The best of CES

EXHIBITOR Magazine ranks the most remarkable exhibits from the 2017 International ConsumerElectronics Show. Held annually at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the International ConsumerElectronics Show isn’t just the largest trade show in the United States by every measure; CES also sets the bar for global exhibiting trends at the onset of each calendar year. The 2017 show featured 2.5 million square feet of show-floor space and more than 3,800 individual exhibits. And EXHIBITOR magazine editor Travis Stanton saw every last one of them. After four days, 50 miles of aisles, and nearly 4,000 booths to consider, he arrived at a list of the 20 most impressive booths from CES 2017. We show eight of them.

#1

Many exhibits at the annual International Consumer Electronics Show fall into the category of what some might call “department store booths,” where several product lines under a wide corporate umbrella are apportioned individual slices of a company’s booth space. Even the best of them often end up looking more like shopping malls full of disparate stores and kiosks than well- branded corporate exhibits. Relying on brand hues, monochromatic carpeting, or au courant finishes to serve as cohesive threads capable of tying unrelated product groupings together, designers make a valiant effort, yet often succeed in little more than offering up disjointedexperiences as attendees pass from one vignette to another. But LG Electronics broke the mold with this exceptionally curated assemblage of individual parts, creating a CES experience where surprise and delight were around every corner. From the tunnel of 4K OLED curved screens to the captivating kinetic installation representing the “nano cell” technology behind the company’s Super UHD HDR offerings, the exhibit was absolutely memorable and the undeniable star of CES 2017.

#2

Like an enchanted garden that had been tipped on its head, the exhibit for Changhong Electric Co. Ltd. invited attendees to walk beneath a star-like sky of glowing, crimson-colored lotus flowers. Merging two significant symbols in Chinese culture (the lotus, which represents perfection; and the color red, signifying good fortune), the design may have foretold its own success. The focal point of the zen-like space was an in-booth theater placed beneath a massive fabric lotus flower that hovered overhead.

#3

While his Top 8 picks are featured here, you can view the full list by visiting www.ExhibitorOnline.com/CES2017.

TEXT, PHOTOS TRAVIS STANTON

How do you put a sole automobile center stage, ensure excellent sight lines for VIP visitors, and position your brand as an indisputable trailblazer? You follow Faraday & Future Inc.’s lead and erect a literal show-floor stadium with your product as the centerpiece. Designed and fabricated by Pinnacle Exhibits Inc., the layout of Faraday’s booth attracted throngs of onlookers, while VIPs and members of the press were invited to step inside the space or climb the stairs for a bird’s-eye view from a platform that ran the length of the back wall. The FF91 self-driving electric car was parked front and center like a national treasure in a brilliant jewel box, while an LED screen provided a futuristic backdrop, setting the scene for a superbly executed single-product display.

#4

In our increasingly ecominded era, reuse is definitely in vogue. So kudos to Select Comfort Corp.’s Sleep Number brand (and Southfield, MI-based exhibit designer JGA) for repurposing its 2016 exhibit with a stark-white color scheme and a tantalizingly brilliant twist. The tensioned-fabric structure remained, along with a pair of aisle-side displays atop pedestals (which seemed to elevate both the products and their prestige), but Sleep Number swapped out last year’s psychedelic, color-changing light show for cool, white illumination that bathed the booth and made the entire space seem to glow from within. But the piece de resistance was a series of flatscreen monitors running informational content. Positioned parallel to the floor and above five of the company’s 360 Smart Beds, the screens’ location meant interested visitors had to lay down and test out the product in order to learn more.

#5

A clean, artful simplicity and restrained use of structure and graphics made this dramatically illuminated exhibit for Falsetto LLC’s Link, a product that allows users to store and easily share data, a purple-hued white space on the trade show floor. Nothing in the booth shouted at visitors, the violet lights didn’t pulse, and there were no flashy gimmicks, which is exactly what made this successfully simple booth sing. Designed and fabricated by ExhibitTrader. com Inc. Southwest Displays and Events, the exhibit also featured a video wall embedded into a supersized replica of the Link itself. But the eye-catching focal point comprised a 20-foot string-art sculpture made using hand-painted cloth strapping – referencing the product’s ability to stream information to multiple devices simultaneously –surrounded by six tablets that quietly but effectively beckoned to curious passersby.

#7 This lavender-lit exhibit for the Linksys brand, which took up just a portion of the Belkin International Inc. booth space, dropped one spot on our Best of CES list since 2016. While the space, designed and fabricated by Pinnacle Exhibits Inc., was equally eye-catching, attracting attendees like mosquitoes to a beautiful, glowing bug zapper, the interactives seemed somehow less inviting than last year, prompting passersby to snap a picture and keep on keeping on, rather than stepping into the amethyst environ.

#6 High-tech wizardry can go horribly wrong, but Honda Motor Co. managed to use some of the exhibition industry’s hottest techno tools in absolutely artful ways. Beneath a series of angular ceiling elements, booth visitors were treated to a symphony of experiential elements. The exhibit’s use of lighting, projection, virtual reality, and large-scale multimedia was both thoughtful and thoroughly successful. And best of all, the booth – which was designed by George P. Johnson – was staffed with knowledgeable brand reps at the ready to help CES attendees make sense of the sometimes surreal special effects.

#8 The exhibit for Samsung Electronics Co. felt like a futuristic museum of next-generation necessities. While some of the individual displays seemed to deviate slightly from the design’s denouement – and the dramatic QLED theater paradoxically raised more questions than it answered – the exhibit succeeded in enveloping attendees in the Samsung brand and serving them up a series of product-centric experiences.