The Set Up
The Society of Maritime Industries (SMI) represents the UK’s maritime engineering and business sector, supporting international trade and collaboration across the industry. For APM, an international maritime trade show, SMI wanted to deliver a unified and impactful UK country brand presence that would support visibility, engagement and export growth.
Wake Media was appointed to design the UK Pavilion stand graphics and create a suite of supporting event materials, including an exhibitor brochure, promotional flyer, technical seminar flyer and drinks reception invitation.
The Starting Point
SMI needed to create an attractive and welcoming UK Pavilion within the supplied dimensions and guidelines, while showcasing the UK presence in a professional and engaging way.
The stand graphics also needed to be supported by a wider family of event materials, including an exhibitor brochure, promotional flyers and a drinks reception invitation. These materials needed to work together visually to promote the event, encourage visitor engagement and support networking.
With multiple stakeholders involved, including the SMI team, event delivery partners and stand builders, the work also needed clear coordination and an organised handover.
Objectives
The brief was focused on creating a professional, engaging and consistent UK presence at APM.
Key objectives included:
• Designing a strong UK Pavilion graphic presence within the allocated exhibition space
• Showcasing participating UK organisations clearly and consistently
• Keeping all outputs aligned with brand, production and technical requirements
Creating a connected set of supporting assets, including:
• An exhibitor brochure featuring company profiles, introductory content and the Pavilion programme
• A drinks reception invitation
• A technical seminar flyer
• A consistent look and feel across the full suite
• Delivery within the agreed timeline and budget
• Supporting visibility, engagement and export growth for participating UK organisationsThe Process
We kept the process structured and collaborative, giving SMI regular opportunities to review progress and provide feedback throughout.
We started with a discovery call to meet the team, confirm the brief, agree the project priorities and set out a clear plan of action. From there, Wake Media proposed a timeline and project plan for review.
Initial design proofs were developed for the Pavilion graphics and supporting materials, with different routes explored where needed. This gave SMI the opportunity to review the creative direction and provide feedback before the chosen route was refined.
Once a direction was agreed, we refined the Pavilion panels into final visuals and developed the supporting brochure, invitation and flyers alongside them to maintain consistency across all outputs.
Regular review and feedback points helped ensure the work continued to meet the project objectives, event requirements and technical guidelines.
At handover, we supplied print-ready artwork, working files and packaged source files in an organised format for the stand builders.
The Outcome
The result was a cohesive UK Pavilion presence at APM that helped showcase UK maritime capability and support visibility, engagement and export growth.
By carrying a consistent look and feel across the Pavilion graphics and supporting materials, SMI had a joined-up set of assets for the stand, brochure, promotional flyer, technical seminar flyer and drinks reception invitation.
Everything was delivered in line with the agreed timeline, budget, brand guidelines and technical requirements, supporting a smooth production and handover process.
The work was well received by SMI and its delivery partners, with positive feedback on the quality of the design, the attention to brand detail and the collaborative way the project was managed.
Our coordination with the SMI team, stand builders and external contractors helped support a smooth, efficient and timely delivery from concept through to final artwork supply.
Client Feedback
“A huge thank you for the excellent work delivered on the UK Pavilion graphics and promotional materials at APM. They looked fantastic on site and made a real difference to the overall presence and impact of the Pavilion.The team greatly appreciated your support, attention to brand detail and collaborative approach throughout, which helped ensure everything ran smoothly. We also received very positive feedback from our event contractors, who highlighted the quality of the organisation and the seamless coordination and delivery of materials and outputs.”
Helen Stephen, SMI