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5 Trade Shows that are Making Waves in 2015

Let’s talk about trade shows. Trade shows and conferences have been on the rise in recent years growing in size and sophistication. They are a great space to meet amazing people in various fields of expertise and overload yourself with all things that could float your boat. If you’re a trade show goer yourself, check out the rest of our site to see how Case Labels save you time and stress when on the road. In this post, I’m going to skim over five trade shows that have caused and look to cause some buzz in 2015.

Consumer Electronics Show

Intel's modern booth at CES 2015. http://iq.intel.com/wp-content/uploads/CESbooth_23_sm.jpg

Intel’s booth among many of the other elaborate booths at CES.

Technology seems to be the theme of the blog so far, so let’s keep those wheels turning! Tech is fascinating in its own right, but when you combine all of the new innovations into the world’s biggest trade show there is more than enough to marvel at. CES itself is growing too big for Vegas and the sheer amount of cool at the show is growing too big for my brain to handle. Therefore, to avoid a cranial explosion, I’m going to focus on just a couple of the incredibly intelligent leaps and bounds that were showcased at this year’s show.

 

According to CNET everybody and their mother jumped on the smart watch bandwagon for the 2015 show.  Apple, Google, Samsung, and LG, among others, are all heading the charge into the wearable tech environment. Unfortunately, the software and functionality of the watches are below their potential. CNET states that the OS of the watches paired with phones leaves a bit to be desired due to their cumbersome and unrefined nature.

 

 

Not to be misinterpreted, I’m not bashing smart watches. I think they are ingeniously pioneering a realm of connectedness in everyday life, but they haven’t quite hit the mark yet. CNET predicts that by next year current watches will be obsolete because of the massive progression of the technology. So, if you’re asking Santa for a smart watch, you’d be better off waiting until next Christmas.

Popular smart watches at CES 2015. http://cnet1.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2015/07/09/86667d42-77d6-46ab-a505-edb9c0896757/resize/970x546/ccfa980ea0b904227920946afd8466f8/watches-2.jpg

Four major players: Apple Watch, LG Watch Urbane, Pebble Time, and Moto 360.

Apple is always a first mover and the wearable tech market is no different for them. Same goes for Google and their Android watches. The two tech giants are Lewis and Clarking this field – yes, I just used Lewis and Clark as a verb – with accessories such as the Apple Watch, LG Watch Urbane, and the Moto 360. Fitness bands were also a big chunk of the buzz at CES 2015 and I’m sure you’ve heard of the Fit Bit, but one watch that caught my eye is the Withings Activite Pop. The Activite feels the most like an everyday watch, but with smart fitness tracking functions. It’s got an eight month battery life which is huge compared to its competitors that are less than a week. It has a classic look, but also tracks sleep, swimming, and steps that upload to your phone. The future is here people.

Did you know what else you can do with smart watches these days? You can park your car! Let me repeat: YOU CAN PARK YOUR FREAKING CAR. Just give your wrist a little tap and your car acts as your personal valet and finds itself a spot. Tap your smart watch again and it comes to pick you up. This isn’t just any car though; it’s the BMW i3. Self-parking may be in its genesis stage, but it instills quite a bit of excitement in the arena of self-driving cars. Along with its spot finding abilities it boasts collision prevention through laser sensors. Still interested? Check out the CES article about the BMW i3 here.

Some other things worth noting are the a la carte Sling TV service and the self-driving Mercedes F 015. Check out cnet.com for more info on these innovations along with other big reveals at CES 2015.

 

Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America

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Our very own Kari Hendrickson met up with Maddie from Potosi Brewing Company at the show.

This year the largest brewing trade show was held in none other than Portland, Oregon. The free-spirited city has a rich brew culture that makes it the perfect Mecca for passionate brewers looking to hone their craft and amplify their brewing as a business venture. Culture and ideas flow abundantly at the show in a way to better each brewer. It’s an atmosphere that focuses on the pure respect and passion of the craft rather than worry about the competition. Over 10,000 industry pros rub elbows and enjoy craft beer together every year.

Reps from all walks of business come from near and far to work to make a great thing, beer, even better. Distributors, packagers, suppliers, equipment reps, label makers, sign manufacturers, and numerous other potential business partners are at the ready to forge a relationship that will forge a recipe for success. Our other brand, J. McLoone Craft Brew Signs, made an appearance and was lucky enough to bask in the glory of this beer paradise. Frothy nectar flows into welcoming vessels; a medley of hops and malt mingle with hints of rich flavors. Those who are fortunate to partake enjoy the drink in a jovial fashion. How fortunate indeed. If you couldn’t tell I am a beer lover myself.

Unfortunately, this party is invite only and your invite is your business. Only those in the industry are able to attend. If you make a great brew or can help contribute to other brewers head on over to Philly for the 2016 show and maybe we will see you there. In the meantime, go check out our other brand, J. McLoone Craft Brew signs, at craftbrewsigns.com.

 

SEMA

SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, brings together specialty products for the automobile aftermarket. Their annual show displays everything from innovative to downright eccentric. With over 140,000 people and over 2,000 exhibitors there is a lot of automotive creativity in one show. To set the stage on some of the unpredictable modifications done to cars at the show I’m going to just leave this here…

Subaru with tank treads at SEMA. http://auto-blog.pl/wp-content/gallery/152/02-block-tank-live.jpg

Ken Block’s super Subaru modded to tackle the winter months with style.

That is pretty innovative for a car, or you know… a tank. This kind of puts it in perspective for all the daringly genius things done to cars and the like at SEMA.

Pieces of Local Motor's Strati. http://uploads.webflow.com/54526d02b51342c22660562d/54b3e59cdab6b5db23c4c64c_exploded-strati.png

An exploded view of the Strati’s lean composition.

 

3D printing allows you to print basically anything, so why not print a car, right? Crowd sourced Local-Motors has printed a 100% electric 3D printed car. Wow. The possibilities for 3D printing are seemingly endless. Most of the car, named the Strati, is printed in plastic and reinforced with carbon fiber in a process that takes 44 hours for all the components to print. It is then assembled with the motor & battery and the rest of the innards and it’s ready to go.

 

The Strati has a top speed of only 50 mph so it’s only feasible for city driving, but LM decided to make things interesting for this year’s show. They announced a challenge for aftermarket car experts to modify the printed two-seater. They sent out 12 of their cars to be hacked up by ModMen for them to be presented at SEMA 2015. Keep your eyes peeled come November.

 

 

Gamescom

Attendees dressed up in cosplay at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. http://koelnmesse.onlinemedianet.de/servlet/previewGUID?previewGUID=A30C2005-452F-C5C5-AE80-3F6884A857C9&previewType=COARSE&contentType=JPEG

Gamescom attendees are dressed up and ready to jump into the most anticipated games of the year.

Increasing their attendance by 10,000 from the previous year, Gamescom welcomed 345,000 visitors this year over in Cologne, Germany. At the world’s largest computer and video games trade show you’ll find characters and cosplay a plenty. At Gamescom you can dress up as your favorite character and then play as that character. However surreal it may be, it’s quite acceptable at the show in Deutschland. On your couch? Not so much.

Developers hand the controllers over to the players to give them a coveted look of immersive environments to come.  Enthralling game worlds add to the immersion of the game and bigger more vibrant worlds really catch my eye. Large free-roam areas are becoming more and more real as more and more details and effort are plugged into the game world. We’re going to peek into three games with rich stories and richer visuals that made quite a splash at Gamescom: Star Wars: Battlefront, Scalebound, and Rise of the Tomb Raider.

 

 

Star Wars, developed by EA and DICE, flies away from the show with high honors in tow. Battlefront hoarded 4 awards including the best of Gamescom Award. SWBF was a force to be reckoned back two console generations ago and now the remake is coming back with a vengeance, a rebellious vengeance. The fight is brought to large spanning battlefields with large multiplayer game types that pit teams of 20 against each other. Developers move away from space battles and really focus on giving the best planetary warzones they can. But don’t worry; you will still get to fly the iconic ships of Star Wars in the Fighter Squadron mode. Flying an x-wing and TIE fighter is awesome, but there’s nothing like piloting the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy. The one and only Millennium Falcon takes flight when the game launches November 17 of this year. May the force be with you!

SWBF's Fighter Squadron mode.

Fly the Millennium Falcon and take out some Imperials in SWBF.

 

Star Wars has Han and Chewie; Scalebound looks to put the spotlight on their dynamic duo, Drew and Thuban. Scalebound is an action RPG developed by Platinum Games that is headed by renowned game designer Hideki Kamiya. Kamiya is known for visually stunning games such as Devil May Cry and Bayonetta. In his new project you play as a spunky twenty-something, Drew, and his wyvern companion, Thuban. The game focuses on striking landscapes and combo-based interactive combat mechanics. The kid and his dragon pair up to fight the various baddies of Draconis with a complex finesse. The relationship between the two brothers-in-arms and the vivid world beats with a complexity that definitely puts this game on my watch list.

Screenshot of Rise of the Tomb Raider. http://media1.gameinformer.com/filestorage/CommunityServer.Components.SiteFiles/imagefeed/featured/square-enix2015/rise-of-the-tomb-raider/ROTTR-Sandgamescom610climb.jpg

Rise of the Tomb Raider is chock full of adrenaline and stunning visuals.

Before this section gets too long and I nerd out too hard, I’m going to wrap it up with a snippet on Rise of the Tomb Raider. Rise is the sequel to the reboot of Tomb Raider in 2013 following the iconic crypt searcher, Lara Croft. The word around the web is that Rise isn’t making any staggering changes in gameplay compared to the first. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Dangerous jumps, white-knuckle combat, challenging puzzles, stealth that will make you hold your breath, and enticing history are all rock solid. Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix hit the nail on the head for what makes this game fun. For those looking to jump into the adventure, the game comes out in November of this year. Unfortunately for our Sony friends you will have to wait until 2016.

 

Check out IGN or Gameinformer for the latest news about the new worlds that will be conquering shelves in the near future.

 

Lighting & Design International

Want to see all the bells and whistles that make concerts and live productions so spectacular? LDI Conference and Tradeshow wrangles up the creative connoisseurs of the live production industry again for the 28th year. The goal is to keep concerts and the like on the forefront of technology to keep making their productions one-of-a-kind. Attendees get to experience the latest and greatest tech in action and also sharpen their skills through education seminars held by LDI. Whether it be a club, theme park, house of worship, or broadcast venue there are over 350 companies exhibiting to outfit producers with the gear they need.

Present at the show are many pros that are ready to drop some knowledge to help aid the brains of those attending. There’s a wide spectrum of info sessions that teach a plethora of different techniques from sports broadcasts to laser shows. One company, X-Laser, provides guidance for developing light shows with “maximum impact.” In essence a sophisticated heat beam in which we call a laser. Unfortunately, Dr. Evil will not be there to demo the power of lasers, but X-Laser is an industry pro with serious chops. A couple of their clients include Dave Matthews Band, Google, and Disney.

Speaking of Disney, it seems ol’ Yen Sid is breaking the magician’s code and revealing their secrets of how their theme park magic is made. They are taking people behind the curtain to show the complex technical aspect of performing production sorcery. Maybe they will finally tell what makes Wonderland so wonderful, the Haunted Mansion so haunted, or the magic behind making Peter Pan fly. However, once they tell you, you can never leave on account that you now know all Disney’s secrets. So, there is quite the tradeoff for satisfying your childhood curiosity (just kidding!).

Who else is going to be at LDI? Glad you asked! It will be none other than our very own Keith and Kari representing Case Labels USA at booth #1169. They will be there letting the masses know about our durable re-usable case labels and quality logo labels. It’s easy as write, wipe, re-use. If you’re at the show, stop by and say hello!

Shuffle on over to our Facebook page for more updates and be kind and give us a like. Cheers!

Image Credit:

http://iq.intel.com/wp-content/uploads/CESbooth_23_sm.jpg

http://cnet1.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2015/07/09/86667d42-77d6-46ab-a505-edb9c0896757/resize/970×546/ccfa980ea0b904227920946afd8466f8/watches-2.jpg

https://www.craftbrewersconference.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/expo1-600×600.jpg

http://auto-blog.pl/wp-content/gallery/152/02-block-tank-live.jpg

http://uploads.webflow.com/54526d02b51342c22660562d/54b3e59cdab6b5db23c4c64c_exploded-strati.png

http://koelnmesse.onlinemedianet.de/servlet/previewGUID?previewGUID=A30C2005-452F-C5C5-AE80-3F6884A857C9&previewType=COARSE&contentType=JPEG

http://imgur.com/a/QTDP6#25

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/f/f6/20150814040317!Scalebound_cover_art.jpg

http://media1.gameinformer.com/filestorage/CommunityServer.Components.SiteFiles/imagefeed/featured/square-enix2015/rise-of-the-tomb-raider/ROTTR-Sandgamescom610climb.jpg

 

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