Edward de Bono, the psychologist and author who coined the term "lateral thinking," said, "Creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns." And there may be no better place to see fresh and imaginative patterns emerging for the trade show and events world than at EuroShop, the global retail trade fair.

EuroShop is held once every three years in Düsseldorf, Germany. While the show's 1,830 exhibitors from 55 countries expected their efforts to provide an inferno of sales opportunities, exhibit designers hoped to find a firestorm of inspiration that will fuel their creative efforts for years to come.

This year's show didn't disappoint, as EXHIBITOR staff and a host of representatives from some of the world's most creative exhibit-design agencies found plenty of inspirational kindling. Amid the 16 massive show halls at Messe Düsseldorf, stands offered products from myriad retail- and stand-design sectors, including everything from lighting and mannequins to point-of-purchase innovations and event technology.

EXHIBITOR organized the EuroShop Awards, a stand-design competition officially endorsed by the EuroShop organizers and sponsored by Aluvision N.V. and BeMatrix BVBA. EXHIBITOR editor in chief Travis Stanton and staff writer Ben Barclay selected up to 15 finalists in each category, and a panel of 10 design experts then scored the finalists to identify gold, silver, and bronze winners in five size-based categories. Plus, three winners were chosen by popular vote in the People's Choice Award category. Here are the winners from each of the six categories. May they fuel your own creativity and spark fresh ideas for your next exhibit- and event-marketing initiatives.

Maintaining an engaging and cohesive experience throughout a 1,232-square-meter stand is no small task. But Itab Shop Concept AB did just that and earned the most votes in the People's Choice category in the process. Our judges called the fabrication and realization of the space "nearly flawless." Custom oversized light fixtures were eye-catching and perfectly proportional for the scale of the booth, while detailed retail zones let visitors shop the space within the correct scene setting. Plus, the entire booth was designed to be completely recycled or reused.

Hans Boodt Mannequins B.V. is known for delivering rebellious and engaging experiences at EuroShop and did not disappoint this year. The 400-square-meter exhibit lent the impression of a warehouse under construction, featuring a mix of contradictions coming together in a playful kind of harmony. Harsh scaffolding gave way to soft materials, making the space feel almost delicate. Throughout, imaginative vignettes of mannequins "being social" were adorned in everything from lavender hoodies to white bridal gowns. One juror called it an "amazing and fresh booth design."

First-time EuroShop exhibitor Studio 9 Denmark A/S left an indelible mark. The retail-solution provider crafted an industrial forest of sorts in its 124-square-meter space designed to inspire creativity among visitors. Approximately 30 white poles rose like trees from the booth's floor, while scores of attached slender pipes created a tangled overhead canopy. A huge mirrored back wall spanned the space, visually doubling the metal forest. "And the oversized brand letters on the mirror wall did an impressive job cutting through the visual noise," applauded one judge.

Von Hagen GmbH's stand was an art installation with a story to tell. German artist Ernst F. Drewes has had to adapt his 3-D work to a 2-D plane due to a disability. Using his artwork throughout the space, Drewes' childhood friend, Axel von Hagen (the firm's CEO), and designer Chris Wendel wanted to inspire Drewes back into 3-D work. A suspended collage dominated the space while a mirrored back wall added dimension. The artist's "Oval" painting was transformed into an animated LED display, while a stunning welcome desk gave a nod to Drewes' earlier work.

Mind Trooper, a Lisbon-based design firm, challenged visitors to view solutions from various perspectives with its award-winning stand. The exhibit's façade was a wooden shell of angled vertical boards, black on one side and unfinished on the other, that altered the exhibit's color depending on one's vantage point. The interior featured the graphic "Perspective" in billboard-sized letters wrapping at the syllable breaks and spilling onto the floor, while the back wall bubbled out like a lava lamp and supported a slide-out door leading to a hidden closet our judges loved.

The fact that Design4Retail Ltd. snagged the category's top spot with a stand that was a mere 9 square meters is a testament to the team's creative abilities. Located in the Designers' Village, a location overflowing with compact creative exhibits, D4R's exhibit stood out with a bold and colorful lenticular façade – a sharp contrast to its minimalist black and white inter-ior. Attendees were lured inside by a centrally located zoetrope, which evoked a sense of nostalgia. Visitors turned the crank and watched the company's logo spring into action through the spinning slits.