CES: Our Biggest Wow Moments from the Show Floor

Authors: Sam Ogren and Jonna O’Connor

SAM: Sitting at dinner the night before CES 2025 opened, my colleague Jonna O’Connor asked me what to expect as a first-timer. More than 4300 exhibitors, almost 150,000 attendees, and over 2.5 million square feet of exhibit space: a full day of bright lights, big crowds, lots of walking, and remembering to stop for water and a snack. A learning experience to see what could be accomplished in our medium, something built on concrete and framed in truss. How do you explain the onslaught of colossal exhibits when entering the hall? I said, “Be ready to say ‘Wow!’… a lot.” The next morning, there were a lot of “Wows.”

DESIGN

Exhibit design provides the environment for an experience. The exhibit directs attention and prompts engagement. For those of us who are industry professionals, the designs themselves are an experience, representing the exhibitor’s rationale.

JONNA: Finding our way around the exhibit halls was challenging but finding peace within certain exhibits was a breeze. At a show where I was expecting every booth to feel modern, contemporary, and beyond futuristic, I was delighted to see how brands found the delicate balance between flash and tranquility. Transparent LED screens created futuristic displays that kept the space light and open. Plush carpet and soft walls lowered the ambient sound levels. Hanging fabrics and wood slat walls softened hard lighting, defined zones, and warmed tech-filled spaces. These calmer balanced spaces pulled me in by offering a place to catch my thoughts, to slow down and thoughtfully engage with the brand.

SAM: There are distractions inside the exhibits and across the aisles, so important information had to be presented clearly and concisely. For big or small budgets, designers used Plexiglas® in many colors and finishes to create a “pop” for imprinted information. Product details and directional signs were color-coded, intuitively connecting the steps through the exhibit journey. Like transparent LED screens, Plexiglas created bold canvases, making it a versatile and effective design choice.

ENGAGEMENTS

CES is about getting up close and hands-on with cutting-edge tech. You can try on the newest wearables, watch robots climb stairs, and see a helicopter that fits into an electric car. In 2025, the dominant focus was on AI.

SAM: With AI and tech ecosystems dominating product categories, designers gave us miniature versions of our lives. LG had a smart home built like a dollhouse, each room detailing a different device or feature and how they interacted with their “Affectionate Intelligence” assistant. Other brands used tabletop mini worlds to showcase their products — from the conference room to the great outdoors. Each vignette and model made me pause and look closer.

JONNA: “Hands-on” didn’t go away entirely. We learn the fastest through play experiences, and exhibitors offered opportunities to do that. We were encouraged to put down obstacles for robotic vacuums to avoid or debris for them to clean up. We could step into the cockpit of a boat to speed through the Everglades or onto an electric surfboard to ride waves into the sunset. A larger-than-life flower garden introduced us to a new product line with whimsy and amusement. The fun created lasting memories and positive brand associations for us as consumers and as inspirations for our own creations.

THEME

CES 2025’s official theme, “Connect, Solve, Discover: Dive in,” encouraged collaboration in creating innovative solutions for future needs.

SAM: Sustainability was a critical part of exhibit designs. CES used recycled honeycomb paper to build walls around the Creators Space, a new central hall area designed to empower the diverse community of content creators and media at the show. Some giveaways depended on interacting with the brand’s sustainability and accessibility messaging. Big and small exhibits were made entirely from cardboard – walls, benches, kiosks, and sculptural elements used materials that enhanced the message of sustainability.

JONNA: Every time I stepped onto a raised floor, I noticed something; there wasn’t a step. Looking at the multicultural ocean of attendees, everyone could engage at a kiosk or with a staff member in their own language. Accessibility was on full display at CES, accommodating attendees of every ability and creating opportunities to convert a new customer into a loyal consumer. There were products and resources for the blind, the deaf and hard of hearing, those with mobility issues, the neurodiverse, and recent mothers. More than that, this was a community experience, open to everyone and intentionally finding ways to make the brand valuable to a wide audience.

Conclusion

The CES experience is unrivaled. Something will certainly amaze and inspire whether you have attended before or are going for the first time. Most are there to find excitement in the products offered. Still, for folks like us, an exhibit designer and marketing specialist, this was an opportunity to experience the exhibit floor as attendees instead of working like the people behind the curtains. At the end of the show, we came away with sore legs, full iPhoto libraries, and inspiration from emerging trends in design, interaction, and technology. And it was a whole lot of fun, too.