For Bachelor students at the Industrial Design Department in Eindhoven I prepared a short lecture on exhibiting. The 15 points presented here will aid them in preparing a convincing presentation for their (interim) semester exhibitions.

1. Exhibiton:
Explanation
&
Seduction

2. 15pointsofinterest

3. 1
The relationship between 3D and 2D
Create a meaningful relationship between flat information
(drawings and graphics) and spatial information (prototypes).
Just as you need to clarify your project with a good title and
motto, you need to create a convincing positive tension
between 2D and 3D visuals.

4. 2
From BIG to small,
depending on the message
In a presentation some things can be made
small, because they are either some kind of
intimate information, or they are less important.

5. 3
Cognitive Speeds
Be aware of the speed with which visitors scan the exhibition:
some are quick, some are slow.
It all boils down to their biorhythm and their specific interests.

6. 4
Be Sexy and Deep
You will need to seduce others with your presentation.
But at the same time you are required to show Depth
in what you have developed.

7. 5
Too much is too wrong:
Editing is a MUST.
Choose carefully what you want to exhibit.
Too meager information might imply a poor
development, too much information might
imply a kind of camouflage to hide a poor concept.

8. 6
Be elegant: hide the wiring.
After you have tested, re-tested, and then re-tested
your electronics, you need to hide the wiring to the
point that nobody will get the feeling that everything
is still under development. Be elegant in the camouflage.

9. 7
What might color do to you?
Think about the setting in which you would like to present
your project. Should it be a dark or light setting, and what
function could color have in highlighting your project?
What would happen if your presentation would be
deep blue, fluorescent red, or virginal white?

10. 8
Give something – be generous.
Not only the coach or assessor should be given something,
but also the expert who helped you, or somebody who
shows much interest in your project. Make a little something.
A booklet, a flyer, a card – anything that is cheap and easy
to make, but which at the same time is an elegant gesture.

11. 9
A Motto, a (graphical) soundbite
Think about a concise, evocative, and catching title for your project.
This title should be accompanied by a concise, evocative, and
catching motto that covers the design brief, the goals you have set
for yourself, and the ultimate value the project has at large.

12. 10
Messiness presupposes a messy project
If your presentation is messy and inconsistent,
people will think the project is messy and inconsistent.
I have seen too many bad presentations of projects
that were essentially good. Don’t make that mistake.

13. 11
Process versus End Result
In this ID faculty the design process is considered to be as
important as the end result. After all, in the design process
the learning experience reveals itself. So you need to create
a good balance between the design process and the end result.

14. 12
Explain yourself
Every member of the team should be able to explain
ALL in and outs of the project, and, as a consequence,
all ins and outs of the design process. It would be very
wrong if only the techno buff is able to explain the
Techno elements of process and deliverables.

15. 13
Sturdyness equals thoroughness
Make your display environment as sturdy as possible.
Don’t make it look like the set of a B- or C-movie
with flapping paper, poor detailing, and a thoughtless
composition of 2D and 3D visuals.

16. 14
The Core Element
If you have succeeded in building a working prototype,
then this should be the core element in your exhibition.
It would be great if this prototype would be sturdy
enough to be touched, handled, and/or used by the visitors.
Up to a point the prototype could become a standalone element.

17. 14
Sketches and Diagrams
We like you to draw and draw and draw. Sketching
equals communicating – with yourself and with others.
On the other hand a more formal visual language might
be needed in order to clarify your project. Diagrams and
a more ‘iconic’ visual language might do the job as well.

18. 15
Storytelling
The design process can be perceived as a story in itself.
Tell that story as well as you can.
But in the way the product, system, or service is used,
another story can be told as well. In that light you
need to think of building a scenario that aptly explains the
(future) life of the product, system, or service.