AI is making exhibition stand design more creative, and production more efficient. But there’s a catch.

The question then, is: what’s the real value of using generative AI for exhibition stands?

Simply said: It makes designing faster, more efficient, and draws on 10x creativity, BUT only in the hands of talented, skilled designers who were already generating top-notch creative before AI.

The ability for new technologies to create value is more incremental and subtle than media narratives would have us believe. The same is true for tradeshow marketing. We’ll walk through two concrete ways Beire uses generative AI to create value for clients.

1 / Rapid Ideation and Prototyping

The core of the booth design process lies in the conception stage, where ideas and creativity are fueled by a wide array of sources. Inspiration comes from customer insights, brainstorming meetings, mood boards, market trends, and inspiration from various disciplines, art, culture, and nature.

Traditionally, this process takes a long time to carefully find and match inspiration to client branding, messaging, and vision.

AI is a bottomless well of fresh ideas and inspiration, sparking innovation. 

Generative AI empowers designers to swiftly compile visual cues, colours, patterns, and other design elements after compiling initial input from a client.

Utilizing AI in the design process expedites the generation of creative direction and iteration helps zero-in on client preferences. This acceleration here occurs largely due to the automatic creation of mood boards, which is a far more efficient method than trawling through various databases for images and inspiration and putting together directional concepts manually.

For designers, AI not only streamlines the process but also acts as a powerful source of fresh ideas and inspiration. However, this tool is only as powerful as the designer who is then able to match generative design and inspiration to the described client vision.

Say goodbye to slow prototypes.

The selected inspirations then undergo the transformation into stand models during the prototyping stage. Here, rapid prototyping brings these concepts to life, providing a clear visualization. With the aid of AI, we can swiftly create multiple illustrative stand concepts for clients with discrete variations. This rapid creation can illustrate outcomes for different design elements, color variations and product placements. From these concepts, a designer can get quick feedback from a client and iterate the process.

AI can also provide enhanced budgeting context for clients. Visual references for budget ranges allows clients to make important marketing investment decisions earlier in the process to align to the marketing strategy: will a larger graphic have more impact than a custom product display? Do we use a patterned floor or highlight product with a monochromatic backdrop? 

Quicker designs, faster feedback. 

The impact of AI on timeline efficiency is striking. Without AI, creating a new booth concept can sometimes take 2-3 weeks. However, with AI, these designs can reach the client in a fraction of that time. AI's speed grants designers instant insights into clients' tastes, fueling design tweaks that hit the mark on client vision.

2 / Graphics and Booth Walls Design

Generative AI is also revolutionary for adapting graphics for 3D branded environments. Most corporate clients have a portfolio of branded graphics that they use in 2D channels. Adapting or building on this media to 3D can be complicated or time-consuming.

In scenarios where clients lack high-quality graphic data or have pictures in different dimensions than needed, AI provides a quick solution. Instead of having a graphic designer manually extend their creation, AI can fill in an extended boundary and even optimize for the 3D environment.

AI also shines is when graphic data is insufficient or simply unavailable. When an image is incomplete or obscured, AI can intelligently predict what the missing portion should look like, and fill in the gaps to achieve the desired appearance. In addition, Generative AI can also enhance the quality of low-resolution images through a process known as super-resolution.

The Indispensability of Designers: Why AI Isn't Enough

A skilled designer can recognize the interesting and valuable aspects of designs generated by AI, while effectively removing what is unusable and not transferable to the real world. Designers have the know-how to work with AI tools while maintaining a critical eye and deep understanding of design principle, materials, and ultimately, the vision of the client and their brand.

To sum up, Generative AI isn't about churning out infeasible designs for digital admiration. It's about empowering creative minds to ideate, prototype, and produce efficiently. Ultimately, the real magic happens when human creativity is supercharged with AI breadth and efficiency.