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. I recently had the joy of assisting Leah Nadeau, a contemporary artist based in Portland, Oregon, in making a huge leap forward in her career by helping her to design and set up her booth display at the renowned Palm Springs Modernism Show.
(Yes, I AM still retired! The fact that I am not publicly marketing my services any longer doesn't keep me from stepping up occasionally to assist creatives and small business owners by using the skills that I have honed over more than half a century.) When this talented artist posted on Instagram that she was in need of help at this show in my area, I volunteered. She graciously accepted - enthusiastically! And together, we created a concept and a plan, then put that plan into action as we met at the Palm Springs Convention Center on setup day before the show opened.
Let me share the design-to-installation process with you, along with some 'adventures' that were had along the way...
Design always begins with a goal.
While any activity involving the purchase of goods has an obvious goal (sales), in this case the main goal was to present the artist's artwork in the best way possible - in a way that reflected not just the style of her art, but what inspires her, what she communicates via her art, and how she wants the viewer to experience her art.
In addition, this artist did this show to expand the exposure of her art, reaching new clients for the art on display in the booth and to reach more clients who desire custom commissioned work. This meant that her art displayed in her booth had to communicate in various ways to various groups of people... and this show attracts more than 15 thousand people over three days every February, and her efforts would be seen by all of them!
For those who came to purchase art during the show, there needed to be a variety of sizes, color palettes, and types of art available - from canvas & framing options to pricing levels, there had to be choices that would appeal to a span of potential buyers.
For those who came to the show to discover new artists with the goal of having custom commissioned work done later, her display needed to show some variety to grab their interest - and she prepared a GORGEOUS catalog with imagery and information about her commission process. It was one of the best pieces of marketing material that I have EVER seen. One of her friends helped her create it - and that's why we say 'It takes a tribe' to succeed.
Another aspect of her presence at the show was to gather new contacts for her mailing list and to lead people to her website - where she sells more than just original paintings. She offers glassware, textiles, home & gift goods, and seasonal decor elements featuring her art online, but those weren't allowed to be sold at this show. She brought a few of those items and we used them as 'props' on the table in her booth.
You can see how multi-faceted the design for the booth needed to be to meet these criteria. With those parameters and goals in place, the design process began...
