Client: Hamilton Exhibits LLC, Indianapolis Design/Fabrication: Hamilton Exhibits LLC Size: 20-by-20 feet (400 square feet) Estimated Cost: $72,000 Estimated Cost/Square Foot: $180

fter Louis the XVI ordered parquet floors installed in his Versailles palace, the monarch's subjects visited the royal residence in droves for a peek at the gorgeous mosaic of wood. So when Hamilton Exhibits LLC wanted to draw throngs of attendees to its booth at EXHIBITOR2013, it did it in part with its own parquet floor that was equally as regal.

Attendees approaching the Indianapolis-based firm's 20-by-20-foot island booth from its sides or back first encountered one of three 32-inch monitors anchored in a trio of 5-by-7-foot "windows." The monitors were positioned on sheets of textured vinyl, which in turn were laid over slabs of Plexiglas that comprised each window. The vinyl was cut manually to provide a unique mesh that looked more like a screen door woven by a spider's legs than shaped by a human's hands.

The windows framed the booth's centerpiece: a 6-foot-wide, custom-made parquet floor that rose, as if snubbing gravity, off the ground to form a wall, and then a ceiling element that hung over the exhibit like a timbered canopy. Made of three wood veneers, the floor sported a satin finish, which grew lighter the higher the 55-foot structure went, creating a subtle sense of upward movement.

Beneath three custom pendant lights with branded shades in the company colors stood a white-laminate counter. Partially paneled with the same wood veneers, the counter served as a gathering spot for booth visitors and staffers. Here, sitting on transparent Plexiglas bar stools, visitors navigated a 55-inch touchscreen monitor embedded into the counter. On the screen, attendees dragged and dropped ideas to a customized vision board to capture how brand identity, attendee experience, and design vision could enhance trade show success. Combining the offbeat but ornate windows with the rich sensuality of the parquet floor helped generate more than 100 highly qualified leads for Hamilton – proof indeed that its booth was fit for a king.