Scan Display has launched a range of Retail Merchandising Units (RMU’s) specifically designed to allow retailers to capitalise on previously unusable space in shopping centres.

Shopping centres
“Many large shopping centres have areas which are not utilised to their fullest potential. These architecturally unique, compact yet stylish RMU’s allow retailers to rent out this space, creating additional retail revenue,” explains Gary van der Watt, Director of Scan Display.

Small traders
“RMU’s also create an opportunity for smaller traders, who do not need a large shop floor area, to get into large shopping centres. This in turn stimulates the growth of small businesses,” says Van der Watt.

Features
RMU’s are special purpose retail kiosks that distinguish themselves from carts in the retail industry by eliminating the customary wagon wheels and adding retail fixtures and shelving, special lighting as used in traditional merchandising, and additional security features.

They can be portable and can be designed to complement the unique architecture of the location or brand identity.

Scan’s Retail Merchandising Units are manufactured locally in partnership with SddRETAIL UK, who have received numerous awards for design excellence.

For more information, contact Gary van der Watt on +27 21 409 1200.

Your exhibition stand has between three and five seconds to catch the attention of a passing visitor – so unless you look like Angelina Jolie you need strong, eye-catching graphics to stop visitors in their tracks.

Clear, powerful graphics are within everyone’s reach, regardless of budget. Scan Display has produced some guidelines for designing exhibition graphics.

1. Use a maximum of six to 10 words
If the text on your stand takes more than three seconds to read you will have lost your visitor. This means that your graphics should feature roughly between six and 10 words maximum, along with an interesting image and company name or logo.

The importance of your image cannot be stressed enough. It needs to speak loudly and clearly and say what you can’t fit into your text.

2. Use the right words
Remember your audience and only list information that explains how your product or company will benefit them directly.

Visitors do not just want to know information about your company or product specs – they want to know how this information can benefit them, so use phrases like: “Reduces transportation costs by 20%” or “50% faster internet speed” etc

3. Use light over dark or dark over light colour combinations
When it comes to using colour in exhibition graphics there are some basic rules to ensure readability. The colour of your text must create a sharp contrast with your chosen background colour and the general rule is to avoid busy multi-coloured backgrounds.

Effective colour combinations typically include dark colours such as black, navy or forest green on light backgrounds such as white, lemon yellow or light blue. You can also reverse this principle and use light colours on dark backgrounds.

Don’t use red on blue. Also avoid black on any dark colour. And be very careful when you float your text over an image or background that varies in colour – there is a good chance that it will be difficult to read.

4. Use basic serif or sans-serif styles
The aim of your stand graphics should be to communicate your message clearly and concisely. Your images, not your text, should be your art!

Arty fonts are difficult to read and many visitors will simply give up and move on to your competitor’s stand. Avoid italics and cursive styles and don’t use more than two fonts per graphic.

5. Text must be a minimum of 10cm
The rule of thumb is that type size should be a minimum of 2.5cms for every 1m you step away from it. Walking by in the aisle most visitors are approximately 4m from your exhibition stand. Therefore it makes sense to have your text at least 10cm high.

If you want visitors to read your text from further away you have to increase the size of your font accordingly.

6. Position text in the ‘top zone’
The 1m zone across the top of your exhibit is the ideal place for text. When the aisles are full of people during a busy exhibition this is the only area that is guaranteed to be unobstructed.

However if you really can’t fit all your text into this area, don’t go lower than eye level (roughly 1.5m up from the floor).

7. Use one large, well-cropped image
Rather than a collage of small images, use one large main image to fill the majority of your graphic. This will have a far greater impact than several small images.

To increase your picture’s effectiveness, crop your picture to highlight the most important feature of the image.

8. Always use high resolution images
It is impossible to create a professional appearance for your stand if your images are grainy or fuzzy. Check all images for resolution before you buy them from stock photographic image sources.

Company logos are potentially problematic as the standard resolution used in letterheads etc is not high enough for large exhibition stands.

9. Position lights close together
Without proper lightning the best graphics and text in the world are worth nothing as they simply fade away.

Scan Display recommends using two 100 -or 200-watt halogen lights spaced about 1m feet apart. For optimum coverage and to avoid glare, position the lights about 1/2m away from the graphics and light the entire back wall, not just the header.

10. Clean and maintain your graphics properly
Having spent hours ensuring the best possible graphics for your exhibition stand, you need to make sure they do not get damaged and end up looking tacky.

Following these basic design rules is the first step towards creating a successful, eye-catching stand.

  

Scan Display, in partnership with Modulbox Germany, is now manufacturing the innovative Modulbox system locally. Scan will be launching the system at the upcoming Markex Jhb show, where it will be used to create the company’s stand.

Scan Display MD, Justin Hawes, says, “This modular ‘stand-in-a-box’ exhibition and retail solution won the innovation award at Europshop 2005 and was in the limelight when 10 Modulbox units toured 21 cities in Germany in the lead-up to the 2006 Soccer World Cup.”

  

Roadshows
Modulbox is perfect for roadshows, allowing companies to create a portable branded showroom that can be taken around the country to wherever their customers are. This makes it a cost-effective way to communicate with a widespread audience.

Exhibitions
Each Modulbox can be custom-designed to a client’s specifications. They are easy to set up, making them ideal for events and exhibitions.

“Within the exhibition industry we have noticed that set-up times are becoming shorter and shorter. The Modulbox is therefore the ideal solution for exhibitors as it is in essence a portable exhibition stand which means the set up on site is very quick,” says Hawes.

By manufacturing the Modulbox locally, rather than importing the units, Scan is able to ensure that prices are kept competitive in relation to conventional exhibition stands.

Local manufacture also boosts skills development in the industry and Scan has plans to export these units in the future.

For more information, contact Gary van der Watt on +27 21 409 1200.

About 60% of South Africa’s Blue Crane population resides in the Western Cape. Here the birds favour farmlands, particularly pastures and wheat plantations, above the indigenous Fynbos habitat. But climate change threatens this unusual success story. The western parts of our country are expected to be most hard hit by the extreme weather conditions that climate change brings, and existing agricultural practices could become economically unviable, with detrimental effects for the cranes.

Kerryn Morrison manages the ICF/EWT Partnership for African Cranes and, together with her passionate team of crane conservationists, is carefully monitoring the Western Cape’s Blue Cranes so that we can react to the signs of climate change well in advance of it becoming an insurmountable problem.

When I asked Kerryn how she came to be so passionate about cranes, she said they are a perfect flagship species that can be used to highlight environmental issues to people and so change environmentally destructive behaviour. Kerryn was just four years old when her nursery school teacher predicted she would work with animals, and she has never wanted to be anything other than a conservationist. Her dedication is not without reward, and she has received broad acclaim for her exceptional dedication to crane conservation, and is recognised as being instrumental in combating the trade in cranes that takes place throughout Africa on a daily basis. We are extremely proud of being able to say that Kerryn has grown her career with the EWT since 1995.

We will be celebrating the success of our crane conservationists on World Environment Day, on 5 June, with this year’s theme being ‘Your Planet Needs You – Unite to Combat Climate Change’. Learn more about this day and other EWT climate change projects by entering our online competition , open only to our loyal supporters, and stand in line to win a fabulous getaway to a South African destination.

- The Editor

Projects
The EWT at Nampo Harvest Day 2009

Every year the NAMPO Harvest Day provides the EWT with an opportunity to engage with visitors on conservation issues and projects, talk about problems and solutions, distribute educational materials to farmers, school groups and the like and promote the EWT as a whole. This year was no different. Click here to read more.

Contact: Claudia Hodkinson

Echibition Invitation