From small stand spaces to large spaces, the difference is not just about scale; the whole approach has to be different. I worked in architecture at the beginning of my career and later collaborated using my 3D visualization on massive urban regeneration projects, mostly around the run-up to the 2012 Olympics in London. Large exhibition stands are normally for large international companies with many product channels and HR groups who only come together for events like MWC. They each have their own requirements in the way they promote their product channels, but their corporate side has a set of guidelines that must be followed by all. There will often be conflicts between one department and another, which become visible when they need to work together. We see our client, the stand manager, having to deal with this. My task as a stand designer is to listen to all parties, read their input, host online meetings, and come up with a solution. It does take time, and usually there is one or more departments asking for that extra share of the cost and HR input above the others. New developments and industry innovation are usually the reasons for this special treatment, and often there is something that is not quite ready for public exposure but will be when the show opens. The show opening date can become the target launch platform.

In any case, provision can be made for the unknown without compromising the effective presentation of other departments and the corporate brand requirements. Dell Technologies at MWC Barcelona was one of these large stand designs that happened along at the same time as Covid-19. A free-flowing stream of new, controversial, and ever-changing regulations became routine as meeting room sizes, distancing in corridors, stand visitor numbers, and hygiene rules brought revisions on a daily basis to the stand plans. Materials, transport, and labor costs skyrocketed, as did exhibition venue charges and rules.

As the designer, I had to keep producing drawings and visuals until the restrictions were lifted enough to open the show. The stand was 872 square meters and built to 6 meters high. It had over 100 Dell staff on site, with their own lounge, catering area, management offices, technical equipment rooms, a sneak preview room for new tech, and numerous meeting rooms for 6 to 18 seats with AV. All of this was behind a massive reception area and 10 product display and presentation areas in front. Using 3D software that allows for a walk-through experience was ideal for this project. The latest revisions could be shared in online meetings to help everyone understand the scale, space, look, and feel as we navigated through the model. We had a full ceiling at 6 meters high with a fascia dropping 1.2 meters from that, as per the original brief, and required to match the next stand which was part of the Dell group. There was also a large multiscreen video wall and a synchronized lighting system of vertical LED tubes.