Düsseldorf. Impressive brand signage on the facade, digitally printed walls enhanced by lighting effects inside, interactive displays and 3D animations: the world of visual communications is growing together. Whether at the PoS, in overall store design, in outdoor advertising or media production: the demand for conventional stand-alone solutions is steadily declining while integrated and cross-media design and communication solutions are the trend.

This was also demonstrated at this year's viscom düsseldorf, International Trade Fair for Visual Communication, Technology and Design, where for three days 306 exhibitors (previous year: 305) presented the latest trends and new products from the fields of light advertising, advertising technology, digital printing, digital signage, out-of-home media and PoS marketing. With a total of 10,700 trade visitors (previous event: 10,900) viscom düsseldorf consolidated its previous record: "Compared to 2006, when viscom embarked on a reorientation process that transformed it into the 360-degree trade fair for visual communication, this means a 78 percent plus in the number of exhibiting companies and an increase of more than 60 percent in visitor numbers," viscom Director Petra Lassahn declared at the close of the fair on Saturday. Expectations in some quarters that international purchasers would be slow to order in view of the markedly weaker economic prospects throughout Europe were not confirmed. On the contrary: almost one in four visitors came from abroad - more than ever before.

From virtual shop windows to printed furniture to media production
A digital billboard which can be accessed via smartphone by passers-by, invites them to a game and sends a coupon straight to the winner on his mobile, or a virtual shop window where customers can design their own products individually and interactively via digital projection: out-of-home and store projects of this kind - such as this shop concept presented by ppm shopfitters in cooperation with Hochschule Niederrhein - show that the creative possibilities of visual communication are, from a technical point of view, practically unlimited. "Whether obi, METRO, IKEA or Estella - the interest in staging products in a new brand world is enormous," says Maria Pohlmann, head of marketing with ppm planung + projekt manage¬ment gmbh, whose company was a first-time exhibitor at viscom.

An example which fully expresses the current trend and demonstrates that the boundaries between real and virtual, "on" and "off" and between classic and digital are becoming increasingly fluid. This is also true for the media production which is traditionally strongly represented at viscom. Whether for tablet viewing, as an out-of-home medium or a classic print product: The essential requirement is once-only original production followed by cross-media adaptation and processing.

"The trade fair releases creative fantasies - that is precisely what makes it so interesting not only to the classic visitor target groups but also to a growing number of marketing decision-makers and creative minds from the agency world," says Hans-Joachim Erbel, CEO of the organisers Reed Exhibitions Deutschland. This is because viscom long since developed from a fair with a technical and trade orientation into an event targeting the marketing and retail sectors, end consumers and the consumer goods industry.

"I print my own world": the advance of customised printing
This can be seen, among others, at the Customised Design Forum where digitally printed worlds of products and materials were presented under the title "print design" in cooperation with the Stuttgart materials agency raumProbe, the rgf - Ring Grafischer Fachhändler, FORTEAM Kommunikation and Mutoh Deutschland. It provided an insight especially to designers, architects and planning agencies of the range of products that can meanwhile be printed in industrial quality. "The demand and interest were enormous. For us that was a clear confirmation and encouragement to continue expanding the theme of print design," says Michael Wartmann, Marketing / Project Manager, Mutoh Deutschland GmbH.

designmaker 2012 with more than 75 entries
At the trade fair, the starting signal for the second edition of the designmaker was also given. It is looking for design ideas that can be realised on the greatest possible variety of advertising media, thus demonstrating the broad range of visual communication in an exemplary manner. 75 creative minds registered for the competition at the fair already. The deadline for applications is 31 January 2012, the designs have to be submitted by 28 February.

viscom frankfurt 2012
The dates for the next viscom frankfurt are 25 to 27 October 2012. Already, more than half of the available stand space has been booked. The next viscom in Düsseldorf will be in 2013.

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For more information please contact the press department of viscom:

Dr. Mike Seidensticker
Press Spokesman
Tel.: +49 (0) 211 - 90191- 128
Fax: +49 (0) 211 - 90191- 138
E-Mail: Mike.Seidensticker@reedexpo.de

Cornelia Maschke
Press Officer
Tel.: +49 (0) 211 - 90191- 182
Fax: +49 (0) 211 - 90191- 138

E-Mail: Cornelia.Maschke@reedexpo.de

Comments on viscom düsseldorf 2011:

"For us things are going very well. We were able to generate high-quality leads. Willingness to invest has increased noticeably. We were able to finalise business contracts while the fair was still going on. This also shows that we offer precisely the right products. Concerning the print design theme we also recorded lively demand and considerable interest."
Michael Wartmann, Marketing / Project Manager, Mutoh Deutschland GmbH

"We are very satisfied with the response. As the fair grows, so do we. LED technology is increasingly being used right across all segments of media technology. With increasing frequency, visual communication and the digital signage segment form part of an overall architectural concept. This is the future."
Stefan Arens, Managing Director, curve LED

"Right from the start, viscom succeeded in attracting people, innovations and companies and to generate a growth market on the platform it supplies. For us there is no better place for the premiere of the "d.gen Grande" which features a working width of 330cm, an integrated fixating unit and print speeds of up to 220qm/h."
Joachim Rees, Management Multi-Plot Europe

"At our stand we were busy practically all the time. Visitors in many cases came with specific requests which meant that we were able to finalise many deals there and then. Another gratifying aspect was that we met many decision-makers at viscom. Visitor quality as a whole was high."
Erik de Vries, Account Manager Comhan Holland

"For us, viscom as the most important trade fair for visual communication does not only mean an industry get-together but also offers the opportunity to present new products to a top-quality specialist public. In our 25th anniversary year, we demonstrate the use of the iPad at the PoS and present, among others, the "P@dFramer" as an interactive sales promotion display."
Helmut Amelung, Managing Director Display & Design Helmut Amelung GmbH

"Whether obi, METRO, IKEA or Estella - the interest in staging products in a new brand world is enormous "
Maria Pohlmann, Head of Marketing, ppm planung + projekt management gmbh

"viscom 2011 was the very first time the we presented a 5-meter printer at a trade fair. We are very satisfied with the response at our stand. Many visitors were interested in the machine with its large and varied range of uses which offers both large format printing at high speeds and smaller high resolution products for use at the Point of Sale."
Bernhard Huber, Proprietor, Superwide Solutions GmbH

"We come to viscom on a regular basis, to present ourselves to our customers as reliable partners and to showcase new developments. It is always good to fly the flag here. This year at viscom we presented our new infrared fixation process for the first time. Another focus is textile printing, textile finishing and especially UV printing. This attracted many interested visitors to our stand."
Roland Stöhr, Sales, Outdoor-Digitaldruckmaschinen

"We give a positive rating to our trade fair participation. At viscom, the visitor structure shows a balanced distribution. As a result, we were able both to address advertising technicians and to welcome many marketing departments of large companies at our stand. In our view, viscom is a trade fair that we will continue to participate in in future."
Karl Helfferich, Sales/ Export Acrylland GmbH

"Our company was established in 2009; in 2011 we now presented our multi-touch table for the first time at viscom. We had a large number of interested visitors at our stand straight away, most of them were trade visitors from the advertising and event segments, but also integrators, photo editors and even hospitals that will use the system for guiding and information."
Matthias Woggon, Managing Director eyefactive GmbH