ISA 2014 Sign Expo Preview

The most important sign-industry tradeshow of the year will be held April 23-26, 2014, when the Intl. Sign Assn.’s 2014 Intl. Sign Expo heads to the Orange County Convention Center (South Building) in Orlando. As of the end of February, 551 exhibitors had reserved space. At this same time two years ago, when the Expo was last held in Orlando, 532 exhibitors had signed up.

This year, the Expo is adding the Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD) Design+Connections conference on Thursday, April 24. In one-hour sessions, design and industry leaders will discuss placemaking, branded environments, accessibility and design, technology and media, and practice and process. Participating EGD firms and related vendors will include Selbert Perkins Design, Mayer/Reed, HOK, Infinite Scale, Open Eye, ueberall, AECOM, APCO, iZone Imaging and Century Sign Builders.

Session dialogs will go beyond “how” and explore “why” these projects have been successful for their clients, and where these designers get their inspiration to craft engaging, memorable experi-
ences. Three different educational workshop packages are available.

The Expo will also debut the INKJet Print Theater, in partnership with the GRAPH EXPO trade-
show. The hands-on solutions center will enable you to see printers in action, participate in free education sessions tailored to solve the daily issues you face, and provide solutions to your challenges. A special theater reception will be held from 4:00-5:00 on Friday.

The Dynamic Digital Park (DDP) will return, following last year’s inaugural pavilion. Reserved booth spaces have already increased from 34 to 40. DDP sponsors will be N. Glantz, Samsung, and Broadsign. The invitation-only Dynamic Digital and Integrated Design Reception will host integrators, end users, suppliers and distributors of interactive dynamic displays on Thursday night. To request an invitation, email design@signs.org.

Ten dynamic-digital-signage (DS) sessions, all slated for April 23, are included in the mix of edu-
cational opportunities, as ISA has assembled numerous education packages. Other packages focus on such topics as project management (Wednesday only) and architectural design. A “genius” package allows participation in all sessions, while “company” packages allow you to bring an unlimited number of employees. Finally, there is also a special Disney by Design session.

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Exhibit-hall hours will be Thursday, April 24: 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

On Wednesday, the ISA/Southern States Sign Assn. golf tournament will be held from 1:00 – 5:00 at Disney’s Lake Buena Vista Golf Course. Thursday will open with an international networking breakfast from 8:00-9:00. That afternoon, the ISA Town Hall meeting will be held from 2:00 – 3:00. That first show day will conclude with the affiliated associations’ member reception from 8:00-10:00. The Last Hour happy hour inside the exhibit hall will coincide with the last hour the exhibit hall is open on all three days.

Friday will include two additional networking sessions. One for custom and national sign companies will be held from 4:30-6:00; a young-professionals happy hour follows from 6:00-7:00.

ISA states that Travel Planners is the ONLY official housing provider for ISA; 16 lodging options are listed on the ISA website. The ISA website, under Hotel/Travel, includes a scrolling airfarewatchdog™ feature that lists flight costs from various cities to Orlando.

Voluminous additional information is available at www.signexpo.org

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE

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Tuesday, April 22
7:30am-5:00pm Exhibitor Registration

Wednesday, April 23
7:30am-5:00pm Exhibitor Registration
8:00am-5:00pm Attendee Registration
8:30am-4:30pm Dynamic Digital Signage Education Day
9:30am-5:00pm Project Management Education
1:00pm-5:00pm
ISA/Southern States Sign Assn.
Golf Tournament
3:00pm-5:00pm ISA Board of Directors Meeting

Thursday, April 24
7:30am-5:00pm Attendee & Exhibitor Registration
8:00am-9:00am International Networking Breakfast
9:00am-5:00pm Education Sessions
9:30am-5:00pm Exhibit Hall Open
2:00pm-3:00pm ISA Town Hall meeting
4:00pm-5:00pm Last Hour happy hour
4:00pm-5:00pm
Dynamic Digital and Integrated
Design Reception
8:00pm-10:00pm Affiliated Associations Reception

Friday, April 25
8:30am-4:00pm Attendee & Exhibitor Registration
9:00am-4:30pm Education Sessions
9:30am-5:00pm Exhibit Hall Open
4:00pm-5:00pm Last Hour happy hour
4:00pm-5:00pm INKjet Print Theater Reception
4:30pm-6:00pm
ISA Networking Reception for
National and Custom Sign Companies
6:00pm-7:00pm Young Professionals Happy Hour

Saturday, April 26
9:00am-2:00pm Attendee & Exhibitor Registration
10:00am-11:30am Education Sessions
10:00am-4:00pm Exhibit Hall Open
3:00pm-4:00pm Last Hour Happy Hour