Portable stand design

Led by engaging infographic-style information and stunning imagery, this portable stand design helped promote The Sage, a first in the North East, at key political and commercial arenas.

Background

Since its foundation back in 1981 thanks to a collaboration with students at Newcastle University, Sage has gone from strength to strength, never forgetting its startup roots, which many of Sage’s customers share.

With its HQ in Newcastle and a passion for ensuring investment opportunities and businesses of all shapes and sizes thrive in the area, Sage recently launched into a partnership with ASM Global (a venue and event management company) to deliver a first in the North East: The Sage, an international arena and exhibition and conference centre. Set to open in 2024, The Sage will not only offer networking opportunities for professionals, and live entertainment to rival other long-established venues all over the UK, it’s also been conceived as a green and safe space that is a beacon of the commitment to regeneration in the region.

Challenge

Our brief was to deliver a highly flexible and easily portable stand design that would help our client promote The Sage in key commercial and political arenas around the UK, allowing for different plot sizes, configurations and messaging. Despite the relatively small canvas we had to work with, the design for the modular exhibition system would need to act as a strong communication tool to transmit the significance of The Sage and what it will mean for the future of the region.

Solution

Initially using the previous incarnation of the Sage brand, the design for the portable exhibition system is filled with key information and statistics.

Later updated with the new Sage brand, we included a computer generated image of the new events centre to immerse delegates in The Sage before the venue becomes a reality.

An infographic approach to the design allowed us to structure content, both written and visual, in easy to digest bitesize chunks – a way to generate immediate attention and aid understanding of the importance of the project.

Instantly recognisable images of the area, such as the Angel of the North, command attention from afar and establish an immediate link with the North East. Once closer, delegates are exposed to looping on-screen content that contributes to increased dwell time.

For maximum engagement onsite and on social media, we also created a selfie frame to encourage delegates to interact and share.

Our client was delighted with the stand and what it helped achieve:

“It’s been grand working with you! It was a great event and the stand was a great addition – our guests and internal colleagues thought it was fantastic!”