Scan Display gives Design Indaba's Expo a new look

Scan was responsible for the exhibition's infrastructure including the hall layout, exhibitors' basic booth structures, lighting, electrics and carpeting. Scan also supplied exhibitors with furniture, audiovisual equipment and plants.

Scan based the hall layout on one of the urban design principles, building a central focal area like a town square with radiating visual pathways. The central square was linked to other smaller squares, creating a number of focal points amidst the exhibits.

Scan Display Cape Town's Chief Designer, Paul Hugo, headed the team responsible for this year's fresh approach. He explains the rationale behind the new format: "We saw the show as a mini-city. We wanted visitors to be able to get an overview of the show from the central area, making the exhibits visually accessible."

The show abandoned the usual 3m x 3m cubicles, instead giving exhibitors floor space with a simple backing and limited side walls. This facilitated greater interaction among exhibitors and gave visitors a total visual experience of the exhibits.

To deal with the height and the scale of the exhibition space, the Scan team suspended large banners in soft fabric from the ceiling. This focused visitors' attention on the exhibits and made them forget that they were in an exhibition hall. In addition, a predominantly white colour scheme was chosen to provide a neutral backdrop for exhibitors' designs and products.

Design Indaba's organiser, Interactive Africa, was delighted with the Expo's new look. The show's curator, Lauren Shantall, says, "Adding the vertical tower structures and hanging banners to a regular shell system was a clever move on Scan's part and filled what would otherwise have been empty overhead space. Combined with the ambient and intelligent lighting, this created a lot of atmosphere and gave a sense of volume."

This was the third year that the Expo has run alongside the Design Indaba's lectures and workshops, showcasing South Africa's brightest talent across the creative industries including fashion, film, media, architecture, décor, graphics, advertising and publishing.

Scan's General Manager of the Western Cape, Gary van der Watt, says Scan is proud to be associated with Design Indaba: "It is a fantastic forum for stimulating creativity and generating fresh ideas across a range of industries, and the values of innovation and creativity are at the core of Scan's company culture."