Above and Beyond

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Above and Beyond

People will travel the world to see a remarkable ceiling like those in the Sistine Chapel, Palace of Versailles, and Teatro-Museo Dali. In fact, humans generally like to keep their eyes to the skies, and if there's something above that captures their attention, they'll stop and stare. Like these famous overhead architectural wonders, then, exhibit ceilings not only can add a striking design element and make a bold statement about your company, but they also can help attendees locate your booth from aisles away. So here are six exhibit ceilings to inspire your imagination. By Linda Armstrong

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PHOTO: Exposures Ltd.

In Living Color
Exhibitor: Hisense International Co. Ltd.
Show: International Consumer Electronics Show
Design: MC2 Inc., Las Vegas, 702-795-0500, www.mc-2.com

Comprising a header-like band that surrounds the space along with a wave-shaped element within it, this tensioned-fabric ceiling structure is a blank canvas for dramatic lighting. Along with a variety of soothing hues, truss-suspended light fixtures project white logos and the exhibitor's "Life Reimagined" tagline onto the surface.

PHOTO: Zooey Braun

Boxed Up
Exhibitor: Wirtschaftsforderung Region Stuttgart
Show: Expo Real
Design: Ippolito Fleitz Group GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany, 49-711-993392-330, www.ifgroup.org

To promote Stuttgart, Germany, designers used a tree as a symbol of stability and growth. This ceiling comprising blue and white cubes represents the tree's canopy. Meanwhile, graphics on the cubes' surfaces represent the industries and opportunities available in the region.

PHOTO: Derse Inc.

Bandmaster
Exhibitor: Genband Inc.
Show: Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association
Design: Derse Inc., Milwaukee, 414-257-2000, www.derse.com

Producing a 3-D product logo is no easy matter, but Derse Inc. makes it look effortless with this stunning red-ribbon-like structure for Genband Inc. Seeming to emerge out of the exhibit's core like a sound wave from a subwoofer, the eye-catching crimson bands of increasing diameters boom "Genband Land."

PHOTO: Padgett and Co. inc.

Overhead Beltway
Exhibitor: Ortho Clinical Diagnostics
(a Johnson & Johnson company)
Show: American Association for Clinical Chemistry
Design: Mirror Show Management, Webster, NY, 585-232-4020, www.mirrorshow.com

Looking a bit like a giant pulley-and-gears system, this 69-by-15-foot ceiling element not only provides a can't-miss overhead branding element but also visually unites the information pods and conversation areas below.

Paperwork
Exhibitor: Qi Ict B.V.
Show: Infosecurity
Design: Wit Design B.V., 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands,
31-418-667010, www.witdesign.nl

Networking-solutions providers like Qi Ict B.V. are usually about as sexy as socks with sandals. So to jazz up its exhibit, designers crafted a dynamic ceiling comprising 175 paper lamps featuring a soft orange hue. The resulting booth is all business on the ground with a party overhead.

PHOTO: Guerard Design Office

Double Dipper
Exhibitor: Corvel Corp.
Show: Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS)
Design: Guerard Design Office, Los Angeles, 310-398-2904

More than mere overhead eye candy, this structure for Corvel Corp. acts as an attention getter but also dips toward the floor to become a wall divider. Made of two curved components, the construction also forms a projection surface upon which Corvel displays its logo and subtle pink and blue hues.