Exhibitions & Conferences

To differentiate it from the main conference, the SAP Select section of the convention center used a simple black and white color scheme, with subtle accents of the gold color used throughout the main event.

Vertical panels separated the SAP Select lounge from a small presentation theater where company executives shared insights with participants.

Organizers reconfigured the keynote theater this year, using raked seating to fit 5,500 people in a smaller footprint on the show floor.

While attendance was up more than 10 percent this year, Trovalli said the conference managed to reconfigure the show floor to provide wider aisles and more open areas for networking.

Five theaters around the main networking area were used to host presentations throughout the conference and also to broadcast the main stage speakers to those not seated in the keynote.

An open theater in the Engagement Center hosted several presentations each day. The discussions, from both single speakers and panels, took a closer look at the topics covered in the morning’s Global Session.

In the middle of the Engagement Center was the Leadership Chat area, where McDonald's executives made themselves available for informal meet-and-greet time with attendees.

At either end of the Engagement Center, attendees could use digital kiosks to place orders from the McCafés. The kiosks at not yet available in all McDonald’s, so for some attendees it was an opportunity to see how the digital ordering service functioned.

Paddy Cosgrave, founder and C.E.O. of Web Summit, welcomed attendees to Collision.

In the expo space, more than 1,000 start-ups vied for the attention of more than 450 tech investors from around the world.

In the summit’s digital media lounge, reporters and bloggers could watch the event via the online stream.

During the summit, thousands of people joined the conversation online by using the hashtag #2030Now to discuss topics such as technology, global education opportunities, and climate change. Mashable shared some of the most thought-provoking commentary on its website.

The conference showed an IT and developer audience how their respective specialties worked together in the real world.

In the center of Sapphire Now’s Innovation Showcase, SAP demonstrated its work with airline and shipping companies. As attendees used touch screens to select data from clients such as John Deere and Lufthansa, their choices powered images on both the digital world map in front of them and also on the screens that wrapped around the space.

Adobe worked with two production firms to create rotating screens that moved in sync with the digital content being displayed.

Greenbuild is the largest conference and expo dedicated to the green building community.

A.C.E.P. staged a mock emergency room on the show floor, featuring scripted accidents and actors.

The conference emphasized high production values and interesting presentations.

The summit includes main stage presentations in the mornings and evenings with attendee-led meetups in between.

C2 Montréal took place in Arsenal, a shipyard complex built in the mid-1800s that has been transformed into a vast contemporary art gallery.

The “downtown” networking area included a variety of seating options such as chairs, benches, and cardboard cubes that were strong enough to sit on but light and easy to move.

In addition to a large keynote theater, five smaller theaters lined the perimeter of the new networking area and offered a continuous schedule of presentations.

Within the networking area, organizers created three displays, such as an interactive vending machine, to demonstrate specific applications of SAP software.

Inside the Vancouver Convention Centre, architect David Rockwell designed the 1,200-seat TED Conference theater from thousands of laser-cut pieces. The theater was designed to be dismantled and stored until the next event.

It was the largest show ever with more than 16,000 attendees and 650 exhibitors.

Organizers used the theme of “Wow” in the event’s digital and print materials and throughout McCormick Place, including 12-foot-high letters in the concourse.

This year's Los Angeles Auto Show will do away with the traditional keynote speeches and add more interactive events and parties, including a third technology-focused press day.

The lectern and stage setup at the Big Bang Gala at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco in June 2013 allowed easy access for speakers.