Impressive brand signage on the facade, digitally printed walls enhanced by lighting effects inside, interactive displays and 3D animations: the world of visual communications is growing together. Whether at the PoS, in overall store design, in outdoor advertising or media production: the demand for conventional stand-alone solutions is steadily declining while integrated and cross-media design and communication solutions are the trend.
This was also demonstrated at this year’s viscom düsseldorf, International Trade Fair for Visual Communication, Technology and Design, where for three days 306 exhibitors (previous year: 305) presented the latest trends and new products from the fields of light advertising, advertising technology, digital printing, digital signage, out-of-home media and PoS marketing. With a total of 10,700 trade visitors (previous event: 10,900) viscom düsseldorf consolidated its previous record: “Compared to 2006, when viscom embarked on a reorientation process that transformed it into the 360-degree trade fair for visual communication, this means a 78 percent plus in the number of exhibiting companies and an increase of more than 60 percent in visitor numbers,” viscom Director Petra Lassahn declared at the close of the fair on Saturday. Expectations in some quarters that international purchasers would be slow to order in view of the markedly weaker economic prospects throughout Europe were not confirmed. On the contrary: almost one in four visitors came from abroad – more than ever before.
From virtual shop windows to printed furniture to media production
A digital billboard which can be accessed via smartphone by passers-by, invites them to a game and sends a coupon straight to the winner on his mobile, or a virtual shop window where customers can design their own products individually and interactively via digital projection: out-of-home and store projects of this kind – such as this shop concept presented by ppm shopfitters in cooperation with Hochschule Niederrhein – show that the creative possibilities of visual communication are, from a technical point of view, practically unlimited. “Whether obi, METRO, IKEA or Estella – the interest in staging products in a new brand world is enormous,” says Maria Pohlmann, head of marketing with ppm planung + projekt manage¬ment gmbh, whose company was a first-time exhibitor at viscom.
An example which fully expresses the current trend and demonstrates that the boundaries between real and virtual, “on” and “off” and between classic and digital are becoming increasingly fluid. This is also true for the media production which is traditionally strongly represented at viscom. Whether for tablet viewing, as an out-of-home medium or a classic print product: The essential requirement is once-only original production followed by cross-media adaptation and processing.
“The trade fair releases creative fantasies – that is precisely what makes it so interesting not only to the classic visitor target groups but also to a growing number of marketing decision-makers and creative minds from the agency world,“ says Hans-Joachim Erbel, CEO of the organisers Reed Exhibitions Deutschland. This is because viscom long since developed from a fair with a technical and trade orientation into an event targeting the marketing and retail sectors, end consumers and the consumer goods industry.
“I print my own world”: the advance of customised printing
This can be seen, among others, at the Customised Design Forum where digitally printed worlds of products and materials were presented under the title “print design” in cooperation with the Stuttgart materials agency raumProbe, the rgf – Ring Grafischer Fachhändler, FORTEAM Kommunikation and Mutoh Deutschland. It provided an insight especially to designers, architects and planning agencies of the range of products that can meanwhile be printed in industrial quality. “The demand and interest were enormous. For us that was a clear confirmation and encouragement to continue expanding the theme of print design,” says Michael Wartmann, Marketing / Project Manager, Mutoh Deutschland GmbH.
More…
Please read the final reports and the statements of the exhibitors here
Please click here to download photos
For any further information please contact:
Dr. Mike Seidensticker
Press Spokesman
Email: Mike.Seidensticker@reedexpo.de