Surface display at aluminium and metal fairs

1–10 days

installation time, with light aiming done on the final day

Stand types

The angle of light on metal

An aluminium surface does not scatter light, it reflects it directionally. The same anodised panel can therefore appear in three different colours depending on where the light comes from. A tone that does not match between the stand and the sample is the most familiar complaint in this sector, and it is almost always the lighting.

A spotlight square to the surface is the worst option: the fitting itself reflects as a bright patch, the colour around it becomes unreadable and the visitor has to tilt their head to see anything. The right move is a grazing beam close to the plane of the surface. Brush direction, bead-blast texture and press marks only appear at that angle.

Make one decision on colour temperature and use high colour rendering fittings. Champagne and bronze are exaggerated by warm light; natural and silver tones drift towards grey under cool light. Aim each fitting individually on the last day of the build. How we separate the lighting layers is set out on the stand design page.

Presenting samples, and their weight

Lining surface samples up on a vertical panel is common and weak. On a vertical face the visitor sees their own reflection and cannot judge the colour, and the crowd in the aisle opposite lands on the panel too. A plane inclined at around forty-five degrees breaks the reflection and makes the sample easier to pick up.

Samples are heavy. A rack of one metre profile lengths reaches several hundred kilos without trying. The structure is chosen accordingly, and the sample shelves fix into the profile rather than the cladding panel. A small lip along the front edge of the shelf stops pieces sliding off.

Comparing tones needs a neutral backdrop. A coloured back panel shifts the tone of the metal in front of it and the buyer decides wrongly; light grey or matt black is the most honest ground. Choose a matt, almost velvet texture so the backdrop does not reflect the fittings: gloss black is the closest thing to a mirror and ruins the sample. Under our exhibition stand services we prepare these backdrops in matt lacquer in the workshop.

Profile sections and the technical buyer

The visitor at an aluminium fair judges the section as well as the colour: wall thickness, channel geometry, thermal break, tolerance. So section pieces are shown on a display line separate from the surface samples, and they must be handled. Mixing the two lines means trying to answer two different questions at once.

Sections are prepared in short lengths, with the ends cleaned and the sharp edges taken off. The visitor will pick the piece up, and a burred cut is both a hazard and a false impression of production quality. A small dimensioned section drawing beside the piece speeds the conversation up.

Small models showing the application work well beside them: a window corner, a facade node, a structural joint. These node models, showing where the profile is used, finish in one glance what runs to pages in a catalogue, and they start the conversation with a visiting architect on the detail itself. Writing the relevant profile code beside each node model also makes quoting easier once the show is over.

Should the stand itself be built in aluminium?

Part of it is a good idea, all of it is not. When every surface is metal the samples disappear; a neutral ground brings the product forward.

How do the sample panels stay clean?

Fingerprints show on metal within the hour. Keep microfibre cloths and a suitable cleaner on the stand and wipe the panels twice a day.