LD Dave Ward Puts the Company in a Different Light at the Las Vegas Exhibition Center
An old adage goes, “The only difference between men and boys is the size of their toys.” This has never been more obvious than at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG convention. The event, staged once every three years, is touted as the “world’s largest tradeshow.”
Held exclusively in Las Vegas, NV, the Las Vegas Convention Center was the only exhibition center capable of providing the 2.8 million square feet of indoor and outdoor space required for the record-setting, co-located CONEXPO-CON/AGG and IFPE (International Fluid Power Exposition) events, which ran from March 7-11, 2017.
The co-located events filled seven halls inside the center plus additional lots outside that were the equivalent of 50 football fields of space to display cranes and equipment too large to fit indoors. For five days, 2,500 exhibits are on display to over 128,000 attendees, made up of contractors, dealers and distributors, service providers, engineers and producers. Attracting the attention of attendees to a particular booth amongst this smorgasbord of spectacular innovations requires a unique approach with a well-honed eye for details.
Lighting designer Dave Ward’s application of light, mood, texture, and movement to the Komatsu America Corp. exhibit has proven successful in doing just that over the last 14 years.
The Process
M² OnStage, producers of the Komatsu booth; specialize in providing creative and technical production services to the meetings and events industry. Ward has been working with producer Scott Monson in designing the booth lighting since he was a co-owner at Imagination and Technology.
“For years I concentrated on design only at I &T and had ME’s like Tim Sauerman, in particular, go out and execute those designs. During this time, I began exploring the idea of lighting booths so they would not be the brightest on the show floor. Once I went freelance, I took a more hands-on approach.”
“With the introduction in 2009 of Vari-Lites VL3500, booth lighting in general seemed to explode in white light,” says Ward. “The color temperature was really bright on all the equipment, and I felt everything just looked flat.” He approached Monson with his idea of shifting the whole atmosphere to a lower level for the Komatsu booth into a subdued, relaxed environment, creating an oasis on the show room floor in the midst of other booth’s explosion of light. Monson embraced the concept from the beginning.
Ward notes, “Komatsu machines are bright yellow so they need an amber color temperature around the 29K or 30K range, but with enough output to make the machine stand out. I chose CTO amber to ensure the yellow does not glare. This provides a very theatrical feel, so the machines are just present.”
He then bathes the overall booth in a blue atmosphere to match the Komatsu brand color, which makes the machines stand out as if they are in natural daylight. A softened pool of white light just bright enough to be functional surrounds the machine, so the Komatsu staff can have the proper lighting for customer conversations and to refer to notes as needed.
Outside the pool, Ward layers breakup patterns using Vari-Lite VL4000 Spots for texture on the carpet. Programmed parameters are barely discernible, enhancing the atmospheric feel of the booth.
These fixtures do double-duty during the show presentation as drapery, stage wash and spots for the presenter.
Ward uses ETC’s Source Four LED Lustr fixtures, framed to a soft focus, to light the Komatsu logos on the machines themselves. By adding CTB, which puts all the logos in a 5000K amber white light, the logos pop out from the surrounding 3000K machines’ CTO amber, providing a natural contrast.
The Staff and Support
Over the years, Monson and Ward have fine-tuned a crew very adept at rolling with the curve balls so prevalent in tradeshow environments. “I also plan the technical side of my design with intentional flexibility,” Ward says, noting that it helps him smoothly respond and adapt to changing client needs.
“My shop order will have more fixtures than are drawn on the plot,” Ward says, adding that “These are not spares; they are in reserve. The implementation of LED fixtures makes my standard allocation of spare circuits throughout the rig even more economical.”
Monson determines all vendor selections. He chose LMG, as they could provide both lighting and video.
“Their value to us is enhanced by the fact that Tim Sauerman, now a project manager for them, manages the Komatsu booth,” adds Ward. “Tim not only is familiar with all aspects of our booth, he spent several years as a labor manager for GES in Las Vegas. As a result, he knows all the staff in the building on a first-name basis. Anyone who works in the tradeshow industry will tell you, being able to say; ‘Hey Bob, can I get that power drop any time soon?’ has enormous advantages.”
Monson prefers Ward to be on the show floor, mobile and available to address client needs. To help with that goal, two programmers are on the crew to execute his design.
“Matt Vengilio from Atlanta is a brilliant programmer and brings a lot of artistic input to the table as the theater show programmer,” Ward says. Michael Barahura from San Diego, meanwhile, handles booth-programming duties.
Ward credits Monson’s management style as a key factor in the booth’s overall success. “He is a big proponent of mutual respect, which lends to a stress-free environment. There are people in the local union that request to work on our booth because we have such good camaraderie.”
Ward is also thankful that he has the opportunity to present the booth’s products a little differently. “I’ve had other lighting designers come into the booth and say, ‘Man I wish my client would let me get this dark and moody in my booth.’ I have to confess, I am glad they do not. I want brightly lit booths surrounding our oasis.”
His concept certainly seems to be making an impact. “During focus this year, a Komatsu exec asked me, ‘Hey we’re still going to have all that blue this year again, right?’ That is when I knew I really have the client won over to my line of thinking.”
