space, has been to create a focus ..... a point that the whole space tends to converge to. It is a point in space that holds your gaze and attracts you to itself by grabbing your attention in a big way. Although, it is as relevant in a residential as in a commercial or any other space, it is even more relevant when we talk about retail and especially exhibition space.
In any exhibition, the exhibiting companies, try to showcase their entire range of products, in all their colours and variants. This tends to cramp up the space, and a person, a potential buyer, entering the stand / stall, is unable to locate the one thing that he needs in all the mess, even though it is right in front of his eyes. It is here that the focal point comes into play. It gives a relief to the eyes, and slows down the speed at which the visitor sweeps the space around him.
A focal wall or a focal display is a very important element in exhibition stand design / exhibition stall design. It has the ability to tell the visitor the theme of the display, or the company policy, or the high point of the product, in a very subtle and understated, yet in a very powerful way.
